February 7, 2005
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best
fishes to all for this early February fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
The weather has become quite pleasant
recently and it appears that old man winter may have already given us his best
shot. The coming weeks forecast calls for seasonable conditions with cool
mornings in the twenties along the banks of the Owens River, then rapidly
warming into the sixties by mid-day. There may be some clouds from time to time
and moderate winds off and on. No storms are forecast through next weekend.
Fishing has been good most days with the
exceptions being attributed to some very cold mornings and some untimely debris
free floating in the Owens due to work being done on the springs and irrigation
canals that conflude with the river. Water temps have begun to rise again this
week and I expect them to be in the solid mid-forties by next weekend.
Lower Owens River:
Good-fair
The first generation baetis mayflies (blue
winged olives) have made their appearance this week and you will see the
spinners by late morning and afternoons and the adults around 12:30 pm each
day. The trout are beginning to cycle on these the largest of this seasons
bwo’s #16.
Flows remain very low and are being
released at 100cfs at Pleasant Valley Reservoir. Look for this to change in
short order and I am told that by mid-February we could see at least double this
amount. Crowley Lake is darn near full and we have a solid but no where near
record snow pack. There is a link above to the Owens River flow rates.
The midge activity has been consistent and
strong and you would be wise to have along a selection of #16-22 Drifters
Crystal Tiger and Zebra Midges in olive, red and black. Flashback PT’s and
hares ear patterns #16-18 are a good choice for late mornings. Stick to
indicator nymphing in the mornings and let the trout tell you when it’s time to
switch over to a dry. Start looking at the base of the riffles around one-ish
and you will see the feeders slurping up the emerging bwo’s in the softer water
below the riffles and along the current seams in the wild trout section. This
area is becoming increasingly popular and as the weather improves don’t be
surprised to see 15-25 vehicles parked along the catch and release section on
weekends from here on out.
The dirt roads have dried out for the most
part but there are still a few “tank traps” around for those of you whom want to
see what that bad old 4X4 can do and perhaps secretly want to donate to the
local tow truck driver’s retirement and beer fund!
The bigs are back on the bite with a
vengeance and this could well be one of the best two weeks of slammers we have
seen in a couple seasons. If you want to get into one of these big rascals a
guided float trip is the best way. We have had the best results using our
Loebergs with light colored heads #10, Punk Perch #10,12, and our Spruce-a-bu’s
#8. Our dip and strip method has put the big ones on their knees recently and
this is historically the best time of year to get into the larger critters.
Dirk Westfall from Temecula is a strong
candidate for the Sierra Drifters big fish hall of fame. On a recent float with
us “Dirky” stuck one, two, three pigs in a single drift. Saaa-wheet!
Linda & Dirk Westfall
Veteran Sierra Drifters Wally “Waldo”
Sinner and Steve “Big Daddy” Long went drifting two days with us a few days back
and the “Big Daddy” spanked the nastiest looking hook jawed rainbow I have seen
in sometime. This bad boy had a knob on its jaw the size of a golf ball (well
almost)! You got to check this one out. I DO NOT swim or dangle my feet in
this river cause there are critters like this cruising around hungry!
Wally Sinner (left) and Steve Long
The father and son duo of John and Geoff
Nichols from Arroyo Grande drifted their way into a “web fish” recently with the youth and skills
of Geoff getting the big trout over the wisdom and treachery of father John this
day. Nice fish guys, congratulations.
Geoff (left) and John Nichols
Check out this gorgeous chunky rainbow and
the smiles on client John Horne from Rancho Santa Fe and Sierra Drifters
guide, Brad McClain faces as the guys show off the trophy on a juicy stretch of
water they recently drifted on.
Brad McClain (left) and John Horne
Pleasant Valley
Reservoir: Fair
The “rez” level is still on the high side
for good shore and wade fishing the inlet section. Couple this with the cold
days last week and things are still on the slow to medium side here. I fully
expect things to improve here soon, however tubers trolling full sinks near the
dam and launch ramp will still get into some photo worthy fish. I like our
#10-12 Drifters Crystal Leeches and Loebergs with the darker heads during the
low light periods, switching to the bright heads for the mid-days.
The creek running into the rez is fishing
fair to good. A dry dropper combo with a #16-18 Drifters Crystal Tiger and a
stimulator on top will do well for nymphing. Look for the baetis hatch here as
well; #16-18 bwo’s afternoons.
Look for improving conditions here until
the LADWP starts generating power and increasing the flows. This will mess up
the inlet section during power generation. Tubers need to fish the inlet
section after the turbine gets a turning. Word has it mid to late February.
The Gorge: Fair
Still on the cold side down here but the
snow is gone and there is only a little ice around for traveling easily on the
canyons floor.
The wild browns are going to need a few
more degrees of water temperature to really get going but you will still find a
fair amount of fish willing to hit smaller may fly nymphs and midge imitations
#16-20 down in the “pit” Some early generation baetis starting to show after 1
pm #16 for those of you being dry fly enthusiasts.
_________________
Please remember that this entire area is
NZMS positive and rotten with the critters. Walk and wade in the streambed as
little as possible, do your moving on dry ground. For more information on the
snail go to
http://www.flyline.com/environmental/nzms
You can pick up our guide flies at the
following stand out locations:
The San Diego Fly Shop, The
Troutfitter/Trout Fly in Mammoth Lakes, Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, Malibu
Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks. 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
