"Tom's Day off"...Upper O Brownie

Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters.  Best fishes to all as we update the late fall 2008 Fish’n conditions here in the Eastern High Sierra.  This report will highlight the exceptional fishing that has been occurring on the Upper and Lower Owens Rivers this fall. 

The weather in the Sierra has been very mild for this time of year with the snow level remaining above 8500 feet.  The upper valleys have had very pleasant daytimes with freezing morning temperatures.  We must look back quite a few years to remember a more “balmy” and lucrative fall fishing season in these areas.  The Upper Owens has not fished this well in over a decade and if the weather remains mild the trend should continue into early winter.  

The general trout season has closed for many areas of California as of 11-15-08.  It will open again on 4-25-09.  There are a number of quality waters that are open year around in the region and they include the Upper and Lower Owens Rivers, the East Walker River, and Hot Creek.  Sierra Drifters Guide Service guides year around on these blue ribbon fisheries.   There are special regulations on all of these fisheries and some have section closures.  Check the regs before you cast! 

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.  He will be speaking for the Diablo Valley Fly Fishers on 1-13-09, and then the San Jose Fly Fishers on 1-14-09.  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. 

Diablo Valley - www.diablovalleyflyfish.org 

San Jose – www.flycasters.org 

Orange County – www.ffcoc.org 

Deep Creek - www.deepcreekflyfishers.org 

Owens Rivers 

The Upper Owens is a spring creek situated at 6700 feet meandering through a picturesque meadow called Long Valley.  The Lower Owens origin is a tailwater carving through the center of the Owens Valley and has a high desert climate associated with its 4000 foot elevation. Both are fishing great and unless a drastic change in the weather occurs suddenly you can expect this to go on for the remainder of the fall season.  As we stated earlier the Upper Owens has not seen the numbers and the quality (size) of trout for a fall run in at least ten years.  Both browns and rainbows are present in the upper sections of the river above the Benton Crossing Bridge.  Check out the pictures of the beasts that have been fooled by Sierra Drifters clients recently...

Joe R. on the Upper O. "Double Whammy!"

Jim & Eric...Upper O...34 to the net... "The curse has ended!"

Rick C with rainbow & Rob K pictured with SD Guide Doug R. on the Upper O.

The hot ticket here has been a dry dropper rig using a large hopper or Stimulator #12/14 with a bead head crystal tiger midge #16/18, or flash back PT #16/18 about three feet below the dry.  Fishing this rig and casting 25-50 feet upstream while keeping a low profile is essential to success.  The bigs are spooky, and are wise to any bank side presence.  Stay on their tail!  The wind is always factor on the UO and mornings are best with a strong showing of snouts in the foam rising on the midges each day after the frost comes off.  We clip off the nymph at this time and tie on a #20/22 parachute midge pattern and punish the “schoolies” on top.  A variety of streamers will also get you into the fatties on the cloudy or windy days, and during the late afternoons when the sun gets low.  Loebergs, Spruce-a-Bu’s, and perhaps the ugliest, most beat up streamer I have ever seen… “The Rat” unleashed by the always innovative veteran SD client Rick R. (looks like a broke-back crappie jig on crack), but it did get him a trophy rainbow on a windy afternoon when the fish were hunkered down in the pits.  High fives Rick!

Upper O...Rick's trophy caught on "The Rat" 

The Lower Owens has been nothing short of epic the last few weeks and fifty to the net for a ride is kinda Ho-hum!  We have seen some big fish showing early this year as well.  The drift boat sections are smoke’N for tugging streamers using our dip and strip method.  Loebergs have been best with Punk Perch patterns are also getting clobbered in the #10/12 range. 

The last generation Baetis (BWO) hatches and trico adults are also something to look forward to after lunch.  Plenty of eager noses sipping along the eddy’s and foam lines for about two hours.  Stick with a #18 mayfly imitation and if you don’t have eagle eyes tie it 2-3 feet behind a larger sized dry fly to help you mend and see your point fly. 

Craig H. & Steve W. on the Lower O...136 to the net in 2 days!

Tyler & Jeff on the Lower O...60 to the net; no sweat!

Joe R... 50 to the net (solo) on the Lower O...

The wild trout section of the LO is also going off and a variety of nymphs and dries will get you grabs.  There is still some lingering caddis around as well as strong midge and mayfly activity. 

You must walk to the rivers edge this season as the LADWP has erected a fence along the section that was burned last March.  The flows dropped to 100cfs in mid November making wading very easy and safe. 

We have pro drift boat guides available for fall trips and have lowered our rates for a limited time for the winter season. We can customize gift certs for that special fly fisher for the holidays at the special price also.   Hope to fish with you soon, or see you on the water! 

NEW! Click here for Be The Fly Videos!

Hot Creek 

Fishing well thanks to some much needed October rain and snow.  The flows in Mammoth Creek have come up with the warm weather and this has improved conditions on Hot Creek this fall.  The unseasonably warm weather has kept the trout on the chew with dependable hatches from all the macro invertebrates.  Try chucking some streamers in the larger pools for a shot at one of the beasts that are hunkered down.  There are consistent reports of 24 inch fish being seen on a regular basis in November. 

Pleasant Valley Reservoir 

The only still water game in town currently and it is fish’N pretty good most days.  The small inlet river section has busted loose as the flows from hydroelectric generation have ceased in mid November.  Use dry/tiger midge dropper combos here as well as may fly and midge imitations in the 18/22 range.  Tubers will have fun pulling streamers in the #8/12 range used with a full or heavy sinking tip line.  Stay in the shadows of the canyon walls for best results, and closer to the inlet section.  Still water nymphing is also rocking here along the drop-offs.  8-11 feet will get you into fish.  Lots of browns showing in the mix this fall for sure. 

The Gorge 

The fall is a super time of year to drop into the gorge if you enjoy wild brown trout and solitude.  You will be fine if you begin casting around 10am.  The foliage is thinning out along the banks making presentations and movement easier.  Caddis and mayfly dries are excellent choices here in the #16-18 range.  Hang a bead head PT or midge under a Stimulator a couple feet in the deeper pools.  5X and 6X tippets work better here, as well as a calculated, quiet approach to the bank.  Cast upstream from the tailouts and riffles of the larger runs and pools. 

East Walker River 

We are choosing not to fish the EW’s Cal section with flows at, or below 50 cfs combined with the extremely low water level on Bridgeport Rez.  We have real time release rates links at the top of this page. The large pools nearest the dam will hold 90 percent of the biomass and the rascals can be pretty stressed due to low dissolved oxygen levels.  We are hoping for a warmer, wetter winter that will push the flows up early this spring and spread the fish out so we can safely fish the EW again.  

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 coming down and the fishing is picking up.  We can customize gift certs for that special fly fisher for the holidays at the special price also.  Click the rates button at the top of this page for prices and booking information.  

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