Crowley Trout
Crowley Lake contains a healthy population of the following fish:- Brown Trout
- Rainbow Trout
- Cutthroat Trout
- Sacramento Perch (see picture here)
| Brown Trout (Male) |  |
| Rainbow Trout |
|
| Cutthroat Trout |  |
These trout spawn up the tributaries at different times of the year and then return to the lake.
Crowley trout are seemingly different than the other trout in the Eastern Sierras because they tend to become more like a wild fish with very prolific food sources. Unfortunately, a vast majority of the lakes in the area such as Convict Lake and the Mammoth Lakes, are referred to as 'put and take' fisheries in which the fish stocking truck puts the fish in and anglers come and take the trout home. The large majority of fly fisherman on Crowley Lake practice catch and release to ensure a stable population of fish. Full-finned fish are the 'norm' at Crowley and you don't see a lot of stub nosed, stub finned 'stocker' trout. Natural reproduction also takes place which is a very important part of the fishery as well.
Crowley Lake Food Sources
Important food sources include:
- Chironomids - Fancy name for a midge (mosquito like insect that does not bite)
- The most popular for anglers to imitate, fishing patterns under an indicator (see Stillwater Midging menu item at the top for more information)
- Damselfly
- Often seen buzzing the surface, these often blue insects can be a popular food source in the nymph form. The trout will slam these near the edges of weedbeds.
- Sacramento Perch Fry
- Hang on, trout will slam imitations of these stripped behind a tube
- Callibaetis
- Stillwater mayfly, not often imitated
- Daphnia - Very small (.2-.5mm) crustaceans
- Known to some as freshwater fleas due to their similar movement patterns, daphnia are not a trout anglers friend. Fish will feed on these rather than midges or other sources. Unfortunately, there is not a good fly pattern to imitate daphnia and thus fishing can be slow during these times when this food source is present.
