I was there during the fish opener, end of April 2013. Hiked a mile or so above Sabrina and then above South Lake. Just realized the lakes were so ugly I didn't take any pictures. People were driving down the boat ramp onto the lake bottom out to the remaining "ponds" to fish.
The article you linked to is very detailed about all the various demands on the Bishop lakes and eastern system in general. Different set of constraints for the Eastern Hydro system than the Northern Hydro lakes at Edison and Florence where they tend to drain those lakes pretty low every year fall anyway. By the time the road opens up to that area in late spring, they're pretty full again. I'm not discounting the effect of the drought on Edison and Florence, just saying they have different demands on them and hydro is a higher priority there. Not sure if the shutdown at San Onofre nuclear plant is playing a role, but it might be. SoCal Edison is under enormous pressure right now with all this going on.
