May 24, 2004
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. We hope you
all have the opportunity to make some great fishing memories this Memorial
Day weekend.
Fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra has been very
good in most locations with the only exceptions being those fisheries
affected by spring run-off from snowmelt. The weather has turned more
seasonal the second half of this month and there have been some windy and
cooler days especially in the upper valleys. The cooler weather has
reduced early high run-off that was making conditions less than favorable
in several watersheds earlier this month. The forecast is showing a
continuing trend of afternoon thunderstorms accompanied by stiff westerly
winds especially towards the middle of the week. Look for cooler weather
with freezing temperatures in the mornings and daytime highs in the low
60’s and upper 50’s in the upper valleys and alpine locations. The Owens
Valley will have gusty winds from time to time in the afternoons, with
highs in the 70’s and lows going down into the upper 30’s and low 40’s.
The D.F.G has lifted the quarantine on the
planting of Alpers trout in some of the traditionally stocked areas that
in their opinion will not be adversely affected by the further spread of
the N.Z.M. snail. Alpers has gone through great lengths at his hatchery
facility to reduce the further spreading of the snail in waters that have
tested negative. This is good news indeed for many of the alpine lakes and
resorts in the Eastern Sierra that have become dependant upon these fine
hatchery fish to lure fisherman to these areas. We do not have the
official word as to where and when the Alpers will be planted, but it
looks like the majority of previously Alpers planted fisheries will have
fish by Memorial Day, weather and road conditions permitting. For more
information on the snail go to
www.flyline.com/NZ_mudsnail.htm
Tioga and Sonora Passes, and the road into the
Mammoth Lakes Basin are all open as of this report. The road leading into
Devils Postpile and the middle fork of the San Joaquin River will remain
closed until early June.
Lower Owens River: Fair
Water releases continue to be around 200cfs below
the Pleasant Valley Dam and the wild trout section of the river. Sources
inform us there are no scheduled increases in the immediate future. The
bite is good in the mornings and then again during late afternoon. The
mid-days can be slow this time of year and this trend will continue as the
sun gets higher and the air and water temperatures continue to increase.
Midge and caddis imitations like our Drifters olive and black crystal
zebras for nymphing in the mornings. Look for some splashy surface grabs
when the shadows get longer in the afternoons. Elk caddis #16-18 will
work for a well drifted dry in the softer water and shadows.
Midges are by far the most populous aquatic insect
the trout feed on in this area and you will seldom go wrong with
imitations in the #18-22 range. I have observed an increase in the
overall population of midges along the Lower Owens recently; this could be
in part due to the large number of NZMS in this area. It has been
documented that certain species of dipterans actually feed on the
excrement of the snail. Could this be a silver lining to the snail issue
here?
We are approaching the final days of the drift
boat season on the Lower Owens River as the flows will soon increase and
the daytime air temperatures become uncomfortable by late mornings. The
last several floats saw only mediocre results with the best grabs coming
in the mornings before the sun got to high. There was minimal dry fly
activity last week and streamer patterns like our Loeberg #10 were the key
to success by Santa Barbara Fly Fishers Tom Brashears and Joe Maxwell who
spent a day on the river and one day on Crowley with us recently. Tommy
defied the odds and got this awesome rainbow after several well placed
casts into a big “black hole” late in the drift. Joe got big fish honors
the following day on Crowley with a 21 inch Lahontan Cutthroat that fell
to one of our chironomid patterns and a silky smooth hook set.
Tom Brashears
(holding fish) with Joe Maxwell holding the net...
Crowley Lake: Very Good
Joe Maxwell
holding the fish this time...
The epic bite is over for now but the “catching”
remains very good in several areas of the lake this week. Extremely
encouraging about this season on Crowley is that we have found solid
numbers of fish everywhere. The sizes will be mixed most days and you
will find the average fish to be slightly shorter than in years past
however, very rotund. Sandy Point, Leighton Springs, McGee Bay and Big
Hilton are all holding fish in 10-15 feet with the most consistent depth
around 13 feet. Look around if you are only getting into the newcomers
from last fall, the bigs are moving day to day.
Do not be surprised if you get into some
Sacramento Perch. The little green buggers are in their redds and
spawning in the 10-15 foot range all over the lake.
The winds have been a factor this week and I
suggest you rent or bring your own boat to optimize your day here. Tubing
McGee Bay this time of year can be iffy and it is a long difficult kick
back to the rig if those strong Sou’Westers come up.
There is no question about what to rig up and fish
here recently. Still water nymphing is totally kicking caboose over all
other methods of angling. Drifter’s copper or black crystal tiger’s #16-18
on the lower fly, with a Drifters copper emerger, pupa, or gilled
chironomid (Gillie) #18-20 on top will get you grabs most of the day. If
you are seeing lots of chironomid shucks floating on the surface, tie on a
dual Gillie rig or tandem emergers with an 18 on top of a 20. Hang that
lower fly down at least 10-11 feet below your strike indicator for best
results. The algae bloom is not a factor yet and the weed beds are still
well below the surface and about 2-3 foot high.
Crowds have been huge on weekends.
Hot Creek: Fair-good
Water clarity is once again good since the weather
has turned cooler at the upper elevations. Fishing pressure takes its
toll here especially on and after weekends. The conditions are very good
however the fish are getting more selective as to what they take, and
especially how it is presented. 6X and even 7X tippets will get you more
grabs as will a 10-11 foot leader.
Size 18-22 midge and caddis larva patterns are
best for nymphing, with some late morning mayfly activity #18-20 light
bodies. PMD imitations are a good choice. The windy afternoons last week
have made dry fly fishing difficult; don’t look for much change this week
as it looks like more of the same.
East Walker River: Good
Flows have leveled off at 145cfs. This is a good
release for much of the meadow section as it will move some of the fish
out of the larger pools. Numbers are still not terrific here but 14-16
inch fish are common, with a good number of larger browns being caught
when the conditions are right. Use a larger attractor pattern for your
upper fly on a nymph rig. San Juan Worms #14-16 are always a good bet
here in the early part of the season. I like our #18-20 long shank
Drifters crystal tiger midge for the upper fly, and a #18-20 olive bodied
bead head crystal zebra for the dropper. As the flows increase you may
find increasing opportunities to tug streamer patterns at the head of the
big bends and larger pools. Our dark Spruce-a-bu is a killer imitation
for the resident Tui chubs that inhabit the Walker. Dip and strip your
light to moderate sink tip for a shot at that once in a lifetime brown.
They do lurk here…
West Walker: Fair
Water clarity has improved here some but the
drainage is still high and when it warms up even a little this time of
year it can really mess the conditions up for fly-fishers. Other than
fishing for stockers in the campground areas I would wait a while to hit
this fishery.
South Lake, Bishop Creek:
Good
They are putting boats in even though the water
levels are still very low here and it may be a week or so until the DFG
has sufficient water to plant. Look for Alpers fish in the creek and at
Intake II. Streamers pulled with full sinking lines will work best for
the holdover fish. Get you flies down at least 10-15 feet.
Rock Creek: Good
Clarity is very good here and the flows are not
high right now and if you wish to get into some DFG stockers this is a
good bet. Some of the upper campgrounds remain closed, as is the resort
which should be open weather permitting by Memorial Day. The ice is off
the lake and the road is open. Dry dropper combos with a Stimulator or
large caddis for the upper fly #12-14 and a dropper bead head zebra or
tiger midge #16 will work well for the creek. Hit the lake with thermals
under those waders and have a full sinking line to tug our Loebergs or
crystal leech and punk perch patterns at the 10-15 foot range.
Upper Owens River: Fair
Most of the spawners are returning back to the
lake and you may encounter some off colored and weed filled water from
time to time here as irrigation and run-off begin. We have reports of
some monster browns being hooked and one 25 incher that was actually
landed in the Long Years section of the river. You will find the resident
smaller browns and rainbows to hit midge imitations the best while
nymphing #16-20. Use sufficient weight to get those bugs down in the
deeper pools. The wind has blown this area out in the afternoons lately
so mornings may be your best bet in the near future.
McGee Creek, Convict
Creek, Hilton Creek: Poor
Other than those fish that get planted every so
often right at the Hwy 395 crossing on McGee, the fishing is slow as most
of the Kamloops rainbows have gone back into Crowley Lake. These areas
will not get any better this season, as the fall flows will be low once
again and there are not plentiful numbers of resident fish here to warrant
a days outing.
June Lake Loop: Good
Alpers should be able
to get fish into this area by Memorial Day. Rush Creek will be crowded,
but will have plenty of DFG fish to keep you busy if you can get into a
stocking point before they get into the creels and frying pans of the
catch and keep crowd. Streamers and the Stimulator/tiger tandem rigs work
well in the creek. Grant is low and I have not had great reports from
here. Silver has fished better near the inlet of Rush. Try out our
crystal leech with a full sinking line in this area and at Gull Lake. It
has been windy here this week; expect the same condition into next week.
Mammoth Lakes Basin: Fair
The Twin Lakes have
been fishing the best directly below the falls. There is still some
spotty snow and ice at Mary and Mamie. Use streamers with moderate
sinking tips or full sink lines this time of year. Have some red in your
patterns #8-12 for harder takes.
Alpers will no doubt
get his fish into this area a.s.a.p. Look for submerged tree stumps near
the inlet at Mary and you will find these fish.
You will find our fly
patterns available at these fine fly shops:The Troutfitter in Mammoth
Lakes, Crowley Lake Fish Camp, Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks,
Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, and The San Diego Fly Shop. There are links
to all shops at the resources tab above.
The “save Hot Creek hatchery
initiative” is moving along at “glacial speeds” thanks to the dynamic
governmental machine we have in California. There are all green lights
and a lot of positive feedback coming from Sacramento, lets hope it goes
through in time. This link was sent to us by
Brad Willis. He is the elected representative of all rank and file state
hatchery workers. He has been helping Assemblyman Dave Cogdill get the
word out about AB 2280
www.stormsource.org/ab2280/
Be the fly…Tom Loe
