August 20, 2004
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to
all for this mid-August fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
The Sierra Drifters family and friends has been
deeply saddened by the loss of one of our fondest members. Tom Winegar
passed away recently from complications of his longtime battle with
diabetes. Tom’s courage and passion for life have been an inspiration to
us and he will be truly missed. Tom and his sons have been with us for
many seasons and his enthusiastic laughter, sense of humor and all in fun
curses at the fish he so dearly cherished will echo along the banks of the
Owens forever in my mind. There is no doubt trout waters are plentiful
where Tom has gone. This report is dedicated to our dear friend Tom and
his sons Greg and Mike who are pictured below...
Tom, Mike & Greg
Winegar
We have been getting wet in the
afternoons here the previous several days as a pattern of afternoon
T-storms has set in, especially in the high country. The forecast is
calling for a decreasing chance of T-storm activity towards the beginning
of next week. The Owens Valley has been very warm to hot with some
afternoon rains recently. The upper valleys have also been warm during
the daytime with morning lows still above freezing. The first significant
dusting of snow occurred during one of the more violent storms this week
on the peaks of the White Mountains and the very top of the Sierra Crest.
Fall is just around the corner with the pinnacle of the Eastern Sierra
trout season to look forward to.
THE SECRET SPOT:
(Drifters exclusive private trophy water)
These are NOT steelhead or salmon by the way!!!
Check out this weeks monster rainbows caught by
Eric “Shaq” Grothues and Cary “the trout ninja” Kutzke. Eric’s fish was
12 inches deep, almost 30 inches long and we estimate close to 15 lbs.
You Conejo Valley Fly Fishers had better get your arms ready for battle!
Eric Grothues &
Tom Loe
Cary Kutzke & Tom
Loe
Crowley Lake: Good
McGee Bay and the North Arm of the lake continue
to be the most consistent areas of the lake to fly fish. The weed beds
are receding rapidly as the flows have been raised on the Lower Owens
River recently. You may experience some incredible still water nymphing
with chironomid imitations the next week or so as huge hatches of the
jumbo midges come off in McGee and along Green Banks. The big issue
preventing epic fishing and on some days slowing the bite down
considerably is the abundant algae that has plagued the lake for most of
this summer and is once again making conditions tough at times.
Tubers trolling along the dissipating weed line
are at times spanking the larger browns and rainbows using perch fry and
damsel fly imitations. A moderate type 3 sink tip is a good choice these
days if you wish to tug streamers here. The Drifters punk perch #10-12
are fooling a lot of fish; Crowley Lake icon and D-Haul veteran Mark Saito
reports ripping a lot of lips on the punk perch pattern when it was not
happening with the midges recently. Our Loebergs #10 are also a solid
choice this time of year and the streamer fishing should only improve over
the next several weeks as the perch fry get larger and the “predators”
start keying on these larger and more substantial sources of protein.
The fish are also targeting the chironomid hatches
daily and if the algae does not coat your flies during the emergence you
can experience 50 grabs a rod per day on average using our Drifters
crystal emergers and gilled chironomid patterns #18-22. Clean your flies
EVERY cast and hang the lower fly 12-20 inches off the bottom during the
emergences and pupal ascents. Tiger and zebra midges are also a good
choice during the off hatch periods and they collect less algae when tied
with latex bodies like our commercial imitations are made. Fish these
patterns 6-10 inches off the mud for best results. The fish are moving
daily and you may find concentrations in as little as 6 feet of water
during the mornings and cloudy days. Hang around 9 feet to start and look
for rolling fish to pinpoint the “herd”.
Sierra Drifters veterans and well known big tuna
slayers Mike Casey and Craig Holmes took a break from the salt and spent
some time on Crowley with us recently hoping to get into some of the big
trout that stack up next to the weeds on Crowley this time of year. They
were not disappointed! Check out the big brown Craig fooled on a #20
gillie and the toothy rainbow Mikey caught and released on the same
pattern the day before.
Mike Casey
Craig Holmes
The annual Western Outdoor News sponsored mega
float tube event known as the Double Haul in the Fall will be once again
be held on Crowley Lake on Sept. 18th. Sierra Drifters Guide
Tom Loe will be giving a free seminar and slide show on still water
nymphing and streamer techniques for interested participants and the
general public. The Crowley Lake Fish Camp will host a BBQ dinner ($15.00
for dinner and a beverage) after the seminar which will start at 5:30
Friday Sept.17th. Contact the Fish Camp at 760-935-4301 for
reservations and sign ups for the event.
Lower Owens River: Fair
Flows have been up this month but are currently
dropping and being
released at 107 cfs in the wild trout section as of 8-26-04. The DWP
tells us some repair work needs to be done on one of the dams. I suggest you wait until the sun
gets over the crest in the afternoon and tie on an elk hair caddis
imitation #18-20 (dark bodied) and sight fish for gulping browns in the
larger pools. There is some mayfly activity in the mornings, but it is
short and sweet. There are better places to fish during mornings and
afternoons this time of year.
Due to the lower than average flows we will begin
scheduling guided drift boat trips as soon as mid Sept. and we anticipate
some excellent fishing this season with last winters “hog hunts” being the
best on record for jumbo fish for our clients. Brad McClain will once
again be available to put you on big fish as will I with our custom Willie
pro drift boats. Look for some solid dry fly action in the fall and early
spring as well as the always reliable “dip and strip” method we developed
to pull the “troutzillas” out from those deep cuts in the bank in the
secluded and near impossible to reach sections of the Lower “O”.
Upper Owens River: Good
You will find better concentrations of trout in
the section below the Benton Crossing Bridge but there is still a
substantial amount of free floating weed that can make indicator nymphing
or streamer fishing a pain in the caboose here. Your best bet is drifting
caddis dries in the afternoon or mayflies in the mornings. Stimulators or
hopper imitations work well as a lead fly this time of year and you can
get clobbered on the big dries when there is nothing else going on. Cast
the stim’s on or very close to the banks and make a “splashy” entry. The
grabs will come quick! Be ready as most hopper presentations get bit
within a few feet of your drift.
San Joaquin River: Good
Do not get discouraged if you do not get into fish
within 20 minutes walking of the campgrounds here. The fish in this area
have been hit pretty hard all summer and with the water flows becoming low
and gin clear it will be tough to get into aggressive fish in the pounded
sections. Plan on doing some hiking and you will find eager wild trout
that take most dry fly imitations #16-20. I like a #18 elk hair caddis
trailed 16 inches behind a #16 stimulator this time of year. Use 5x or
lighter tippet for best results and make upstream presentations whenever
possible.
West Walker River: Good
The water flows are getting pretty skinny here as
well but conditions are still very good in the Pikel Meadow section of the
river. DFG is planting the campgrounds and the “parking lot” section of
this area. Dry dropper combos with our #16 crystal tigers and zebras
under a stimulator or caddis will get you grabs here. Get away from the
more trafficked areas and you can get into some larger hold over and wild
trout in the 14-16 inch range. With the flows low this river is easy to
wade, but I do suggest studded boots or at least felt soles if you wish to
wet wade here.
Hot Creek: Fair-good
The fish are still here, they are just more
educated this time of year and with the weeds protruding above the water,
it makes conditions more challenging on this spring creek. Small mayfly
spinner imitations in the morning look for afternoon caddis action always
this time of year. There are also plenty of hoppers around and you can
survey the channels BEFORE you make a cast and drop that big ole fly just
upstream of the brown you spotted holding next to the thick weed line.
East Walker River/Bridgeport Reservoir: Poor
It is a tough go on the lake for fly casters this
time of year due to thick weed and heavy algae. The flows are very
fishable on the river but due to the high water temps and poor water
quality the last couple of seasons we are not fishing here to prevent
further stressing the trout in the tailwater section of the EW.
Rock Creek area: Good
I like to walk below the lakes outlet on Rock
Creek about ½ mile to the natural small ponds that hold some really fun to
catch wild trout. Use a dry dropper combo with our crystal olive zebra
#18-20 as the nymph. The wild browns nail this fly here and you may even
get into some brookies as well in this section.
The lake is well stocked with DFG and Alpers fish
and this is a great time of year to tube the inlet and along the south
shore near the ledge or drop-off. Look for the color change in the water
(it will go from light green to darker shades of blue and green) and this
will tell you where the transition area is. When you get into fish,
concentrate your efforts in that location. Do not leave fish to find
fish! Streamers like our crystal leech, Loebergs and Spruce-a-bu’s whack
the stockers here when used in conjunction with a full or heavy sinking
tip line.
Mammoth Lakes/June Lake
Loop/South Lake, Sabrina/Lundy Lake/Virginia Lakes/Convict Lake: Fair-good
2004 Alpers Trout and Mono County Dept. of Fish
and Game fish stocking schedules
http://www.visitmammoth.com/stockschedule/stockschedule.html
Depending on which lakes got planted the week of
your trip will usually dictate the “catching” as always in these put and
take dependant fisheries. The T-storms have made afternoon fishing tough
the last several days but when the weather straightens out tubers can fool
those big hold over Alpers with streamer patterns #6-12. Our light
Spruce-a-bu pattern we have nick-named the “dumb blonde” or “Kelly Bundy”
has proven to be deadly on Alpers fish and large DFG rainbows. These
alpine lakes are best fished with a full or heavy sinking tip line and
don’t worry about these rascals being leader shy. 3X tippet is the rule
as they have not usually played the game before and it is a matter of
locating the school instead of exact and skilled presentations.
Guide tip…
The still summer evenings can be the time these
locations take on a different complexion. There are wild trout (not to be
confused with “native trout”) in most of these fisheries and on the warm
and calm summer evenings one can see many little snouts sipping the
emerging midges and may flies that support the appetites of these less
opportunistic trout. Long leaders and light tippets fished with a dry fly
and small emerger patterns will get you into these beauties with a well
placed cast. Do not “line” the rise form. Cast off to the sides of the
ring, or if you observe a fish that is “pattern” feeding try to lead him
by casting in front of his direction of movement. Our #22 pupa and
crystal emerger patterns work well for the “magic” hour on these lakes.
Parachute Adams #16 can be seen well enough to use as an indicator and
will often times get grabs with aggressively feeding fish.
You can pick up our guide
flies at the following stand out locations:
The Crowley Lake Fish Camp, The San Diego Fly
Shop, The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego,
Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks and…We are excited to announce the
addition of the Crowley Lake Store and Deli to the list of fine shops that
carry our flies and merchandise. We have exclusively used the services of
this fine family run operation to furnish the outstanding deli style
lunches we provide for our clients on full day trips. (The pizzas and
pastries here should be made illegal they are so good!) Stop by the store
and say hello to Dan and Cleo the next time you need local flies, get
hungry and need gas or groceries while in the vicinity of Crowley Lake.
They are located 1/4 south on the Crowley Lake/Hilton Creek exit off Hwy
395. There are links to these locations at the resources tab above. The
Crowley Lake Store can be reached at 760-935-4666.
Be the fly…Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
Email
driftfish@qnet.com
www.sierradrifters.com
Phone 760-935-4250
If you visit these links be sure to tell them
Sierra Drifters sent you…
Mammoth Lakes Real Estate:
http://www.prestigepropertiesmammoth.com/
Mammoth Lakes
Lodging:
http://www.mammothlakes.com/ml2/Lodgingx.html
