November 20, 2006
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to
all for this Turkey Day 2006 fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
Road Trip!!!
Sierra Drifters guide Tom Loe will be heading down
to So-Cal on Saturday December 9th to visit his pals at the
Fisherman’s Spot in Van Nuys.
http://www.fsflyfishing.com. Tom will do a presentation on fishing the
Eastern Sierra around noon and hang around most of the afternoon to talk
fly fishing (off the record stuff!) and discuss gear. Well known and
respected Sage rep John Sherman will also be in attendance. This will be
a hoot and we are looking forward to seeing all our friends in the area.
There will be a raffle and some gifts & door prizes given out.
Homecoming! December 10th will have
Tom Loe showing up at his home town fly shop Malibu Fish’n Tackle in
Thousand Oaks through late afternoon.
www.malibufishntackle.com. Several of the CVFF gang has assured us
they will be there to keep Tom honest as he does a presentation on fly
fishing tactics for trout from a boat. Lots of laughs, some inside scoop
on Tom’s favorite waters and door prizes.
Despair not my fellow fly fishers! Although the
general trout season has ended in most of the quality waters in California
there are still some great fly fishing opportunities to be had for those
anglers unwilling to stow their gear for the winter. The Lower Owens
River remains open year round. The Lower Owens fishes without any question
better in the fall, winter and early spring and it is during this time we
offer guided drift boat trips along the more secluded and difficult to
reach sections of the river. Our experienced river guides take you down
the Owens in large, customized (& heated!!!), aluminum river dories made
by Willie Boat Company. We have four full time guides and drift boats
available this winter for guided drift boat trips. Skiing not so great
yet? Need a holiday gift for the fly fisher in the family? Want to flog
the water for some trophy rainbows and browns this winter? We are your
huckleberry! Customized gift certificates are available upon request.
Lower Owens:
The flows remain very high (600cfs) at the time of
this report; however we are enjoying some very good fly fishing from the
drift boats during recent trips. Streamers are the key to getting fish at
these ridiculous releases. The fish have had ample time to adjust after
the entire summer of high water and you must seek out the softest and
quietest water along the current transition zones. The last couple of
weeks our guides report finding the fish “podding” in larger than usual
numbers. Not all the areas you would think are holding do and we are
finding that if you get a grab or two there is a good chance you may be
stopped for a while as the fish are holding in select water and not spread
out over the river channel. Very heavy sink tips are a must and the “dip
and strip” method is the superior technique to employ if you choose to tug
streamers. Larger patterns that have a lot of crystal flash as an option
are the choice of the trout and it is no surprise that our “Kelly Bundy”
or blonde Spruce-a-Bu has been a foundation fly for us lately. Loebergs
have also worked well at times and I suggest you choose the light head for
the brighter days and light periods, the olive ones for the cloudy, lower
light segments of the day.
We have also had some sporadic baetis and trico
hatches around noon but with the high flows it has been difficult to
position the boats in strategic locations to get solid presentations. The
wild trout section is tough to fish at these flows and you will pretty
much need a chunk of freakin battleship chain to get those bugs down.
Please carefully examine your bank and water before attempting to wade at
this flow. This river is very deep and channelized and you may find
yourself in some trouble with breathable waders after a fall here. The
banks integrity has been compromised and severely undermined this year and
the prudent angler will take more than the usual amount of time before
stepping out along the banks. We are having trouble finding dry, safe
locations to take “pit stops” even on the boats at times. If you fish
with your pets alongside (my dog Strider fishes with me here at times) you
must also look out for their welfare as well. There have been some
tragedies at these flows and even the strongest dogs will struggle to get
out safely. Several of the roads along the banks are also suspect for
driving so keep this in mind before navigating to your favorite bend in
the WT section of the Owens.
If you can manage to find a safe and likely spot
on the bank at the WT most mayfly and midge imitations will do the trick.
There is also a fair amount of caddis still emerging at times in the
afternoons; however I do not see the fish rising on them during our
floats. The trico hatch is not for all as these tiny mayflies are in the
#22-24 range so use a larger dry as an indicator to make it easier to see
the tiny mayfly. The baetis are not the size of condors either, but the
fish really trigger on this emergence and you should have some BWO
patterns in the #18-20 range. Your nymphs should be heavily weighted and
bead heads will get you down more efficiently. The browns are very
“spawny” right now and redundant drifts will pay off over tailouts (if you
can identify them). Our unique crystal tiger and zebra midges are sold as
bead heads and have additional weight built into the tapers of the head to
get you down to the fish.
The weather has been incredible this fall and it
has been well above average with plenty of 70 degree days recently. It is
thus far looking to be an opposite of last winter's record snowfalls and
during these types of years we historically have our best fishing yet to
come! The flows are forecast to come down after the holidays, but I would
not hold much credence to what the LADWP tells us in advance as they have
been known to “change their plans”. My guess is if the snow does not fall
by the first part of December we may see a decrease sooner than forecast,
or let’s hope they would consider holding some water back for next year at
Crowley.
Veteran Sierra Drifter and expert “dip and
stripper” Steve Newman from Oxnard, CA hosted fly fishing pal Gerald
Caraig for his first drift with us recently and the two sticks combined to
catch and release over forty rainbows and browns.
Steve Newman &
Gerald Caraig "Double" Bendo...
The Reeder boys from Hacienda Heights, CA, Stu,
Ted and Chris drifted their way to a bunch of quality trout, some great
weather and a whole bunch of laughs a short time back. Our drift boats
can easily accommodate three persons safely and comfortably making these
trips ideal for family fly fishing outings. Check out the picture of Stu
battling an Owens River slammer!
Stu Reeder & Sons
Battling an Owens Slammer...
Another threesome that drifted with us experienced
numerous double hook ups and near forty to the net. From Topanga, CA,
Mike Powell, Stephen Morelock, and Andrew “Diz” Delaney spanked a bunch of
fish. Hilarious laughter and action all day…what more could you ask for
(and realistically get?) The drift ended way too soon guys, thanks!
Check out Mikey’s and Steve’s dual rainbows...
Stephen Morelock
& Mike Powell "Double the Fun"
And the
following recent trip comments from "Fills" clients:
Just wanted to thank
you for hooking us up with Phil on Monday The 13th.. We had a wonderful
time with your great guide. I would have been able to catch more fish if
I was not laughing so hard with Phil the "Iceberg". Phil was very gentle
when scolding me the many times I snaked my son's water. We look forward
to booking a trip on Crowley with Phil in the spring. Great job and many
thanks.
The Gorge: Good
This area is the only alternative to wade fishing
this time of year and it is currently fishing well. The weather has been
ideal down in the “pit” and the high flows on the Lower Owens do not
influence this small tailwater section. Dry dropper bead head and emerger
nymph rigs always get it done here and most dry flies in the #16-20 range
will get looks. Moderate to strenuous hiking and rock hopping in the
middle sections; bring in your own water or a filter. A 1-4wt rod is
perfect down here. The fish are small but numerous with a few scattered
tippet busters in the larger pools. Quiet, upstream approaches are a must
to get you on the larger pods.
Pleasant Valley
Reservoir: Good
PV is fishing well for planted rainbows right now
around the launch ramp section and in the section of the lake where the
flow from the inlet area slows to a crawl. The river is a torrent and is
not fishable when power is being generated (which is all the time
currently). There are some great wild browns in this narrow but lengthy
body of water and this is the best time of year to fool one of these
rascals near the inlet section. Our Punk Perch, blood
suckingVanderleeches and Loebergs are very good streamers to use in
conjunction with a full or heavy sinking tip line. With the mild weather
the tubing has been pleasant and there has been light pressure thus far.
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!): Crowley Lake General Store/Deli in Crowley, Kittredge
Sports in Mammoth Lakes, Bridgeport Reservoir Marina in Bridgeport, 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 on the
resources tab above. We pride our Guide Service & Products on
Innovation not Imitation!
