Virginia Lakes 7/23-7/29

[mamoo]

I just got back from my yearly trip to the Virginia Lakes and it was a great trip as usual. After a long ### drive we got up there unpacked the car, said hi to some family and friends and I hoped in my tube and busted out the fly rod. As soon as I get out I get 5 hits and manage to miss them all. I was a bit rusty considering I hadnt fly fished for a whole year. Soon it starts to sprinkle then a full on down pour starts and then the thunder and lightning comes along for a killer show.
Sunday:
I wake up the next morning and the fly fishing is quite poor so I bust out the spin stick with a power worm and manage 25 fish in about 1.5 hrs. After the day was finished I managed 36 fish to 14 inches. Unfortunately, the rain moved in and kept me from getting into the great evening fly bite.
Monday:
Headed out again in the morning with my dad in his tube and we both have around 16 fish and he asks "When was the last time you caught an alper on a power worm?" Like 10 minutes later I set the hook and game on. Some nice head shakes and the fish makes its first run. He makes a really nice run and Im thinking big alper. I gain a little bit more line to loose twice as much as before. Slowly but surely I work the fish in and net him. Unfortunately, the fish wasnt as big as I first thought but it sure fought well on 2#. The fish measured a little over 18 inches but was thick and had great color. Its the best looking alper I have ever caught. After a couple pictures, I released the fish and it swam off strong. I went out a couple more times and finished the day with around 28 fish or so. Once again the rain moved in and I couldnt fish the evening so I met up with some of the girls I go up with and we basically got way trashed and I passed out :drunk:.
Tuesday:
Woke up that morning to a nice hangover :thumbdown: and went out and fished. Feeling like crap I still managed like 12 fish and then had breakfast. Unfortunately, it didnt make me feel any better so I met up with some friends on the bank. After being there for 10 minutes I hang a nice fish on a mini jig and land my second alper of the trip. This one I kept and it weighed in at 2.7#s. Not a monster but a good fish. The alpers that size always seem to fight better than the larger ones anyway. Again we had a gnarly storm and I didnt manage to get out that evening.
Wednesday:
Woke up feeling a hell of a lot better and managed 20+ fish but concentrated mostly on fly fishing and got a few on an olive matuka and finally got out for the evening bite and got 6 more on an elk hair caddis fly.
Thursday:
My friend and his girlfriend met up with me today and we fished and did a little bit of hiking. We didnt fish that much in account of my firend's girl friend not being too keen on fishing but she still managed around 7 and that was before the stocking truck arrived. After it arrived we headed up to red lake just to kick back then we returned and fished to a good bite. I finished the day with around 20 fish, my friend had about 16 and his gf had 7. We headed out to dinner at the Mobil station in Lee Vining which has awesome food. They have a restaurant inside which was really busy as usual and the huge number of hippies didnt help. If any of you have a chance to eat here take it. The food is awesome and its the last thing you would expect in that small town.
Friday:
As one would expect the day after stocking was really good. I finished the day with 43 fish up to 16 inches. I also got to see them stock the alpers which is always cool.

Overall, it was a really fun trip that I am looking forward to doing again next year. I ended the trip with over 170 fish for the week and two alpers while my dad and my uncle each managed one alper. Ill put up the pics when I get them.

[Fishbuddy]

Nice report. Did it get crowed at Virgina? I am glad you left some fish for me when I go in a couple of weeks.
Thanks

[MOBassman]

Nice report. Sounds like you had a great time. Looking forward to seeing the pics!

[Beresford13861]

awsome fish count, even with the weather not coperating, sounds like you had a great time anyways. cant wait to see the pics

[mamoo]

The crowds werent to bad. Everyone left after only catching a couple fish so my family and I basically had the lake all to ourselves most of the day. Im not sure when Ill get the pics. My Aunt has a lot of them and shes in Tahoe right now so when I get those Ill post them. Everything was fun but the day I was hung over. Last time I drink way to much while Im up there lol.