March 11, 2007
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to
all for this St. Patrick’s Day fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
It is ironic that the hot nymphs just happen to be
“green bodied” in most of the fisheries as of late. Be on the look out
for sneaky leprechauns on those low back casts, missed takes and break
offs. I would use our green “Sungicators” for sure!
We have plenty to show this report so please check
out the numerous photos of happy fly fishers below...
Special thanks to all the friendly Bakersfield fly
fishers who attended my presentation last week at Buzz’s Fly Shop. Hope
we see you on the water soon!
The March first opening of HOT CREEK was pretty
much as forecast. Excellent. Big fish in the upper sections and good
numbers in the canyon area. The stampede of anglers did not occur as some
had predicted. It was a typical opening week like crowd and continues
show normal pressure for the area. The gravy has been pretty much slopped
up and you will have to work harder for your fish in the coming days, but
it is still very good and worth a stop here. There is a very pleasant
atmosphere right now with fish and water enough for all. The baetis
mayfly hatch (when it goes off mid-day) is the snap of the day and there
are ever increasing numbers of caddis flies emerging during the warmer
afternoons. Olive WD 40’s #18-22, olive flashback PT’s, olive hares ear
patterns #18-20 and the always reliable Drifters crystal olive zebras and
tiger midges #18-20. There are also some areas where streamers will get
you into fish. If you have a light sink tip in the deeper runs you can
get into some of the larger models.
Veteran Sierra Drifter client and local Don Morton
of June Lake “mastered” the art of high stick nymphing and this massive
rainbow is proof. Check this fish out!
Don Morton
Lance “Big Thunder” Ringheim fooled this Hot Creek
special while nymphing and making some very “technical casts and reach
mends” during opening week. Fun day Lance, thanks!
Lance "Big
Thunder" Ringheim..
David Kendrick has been on the Hot Creek trout’s
most wanted list for a couple seasons and is back in the report again with
this fully kipped rainbow caught while stripping a “blood sucking
Vanderleech”
David Kendrick
I am not surprised the UPPER OWENS RIVER during
the initial days of the new regulations has been downright SLOW. My
scouting before the start of the season did not discover large
concentrations of fish at that time. We did get locate some pods of fish
but they are spread out and require a lot of scouting to find. The
weather has improved greatly this week and is forecast to warm
significantly in the future. Look for a substantial migration of rainbows
to begin moving up from Crowley (which happens to be ice free and very
full) this week becoming more prevalent as the month goes on. Use a San
Juan Worm and an olive bead head zebra, PT or hares ear #16-20 as a
dropper in the pools while nymphing. Bwo and caddis activity #18 during
the mid-day periods for those who want to fish dries. Streamers like the
Loeberg and Spruce-a-bu will also do well as the spring unfolds. You will
need a moderate sink tip to get those patterns down under the cuts in the
banks.
The EAST WALKER RIVER flows are currently at
140cfs and holding. This is a good thing. There were some incredible fish
caught here during the opening week despite cold morning air temps and
lower flows. This is truly great news as the low winter flows coupled
with heavy bed ice that plagued the EW this winter looks to have had a
minimal negative impact on the larger trout. Midge and mayfly nymphs
#16-20 are best. Look at the base or tail out sections of the larger
pools and long riffles during the baetis hatch. The golden stone fly
hatch is in its infancy here as well and you can always rely on a yellow
bodied Stimulator to use as the upper fly in a dry/dry or dry dropper
nymph set up.
The LOWER OWENS RIVER has been getting better and
better and…Water temps have reached the fifty degree mark recently and we
are experiencing the first substantial caddis and golden stone fly
hatches. The fish are digging it! The aggressive, crashing surface takes
are indicative of trout feeding on caddis emergers and adults hovering
just above the surface.
Flows remain at 100cfs below the PV dam and this
makes the wading and presentations easy. Heavy pressure in the wild trout
section will mask otherwise great fishing at times. The majority of the
fish in this section hold in less than a quarter of the water. Spending a
mid-day during the bwo hatch and identifying the water that the fish hold
will pay huge dividends in your future endeavors here.
I had some good success recently with a group of
San Diego Fly Fishers nymphing poxy back PT’s and WD 40’s in olive. Check
out the photo of SDFF Bob Stafford from Santee Ca. and a typical Lower “O”
wild brown. Dick Mount from the SDFF group is having fun with a nice
brown he fooled on a BWO adult pattern while on a recent drift trip.
Bob Stafford
Dick Mount
Our guided drift boat trips have been very good
overall and we have had some larger fish come to get their smiles on
camera. We are fishing streamers during the mornings and late afternoons
with the noon hours allowing us to toss some BWO and caddis dries #16-18
at the rising fish. Punk perch (I am partial to the “albino” color) and
Loeberg patterns have been the hot ticket recently.
Drifters guide “Two Bug” Doug Dolan had a great
day with the Hulsy brothers Bill and Ted along with friend Jeff Sussman
all from the OC area. The trio caught and released over thirty fish with
Ted spanking a large rainbow at the end of the day to get big fish
honors.
"Two Bug Doug" &
Ted Hulsy
The “Heron” and “Heroness” Craig and Barbara
Holmes along with close friend Jeff Lohof all from Hawthorne, CA did very
well on larger fish this week with the couple netting some memorable
rainbows while using the “dip and strip method” on a guided drift trip.
Way to “be the fly” kids!
Craig Holmes &
Jeff Lohoff
Craig & Barbara
Holmes
PLEASANT VALLEY RESERVOIR has been off and on but
should be improving greatly as the spring stocking from both the DFG and
Alpers programs kick into gear. The inlet section has been good most days
with some very good browns being fooled by the dry/dropper combo rig with
a Stimulator as the indicator and tiger midge as the nymph. The rez level
is fluctuating erratically due to major work being performed at the
powerhouse. This will influence the “catching” in the inlet section and
transition area which is historically excellent this time of year.
GUIDE TIP: If you are not into a cross between a
Raider football fan tailgate party and the 405 Fwy at rush hour, I suggest
you avoid this area the weekend of 3-17. There is a trout “derby”
scheduled here that weekend.
One of the great thrills of my job as a guide is
to see a young client of mine mature into an excellent fly fisher and
super young man. I have known and guided Jack “Jacko” Scanlon from
Camarillo, CA since he was five years old. He is now thirteen and has
become an absolute joy to fish with. Check out Jacko’s gigantic smile and
gorgeous PV brown!
Jack Scanlon
THE GORGE has been slower than usual for one
reason or another recently and this could be attributed to the really cold
weather we had last week. It will pick up again for sure and you can
expect to see BWO’s, caddis and PMD hatches during the weeks ahead. I
suggest you use a larger dry fly as an indicator instead of a commercial
type “bobber” to suspend your nymphs here. They will get you more grabs
and cast a heck of a lot easier.
GUIDE TIP: Scout out your water from the canyon
wall before you drop in making note of entries to larger pools and runs.
Position yourself at the base of a run to cast upstream, beginning on one
side of the run then covering the middle and other side at the end of your
presentations. Mend your fly lines aggressively to the sides of your
downstream drift. Keep your leader fully turned over or stretched out on
your initial presentation and do NOT water load or splash the water while
false casting or adding line to your cast. If possible position yourself
so that your casting arm is over the water as opposed to the bank. (Right
hand casters should be on the left side of a creek when facing upstream)
This will keep you out of the proverbial “penalty box” in heavy brush
lined areas with limited back casting area. Target the water close to you
first, and then lengthen your casts after you are confident you have
covered the close area first. Use this strategy to fish all spring and
small creeks that have wild fish in them and you should see substantial
results.
Tom will be doing a Power Point seminar on March
31st 2007 at Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing Store in Fullerton.
This show will be in conjunction with Bob’s Sierra preview and there will
be other industry pros and great gear on sale to get you ready for the new
Sierra trout season. Put this one on your calendar and come by and talk
trout, pick up guide tips and pointers on fly fishing trout in the
Sierra. Contact Marriott’s at 800-535-6633 and ask for Kevin Bell, or
visit Bob’s web at
http://www.bobmarriotts.net
You can pick up our Authentic & Improved Sierra
Drifters Guide Flies, Sungicators & Killer Kits only at the
following stand out locations (don’t be fooled by any of the imitations
out there!): Kittredge Sports in Mammoth Lakes, Malibu Fish’n Tackle
in Thousand Oaks, The San Diego Fly Shop and Stroud’s Tackle 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!
FISH ON BABY!!! Now that I have your undivided
attention we need you all to write the Cal DFG Commissioners and express
your approval of the new regulations opening sections of the Upper Owens
River, Hot Creek and the tailwater section of the East Walker River to
year round fishing beginning on March 1st 2007. We have
included a link to the new regulations and as usual you can click on the
button providing important DFG news by visiting our website at
www.sierradrifters.com. DFG commission info at
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/
We at Sierra Drifters Guide Service support the
new regulations and feel the additional year round water will benefit all
catch and release fisherman with little impact on the fisheries,
enforcement or search and rescue organizations. Get the word out friends
we need to make our opinions heard.
Be the fly friends…
Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
760-935-4250
Driftfish@qnet.com
