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Fish'N Conditions November 1st, 2012

Capt. Tom Loe
November 8, 2012
Eastern Sierras - Freshwater Fishing Report

Fish'N Conditions November 1st, 2012

Fly fishing for trout this fall has been good on the Owens Rivers. The High Sierra near Mammoth Lakes & Bishop CA. is experiencing fantastic weather combined with beautiful scenery.

We are enjoying another extended period of good weather which is keeping the fish on the chew and providing some excellent dry fly opportunities in some locations. The general trout season will close in the Sierra on 11-15-2012. The East Walker River, Hot Creek, the Upper & Lower Owens Rivers and Pleasant Valley Reservoir will remain open with special angling restrictions for each area. Crowley Lake boating access is now closed; however shore & tube access is still allowed until 11-15-12.

Conditions are varied on many of the popular trophy trout waters. Flows are dropping or stable overall; however the Upper Owens is as high as its been all year and will remain this way for a while as the LADWP pulls water out of the June lake Loop to fill Crowley. A significant storm put some snow on the Sierra in late October pretty much shutting down the alpine regions & resorts. There is thin ice forming on lakes above 8500 feet in some areas on the cooler mornings. Tioga and Sonora Passes have re-opened after a brief respite, the road into the San Joaquin is closed except for logging trucks.

We wish the very best to our friends and clients who got devastated by Hurricane Sandy. We sincerely hope your lives get back to normal quickly and safely.

Upper Owens River

The current release rate of 160cfs is making some sections difficult to fish. Figure about half the normal runs are currently fishable. Water clarity is very good with a strong showing of BWO's, midges, & small caddis being the catalyst for some excellent dry fly action during the calm mid-day periods. You may need to use a couple AB shot to get twin bead heads down near the bottom, even in the slower pools. Numbers have been very good here; however the majority of the fish are small rainbows and browns running about 8 inches on average, although most of us men would say they are nearly a foot! There are big fish on the move and holding in the deeper pools, they are just a bitch to get down to under these flows in some runs. We are about a month late this year due to the warm weather and very low lake level at Crowley which made it nearly impossible for the larger fish to migrate up for such a long distance in short water. Flashback PT's & Assassin birds nest #14-18, SJ worms and egg patterns, broken back tigers, olive crystal caddis #18-20 for nymphs. Streamer tugging has also been tough due to the high flows. The water is above the banks in some sections and trying to keep the fly down and near the undercuts is not possible for the majority of runs that are traditionally good this time of year. I used a dry/dry combo rig recently and crushed the fish on the surface with a #16 high vis para BWO & a #22 para Trico as the target fly. Flat out deadly! Look for "pods" of feeding fish and apply the three "P's" Position, Presentation, Performance. Good stuff here right now, wait until the flows back off for the bigs to become consistent.

Lower Owens River

Near perfect conditions here right now. Fall is my favorite time to drift the LO with great fishing, beautiful weather, and gorgeous scenery. The wild trout section has been fishing great with nymphing and dry fly fishing consistently getting those wading this area grabs. Use PT's and bird's nest #16-20, broken back zebras or tigers #16-18. Adult PMD's, Trico's and BWO's will get looks #14-22. The only Debbie Downer this time of year can be a "willow leaf hatch" that may emerge when the wind blows the dead leaves into the water. The bombardment of all the debris can put the Kibosh on a good bite. Keep this in mind if there is wind in the forecast, we have another couple weeks of this until the brambles have shed their foliage. The "dip & strip" streamer CATCHING from our drift boats has been really good most floats-we had a day or two of so-so fishing due to a small flow increase from 150-200cfs. Punk Perch, seal buggers, & Loebergs used with a moderate to heavy sinking tip line are good choices.

Pleasant Valley Reservoir

The level of the lake is the key to good fishing in the transition area near the inlet. It is just about right currently (4384′) but has been fluctuating so much is hard to predict. 4385′ or above this area is difficult to wade or access. The short river section is fishing well using dry/dropper bead head combos. Mayfly adults with midge, caddis, bird's nest, or PT patterns as your dropper will all get grabs. Fishing the pocket water in the heavy brush can be really fun and productive so long as power generation is not occurring. Tubing has also been very good near the launch ramp (they plant here) and around the inlet. The brown trout fishing is best here in fall and early winter. Loebergs, Spruce-A-Bu's and punk perch are good choices for streamers using a full sinking or heavy sinking tip line and trolling along the drop-offs.

Crowley Lake

It has been a pretty good year overall on Crowley. The DFG dumped a bunch of little's in this fall so we are anticipating a solid season (water level permitting) again next year as well. The low water level & late algae bloom took its toll later on for still water nymph fishers; however the excellent streamer bite made up for the slow times fishing with an Under-Cator. The water level has come up a foot since its low point with the most consistent fishing being in the north arm around Six Bays and Layton Springs. The algae has finally become less of a nuisance throughout the lake and a hike down to the Hiltons could be a good choice for the grand finale here. The conditions allow some good opportunities to fish from shore around Six Bays due to the steep drop-off . Tubers are also targeting this ledge, and during lower light periods the fish are more concentrated along the shoreline. Go deeper as the sun climbs. Perch fry and leech patterns are best #8-10. Go rogue and use a #2-6 rainbow trout imitation for a shot at "Brownzilla" The big browns are targeting the small rainbows & cutty's recently planted. I have witnessed some awesome displays of white water chaos as a monster brown chases its prey. The weather remains nice enough for a small chironomid hatch, and the larva are present year around. With the cleaner water one can have consistent fishing in 6-10 feet during the late mornings while indicator fishing. Hard to beat a tiger or zebra midge as the lower, use a perch fry, bird's nest, or crystal leech as the upper. The marina is now closed until next season.

East Walker River

Flows have dropped to 23 cfs. There is very limited water that can sustain healthy fish at this release, I like 50cfs and up as a reference for those of you unfamiliar with the EW.

Hot Creek

The snowfall we had in late October really helped bump up the flows here a couple notches making the conditions better. Get your mayfly adults out #16-22. There are a few late hoppers present, good choice if you do not like fishing the tiny mayflies but enjoy surface action. Late mornings through 2pm. SJ worms and egg patterns are a nice change and can fool some of the PHD trout here this time of year. Stick to small PT's, birds nest, crystal midge & caddis larva nymph's.

Bridgeport Reservoir

Open until 11-15-2012. The marina launch ramp is closed (low water) but the store and RV Park will stay open until the finish. Fish are moving deeper as the cooler temps push them towards the dam. Streamer fishing perch fry and leech patterns along the east shoreline 4-6 feet during low light can be productive. Water is off color and stained but the algae and weed issues are long gone. I hear the sheep & head Ram are heading towards the coast for the winter soon, stop by and get some flies from Jefff- errr-eee!

Thanks for reading my report.
Be the fly…Tom Loe,
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
www.sierradrifters.com
760-935-4250

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