Fish
Report
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.
Doug-Err, T-Loe, Two Bug, Fill
We have experienced drift boat guides available who
can put you on some of the finest trout water the state has to offer.
Let's go "catching" together!
Sierra Drifters advocates "fishing
for fun" catch & release!
The Sierra Drifters Guide Team will be at the ready to assist you for any
of your guiding needs in the Eastern Sierra while T Loe is away from his
home waters.
Sierra
Drifters Flies & Sungicators are only available at the following great fly
shops and stores (don’t be fooled by
any of the imitations out there!): Crowley Lake Fish Camp & The
Crowley Lake General Store in Crowley, Bridgeport Marina at Bridgeport
Reservoir, Kittredge Sports in Mammoth Lakes, Malibu Fish’n Tackle in
Thousand Oaks, Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, The San Diego Fly Shop in San
Diego, The Fishermen’s Spot in Van Nuys, Bob Marriott’s in Fullerton,
Buz's Fly Shop Too in Bakersfield, & Crosby Lodge at Pyramid Lake,
Nevada. There are links to these locations at the resources tab above. We
pride our Guide Service & Products on
Innovation not Imitation!
May 9,
2008
Upper Owens: Very Good
Flows are running at 64 cfs and 79 cfs below the Hot Creek confluence.
The fish are schooling up in the deeper pools and runs and some bigger
fish have been spotted along the river. Some fish are holding in the
riffles throughout the day making sight fishing with nymphs and dries
possible. #18 Flashback Hare's Ears, Pheasant tails, and midges in Tiger,
Zebra, and Gillies are all getting fish. Try #16-18 Elk Hair Caddis and
#20-22 Parachute Adams for dry flies. Ray Sebastian (pics below) opted to
challenge the high winds on 5/7/08 and managed to nymph up some nice 'bows
and browns here recently.
Doug Rodricks
May 6,
2008
Bridgeport Reservoir survived the opening weekend... Most
everyone caught fish and the weather was great!!! The water level is a bit
low but that should fix itself soon with warm temps on the horizon... Fish
are scattered throughout the lake. Water temps are still cold,(47 to 53
degrees on the surface) so fish are seeking wherever it is warm....Maybe
towards the surface. Was good to see all you Fly Fisher folks on tubes and
pontoons .....Action was fair to good for still water nymphing (midges)
and those with sink lines and streamers.....The midging should go off this
year with the abundance of snowmelt higher up.... The Brown Trout that
Paradise Shores planted last fall are looking very healthy...A huge thanks
to Eric and Michelle!!!!!!.....On that note maybe we should all CONSIDER
RELEASING those beautiful Brown Trout SO they WILL GROW EVEN BIGGER!!!!!!
Jeff Wenger - Manager
April 24, 2008
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to all
for this pre-season opener report from the high country. I’m filling in
for the mighty Tom Loe once again while he is staying busy putting clients
on the legendary Lahontan Cutthroat of Pyramid Lake.
Lots of wind and cooler temperatures have arrived in
the Eastern Sierra the last few days. The latest cold front which moved
through the region dropped half an inch of snow on the higher elevations.
Look for temperatures to steadily increase and winds to die down as the
weekend approaches. You can expect temperatures to be in the low 20’s at
sunrise Saturday morning on Crowley with highs reaching the mid to low
60’s. We are predicting a banner opener on Crowley as DFG and Alpers have
put many a large fish in the lake recently. Crowley lake is known for its
quality trout and you can look forward to a higher than normal catch rate
on larger trout this year.
Crowley Lake, ready for the opener
Many of you have probably heard about the invasive
Quagga/Zebra Mussel issue here in the Eastern Sierra. The LADWP and the
Crowley Lake Fish Camp are working together to prevent the spread of these
mussels into the lake. Mandatory boat, kayak, and canoe inspections will
be implemented for boats entering Crowley Lake. Please allow from 20
minutes to one hour for boat inspections depending on the size and
condition of your vessel. Please be patient with this process, as this
will benefit us all in the long run. All boats must be clean and dry (no
standing water) including dock and anchor lines, no debris present on
trailers or boats, and all drain plugs pulled. A clean boat will expedite
the process, but you must make sure there is no water present, or your
boat will not be allowed to launch.
LADWP lock tag on a boat trailer
Quagga Mussels next to a Drifters
Sungicator
Boats can be inspected ahead of time Monday-Friday at
the LADWP office at 300 Mandich St. in Bishop from 8:00am-3:00pm. Boats
can be inspected after 3:00pm by appointment. Call (760)873-0409. April 24
and 25 boats can be inspected in the VONS/KMART parking lot from
7:00am-7:00pm in Bishop at the corner of Main St. and Highway 6. Boats may
also be inspected starting April 23 at Crowley Lake’s South Landing from
8:00am-5:00pm, and April 24 through the duration of the fishing season
from 7:00am-7:00pm. Once your boat has cleared inspection, you will be
issued an inspection certificate that must be displayed on the dashboard
of your vehicle at all times while on the lake property. A tamper proof
wire lock tag will be attached between the winch hook of your trailer and
the boat to allow for access in and out of the South Landing gate at
Crowley if you are planning on moving your boat off the property. More
info on this is available at
www.ladwp.com/mussels
Upper Owens River:
Very Good
Some bigger fish have moved up in this area recently
and the river bank has been completely free of snow for some time now.
Remember to check your regulations from the Benton Bridge downstream to
Crowley Lake, as not all of the river will be open on April 26. The
section from the fishing monument upstream to the Benton Crossing Bridge
will open to fishing on May 24 and close on September 30. You may fish
from the monument downstream to Crowley during the regular season.
Pheasant tails, hare’s ears, midges, and bird’s nests are a good choice
for nymphs here in #18-20. Streamers are still effective in the deeper
runs, and go with #16 Stimulators and #18-22 Parachute Adams, Midge
Clusters, Elk Caddis, and BWO’s for dry flies.
East Walker River:
Good-Excellent
Flows are currently holding at 55cfs as of report
time. Fishing has been mixed here, some days were seeing decent fishing
and others were not so good. Recently the water temps have warmed up some
below the dam and the fish have definitely responded. #18 Pheasant tails
and Zebra midges, San Juan Worms, Caddis Pupas, and Serendipities are your
go to flies. Chuck Robertson and Alison Johnson had so much fun fishing
the Lower Owens , they decided to wade the East Walker the next day.
Alison managed to fish her way to about 14 fish with most being browns and
one being a rainbow. These were all quality fish with the smallest being
15” and two in the 20”+ range. I’ve haven’t seen too many people that
can make 3 consecutive casts and hook a fish on each of them. This girl
can fish! As the warmer weather approaches, look for the fishing to
improve greatly.
Alison Johnson with a nice East Walker Brown
Alison Johnson and Sierra Drifters guide Doug Rodricks with another big East Walker
brownie
Alison Johnson and Sierra Drifters guide Doug Rodricks with E
Walker rainbow
Pleasant Valley
Reservoir: Good
Air temps have been a lot warmer down this way. Fish
the inlet section which flows into the Reservoir with streamers and nymphs
for some grabs. Float tubing with a full sink line and a variety of
streamer patterns will get you into fish. Concentrate your efforts near
the boat ramp area and you should do well here. The Wild Trout Section has
also been fishing well lately. Nymphing has been producing fish as well
and dry flies are getting fish when they are on the surface. The gorge is
also a good option as this is a great time of year to get fish on dry
flies. Good presentations are important to fool the wild fish down here.
Twin Lakes, Mammoth - April 2008
Mammoth Lakes, June
Loop, Bridgeport:
The upper elevation lakes in the Mammoth area are
still frozen, with some thawing around the edges occurring at the Twin
Lakes. Convict Lake is in prime shape for the opener and should fish well.
All of the lakes in the June Loop area are free of ice and will be open.
We had some late ice on them which was blown off by the winds within the
last week. Bridgeport Reservoir and Upper and Lower Twin Lakes are also
completely clear and looking good. Good luck to all this 2008 season and
tight lines!
-Doug Rodricks
Contact us at:
(760) 935-4250 or email us at:
be-the-fly@sierradrifters.com
email Michele Loe at
Michele@MammothLakes.com and
visit Eastern Sierra Real Estate….
http://www.mammothlakes.com/mlRE/Agent_Michele.html
Crowley Lake: Sandy Point has been the
most consistent for numbers of fish. #16 Tiger Midges 6" - 2 feet off
the bottom in 10-12' of water have been producing. The larger fish are
still staying down deeper, but occasionally are in the mix when the
wind comes up. but Concentrate on Green Banks, Layton Springs, Whiskey
Creek, Crooked Creek, and Big and Little Hilton. Pulling streamers
with a sinking line has also been producing fish. Picture taken 5/5/08
is of Steve Clark's rainbow from Layton Springs.
Peter
Zeman from Thousand Oaks on Crowley May 6th...