CROWLEY LAKE — On a beautiful midweek morning, five fishing experts took eight Paiute-Shoshone tribe member kids out on Crowley Lake. Joe Contaldi, Andre Nersesian, Hodges Glass, Shon Eastridge, and Jarett Coons divided up in four boats, to get the kids fly fishing for trout and perch in Crowley Lake. The fishing guides for the day were joined by CFF team members Chris Leonard, Pedro Cecena, and Philip Nguyen who captured video of the morning adventures. Maggie Flaherty, Brianda Hernandez, Miles Lafayette, and Sage Neely of the tribe were present for support supervision. This event was spearheaded by the organization of CFF board member Jarett Coons.
The kids spent three and a half hours on the lake that morning, and had a great time. A few fish were caught and released, and several smiles were visible all morning. It was the first time most of these kids have fished on Crowley Lake.
The entertainment didn’t end at the lake. Later that evening, the group reconvened at Bishop’s Back Alley Bowl and Grill for dinner. CFF supporter Chad Warrick purchased dinner for the entire group, and also donated ten fly fishing rod, reel, and line combos to the Tribe for disbursement to the kids. Both Turquoise Stone and Peter Charley took home a fly fishing rod combo for their dedication to attending both fishing excursions and fly tying clinics. All the other youth who attended are encouraged to continue the course of learning about fly fishing and fly tying to be rewarded with one of the rods from Mr. Warrick’s generous donation.
Crowley Fish Foundation is quite proud of these kids for putting in some work to learn to fly fish. The youth are the future of the sport, and the CFF team is thrilled to be able to assist them.
Crowley Fish Foundation has come a long way since its first meeting in May 2024. The foundation is composed of an all-star team. It’s partnered with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to support DFW in events that need volunteer help, and disperse or collect information. CFF has numerous community events, including regular fly tying clinics that occur in two locations in Bishop, and soon to be added Mammoth Lakes. CFF is partnered with the Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Tribe to work with its youth. Both Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra and Two Wolf Foundation have sought assistance from CFF to take veterans fishing on Crowley Lake. Trout Unlimited, Caltrout, and No Hot Creek Mine have joined forces with Crowley Fish Foundation to protect Hot Creek, a tributary of Crowley Lake, and cherished fly fishery of itself, in an on-going petition to designate Hot Creek as an Outstanding Natural Resource Water.
Angler’s Atlas is an e-creel application that is teamed up with CFF to attract anglers who fish on Crowley Lake to record catches for data for DFW. Board members of CFF participate in community events including, but not limited to, the Blake Jones Trout Derby, Bishop Paiute Tribe’s Earth Day and Spring Market, Kern River Trout Fest, Owens River Annual Clean Up, Rush Creek Annual Clean Up, Mammoth Lakes Fourth of July Parade, and Mammoth Kids Fishing Festival. The foundation runs a great website, thanks to its webmaster Ryan Heavican. And, the foundation is fully insured to host events. CFF has recently submitted a 1023 application for full 501c3 status to the IRS, and anticipates approval estimated for December 2025. The enthusiasm of the group is contagious. CFF has received numerous donations of money and sweat equity to get standing on its feet. People love CFF.
Crowley Fish Foundation has grown immensely in fourteen months, and continues to surge. Crowley Fish Foundation wants to purchase trout for Crowley Lake and its tributaries. But, they want to do more than that also. CFF wants to introduce the beauty of the region’s fishing to the next generation of anglers. While CFF will gladly take any monetary donation now, large or small, the team believes in the importance of taking kids fishing. This was evident, again, on a recent outing that CFF hosted on Wednesday, July 23.
If you would like to learn more about CFF or make a much appreciated donation, please log onto the website at www.crowleyfishfoundation.org