The Eastern Sierra Second Summer Trout Derby put on by Western Outdoor News and The Eastern Sierra Fishing Coalition is off and running with numerous nice size trout and several tagged trout already coming in. Fishing at Silver Lake and Rush Creek have been very steady this week thanks to some cooler temperatures and several nice loads of Alpers and DFG fish going into the lake this week.

Silver Lake has already had thirteen of the twenty three tagged trout come in this week, as well as some nice stringers and quality fish. In the way of still fishing, anglers have seen success using various dough baits, Power bait and Yum, as well as Nite Crawlers and Salmon Eggs. In the way of lures, try using a Gold/Red Thomas Buoyant or a Tasmanian Devil or even a Super Duper or Needle Fish. The fish are starting to rise to the surface in the evening so also try using some dry flies on the surface like a Mosquito, Grey Hackle Peacock or some Black Gnats. If you are a fan of trolling, give some streamers a try like a Brown Wooly Bugger, Hornberg or a Olive Matuka a shot.

As the night temperatures continue to get cooler, the fish should start to rise to the top of the surface more making fishing a little easier. Look at the far end of Silver Lake where Rush Creek dumps in for some good action or along the road side where the aspens are shading the water in the later part of the day.

This weeks "Fish of the Week" belong to Jacob Major, in the main photo of Anaheim who not only caught a nice tagged trout for a great prize but also had a stringer full of nice fish he caught on Nite Crawlers. The following are all anglers who caught a tagged trout this past week.

Mike Fellows of Huntington Beach landed two tagged trout this week on Zekes garlic bait one weighing 1 pound 11 ounces and the other weighing 1 pound 10 ounces.
Gary Brannen of LaQuinta landed a 1 pound 14 ounce tagged trout on Zekes Garlic.
Gary Yamamoto of Riverside caught a great 2 pound tagged trout from the shore of Silver Lake using Rainbow Power Bait.
George Westbrook of Newberry Park caught a 2 pound 10 ounce tagged trout using YUM dough bait.
Merlin VanderTuig of Tulare landed a 1 pound 11 ounce tagged trout using Garlic Power Bait.
John Stuit of Bellflower landed a 2 pound 1 ounce tagged trout using a Tasmanian Devil.
Dylan Castor of Murrieta caught a 1 pound 6 ounce tagged trout from the shore of Silver Lake using a Thomas Buoyant.
Ferend Charron of Sherman Oaks caught a great looking 2 pound 2 ounce tagged trout using Yellow Power bait.

Catching some nice size trout and winning great prizes doesn't get any better than this.

If you don't catch a tagged trout to gain free entry into a chance at a fully loaded boat, trailer and motor, you can always stop by the Silver Lake store and purchase some tickets. They are $5 each or 5 for $20. All proceeds will go back to purchase more Alper's Trout for all the lakes in Mono County. Also don't forget that Crowley Lake, Convict Lake, Lake Mary, June Lake, Grant Lake, Bridgeport Reservoir and West Walker River have tagged trout in them as well.