August 30, 2005
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to
all for this Labor Day 2005 fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
Conditions could not be better in most areas for
fly fishers. Water levels are at optimum in most of the free stone
creeks. The weather is awesome and very seasonal with highs in the low
eighties during the daytime and lows still well above freezing in the
upper valleys. There will be some gusty winds from time to time this week
but there are no T-storms forecast through the holiday weekend at this
time.
This fish report is sincerely dedicated to our
great friend and client Captain Jerry Galvan from San Diego, CA who passed
away recently after a lengthy illness. He went a long ways “into the
backing” during his courageous battle with cancer. Jerry was a worthy
adversary to all fishes for 60 years. A retired sport boat captain, Jerry
was a loveable and extremely humorous individual. Senior Galvan was a
devoted and accomplished fisherman who loved to catch and release trout on
the fly best of all.
Jerry Galvan
Jerry expressed the desire to pass eternity on the
Upper Sacramento River so he may cast his cane rods and hand tied flies to
the rising trout forever there. We will truly miss you “raising cane” and
cracking “one liners” every other cast with Bill Stroud on Crowley Lake
Captain Galvan.
Tom Loe & Bill
Stroud
On a much happier note I am thrilled to announce
the addition of a well established fly shop that is joining the Sierra
Drifters family in carrying our time tested guide flies and
merchandise…The Fishermen’s Spot in Van Nuys, CA…Los Angeles County’s largest full service fly
fishing shop was originally established as a general-purpose tackle shop
in 1969. They began to specialize more and more in fly fishing and slowly
evolved into a complete fly shop. In January of 2001 they became a fly
fishing only shop. They offer a full line of the best product lines fly
fishing has to offer including; Sage, Outcast, Winston, Scott, Simms,
Abel, S.A, G.
Loomis, Cortland, Ex Officio, Umpqua Feather Merchants, Tiemco, Galvan,
Bauer, Juracsik/Tibor, Ross, Waterworks, Orvis, Pacific Fly Group, Rio,
Action Optics, Chota, Whiting, Force Fin, Fishpond, William Joseph and
many others. Their educational courses include casting lessons that can be
tailored to your specific needs, fly tying classes designed to teach in a
specific way the basics of tying a fly as well as intermediate lessons
structured to the needs of the student, and an introduction to fly fishing
class that is designed to assist the person who is interested in getting
started in fly fishing or the person who has just begun to fly fish. Their
travel department can put you or your group in many of the best fly
fishing locations world wide. They offer a collectible section of vintage
fly fishing and non fly fishing products. Each spring, around the end of
March, they offer their Fly Fishing Festival where you can meet the
manufacturer’s representatives of the best that fly fishing has to offer,
cast the new rods and see the latest products. Owners, Steve Ellis and Ken
Lindsay have been in the fly fishing business for over 35 years. Steve is
a veteran fly fisherman who has traveled to Alaska,Belize, New Zealand, New
Mexico, Montana, N. California and off course the eastern Sierra in
pursuit of many types of game fish. Ken is an accomplished instructor and
has fished throughout the western U.S., Canada, Baja and the British
Isles. He calls the Yellowstone area of Montana his favorite fishing
destination. A very experienced staff lead by spring creek maestro and
instructor Dennis Komatsu add years of diversified fly fishing knowledge
to round out the shop team. Fishermen’s Spot is located at 14411 Burbank
Blvd. Van Nuys in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, east of the 405
and north of the 101. They are open daily and can be reached at 818
785-7306.
www.fsflyfishing.com
Crowley Lake: Don’t miss
this!
We have not had streamer fishing like this since
1999. The perch fry and damsel fly nymphs migrate with the east wind
current towards the heavy weed lines and inlet section of McGee Bay almost
everyday during the late mornings and you can have the time of your life
stripping Loebergs and Punk Perch patterns #10-14, or damsel imitations
#12 at this time. It has been a long time since we can cast sink tips
from our anchored “fish magnet” flats boats and have consistent action on
streamers.
The inlet section of McGee has been the most
consistent from the gray of morning until the sun gets high enough to
shrink your shadow on the water (eleven). You will observe psychotic
displays of aggression as the beasts of Crowley attack the balls of perch
fry. The grand slam (bows, cutts, and browns) can be had here in short
water right now and this is rare indeed. Fool a 20 plus in short water on
a streamer and you will see that funny skinny line (backing) you paid for
and never had a clue what is was for!
The kick from the parking lot is a long one due to
the high water levels of the lake for this time of year. There is thick
weed out to 15 feet so stay wide from the put in and troll the weed edge
until you get to the Promised Land. Chances are you will get stopped
short several times as the fish are thick in Sometimes Bay also.
The fly fishing friendly and very knowledgeable
staff at the Crowley Fish Camp will also take care of you tubers not
wishing to make the long kick out to McGee Bay. They also have some new
flat bottom boats powered with 30 hp 4 strokes that work great for
stillwater nymphing. There is a link on the resources page above.
Stillwater nymphing has also been productive
fishing larva patterns in deeper water 13-16 feet. We have been having
excellent results using Punk Perch #14-16 as the upper and hanging #16-18
Drifters Crystal Tigers or Zebras as the lower. Keep those larva patterns
close to the bottom, 10 inches off is tops. Have at least a #4 split shot
above the upper to get that rig down in the deeper water. A large, easily
adjustable strike indicator that does not cast like a dead chicken is
crucial for this rig and our “Sunjicator” was developed for stillwater
nymphing specifically.
The littles have begun arriving from the DFG and
this is great news for next season as these rascals will have a couple of
extra months to fatten up and naturalize. We are told Crowley will get a
full allotment of rainbows this season no matter what happens to the DFG
soap opera budget.
Hot Creek
Hatchery supervisor, Mike Sefeldt overseeing the planting of Crowley Lake
recently.
Bridgeport Reservoir:
Fair
The water levels have dropped a few feet and this
has made access into Buckeye Bay difficult for most. The deep slots in
the river channel just don’t have the water depth necessary to hold fish
at this time so we suggest you look at the area towards Rainbow Pt. and
stick to a full sink that will get you down 20 feet which is where the
“sweet” water temp is located. The surface algae is thinning and you can
identify the prominent weed lines in which the perch fry are hiding
along. Yes, I said Sacramento perch fry. The lake has a solid population
of these and Tui Chubs to boot. Streamers like the Loeberg and Punk Perch
(sold at the marina) will get you a visit to the chiropractor when you get
your arm wrenched off by a 25 plus beast here. The folks at the marina
will be happy to set you up, shuttle you out, and then hang your picture
on the “wall or fame” at the landing. There are links on the resources tab
above or click on
http://www.bridgeportreservoir.com/photogallery.htm
East Walker River: Good
Summer conditions have the fish on the grab in the
mornings and then again late afternoons. Flows have stabilized at 268 cfs
for a week now and although this release can be difficult to cross in it
is very fishable especially in the section just below the dam and upstream
from the first bridge crossing called the “Miracle Mile”.
Nymphing with crystal tigers and zebras, I like
olive zebras #18-20 as the dropper will get you a shot at one of the big
browns that hang in the larger pools in the meadows. Numbers are not
great here, but the quality is great. There are hoppers present in most
areas of the Eastern Sierra now so have some of these imitations available
in the afternoons.
West Walker River: Good
and getting better
As the flows taper off into late summer the wild
fish will go nuts for surface imitations like caddis and hoppers #12-18.
A stimulator and a dropper bead head like our Drifters Crystal Tiger or
Zebra #18-16 is a deadly combo in the canyons and lower Pikel Meadow
areas.
Lower Owens River: Poor
The only place you will find more flooded
conditions is in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina passes. Flows are at
600cfs and will be here for a while. We suggest you fish elsewhere until
they drop along with the hot air temps in the Owens Valley. There are
links to the DWP water flows above.
Mammoth Lakes Basin:
Should be great
There is a million dollar trout stocking event
slated to be held in the area over Labor Day weekend. If you are
fortunate enough to fool a special tagged rainbow you can qualify to enter
into a million dollar prize drawing. If history has anything to do with
events like this here, you can bank on the Alpers team to plant a double
dose of great looking rainbows in this area. The catching should be great
over the weekend here and this is a win-win situation even if you do not
win a million bucks. We spank the Alpers trout on a pattern I designed
called the Spruce-a-bu. You can get this special fly in only one
place in Mammoth Lakes. The Troutfitter/Trout Fly. Good luck! Click on
the resources tab above.
Alpine Lakes: June Lake
Loop, Rock Creek Lake, Virginia Lakes
Fair-Good
Heavy pressure this time of year will impact your
fishing here. If you can get on the water within a few days of a stocking
truck you should have some fun. Troll the least accessible shorelines or
the inlets if they are not jammed with shore fishers.
Virginia and Twin Lakes Mammoth are your best bet
for wild fish. Theses rascals can be fooled during the lower light
periods in the afternoons with stillwater nymphing tactics and may fly or
very small midge patterns.
San Joaquin River:
Saaa-wheeet!
Ideal flows coupled with some excellent weather
provided the stage for some great caddis hatches and the wild fish went
bonkers for dries fished on top. The river is being planted with rainbows
in the campgrounds once again this season and this has taken the pressure
off the wild trout allowing the more ardent fly fishers plenty of
opportunities if they do a little hiking away from the crowds. You may
drive your own vehicle in before 7 am and after 7:30 pm. A shuttle bus
will take you in otherwise. There is a $7.00 charge for each person
entering the area. Tom McCray from Irvine, CA fished with us recently on
the San Joaquin which is in perfect shape as you can see from this
picture….
Tom McCray
Hot Creek: Fair-good
A jag of small rainbows have been planted by the
DFG to bring the fish counts up this summer. Give these rascals a few
months and by late fall they will be a hoot to catch and release.
Mornings and calm late afternoons have been best here lately. Caddis
imitations of all kinds are solid choices. Fish an emerger #18-20 along
with a dry #16-18 for a solid combo rig. Flows are down and clarity is
excellent so use 6x tippet (2 feet) and at least a 9 foot leader.
Crowley Tributaries:
Upper Owens River, McGee, Hilton, Crooked Creek: Very Good
Take a hike down McGee Creek and have some BWO’s
#18-20 handy in the morning. I suggest the section below the confluence
of Convict creek. There are fair numbers of rainbows migrating up from
Crowley into the cooler water upstream.
You will experience this event in all the other
tributaries, some to a lesser extent depending on the flows. The Upper
Owens has plenty of hatchery rainbows around the Benton Bridge and down to
the monument. There is a weed problem downstream from the confluence of
Hot Creek at times. Streamers are a good choice in the lower sections as
well as a BWO hatch in the mornings and caddis emergence in the afternoon.
Dry-dry combos work well in the Long Years section
this time of year and you may hang a large resident brown in one of the
larger bends on a hopper pattern drifted properly.
The mosquitoes are thick on the windless days so
lather up with insect repellant.
You can pick up our guide flies at the following
stand out locations: The Bridgeport Lake Marina in Bridgeport, The Crowley
Lake Fish Camp and the Crowley Lake General Store and Deli in Crowley, The
Troutfitter/Trout Fly in Mammoth Lakes, Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand
Oaks, The San Diego Fly Shop and Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego and the
Fishermen’s Spot in Van Nuys. There are links to these locations at the
resources tab above.
Looking forward to fishing with you soon.
Be the fly…Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
