FREE Fly-fishing clinic

FLY-FISHING - THEN AND NOW

It would have been hard to catch a trout in the High Sierra two hundred years ago, since most of the lakes and streams above 6,000 feet had no fish. Things changed in the mid-1800s when western settlers and miners moved native trout upstream into fishless areas to create a food source. Later, a variety of groups (including the Bishop Fish Planting Club, Sierra Club and U.S. Army) began stocking high altitude lakes and streams with trout for recreational fishing. The improvement of state highways in the Roaring Twenties (including El Camino Sierra, or Highway 395) paved the way - literally - for auto tourism. Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierra became a popular destination for anglers. During this time, the Alpers Owens River Ranch was converted into a fishing ranch and Emmett Hayden, a civil engineer from Pasadena, began constructing a fishing lodge along the banks of Mammoth Creek - the place we now know as the Mammoth Museum at the Hayden Cabin.

To celebrate Emmett's love of fly-fishing, the Southern Mono Historical Society is offering a free fly fishing clinic, open to everyone aged 10 and up. Taught by local angler Dave Harvey of The Troutfitter and Troutfly, the clinic takes place on Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. along Mammoth Creek at the Hayden Cabin. Fly rods will be available for use.