September 29, 2004
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Just a quick
update on a major flow change that will occur within the next 48 hours on
the Lower Owens River. It is with heavy hand that I write this because we
had a couple of drift boat trips planned for the period. Flows will be
increased from 150 cfs to 275 cfs by Friday (10/1) afternoon. This will
adversely affect the fishing in all sections of the river and I would
suggest going to another location during the flow increase. No word as to
when the release rate will lower. Best fishes to all.
September 27,
2004
Howdy friends and
Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to all for this fall 2004 fish report from
the Eastern High Sierra.
The high country is in
seasonal transition with the trees all turning various shades of fall
colors. We had our first significant storm last week with a good dusting
of snow in elevations above 8500. The mornings have become cool with
frost and freezing temperatures the norm from now on. Daytime
temperatures remain pleasant and warm and we are having “Indian summer”
type weather after the first snow last weekend. The forecast is calling
for a slight cooling trend through this week with partly cloudy skies and
a slight chance of afternoon T-storms in the high country. The Owens
Valley will remain warm with morning lows still remaining above freezing
this week.
I am putting my money
on an early winter with some substantial snowfall coming in October. The
fishing is very good overall in the areas not influenced by drought
conditions. The fisheries impacted by the decreasing snowfields are not
fishing as well and can be difficult to access.
Last weeks WON
sponsored Double Haul fly fishing float tube event on Lake Crowley was cut
short due to strong winds attributed to the untimely storm front that made
conditions tough the entire weekend. Attendance was down once again this
year for the event with 257 participants angling for trips and prizes.
There have been as many as 400 entries in past years. 3-4 hours were all
that the participants got to fish due to the strong winds that blew in
from the south. Congrats to all who scored and our thanks for those who
showed up for the seminar and BBQ at the Crowley Fish Camp on 9-17. High
fives to Martin Willey for winning first place overall in some really
tough conditions; he “be’d the fly”. Second place overall Tony Del Rio
attended our D Haul seminar using the reliable “Loeberg” streamer and our
advice to fish the short water in McGee Bay for his first of three
scoreables, the others coming on a leech pattern Tony developed himself.
Long time Sierra Drifter Margie Kamens again won the women’s division.
You go girl! Hats off to Lee Watanabe who once again finished in the top
ten by drawing to the number 9 spot. This guy is good! My personal
congrats to veteran Sierra Drifters Chuck and Charlie Palmer, Chuck placed
in the top twenty, well done guys I am impressed. First time entrant and
long time Sierra Drifter Dirk Westfall scored and dumped a few others that
would have “put him on top”, next year Dirky… Jake Holt broke out his new
Sage outfit bought from the team at the Troutfitter and managed to get in
to the winners bracket. Green puff down daddy!
See ya’ll next year,
hope you get better weather!
Crowley Lake:
Very Good
The lake takes a
severe beating most years after the float tube event but this year has
been an exception due to the storm that prevented any fishing at all for
several days. You will find no problem getting into fish in all areas of
the lake as it has been recently planted with next years models. The warm
daytime temperatures have been the base for a strong chironomid emergence
during the late mornings, with the best “catching” occurring after mid-day
when the wind picks up. The early mornings have been “glacially slow”
wait until the frost melts before coming on the lake. The larger fish
have become spotty and you must move around some to locate the pods of
larger fish. The most consistent area for the holdovers (larger fish)
remains McGee Bay 5-8 feet and along the south shore west of the floating
restroom. The weed lines are all but gone so look for the fish to be less
concentrated along the shorelines. Six Bays remains hot from the
shoreline, as does Green Banks in the late afternoons when the wind is
blowing offshore or is calm. Leighton Springs near the island has been on
and off, but there are some larger fish here especially in the mornings
some days. This area historically starts to come on strong right about
this water level and time of year.
Streamer fishing
continues to be good with larger perch fry patterns being the fly de
jour. Our punk perch #10-12, Loebergs #10, and crystal leeches #10-12 are
all excellent choices. Troll these patterns at least 5-8 feet down for
best results. You can add a dropper off the streamer for the midge hatch
if you do not wish to use the stillwater nymph method. Our Drifters gray
and black, or copper head pupa patterns work well for this #18-20.
Stillwater nymphing
has been excellent during mid-days with the downside being the amount of
smaller fish you will need to deal with while indicator fishing. Our
crystal tigers and zebras #16-18 are red hot this week, with the upper
flies being an emerger pattern like the gilled chironomid “gillies” and
crystal pupa #18-20. Keep those lower flies 6 inches at most off the
bottom when the breeze picks up, the fish are keying on the larva more
this week and the wind stirs up the mud in shallow water triggering
aggressive feeding. Copper or bright heads are getting bit better for us
with the water becoming cleaner.
Ken, Ryan and Meagan
Moss from Laguna Beach, CA did some stillwater nymphing with us recently
and the gang whacked ‘em in McGee Bay. Check out the nice rainbow and
group effort.
The Moss Family
Sierra Drifters
veterans Larry and Kyle Daniels from San Bernadino, CA have a stiff
competition going when they clash rods on Crowley for big fish honors.
Larry got the crown this time with a sweet rainbow while on a recent
guided trip.
Larry Daniels
It has been ugly in
past competitions for Rocky Taylor from Dana Pt., CA when he goes rod vs.
rod with son Austin. Victory was sweet, swift and complete this time
out. I can’t wait for the re-match guys!
Rocky Taylor
The Conejo Valley Fly
Fishers spent an afternoon on the Drifters Trophy pond for a shot at the
MO-HOLE. Check out one of the bigs Steve “no trout too large” Anderson of
Thousand Oaks, CA caught and released recently. More pics of the “pond”
next report.
Steve Anderson
Lower Owens
River: Very Good
Flows have been
reduced to 150 cfs below Pleasant Valley and this has made fishing this
section very enjoyable. We do advise you to keep wading here to an
absolute minimum due to the NZMS troubles. The mid-days will be a little
on the slow side but afternoons and mornings have been good with a
combination of mayflies and midges being the best imitations. Try out our
olive zebras here #18-20 for nymphing. Caddis activity in the late
afternoons will be your best bet if you want some dry fly action. Fall
caddis are typically larger, and you can get grabs with a #14-16 pattern
this time of year. For more information on the snail go to
http://www.flyline.com/environmental/nzms/
The initial drift boat
trips have been slow as we fished the river when it was still flowing at
high release rates. We are anticipating a very good and earlier than
normal drift boat season. Get your trips booked early!
Pleasant Valley
Reservoir: Fair
Power generation has
decreased but is still occurring around noon until 5-6 pm weekdays. Look
for this to decrease in duration in the not to distant future and expect
some very good fly fishing opportunities in the section below the
powerhouse. The reservoir proper is fishing ok near the inlet and in the
shadows late afternoon by the dam. Troll the weed lines with perch fry
imitations and stay down 7-10 feet.
The Gorge: Good
With the onset of
cooler weather look for this section of the Owens to get only better.
Fall is a great time of year to hike into this region and if you have a
blustery cold day ahead of you in the high country, take the short drive
down to the gorge and bring your 1-4wt rod and a handful of #16 anything’s
that float along with some #16-20 bead heads and cast upstream to the
small but plentiful wild browns that abound in most of the deeper pools
and runs. The “evil nettle” is still prevalent and the willows dense with
leaves but with some work you can salvage a bad weather day up the hill
here.
Upper Owens
River/Tributaries-McGee, Convict, Hilton: Good
The section from the
Benton Crossing Bridge downstream to the posted rock monument will close
after Sept. 30th to ALL fishing. The section downstream of the
monument remains open until Nov.15th with the same regulations
as Crowley, and the river above the bridge also will remain open until
Nov. 15th with special regulations that are in affect year
round. There are solid numbers of migrating fish working upstream daily
here and fishing is picking up nicely. The light afternoon winds this
week have made possible some excellent dry fly opportunities using caddis
imitations #16-18. The jumbo rainbows and browns are still spread out but
the 12-16 inch models are common and are becoming more prevalent each
day. Please go to
http://www.dfg.ca.gov for complete information on the current
DFG regulations.
Please keep your
wading to a minimum here also as the NZMS and the destruction of spawning
redds is critical to the well being of the Upper O. For more information
on the snail go to
http://www.flyline.com/environmental/nzms/
The DFG has ended its
brown trout and Lahontan cutthroat stocking program for Crowley Lake and
other waters in the Eastern Sierra for who knows how long due to budget
shortfalls. Browns are a fall spawning fish and we ask that you minimize
your fishing efforts here as these fish may become very rare in this area
in the future.
The tribs have very
low flows. McGee has some fish moving upstream as of this report. Dry
droppers work best here, have some red or flash in the nymph patterns.
Tiger midges rock this time of year.
Hot Creek: Fair
The low water levels
here make it tough for the average fly caster to get into any numbers.
Try fishing your nymphs without a strike indicator keeping a high rod tip
and a short accurate drift in the open channels of the weed lines. Set on
any “twitch” of the leader as you drift the rig through the open water.
The caddis are very active in the afternoons and this is the best time to
fish the “creek.” Keep your midge and mayfly imitations small #20 and
down, and your tippet to 6X and 7X for best results.
San Joaquin:
Fair
I do not care to fish
the Middle Fork when the flows get this low. The recent snow last week
has brought the creek up a little but you will find very little area in
the riffles, pockets and flats, with most of the fish being stacked in the
deepest pools. If you want some solitude and a gorgeous background then
this is a perfect spot. It is beautiful here this time of year and crowds
are light. You may drive your own vehicle in without restrictions.
West Walker
River: Fair
The years of drought
are impacting this area like many others and the flows here are getting
very low also. The levels are up a tad this week due to last weeks storm,
but you will find the fish stacked in the pools and limited areas to fly
fish because of low water. Dry dropper combos are always deadly here.
Use #16-18 crystal tigers or zebras under a stimulator.
East Walker
River, Bridgeport “Pond”, Twin Lakes-Bridgeport: Poor-Good
Bridgeport “POND” is
very low and there is a dangerously small amount of water to get through
the winter. Flows have been reduced to below 46 cfs this week and the
water is soupy and green. The meadow section below the dam has a good
portion of the EW’s fish stacked here. We had good fishing when the flows
were around 140 cfs, but at current releases you will find tough
conditions and limited water. We suggest keeping pressure to a minimum
here as these guys are facing another tough winter.
I suggest you fish the
Twin Lakes above Robinson Creek when in this area. Both Upper and Lower
Twin have reputations for kicking out huge browns and Alpers rainbows in
the fall. Tubing and trolling larger streamer patterns with full sinking
type 4-5 lines will get you into the 15-25 foot water where these rascals
hang out and feed on the Kokanee salmon and chubs. Try our Spruce-a-bu
pattern #8 in the dark colors and work the drop-offs near the landings and
dry creek inlets. You will not find a more scenic area in the entire
Sierra than here this time of year and it is worth the drive up the hill
just to spend a day in the colors.
Rock Creek:
Fair
Tubers fishing the
lake with streamers at the 15 foot range are getting into some standard
DFG stockers near the inlet. Crystal leeches and Loebergs are all you
need. The creek is low and getting tougher to fish. The ponds below the
lake remain good for small wild trout. Use a dry/dropper with a Drifters
crystal olive zebra #18-20 as your nymph suspended 2-3 feet down. Killer
combo here!
Mammoth Lakes
Basin, June Lake Loop, Convict Lake: Fair
Most reports have the
fishing slow in these areas with the fish holding deeper. Convict had the
best marks but can be a zoo on the weekends. Full or heavy sinking tip
lines are necessary to get those streamers down to the trout in these
alpine lakes. Choose patterns with conspicuous amounts of red and flash
in them to trigger grabs this time of year. DFG plants will begin to
decrease as usual this time of year in all the put and take locations.
Check out the Alpers plants schedule by clicking here.2004 Alpers Trout
and Mono County Dept. of Fish and Game fish stocking schedules
http://www.visitmammoth.com/stockschedule/stockschedule.html
Grant Lake is also
taking on “pond” stature these days as it has very low water. This is not
necessarily a bad thing for tubers trolling here. Grant is big and deep
and with the low water levels the fish will be more condensed. There are
big browns in here and I will not be surprised to hear of a double digit
fish being caught here this fall. Take advantage of this opportunity and
troll #8 and larger streamers with a full sink line along the drop-offs.
I like our blonde version of the Spruce-a-bu for browns. Silver, June
and Gull are your best bets for numbers while tubing. Spruce-a-bu’s and
Loebergs are great flies in these areas. Rush Creek is very nice to wade
now and has some good smaller browns along with DFG stockers to play with
in the larger pools. Use dry/dropper bead head combos here.
You can pick up our
guide flies at the following stand out locations:The Crowley Lake Fish
Camp, The San Diego Fly Shop, The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Stroud’s
Tackle in San Diego, Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks and the Crowley
Lake Store and Deli. There are links to these locations at the resources
tab above. The Crowley Lake Store can be reached at 760-935-4666.
Be the fly…Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
If you visit these links be sure to tell them
Sierra Drifters sent you…
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http://www.prestigepropertiesmammoth.com/
Mammoth Lakes
Lodging:
http://www.mammothlakes.com/ml2/Lodgingx.html
