Fish'n
Conditions
If you would like to be added to our email list to
have regular Fish Reports delivered to your mailbox,
click here.
For previous reports,
click here.
Owens Valley Flow Reports from the DWP
Click here..
For East Walker flows
click here.
Department of Fish & Game / Hatchery News
Click here
If you visit this page often, you may need to refresh your browser
to see the latest version.

Sierra
Drifters advocates "Fishing for Fun"
Catch &
Release!
You can click on the
Closer Look Tab above for a comprehensive overview of many of the waters
we guide.

The Three Trout-Kateers;
Gore V. with the fish, Dave S. blowing a kiss, Adam C. " Net Man"
"Looking
forward to fishing again with Tom again soon!
We had a blast---Dave"
"Thanks Tom: That was a
blast. Hope to do it again real soon. Gore"
Click Here
For Our Guide Trip Request Form
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. I hope all is
going well for you in the New Year and you are making plans for numerous
fish’n excursions to the Eastern Sierra and other locations. Please
remember to get your 2010 licenses and the
warden stamp! The DFG is
in dire need of the revenue. Also: As of March 1, 2010 you will no longer
need to DISPLAY your valid license. What few wardens we currently have
must now approach and ask you to show your fishing license, check out all
your gear, barbs, etc… This will make you lose valuable fishing time and
disturb your location. I hope the belly acher’s that changed this law get
checked during a great bite! I am suggesting to our clients that you keep
displaying it in an obvious location and you may not be interrupted as the
original law was intended.
We are well above normal snowpack after a series of
substantial dumps in January with more forecast to be on the way. The
landscape has changed significantly in all areas since the big storms and
we have updated the fish’n conditions in all areas.
The roads leading to all the rivers are pretty much
thrashed and many are impassable except by snow shoes or snow mobile. The
dirt roads that are not fenced along the Lower Owens River are also a mess
and have some nasty “tank traps” in some spots. Please remember to check
it out before you drive in. The roads are typically frozen in the
mornings and driving is not as much an issue at this time. When they thaw
in the afternoon you will have deep, thick mud or slush to contend with
and it ain’t no fun dig’n out or handing over a few bills to a local
towing company. Don’t let this happen to you!
Tom will be guiding the NEVADA section of the
East Walker River for 2010:
I will be guiding the NEVADA section of the East
Walker River for 2010. My Nevada Master Guides license has been approved
and I will be booking trips as soon as the weather moderates and flow
conditions improve. The old Rosachi Ranch is legendary for numbers, and
large trout. It was once a privately operated trout ranch and has a
reputation for monster rainbows. It is currently managed by the Toiyabe
National Forest. Many of you have experienced the fantastic tail water
fishery that the EW in California has to offer-the Nevada section is even
better; and it is far less crowded! It is located just 8 easy miles from
Bridgeport, CA which has great accommodations for the day, or an extended
stay.
Lower in elevation than the Cal section, the
barbless/zero limit C&R section of the EW in Nevada meanders along a
pristine meadow near the beautiful Smith Valley. It is a classic
riffle/pool tail water that contains numerous runs offering incredible dry
fly opportunities at times. We will be fishing seven miles of gorgeous
uncrowded water below the California border. I am very excited about this
and hope you can accompany me this season here. This is where many CA/NV
guides go to get away, and do not openly speak of it. It really is a
wonderful place to fly fish. The spring and fall months can go ballistic
here using May flies, midges, and streamers with frequent opportunities to
hit the caddis action during the summer.
You will need to obtain a Nevada fishing license and
trout stamp. We will be offering half, full or multi-day day guided trips
to both the Nevada and Cal sections. We are talking about 15 miles of
blue ribbon water near Bridgeport! You gotta fish this at least once. It
looks a lot like Montana in my opinion. Please call for bookings and
rates. I believe there will be opportunities to begin fishing here in
early March. I will begin posting info as soon as conditions warrant.

Road trips: Tom Loe will be
visiting his pal legendary Kern River master guide Guy Jeans and the
friendly folks of the Southern Sierra Fly Fishers in Kernville on March 13th
2010. http://ssffc.com/ Fly Shop 760 376 2040. T. Loe will
then do a show for his best buddy Bill Stroud of Stroud’s Tackle and the
wonderful group of fly casters - the San Diego Fly Fishers on April 5th
2010.
www.sandiegoflyfishers.com
The Power Point assisted presentations are done in an
“off the water guide trip” framework and have a vest full of great
information for fishing the waters of the Sierra and other locations that
hold trout. The general public is welcome to attend.
Eagle Lake Spring
Trips:


The conditions will be excellent this spring for
sure. Eagle is getting a good snowpack and the lake will be in top shape
for the 2010 season. I will be booking trips from 6-3-2010 through
6-30-2010. Depending on conditions we may be doing some trips in July as
well. I will post those dates at a later time.
Eagle is hands down, without a doubt the best rainbow
trout still water in the State. If you like big numbers of 19 inch
average Eagle Lake Trout that weigh 2-3 lbs on the fly, this is
your huckleberry! Big fish here go 27 inches and weigh 6-7 lbs. It is a
gorgeous alpine lake bordered by huge pines and is California’s second
largest natural inland body of water. We will be guiding it on our 24
foot fish magnets and can take groups of three per boat easily.
I will have additional boats here this season as
demand for this trip has grown over the years. Dates will go quickly, so
please do not delay. You may call or email us for bookings. Click on the
Eagle Lake tab at the top of this page for additional info.


Fly Fishing
Clinics for beginners and intermediates:


If you or someone you know
wants to learn the basics of fly casting, knot tying, and the fundamentals
of wet and dry fly fishing from full time fly fishing professionals, here
is a great opportunity!
We will be conducting casting and knot tying clinics
located at Sierra Drifters beautiful private trophy
pond overlooking Crowley Lake at McGee Creek for next season. You
may enroll for an on the water instructional seminar in
addition to the pond session for the second day.
These clinics were a big hit last year and we had
high marks from those who attended the classes. We are adding additional
dates for next season and have greatly reduced the cost thanks to last
years demand. The four hour clinics cost $100.00 per person/day.
You may choose a single day if you wish, and we will limit the classes to
five students per guide to insure you get excellent personal instruction.
These classes are a great way to learn the basics of fly fishing by pros
at a very affordable cost. 2010 dates available are: May 21&22, June 4&5,
18&19, July 2&3, 16&17, 30&31, August 13&14, 27&28, September 3&4. Please
contact us by phone or email for more details and enrollment; we can
customize family or group clinics to suit your needs.
Online fly sales…New Lower Prices for 2010. And new for
2010…the broken back “Black and Blue Midge” #18 and the broken back
Dark Zebra Midge #18. These smaller sized versions of our time tested
and deadly broken back #16 patterns are a must for still waters as well as
moving waters that hold trophy trout. The new colors give you additional
options for the ever changing water and light conditions. Click on the
Online Fly Sales Tab at the top of this page.
SD “Two Bug
Doug’s” Under-Cator (patents pending) is currently available online and to
wholesalers.
Two Bug’s vision has led us to come up with the
ultimate strike indicator/bobber. It is now available online, and in
stores February of 2010. This versatile strike indicator comes in two
popular sizes and can be used by fly fishers or spin casters. It is high
riding and easy to see - never needs floatant or drying, adjusts quickly
and easily without slipping, and casts beautiful. Unlike others it needs
NO tools or torque wrenches to install on leaders or lines from 25lb.-7X.
It won’t slip, kink, or damage your line like others. A user friendly
custom thumb screw (patents pending) locks the Under-Cator onto
your leader or line securely and easily!
This strike indicator/bobber has gone through
extensive guide testing and trials on both still waters and rivers for
over a year. It is the most innovative and versatile of its kind
available.

Upper Owens River:

"Upper Owens
Rocks... These are awesome! Already got them on the facebook...I'll
let you know when people start to drool over them.
Thanks again... Brant"
"Klondike" Brant W.
& his Trophy "Snow-Bows"

The fish are there -
ya just gotta know where to find em!
The “catching” here remains excellent for gorgeous
trophy sized rainbows. 90% of the fish are holding in less than 1% of the
water and this is no exaggeration. The numbers are bleak considering what
has been wintering over here the last few seasons. The UO will continue
to improve as the sun remains longer with each passing day. Many anglers
struggle here this time of year because there are specific pools that
these winter time behemoths hold in exclusively. We dun knows ware day
R a hiding and will be happy to take you to these spots!
Nymphing with PT’s #16-20; absolutely have some
broken back midges as a lower on a tandem fly rig. You will also see a
good emergence of baetis adults (bwo) may flies #16-18 on the warmer
cloudy days around 1:30-2:00pm.
It is tough going to get in here and is not for
everybody. The roads suck and you will need to hoof it through some deep
snow to get near the river. I dig it this time of year and hope the snow
stays deep into March.



Basso &
T-Loe...Having a Fishy meeting with our associates of the Owens!
Lower Owens River:

Adam C. ~ Taming the
beast...

"Casper... the
Friendly Trout"

Walt G. with his
Drift boat Bow...

Ricky K. had over
twenty this day!
I have had some epic (I almost forgot
how to spell that word it has been so long) periods of time in the
upper sections closer to the PV dam recently. The wild browns are
ravenous and if you concentrate on the slower-deeper pools you will find
these 8-14 inch rascals consistently. The prime bite occurs mid-day and
the fish are focusing on the BWO emergence. There is ample time to fish
the adults each day, but the nymphing has been so good that you may not
want to waste time changing over.
Midges in the am and Pt’s as the sun gets higher will
do the trick. #16-20 is fine. I suggest 5 X tippets, and 6X will get
even more attention as the water is clear. The flows have been doing the
yo-yo but seem to be averaging about 100cfs. They will be going higher
this year; I can assure you of this. When is anyone’s guess, I suggest
you get a whack at wading this area soon. The weather has been cool in
the am’s, however quite pleasant by late morning recently.
The sections of river that are planted have been very
slow. The cold weather has chilled the water down in the thirties some
days making the holdover and wild fish lethargic. Several seasons of
small allotments are taking a toll in the planted sections and fishing has
been very poor relative to what is going on in the wild trout section.
Budget shortfalls, winter stocking programs scrapped, hatchery
closures/quarantines, invasive species issues, and the trout are making
life miserable for the willow fly catchers and hard headed minnow??? Blah,
blah, blah. Get accustomed to the new stocking landscape; it is going to
be different in all areas of the golden state.

Canada David C. (all
the way from Otawa, Canada) Epic Nymph Fishing in late January

David C.'s
Under-Cator was down more than it was up!

David C. "Dip n'
Strip" Drifting
"I am walking around with
that s**t-eating grin that i had on my face when we were catching all
those trout. It was an amazing adventure and I hope to get out there
again for round two with you. You did a spectacular job providing
encouragement, advice, humor and skills. You know your stuff and after
13 years still see the excitement and passion in fly fishing - that
isn't common in any profession!
Regards, David"
Click here
To View Our "Be-The-Fly" Drift Boat Videos!
PV Reservoir:
The Rez level remains too high for good access near
the inlet. The small creek section is fishing pretty well with a dry
dropper combo on the warmer days but you can cover the water here in a few
hours. Some bwo’s coming off here also. The freeze tubers are feeling
the pinch of no stocking here as well. The DFG put in some brood fish a
couple weeks ago (the river got a sprinkling of brooders also) so there
may be a trophy fish hanging around the inlet or launch ramp areas. Best
bet is to fish a full sink on the far shoreline trolling or casting
streamer patterns #8-12. Spruce-a-Bu’s, Loebergs, leeches will get
grabs.
Hot Creek:
Still very consistent as long as we do not have a
sub-zero morning in Long Valley. Stick to the usual midges and bwo
patterns. HC fish are scholars and as a rule go a size or two down from
what you may normally fish. Add a couple feet to your leaders, and go
down a notch for your tippets as well. The hike down is tricky, as well
as the hike in. Small crowds as you might expect, but worth the effort.

Two Bug Doug doing his thing on the crick!
East Walker:
Ice Station Zebra. Needs to get warm for a week
before it picks up.
The Gorge:
There is a good deal of snow and ice especially on
the west side of the canyon. The fish are on the chew for sure and you
can have a good time with dry/dry or dry/dropper bead head combos here.
#14-18 patterns are fine. Make sure you have large studs on your boots
for all areas that have snow and ice. Felt soles suck in the winter, get
rubber wading boots they are far superior. This applies to all winter
time fisheries.
We are selling flies online
this season
for your convenience.
The 2010 Sierra Drifters Flies are available at
the following great fly shops and stores this winter: Bob Marriott’s
Flyfishing Store in Fullerton, Malibu Fish’n Tackle in Thousand Oaks, The
Fishermen’s Spot in Van Nuys, Stroud’s Tackle and the So Cal Fly Shop in
San Diego. There are links to these locations at the
resources tab above.
Thank you for taking the time to read my report.
Be the fly friends…
Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide
Service
and Michele Loe, Sales
Associate Prestige Properties of Mammoth
Michele@MammothLakes.com
Eastern Sierra Real
Estate….
http://www.mammothrealestateonline.com/Nav.aspx/Page=/About/Default.aspx