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Fish'n Conditions July 11, 2012
Capt. Tom Loe
July 12, 2012
Eastern Sierras - Freshwater Fishing Report
Fish'N Conditions July 11th 2012
Howdy friends. The heat is on! The Eastern Sierra has been cooking with near record temperatures and very dry conditions most of July. Zero T-storm activity, although an increasing chance of afternoon thunderstorms are showing up in future forecasts. The upper valleys have been plagued by strong southerly diurnal winds which have really made fishing past 11 am tough on Crowley and Bridgeport Reservoirs. Air temps have been very warm to hot in all the valleys making the upper elevation fisheries more pleasant to spend the late mornings and afternoons on.
The freestone creeks continue to have good flows, although they are beginning to drop significantly as what is left of the snow pack dissipates. There will be some skinny water for sure in all of the fisheries that rely on snow fields for flow come late summer and into fall. Locations like the West Walker, San Joaquin, Rock Creek, Rush Creek, Bishop Creek, will all have very low water flows later. The Lower Owens continues to be extremely high although I checked it out a few days back and clarity has improved quite a bit. Wading and crossing is risky at this release, air temps are triple digits. The hot ticket on the LO right now is floating on a truck tire inner tube with a cooler of "refreshments" in tow!
Some of the campgrounds continue to be closed as crews are working to remove and make safe these ares due to a 500 year wind event that uprooted more old growth timber than myself, or many long time residents and packers have ever seen. The devastation of the forest down here is worth seeing in itself. Sustained wind speeds were estimated in areas to exceed 150 mph, with gusts to 180 mph! The NFS has a ways to go in the clean up and will not give any predictions as to when full operation will take place in the Reds Meadow/San Joaquin Basin area. There remains plenty of access to get to the river, you just may have to hike further and may not be able to park in the day use areas of the campgrounds. You will need to ride a shuttle in after 7 am, there is a daily use fee that you need to pay at the entry gate to enter, or exit.
Fishing is excellent, and even the skeeters are scarce this summer. The flows are perfect currently and combined with the warm weather the wild trout are eager to smack just about any dry fly pattern in the #12-18 range. Wet wading is possible and may be more comfortable in the afternoons, however continuous immersion in the cool of the morn may be more uncomfortable for some, so light waders and studded boots are a good choice. Dry/dropper bead head combos using flashback PT's, birds nest, or olive crystal larva patterns as a dropper nymph are a good choice. Parachute mayfly adults #12-16, or Stimulators as the dry/indicator are a slam dunk down here.
Starkweather Lake in the San Joaquin Basin is very accessible and is a fun place to tube for planted rainbows.
East Walker River
Mid-July and flows remain just a tad over 100cfs! Indicative of a dry winter for sure. The catching remains good, although you will need to focus on the deeper pools and runs to get any consistency especially after the sun climbs above the canyon walls. Water clarity still good with some algae and weed at times, but overall very nice thanks to good water levels in Bridgeport Reservoir. Caddis adults and nymphs #16-18, midges and chironomids #16-22, may fly adults sulfur bodies #18, damsel adults and nymphs #12. Perch fry imitations #10 with a sinking tip line could get you tight to trophy in the deepest pools like the "toilet bowl" located just below the outlet pipe from the dam. Don't hesitate to toss terrestrial patterns like hoppers, beetles, & mice for a change up. The bigs in the EW have seen it all and not many are willing to fish these larger land based food sources to get them out. Numbers of fish are not your goal fishing these types of patterns, only what eats them!
Crowley Lake
Since my last report the wind has been honking from the south nearly every single day beginning around 10:30-11:30. To be honest it has pretty much sucked for fly fishers since the last update. The "white buffalos" stampede down the length of the lake and waves get to the 3 foot range quickly with 30 mph winds pushing them. Fortunately the trend appears to be letting up and the forecast is calling for this condition to weaken which will really help us fish some of the wind prone areas. The algae is stubbornly hanging in there especially in McGee Bay, but cleaner water can be found in the north arm and Layton Springs sections, which are much better to fish in a southerly wind condition anyway. Fishing can be best described as inconsistent lately, however the Under-cators will go down when you locate cleaner water and are not playing musical anchors when the wind comes up. Crooked Creek also has some cleaner water and is a safe haven in south winds, but the influence from the creek proper is insignificant due to low flows and combined with the rapidly dropping water level this season has been less than spectacular for numbers. The creek channels of McGee, the Upper Owens, & Little Hilton are weeded in and not on the radar this season as hot spots. Throat pumps suggest the trout are really targeting right on the bottom and feeding primarily on chironomid larva. Tiger and zebra midges are good selections now fished very close to the mud. Start looking in 13 feet out to 17 feet. Not much action in shorter water recently. The falling barometer has really put the kibosh on significant pupal ascents the last week, but look for some big time emergences when it swings and we get a northerly or westerly condition. Water temps are also favorable for damsel nymph migrations and you streamer tuggers will have a good shot at some bigs trolling along the weed lines early and late.
Bridgeport Reservoir
Conditions are very good here. The algae has dropped and clean water can be found in the prime areas of the lake. The creek channels in Buckeye Bay are out this season-weeded in. Rainbow Pt. has the best wild and holdover trout populations with some quality 4lb. fish being seen daily. Locate the drop-off and fish 9-15 feet says Jeffery at the marina. Our chironomid pupa, emerger's, and gillies are the best. Gray bodies seem to be getting the most action for still water nymphers reports Jeffery . The areas near Paradise and around the public launch ramp are holding good numbers of planters and you just have to stay along the weed lines in clear water to get consistent action. Tubers trolling damsel fly nymphs and perch fry imitations are also doing great in these sections for numbers. Keep your streamer flies down 10-15 feet.
Hot Creek
The afternoon winds have been an issue as usual so get an early start. All caddis, all the time and you'll be fine. Fish a hopper and a dropper bead head midge or PT for a change up in the deeper runs. Water flows have continued to drop and are at a point where the weed lines can fudge up extended drifts. The summer and fall caddis emergences are arguably the best time of the season to catch fish on adult dry flies. The trout here really key in on this hatch. Caddis imitations are larger than their respective midge and may fly counterparts, hence easier to see and fish. If you want to learn how to catch trout on dries, this is a good time of year to hit Hot Creek.
Alpine Lakes
Good reports coming from most areas. The stocking programs are helping to keep these lakes consistent, more so than the last coupe of years for sure. The wind has been a factor previously and you may need to keep an eye out for T-storms in the future as they are in the forecast. Streamers are typically the best way to fish these areas, but you may also have great results using the still water nymphing method near inlets, structure like tree stumps and rock piles, and along drop-offs. Some of the alpine lakes have good populations of callibaetis mayflies so have a selection of flashback PT's, Assassin bird's nest & killa-baetis along. All the alpine lakes have midge populations. They tend to be smaller in size in the higher elevations. The water composition is more neutral than alkaline. Alkaline water is a better enviornment for vegetation/algae- once decayed and on the bottom it becomes the food that the midge larva eat. #18=22 midge patterns are effective below an Under-cator in the more concentrated fish locales. Have a full sinking line for trolling or casting streamers in the deeper alpine lakes. You will need to get down 15 feet quickly. The clear water will have the fish deeper in the summer and bright daylight conditions. Spruce-A-Bu's & Loebergs are my favorites in these lakes. Put a midge or mayfly trailer a couple feet behind the larger streamer when the sun gets down and it glasses off. The fish will begin to come to the surface and you can have some fun when this occurs.
Adobe Pond
Prime time here. Half days are best, we get the callibaetis and midge hatches right from the get go, then switch to damsel adults for the grand finale. The fish go into the weeds mid-day here as it gets too warm so plan on an early start and be done by lunch. This is private water, call for availability please.
Upper Owens River
Numbers have been good in the planted sections around the campground and downstream towards the lake. Decent dry fly action before noon in the specially regulated section above and upstream from the Benton Bridge, but with the low water the fish are really stacked in the deeper pools and not inclined to hold in the riffle water long if at all. Caddis and midges are best, spotty PMD mayfly hatches; this has been the case in most areas due to low water. Moving water mayflies dig lots of cool oxygenated water indicative of wet years-did I mention we did not have a wet year?
Lower Owens River
Its clearing up down here but still ripping at over 500cfs. If it cools down a spell we will take a drift or two to check it out. I will say late summer and fall are gonna be way fun here for sure. Look for good fishing from the drift boats to begin by September when it cools, consistent wading the wild trout section will not begin until flows drop below 300cfs and no one but the LADWP knows when that will occur.
Be the fly... Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
www.sierradrifters.com
760-935-4250
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