Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters.  Best fishes to all in 2009 from the guide staff at Sierra Drifters.  Remember to get a new license!  Your 2008 expired on 12-31-08. 

The brutal cold of December is over for the time being and we are experiencing milder temperatures that look to hold for a while.  Access to the Upper/ Lower Owens River, and Hot Creek on the river front dirt roads remains limited by snow and ice or deep mud.  The ground will be frozen in the mornings most days but will thaw after lunch making for some difficult driving.  Walking in is way easier than the digging out! 

Road Trips!!! 

Sierra Drifters founder Tom Loe will be doing Power Point assisted seminars on fly fishing and the techniques used to ply the waters of the Sierra this winter.  Tom will head down to So-Cal and greet the Deep Creek Fly Fishers on 1-28-09, and then again for the Fly Fishers of Orange County on the evening of 1-29-09.  These seminars are loaded with seldom published information, Tom’s special guide tips, combined with plenty of instruction and are formatted as “off the water” guide trips.  If you fish the Sierra you will find these seminars very rewarding.  Tom has been professionally guiding for over a decade and has logged over 2700 guide trips to date.  The public is welcome to attend.  Please contact the clubs for information, start times, and directions. 

Orange County – www.ffcoc.org 

Deep Creek - www.deepcreekflyfishers.org 

Sierra Drifters Guide Service implemented a “Fishing Relief Stimulus” program effective October 31^st.  If you have had it with politics and market watching and wish to get away and debate with a huge brown or watch a BWO mayfly drift into a brightly colored rainbows mouth we have several guided fishing programs to campaign about.  For a limited time we have rolled back our guide rates to 2005 prices!  When is the last time you saw a guide service lower prices?  Gas prices are down and the fishing is great.  

Guide Tip: 

Wading boots that have rubber soles are far superior in freezing conditions than felts.  The felt soles absorb water and freeze when walking on ice or snow.  You can find yourself spending a lot of time chipping off “boot bergs” after only a short distance on a snowy path.  In addition; they are very slippery on hard packed snow or frozen ground.  Rubber soles will make for a more enjoyable and safe experience under winter wading conditions.  I gave up felts along time ago and have been pleased with the versatility and light design that these newer wading boots offer. 

Lower Owens River: 

Brian K with the 1st trout for 2009...

and Chris with his New Year's trout

The warmer weather brought water temps back into the forties most days and the trout are beginning to move into the feeding lanes again.  We are also seeing the first “jumbo” generations of baetis #16 BWO’s appearing on the warmer days.  Midge activity has been increasing respective to temps.  Midge imitations should be in the 18-22 range for nymphing, you can get away with #16-18 may fly nymph imitations like PT’s, birds nest, and hares ear patterns. 

Chris & John...Hot fish'n on a cold day, 45 to the net!

Streamer fishing using the “dip and strip” technique remains the most consistent method on a day to day basis.  Larger streamers in the #6-8 range have been more consistent with the cooler water temps in the mornings.  I have been switching to “strymphs” like our blood sucking Vanderleech, Agent Orange, and Punk Perch #12-14 in the late afternoons and having good results.  Try to keep your flies less than a foot from the bottom and include lengthy pauses on your retrieve if you are using the D+S. Sometimes lethargic trout will hit a streamer more from aggression than hunger if passed close to their lie. 

Flows decreased in early January to 100cfs and are vacillating between 100-125cfs.  This is excellent for wading.  The roads you can still drive on to the rivers edge are muddy with some ice in the mornings, however not too bad overall.  

RB & Beau B...t-shirts and trout in the winter!

Upper Owens: 

Two Bug & I fished a mile of my favorite section recently and were very pleased with the numbers of fish.  The river is jugged, no exaggeration.  The spectacular view gazing from Long Valley towards the Sierra is worth the effort alone.  It is awesome!  Ground conditions have improved along the immediate bank with less than a foot of snow in most locations along the river.  The east side road is a mess with heavy ice and hard packed snow but can be driven on with the right vehicle.

When the air gets over 45 degrees and the barometric pressure is on the rise  the midges emerge in force.  I did 30 to the net in three hours on #18 Drifters crystal tiger midge, and a #20 parachute midge adult for the sippers in the suds.  I dumped two over twenty for sure, Two Bug got his; I have no comment!

January 10th...Two Bug Doug's 21" bow.

 January 10th...SD guide doggies Strider & Cali with T-Loe and a typical UO bow.

Strider & Cali assisting with netting

Hot Creek: 

The section just below the hatchery (Interpretive Site) has been getting spanked pretty hard.  For those who can turn a leader over fifty feet -Nirvana!  #18-22 midge or may fly patterns.  Casting a dry into the “suds” on a 10 foot leader can be dynamite here.  

The access road is sloppy but passable all the way to the gate above the HC Ranch and in  far better shape than last year at this time.  Conditions are excellent along the creek and most of the snow is gone in the floor of the canyon.  The hike in is not bad but DO NOT wear felt soles for the drop in.  This is another winner when it gets into the forties by late morning. 

The weeds are just below the surface recently thanks to some increase in flows.  This will make your drifts easier in some sections. 

Pleasant Valley Reservoir: 

It is starting to get really good around the inlet.  Dry dropper combos in the transition area and the creek are a deadly rig here.  You need to find the channels in the thick weed beds to make extended drifts this year.  More weeds here than I have ever seen in many years.  The rez level remains on the high side for easy wading near the inlet transition area.  The creek section is good with some nice fish holding in all the deeper pocket water and holes.  The riffles are skinny but should pick up in another month, or if flows go up a notch. 

Michael L...the inlet at PV

“Freeze tubing” from the launch ramp to the inlet has been very consistent.  The DFG has stocked a bunch of fish in PV this winter.  Use a full or heavy sinking tip line and #8-12 streamers or strymphs.  Still water nymphing with tigers, zebras, and gillies #18-22 the drop-off on the west side is also a good choice, but sitting still for more than five minutes in a “freeze tube” may be too cold for even the hard core gang. 

The Gorge: 

Middle and upper have a fair amount of snow and ice especially on the northern exposures.  Other than the usual hike in here conditions are not bad.  Hit the deepest pools and soft water sections.  Bank on your grabs coming from the nymph on a dry/dropper combo this time of year.  I suggest going down a size or two here for more consistency.  #18-22 patterns will profile the naturals better. 

Sierra Drifters Flies are available at the following great fly shops and stores: 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! 

Be the fly friends…Tom Loe

Sierra Drifters Guide Service    

760-935-4250

Driftfish@qnet.com 

and Michele Loe Michele@MammothLakes.com