Long time Sierra fly fishing resident and Crowley Lake streamer
tugging legend… Phil "Fill" Therrien is a year round full time fly
fishing guide. He has been contracting with Sierra Drifters for many
seasons. Phil is an innovative expert fly tier and is FFF
(Federation of Fly Fishers) certified. Fill has extensive knowledge
of the Lower Owens River and pilots clients down the Lower Owens River in
his sixteen foot custom Willie drift boat. He is also one of the top
wade guides on the Lower Owens and has some unique methods and fly
patterns that he has perfected for this area.
In the summer Fill assists clients on his 24 foot Champion flats
style bay boat. His rig is awesome and will accommodate up to four
anglers in style. Fill has extensive knowledge of Crowley and he has
earned a reputation as one of the best guides on the lake.
Fill has a captivating sense of humor that makes a day on the water
with him very special. His patience and low key approach to guiding
and teaching make him one of the most booked guides in the Sierra.
We Let Our Clients do the talking...Here's
What Some Have Said About Spending their day with Fill:
Tom Loe,
Today my son and I had a full day guided trip with Phillip (fill)
Therrien. I wanted let you know that "Fill" was great! He took
really good care of us and made the whole day fun and productive. The
day exceeded my expectations! Thanks, Bob Smith
The first thing I need to
say if you have not gone on a guided drift boat trip your missing out on
one of life’s wonderful pleasures. Now I would like to thank all of the
people at Sierra Drifters for offering a service of this caliber. Guide
Phil Therrien "Fill" as they call
him was exceptional. On November 28th my wife
and I went on an unbelievable Guided drift boat trip with “Fill”, Friday
the 27th was a beautiful sunny day on the other hand Saturday
the 28th we woke up to SNOW the temperature dropped at least 30
degrease high winds and clouds, Most people would have stayed in there
hotel room but not my wife and myself we put our trust in the fine people
at Sierra Drifters. I would have thought with that much of a change the
weather the chance of catching any fish would be very slim. That’s where
“Fill” and his Expert knowledge came into play he put me on the fish. I
will soon be enjoying some of the other Guide services that they offer and
so should you.
Thank you,
Tom & Josie Gibson
We had another amazing week of trout fishing
on Lake Crowley with Phil Therrien and Doug Dolan. My 10 and 12 year old
boys have become fly fishing fans due to the awesome fishing these experts
have shown us. We caught 30 - 45 fish each of the three days and many were
17 - 22 inches! Its the kind of fishing I would expect to have to travel
to far away places to experience.
Both Phil and Doug are not only very expert fly fishermen, but show great
patience with my two active boys.
Jim Maguire
Prestige Solutions, Inc
Fill & Sergey Maguire
Tom -Just wanted to
send you a few pics of our trip with Phil. While the pics don't
show it the one I'm holding is 21 inches long and the largest for the
day. I really want to say "Thank You" to Phil. He was great all
day long, kept us laughing (even though he was the one we were laughing
at), told us how great he was at dancing and always kept us working to
try and land fish. The day started out slow with only a few bites
and no fish in the boat. As you know Phil was on the radio with
the other guides checking how they were doing. Around lunch we
moved to Little Hilton and things started to pick up. Of course
things got better when it was time to go in but Phil would not give up.
We stayed 2 hours past our end time. For the last catch of the
day Jennifer and myself hooked up a double, landed both and mine was the
largest of the day. What a way to finish. As always you and your
guides go way beyond what is expected. Again Thank You for a great time
on the water. We will see you this winter on the Lower O
Ron and Jennifer
Holbert
Ron Holbert &
Fill
Hey Tom and
Michelle,
Just wanted to let you know that we had a great trip with Phil.
He is a great guy and a very knowledgeable guide. It was our first
trip with your guide service and we had never fished "dip and strip" but
after a short lesson from Phil it was on! We had great results on
the deep fish and even got some surface action browns too! Twenty
plus fish, seventy degree weather, great cigars and great company.
Doesn't get much better! I've attached some photos from the trip. We
didn't get a shot of "Mr. Big Bow", he wouldn't cooperate in the net so
we got him back in the water ASAP. He was 18" plus. We were very
pleased with the trip and will book again with you soon.
Tight lines, Thompson Smith
From:
Steve
Sent: Saturday, October
28, 2006 3:46 PM
To: be-the-fly@sierradrifters.com
Subject: Thank you
http://www.deepcreekflyfishers.org/crowley_06.htm
I went
to Crowley on Friday 27 2006 and had a great time for sure. I learned a
lot about fishing from a boat and fly fishing in general, I had a great
guide Phil Therrien.I caught 10 fish all between 18 to 20 inches long.
One brown Phil really knows his stuff. Caught most of the fish at 6
bay, it is the same bay the club uses. It was darn cold in the morning
and warmed real nice as the day went on. We fished under a 14 foot
leader with a puff set so you were only a foot off bottom. A zebra midge
on the bottom and a perch fry up about a foot small split shot above
that. Lot of grabs four fish broke off. I did not get a picture of all
fish. I caught three tagged fish so what do I win? It was a great trip.
I am very proud would highly recommend, if you want to go take me with
you and I am always ready to go back
Steve
Clark, Web master
Just
thought I'd write and let you know my son, Jeff and
I were on Crowley with Sierra Drifters on 10/19. Guided by Phil
Therrien. Had a great trip...temps in the 60s, not a lick of wind all
day, and landed about 10 fish each, most in the 15-18 inch range, 19
being the biggest. Mostly on a perch fly imitation, but some on a midge
dropper. A class outfit, and Phil was a great guy. Show up with some
warm clothes and they'll take care of the rest! Hope you have a great
time..
Dennis
Patrick, Deep Creek Fly Fishers
Hi,
Tom & Michele, I just wanted to let you know that Paula and I had a
great day on the river with Phil, on SUNDAY the 10th. We had a lot of
laughs and learned a lot about fishing the Owens. The catching was on
the slow side, but Paula managed to out fish me. Phil is a lot of fun
and we're planning to book a trip on Crowley this spring or fall.
Thanks, Jon & Paula Anders
Hi Tom, 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. Jim "the loop" Vorell
~What a trip! You guys are a class outfit...Of course I am still on
a "caught a big one" high, but I am writing this to you not just out of
gratitude for our success. My dad and I really enjoyed our day on the
river. Phil is an outstanding guide. From the minute we loaded up in
Phil's truck we knew it was going to be a great day. He is very easy going
and I could have listened to him and my dad swap jokes all day! Oh wait a
minute I did! :) He genuinely loves his profession and the sport/art of
fly-fishing. His passion for the outdoors is very contagious and while
anxious to begin catching fish, we began by just listening and enjoying
the river and nature that surrounds it. With Phil's knowledge of the river
and the elusive trout that inhabit it, we got into some fish. My dad and I
lost two large trout early on and were kicking the can. Phil assured us
that they were just scrappy six inch browns!! Ha-Ha As we pulled into a
spot where Phil knew big fish swam we became pretty excited. In our
anxiety, I was able to see Phil was serious about this spot and prepared
us in case we got lucky. We landed a couple beautiful 18-19 inchers....and
then it was strip, strip, hang on boys it's "wally the whale". After an
attempt at ramming our boat, I was able to catch up to the creature from
the deep. Although excited, Phil was a cool character and instructed me
perfectly. This was a task considering the expletives we were listening to
from my dad when he saw the fish! Estimated at over 8 lbs and 25 inches,
fish of a lifetime.. But when it comes down to it what made the day was
the company...I look forward to fishing with Phil again. I believe half
the Bakersfield Police Department might be calling you to book some
trips.. I have been sharing the photos and the story with my coworkers.
Bill Darbee Jr.
~Tom , just wanted to drop a line and say my son and I had a fantastic
trip....again. Phil was a great guide and got one of us on some big
fish...story of my life ..Bill Jr. always seems to nail the big
ones...maybe I should go solo next time?? Seriously though, we had a great
time, caught fish, had beautiful weather and surroundings...doesn't much
better than that. Extend our appreciation and thanks to Phil. Looking
forward to the next time.. Bill Darbee Sr.
I want to thank
Phil for a great day on the water. This was my first time thanks to Tim
Derry who brought me along as his guest. Not only was it a great day
weather wise, it was also a great day of fishing. I was able to hook three
fish over 20 inches (from what Phil told me) along with numerous other
trout. Phil was great and a pleasure to be with on the water.
Thanks again for a fabulous day of fishing!!! Bob Pearson, Redondo
Beach, CA
~Just a quick note to say thanks for a fun
day last Wednesday the 24th. Phil was really a great guy to fish with and
helped me a lot with my novice level casting and fishing technique. I'd
highly recommend Sierra Drifters to anyone and hope to be able to fish
with you again. Thanks again...Best fishes to you both and hi to Phil. Jim
Etheridge
~I had a wonderful time. Phil is an excellent guide. He put me onto
fish, taught me a lot in a very comfortable way and he is gentlemen to
boot! I look forward to fishing with you folks again in the near future.
Dennis
Darrell Tate, from Salt Lake City
Utah with one of 5 hogs he caught & released that day,Feb. 18th, 2006. He
said that they compared to the trout in Russia.
~Dave and I really enjoyed today on the Lower Owens.
Fill Therrien was a real pro and fun to spend the day with. Pat
~Hey, this is Jeff
Smith. My buddy Jeff and I just drifted about 2 weeks ago (mid
week). I would like to plan another trip up there, but would love to
come up there when the weather is having a positive affect on the fish.
Phil was our guide and he WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Can I get him
again? Thanks.
~Dave and I had a great time fishing!! Phil did an excellent job!!
Thanks again.....I will be in contact with you guys for a Crowley trip
this summer!
~Ray Labadie convinced me
to go on a float trip Wednesday and I had a great time. Phil was
our guide and both Ray and I thoroughly enjoyed both the fishing and the
guiding. If not for our own "LOFT" issues (ask Phil) we
would have landed far more than the 20 trout that made it to the net.
I have fished the lower Owens with Ray on foot a few times and that
number of trout probably represents 10 foot trips worth of fish landed
for us! Just to put into perspective how serious we were about
this trip - We left Newport Beach Tuesday night after 9:00 PM and
crashed in the Holiday Inn in Bishop sometime after 2 AM. Met Phil
at 8 AM, fished until 3 PM and I had a conference call for work at 4 PM.
Left Bishop at 5 PM and made it to Newport Beach about 10:30 or so.
I had a 6:45 AM flight the next day and I was petty tired, but one happy
fisherman. Thanks for setting up the trip on short notice.
I'm definitely going to come back and do it again, or perhaps Crowley.
Phil took a couple of pictures of fish and if you could email those
whenever, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again, Mike Ziehl
~Dear Tom: I want to thank you for all your help in booking my trip.
I had a great time AND caught fish!!! My comments about Phil are the
following, First he was on time and prepared. Second he was extremely
helpful and as an instructor he was super!! Third and most important "It
was like fishing with a good friend" Kudos to you and Phil. I will be
seeing you again soon with my cousin. Sincerely, Lee Ambrosini
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