July 13, 2007 

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JULY 12 & 13 MEETING IN BRIDGEPORT: PUBLIC COMMENTS TAKEN NOW...DISCUSSION OF THE YEAR ROUND HOT CREEK, UPPER OWENS RIVER , AND WALKER RIVER SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS. CLICK ON DFG NEWS TAB ABOVE FOR A LINK TO THE DFG MEETING AGENDA PAGE. If you are in the area please attend the meeting on the July 12^th and make your voice heard.  You may also email fgc@fgc.ca.gov the commission your opinions and data if you can’t attend.  Squeaky wheels get the oil baby!

Fish & Game Commission  fgc@fgc.ca.gov

Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters.  Best fishes to all for this mid July 2007 fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.  The Independence Day fireworks shows are over this year; but if you have ever witnessed a Crowley rainbow cascading from the water in a spectacular jump, most agree this is also an awesome display of fireworks! 

We have updated a couple locations that have changed some and have added some thanks to some new sponsor’s for the Crowley Lake Still Water Classic that will be held on August 11^th at Crowley Lake.

In short, the fishing is really good…most everywhere!  The run-off is over and almost all of the creeks and tailwaters are running at late summer flows.  Clarity is excellent and if you couple this with the dry and mild weather pattern that has enveloped the region you can “wet wade” in the majority of the Eastern Sierra’s fisheries.  The reservoirs and alpine lakes are dropping but due to the great winters we have had in the past they are still at excellent levels and are fishing well with few exceptions. 

Anticipate some very low fall flows in the rivers and creeks with some fisheries not forecast to be at “the top of their game” so to speak in late fall.  I suggest if you enjoy moving freestone creek water like the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin, the West Walker River, Rock Creek, Lee Vining Creek, Bishop Creek, Robinson Creek, McGee Creek, etc… you should plan on a trip before Labor Day. 

The spring fed creeks and tailwaters like Hot Creek, the Upper Owens River, East Walker River and Lower Owens River will be excellent choices during the fall season this year as they have a stable and consistent source of feed water.  We are forecasting an earlier and better than average early fall fishing season for those of you wishing to drift the Lower Owens River in September and on.  Flows will have been stabilized and the weather will be cooling down quite nicely allowing for some comfortable floats down this scenic and fishy river.  Experienced and professional Sierra Drifters guides - Bradley, Fill, Two Bug Doug, Doug-R, and Tommy Loe are all looking forward to guiding you in our state of the art custom Willie boats this fall.  We are booking fall trips now, get your trips scheduled soon! 

First Annual Crowley Lake Sierra Drifters Still Water Classic

For the improvement of Crowley Lakes Fisheries

Saturday, August 11^th 2007

Click here for rules and registration forms and also

available at www.crowleylakefishcamp.com

PRE-REGISTRATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED NOW

WITH A DEADLINE FOR BBQ & T-SHIRTS OF AUGUST FIRST 

Who shall be crowned the “lord of the fly” for 2007 at Crowley Lake?  Some of the finest fly rods the Eastern Sierra has to offer will be having some friendly competition to raise money for the fisheries enhancement of Crowley Lake.  Please join us for this noble cause.  Huge cash and raffle prizes for individual and team entries.  Boats and tubes welcome. 

The First Annual Crowley Lake Still Water Classic is gaining momentum and we are very pleased to announce the current sponsor’s of this fisheries enhancement event.  Please support the business’s that have contributed to this event, it shows that they are passionate about keeping Crowley at the level of fishing excellence we are accustomed to and are not all just about taking. Special thanks and high fives to Honda Marine, Rick’s Sport Center in Mammoth Lakes, Performance Anglers in Mammoth Lakes, The Trout Fly/Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Western Outdoor News, The San Diego Fly Fishers, Kittredge Sports in Mammoth Lakes, The Crowley Lake General Store, Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing Store in Fullerton, The Inland Aquaculture Group in June Lake, Pacific Fly Group, Simms Fishing Products, Sage Fly Rods, Galvan Reels, Smith Optics, Outcast Float Tubes, Rio Products, Umpqua Feather Merchants, Coors Beer and the gang from Eastern Sierra Wholesalers, Central Reservations of Mammoth, Mammoth Sierra Properties, Malibu Fish’n Tackle in Thousand Oaks, Outdoor Specialty Products in Truckee, and the Holiday Inn Mammoth Lakes. 

Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a sponsor for the Still Water Classic. 

And if you can’t make it up for the tournament…donations to the Fisheries Enhancement Program are most welcome…

Crowley Lake: Excellent 

You can find large concentrations of fish stacked up near all of the inlets right now.  McGee Bay is still the best choice for larger fish but we have had back to back fifty fish days recently at Little Hilton (8-12 feet).  There is a jag of recently planted DFG catchables that have moved in here and McGee, but they are a blast to hook and keep those indicators going down all day.  There are also some humongous DFG brood stock rainbows in the 5-14 lb. class and some really nice browns in the mix to keep you on your game. You may get a dozen of the scrappy newbie’s making you complacent and then you set on “Troutzilla” that has the potential of breaking your tippet and your heart if you are not careful.  The Upper Owens at the immediate inlet and then again in deeper water (11-13 feet) just outside the weed line also has a sizable concentration of rainbows and browns.  Stillwater nymphing is best using gillies, emergers, and pupa patterns #18 as the top fly.  Put a #20 gillie as the dropper during the emergence, and after eleven hang a #18-20 tiger or zebra 4- 8 inches off the bottom.

Streamer fishing is beginning to pick up using damsel fly nymphs or callibaetis nymphs as a trailer #12-14.  The micro Sacramento perch fry are beginning to stack up along the weed edges and are migrating and hiding in the thicker scum lines.  Within two weeks time you had better have some #14-16 Punk Perch patterns ready to go if you like the grabs streamer fishing provides.

We have introduced our new callibaetis nymph after several seasons of tying and trying.  This one will be a great addition to your still water arsenal.  It may be presented as a trail fly behind a larger streamer or it could be suspended under an indicator in the upper levels of the water you are fishing.  It fishes best in a light chop or in front of a drifting algae or scum line.  It is called the KillA-baetis and is sold in sizes #12-14. 

Jerry Neve from San Clemente, CA and David Kendrick of Irvine, CA have teamed up for the forthcoming Crowley Lake Stillwater Classic and shall be hereby known as team “Troutzilla”  The guys booked two days with us recently and got had a whole bunch of practice setting the hook on Crowley and the Upper Owens.  Check out this “double” with a sweet but rare short water brown and a comparable sized rainbow.  Great couple of days team “Troutzilla” thanks! 

Jerry Neve (L) and David Kendrick (R)...team "Troutzilla" 

The fly fishing Maguire family from Escondido, CA spent a day with Drifters guide Fill Therrien and got a trophy class brown while stillwater nymphing from one of the big “fish magnets”. “We had two great trips with Phil on Lake Crowley June 18 and 22nd. He was wonderful and patient with my 10 and 12 year old boys. We had so much fun on Monday that we booked another trip on the following Friday. Both days were the best fishing we have ever had in the Sierras! We caught at least 60 on Monday with many over 17". We lost at least as many as we caught, those fish are wild! We will be booking Phil again; he is not only a terrific guide, but a funny and nice guy!”
Jim Maguire, Escondido, CA

“Fill” Therrien and Serge Maguire 

Doug-R Rodricks put the Thorpe family from Woodland Hills, CA on numerous big rainbows in McGee Bay on a recent outing.  Johnny Thorpe got bragging rights when he set the hook and landed this “broom” tailed bow.

Doug-R and Johnny Thorpe

Thanks in part to the visionary efforts of another fishing tournament “the F.A.T.I.T” we have some good sized browns to catch and release this year in Crowley.  Browns are not being planted in Crowley by the DFG in the numbers that once made Crowley the home of “Jangles” the former CA state record brown trout.  Crowley’s excellent brown trout population is in jeopardy of becoming a thing of the past unless we as anglers help financially subsidize the planting of juvenile and catchable sized browns.  Please help support tournaments, business’s and programs that focus on this goal.   

HEY!!! All you other groups that hold fishing derby’s at Crowley or elsewhere; how about considering setting aside some prize money to put back what you take out? 

Some other great news for Crowley fans…the DFG has been planting thousands of lbs. of catchable sized rainbows throughout June, as well as numerous jumbo brood stock fish to 14 lbs. this week.  These fish come from a few snail positive pens at the Hot Creek facility and are not being allowed to be stocked into other waters that are currently designated as NZMS negative.  This is not SAP for the DFG with regards to fisheries subsidization this time of year at Crowley. It has been primarily managed by the DFG as a “catch and grow fishery” and is historically planted in the fall with smaller fish that will grow by feeding on the lakes rich aquatic insect base making them essentially wild fish by the following season.  The stage is set for an epic summer here.  Come check it out! 

Upper Owens River: Very Good 

The fish that have made the swim upstream and run the “gauntlet” are beginning to hit caddis dries, Stimulators, and smaller hopper patterns #16-10 in the specially regulated section of the river above the Benton Bridge.  Dry dropper bead head nymph combos are paying dividends for fly fishers willing to do some walking and locate the deeper pools and runs that hold most of the rainbows recently planted.  The bite has not really slowed down, it’s just that a large amount of fish got plucked over the holiday in the section below the bridge and the huge volume of fish is no longer here.  Still pretty dang good catching here, and copper or dark tigers #16-18 will get those rascals interested.

Team Troutzilla gets another picture on the web, this time with a double from the same bend.  David and Jerry had a handful of dubs on one bend and we lost count after 40 on the same bend here!  The copper tiger #16 spanked em for the first 2 hours, the PT’s finished the day off in style.

Team "Troutzilla" 

San Joaquin: Excellent 

This place is going off and may I take the liberty to suggest this location for those fly fishers craving to get the rascals on the surface.  Large attractor patterns like Stimulators, foam stones, Royal Wolfe’s, Trudes, Coachman’s, #12-16 will all get looks.  The campgrounds are well below average occupancy as of this report?  Walk fifteen minutes from a parking area and get lonesome. 

West Walker: Very Good 

The run-off is history.  Flows are perfect for the canyon section with wading very easy.  Dry dropper combos are a mainstay, as well as dry/dry rigs.  Caddis dries are gravy to the wild trout in the canyon area on the flats and in the pocket water.  Fish the nymphs in the deeper pools and undercut bank areas.  Crystal tigers and zebras #16-18, flashback PT’s #16-18 DYNOMITE! 

East Walker River: Good 

The release rates remain very fishable for this time of year and although you may find some substantial slow downs during the high sun periods. The fish remain very active during the hatches of midges, caddis flies, damsel flies, and PMD’s. Reports of a few “widow makers” being taken by local pros.  Nymphing is still your best bet and it is always better to use patterns that incorporate some flash into them during times of the year where you have intense hatches or off colored water.  #16-22 patterns on the EW are the foundation sizes for the insect base most of the time.  Go smaller in the slower, clearer water and use less flash, have some larger, brighter flies for the riffles and faster runs.  Tug a Spruce-A-Bu, Loeberg, or Drifters Damsel nymphs #8-12 through some of those “hog Holes” after the sun goes below the rim for a few hours and stay with it until you think it’s over and time to have a cold one.  Make a few more casts, and tell me what happened… 

Bridgeport Reservoir: Fair 

The fish are in deeper water this year due to the ever dropping levels at the Bridge.  Fly fishers are finding challenging conditions due to heavy weed and low water in Buckeye Bay.  Fishing full sinks with Drifters damsel fly nymphs, blood sucking Vanderleeches, or our new callibaetis pattern called the “KillA baetis” can get you into some quality fish in the deeper weed free water.  Make a quick mental note if you get a grab or fish as to how deep (how much fly line you have out) and where you got bit.  Set up a criss cross pattern through this area and it will pay off.  Fish have a tendency to pod up under these conditions and once you locate them they generally remain close to an area due to water temp, depth, etc…  

Many thanks and high fives to all the folks at the Bridgeport Fisheries Enhancement Program. They put together a great tourney here that raised thousands of dollars for the improvement of this areas fishery.  Sierra Drifters Guide Service is an active participant of supporting this regions fisheries enhancement. 

Hot Creek: Good 

We are seeing conditions similar to August here right now.  Mammoth Creek is low and not adding much water to the spring’s level.  Conditions are good now but as the summer rolls on we will see the weed beds protruding the surface making presentations more difficult in the channels.  Caddis and midge patterns are solid choices.  WD 40’s, thread bodied midges and olive dubbed crystal zebras will get you grabs.  I like to clip the tails off of our zebras at times, especially during low, crystal clear water conditions. I suggest you fish as small a nymph as those aging beat up old eyes will allow you to tie on.  #18 is a jumbo imitation currently with better results on #20-22.  When the fish are stomping the caddis, #20 dark bodies on top things get infinitely easier for the adept casters and menders.  5X is suicide unless it is overcast.  Have some 6 or even 7X for more takes.  Cast to them, do NOT walk and wade please! 

Lower Owens River: Better days ahead 

There is a significant heat wave forecast for next week and we will see temps in the 100’s in the Owens Valley.  Combine hot weather and high flows and you have the makings of a less than perfect day on this great river.  Go up the hill folks, its better there.

Guided drift boat trips beginning in Sept. will be very good if not excellent, please keep this one simmering on the back burner… 

Sierra Drifters flies 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 at Lake Crowley, Crowley Lake General Store in Crowley,  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 and online at www.bigfishhappen.com. 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