May 4, 2006
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Yahoo! The
Eastern Sierra general trout season is in full swing and if opening week
is indicative of what the remainder of the season will be, there are going
to be some worn out fly reels and some very sore arms by November!
The weather has been without a doubt the mildest
opening we have had up here in recent memory with light winds and warm
summer like days. The fly fishing in most areas is off the charts and you
need to get up here before the run-off gets the freestone creeks at flood
if moving water is your thing folks. The forecast is calling for more of
the same weather pattern through this weekend with above average temps and
only a slight chance of T-storms in the afternoons.
The San Diego Fly Shop
is hosting its fourth annual “Fly Fishing Fair” on Saturday May 20th
beginning at 9 am with clinics and demonstrations from noted industry
professionals such as ESPN Outdoors Conway Bowman, the Sierra’s own Pat
Jaeger, and tyer Al Ouattrochhi. The gang at the SDFS have a casting pond
set up, and Conway and Nor-Cal guide Ryan Johnson will be doing slide
shows beginning at 1 pm. There are raffle prizes and new equipment demos
from many top name manufacturers like Sage, Simms, Outcast & Galvan… the
list is huge and this is a really great show with some top notch pros
hanging out to give you advice on a wide range of fly fishing
opportunities. Stop by the shop and pick up our hot new flies before you
venture on your next trip, they are on display now. The shop can be
reached at 858-350-3111 for more details.
www.fsflyfishing.com/
My apologies to all you fly fishers that went to
Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing Store only to find that our flies were not on
display as advertised. The flies are there …but the acrylic box and
drawer supports were delivered in shambles. Look for the box to be ready
next week. Call the shop before you go. Sorry!!!
http://bobmarriotts.net/
BROWNZILLA SURFACES AT
HOT CREEK...
I am still shaking over this fish! It is the
single largest brown I have seen in many years taken with a fly rod and by
far and away the largest fish I have ever seen on Hot Creek.
Hot Creek, May 2006. The “Trout Ninja” Dr.
Cary Kutzke from Los Alimitos, CA and I meet at the intersection of Hwy
395 and Hot Creek Airport road. The morning is calm and warm with a
falling barometer and the forecast of some gusty winds in the afternoon.
After he and his brother Ron spanked 30 rainbows in four hours on Crowley
the day before, the T- Ninja wanted to check out Hot Creek and perfect his
high stick nymphing technique while being guided by yours truly. The
stage was set for what will turn out to be the morning we all dream about
as fly fishers and for Cary the best day of his fly fishing life. We
approach the large pool quietly while crawling on our hands and knees
moving slowly towards what will be “hallowed ground” this day near the
bank. We both see the huge swirl and gigantic tail fin protrude out in
the eddy at the pools tail simultaneously. The Ninja and I exchange “oh
my goshes” and he hunkers down and adjusts his famous lucky “rally cap”.
After several unsuccessful drifts with a tandem zebra and pheasant tail
rig under an indicator, we both decide that a better presentation could be
had in this section of water if he high sticked without the use of a
strike indicator. Sweet cast… upstream mend…rod tip following the dead
drifting leader and rig that is tickling the gravel bottom 4-5 feet below
the surface…it stops suddenly…the rod moves quickly with a perfect
downstream set and the slow, deep headshakes indicate a much larger than
normal fish for this area. Five minutes later a gorgeous 19 inch brown
comes to net. We exchange high fives, take a few pics and carefully
revive and release the first fish of the day. Just then the water
explodes in the same location as we observed when we first arrived. Game
on baby! For all of you who have fished any length of time, there is a
certain feel or vibe that you get when you are in the grove. It’s like a
slow motion playback and you are locked in on the moment with all the
other things in your life far away and in the background. Call it “Mojo”,
focus, extreme anticipation, you are locked and loaded and good things
generally occur at this time on the water. It is almost predictable and
you visualize it happening before it does. Cary was in this place.
The T-Ninja nails another fine cast and the
upstream mend sinks the rig quickly and correctly without any noticeable
drag…High stick, no indicator nymphing requires extreme touch and
concentration. You must set on ANY unnatural movement of the line where
it penetrates the surface. The drift continues for several seconds and it
was very quiet I recall with only the noise of the small riffle being
heard in the background. “There-set, set!” Cary’s rod is already in
motion as I say this and it just plain stops agonizingly in a tripled over
bend. “Nothing. Snag??? No, No, back off, back off the heat Kutz!” I
have been guide and witness to many great fish caught by our clients over
the years, but this one will forever stand out in my mind. After no less
than fifteen grueling minutes of tug-o-war with “BROWNZILLA” the first ten
of which we never even saw the monster, it came to the very much
undersized net and we both almost lost it right there. I measured the
brown at 27 inches and estimated the weight at over TEN pounds. If there
was anyone watching us from a distance and did not see what we were so
exited about they would have thought the two fools standing at the waters
edge were doing some sort of new thrash dance in a mosh pit at a punk rock
concert. This fish was caught on 5X Rio fluorocarbon on a size 20
flashback PT. We know there are a few of these behemoths lurking in the
“crick” but to actually get one of this size to net on a 10 foot, 4wt Sage
XP is a special feat. Dude, all hail- we bow deeply to you!!! It is
almost anti-climatic to add another great fish to this day the T-Ninja
had, but within the next hour we were back taking pics again of a huge
rainbow that would be the envy of me and anyone else that fly fishes
anywhere, let alone Hot Creek. The paint job alone on this 20 plus is
worth the look. Hot Creek is slightly off color and running a little high
but very juicy right now. The crowds are for whatever reason light during
mid-week. We took fish on our crystal zebras #18-20, flashback PT’s #20
and San Juan Worms with a glo-bug dropper after the morning snap. This
place is on folks, come make some news!
Big....
Bigger....
Biggest...!
& I had to get
one with me & this baby!
Crowley Lake: On Fire!
Several factors are contributing to the excellent
start of the season on Crowley and the primary factor is the absolutely
incredible weather since opening day. The lengthy period of ice free
surface has a dependable chironomid emergence daily. The fish are holding
in 10-14 feet along the edges and drop-offs in many areas of the lake but
Sandy Pt. has been the most consistent with Leighton and Alligator a
strong second. McGee Bay has fish but they are more scattered and not
bunched up. The North Arm is also a good choice, 12-15 feet here on the
flats. No weeds of any consequence yet.
Hang a larva pattern like our tigers or zebras in
the #18-16 range as a lower; put a #18 gillie or crystal emerger as the
upper. Twin gillies will rock around noon when the snap gets going. The
fish are as chunky as they get for this time of year, but not a lot of 20
inch plus fish showing up on the midges for us yet. The bait and troller
folks are doing very well and we are seeing the larger grade get taken in
deeper water it appears.
The numbers are the best I have seen in recent
seasons this early and a fifty fish day is not out of the picture if you
get the weather. Check out the pictures on the website of Doug Eberts, Nip
McClave and Dr. Wayne Hooper with the docs “first trout on a fly”.
Doug Eberts, Nip
McClave, Wayne Hooper
Dr. Wayne Hooper
& Tom Loe
With the enormous snow pack the eastern slope has
this year the early and mid-summer months will be tough to fish on the
rivers and creeks. Crowley and Bridgeport Reservoirs are an excellent
choice for seasons like this because they prosper and fish better during
high water years. We have the guides and the boats to fish these waters
for you. Call, or email us anytime and we will arrange a guided trip for
you this summer.
Bridgeport Reservoir:
Excellent
Jeffery at the marina is reporting unbelievable
“catching” with more browns being seen during opening week than he
observed all of last season! Buckeye Bay near the creek inlets is a
little off color right now due to the run-off, but if you fish the edges
of the water changes and the flats near the marina you will do very well.
This lake has been ice free for a longer duration than Crowley and the
fish are all over the midges and look like footballs with tails! Heavy
planting last year combined with additional stocking this season will make
this a must stop for fly fishers this season. The lake level is excellent
and you can expect good water levels here all season. No major weed to
report here yet either. Stop by and ask Jeffery to show you the hot flies
in our box at the store and his secret “sheepberg” fly he keeps under his
pillow at night so it is ready to fish the next day!
http://www.bridgeportreservoir.com/index.html
The Bridgeport fisheries enhancement program
should set the stage for a stellar season on the EW. Please support the
efforts of this innovative and tireless group of concerned
sportsman/businessman by donating to this worthy cause. Click on PDF file
to open a copy of their donation letter. Or
see
www.bigmeadowlodge.com for program information.
Lower Owens River: Bad,
good, bad, good…
The flows have crashed as of today from 600cfs to
350cfs and will hold for a short duration we are told so some minor
repairs can be made down river. This is an excellent opportunity to hit
the wild trout section after a day or so. Caddis and PMD mayfly
imitations, will be the right bugs in both nymph and winged adult patterns
if you plan a trip soon. At these flows wading is still on the tough side
but not dangerous and the fish will move on some of the riffle sections
making presentations with less weight much easier. There will be a lot of
mud and some unstable banks in this area so be careful on your approach to
the rivers edge this week.
Upper Owens, Crowley
tributaries: Very good
The higher concentrations of fish in all the tribs
are located close to the lake. McGee has good numbers but is being
heavily fished daily especially in the middle sections of the lower,
special regulation water. Glo-bugs, streamers and flashy patterns are
best in the pits and big pools here. The Upper Owens is off color but not
bad and has good numbers below the monument, which is open to the lakes
edge. Some weed problems here but not super bad. I like streamers with
light to moderate sink tips and the dip and strip method with
Spruce-a-bu’s and Loebergs #8-10. Long Years has nice water but not as
many concentrations or pods of rainbows. Nymphing with San Juans,
glo-bugs or hares ear patterns, flashback PT’s and olive crystal zebras
#16-20 are better in this section. Cover some water and look for the fish
here before casting, it will pay-off!
East Walker: Good
Despite the very high flows (almost 600cfs) the EW
is fishing surprisingly well for the more experienced and guided anglers
in the slower and softer sections of the river. This is not a place for
novice or beginning fly fishers at this flow release. It has been high
for a spell and the clarity is good with the fish having adjusted for some
time. A San Juan Worm as the upper and small crystal zebras and tigers
are good choices for the dropper. Using enough weight is essential to get
those bugs down. Stop by Ken’s Sporting Goods in Bridgeport
http://www.kenssport.com/default.aspx?p=700 or the Troutfitter in
Mammoth Lakes for the hot scoop and flies.
www.thetroutfly.com/
We will get you a report on all the other
excellent areas as we fish them and get reliable information as the season
goes on and the snow and ice allow other areas to open up.
FYI…CALIFORNIA'S
SECRET WITNESS PROGRAM TO HELP STOP POACHING AND POLLUTING
1-888-DFG-CALTIP
(1-888-334-2258)
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/caltip.html
or you can also call the Mono County Sheriffs
Dept.
760-932-7549 / 760-935-4066
California Dept. of Fish & Game Regs…
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/html/fishregs.html
