March 29th Fish'n Conditions
Capt. Tom Loe
March 30, 2014
Eastern Sierras - Freshwater Fishing Report
Spring time is here in the Sierras, and the fly fishing on the Upper Owens, Middle Owens, Hot Creek, & Pleasant Valley Reservoir are very good. The spring fishing period around Mammoth and Bishop can be as good as it gets with mild weather and near perfect water conditions for fly fishing. Guided drift boat trips on the Middle Owens are kicking out some really large rainbows with steady dry fly action in the wading sections.
Blew like a Banshee today on the Upper Owens. Middle Owens very nice all day with some gusty winds afternoon. The wind started right as the BWO hatch began & it pretty much shut down the surface activity save for the wind protected pockets. Still some good surface activity around the confluence of Hot Creek during a high pressure period of weather. Best dry action I have ever seen this early here. Middle Owens also fishing well from guided drift boat trips. Check out the monster bow Kirt Collins caught 3/24/14 on a Punk Perch using the "dip & strip". Dry fly action slowed way down on the MO wild trout section & Hot Creek the last couple days. Nymphing is mow better fur sure! Flows remain unseasonably low in both locations. East Walker still poor due to conditions. Get your tube out, or call us to fish Pleasant Valley Reservoir. Big numbers here with some jumbo rainbows in the mix. Looks like a major winter storm barreling down for the weekend. 1-2 feet of snow forecast for upper elevations with a whole bunch of cold on the way by Sunday.
Check out this link if you are interested in the continuing drama with fish planting in this region. You will be surprised, trust me! http://shar.es/RUfsR Thanks to Ed Zieralski for the great article.
The Drifters guide staff would like to thank our clients for their business this winter. We CRUSHED past bookings. We have just had the best December through March in seventeen seasons as the longest standing group of professional guides in the Mammoth region. Thank you!!! Client Jim Maguire, "Best guide service I've used. All of Tom's guides are top notch fisherman and really go out of their way to catch you fish. Tried several others, no comparison!"
Upper Owens River (3-29-14)
Much slower recently for the larger migratory rainbows. We call them "Crowley Steelhead" & for good reason. They possess most every characteristic of an ocean run rainbow and fight just as hard. The bulk of these winter run fish have spawned and are returning back to the lake. Good numbers of catchable browns also on the chew. You can do very well on a dry/dropper combo rig using flashback PT's and a hi-vis para BWO #14 as the upper during the emergences. Caddis going BERSERK around the confluence of Hot Creek, lot's of numbers here. Roads along the river are fine & access is good as of 3/28, this might change if we get lower elevation snow from the next storm forecast to hit on 3/29-30/14. We are seeing good midge and mayfly (BWO #16) activity daily if the wind does not hook up. There is also increasing caddis activity upstream to the Long Years section after noon. The school sized fish are active and feeding. Have some mayfly nymphs like flashback PT's, assassins, hares ear, #14/20. The dark assassin bird's nest IS the hot fly #14/16, along with the egg patterns we are selling at Reagan's in Bishop, and the Crowley General Store.. You will also want broken-back articulated or regular crystal tiger and zebra midges, crystal olive zebras and caddis larva patterns #14/18 for tandem nymph rigs fished beneath an Under-cator. On bright sunny days use the yellow or clear 3/4 inch Under-cator. It will not be as obtrusive to the wily trout. Hi-vis para BWO adults are good to use as an indicator on a dry/dropper bead head rig. Parachute midge patterns #20/22 are also hot surface flies for the sipping trout late morning. #18/16 BWO adults are also on the menu, I really believe in the quill wing patterns I sell and use, check them out at the least. The hot rig during off hatch periods is a crystal leech, dark assassin, or SJ worm as your upper fly. Use the Otter egg patterns we sell at Reagan's, and Crowley General store as the lower. This set-up is just flat deadly, and we have perfected how to rig and present it to fool those Crowley Steelhead. Streamer fishing can also be productive using a light or clear sinking tip. This is a good option if the wicked witch of the west blows in. Use Loebergs, punk perch, agent orange, or crystal leeches working the deeper cut banks & pools from an upstream position. Book a trip with us and you will obtain the keys to the castle & learn how to catch these incredible fish. The spring run rainbows are just beginning to move & water conditions should be excellent this season with stable conditions.
GUIDE TIP: Winter time takes are as soft as a butterflies kiss, so set on anything. If your Under-cator stops, shimmies, hovers, or plunges, SET IT! I tell clients look for reasons to set the hook, not excuses why you didn't! Swings are free, and you can't strike out while fly fishing. Try to set the hook moving your rod the direction your indicator is moving. This establishes ANGLE & insures you pull the hook INTO the fish, not out of it's mouth. Anything 4 feet or deeper may hold a fish or two.
Middle Owens River 3/29/14
It has been consistently inconsistent here. You could have a twenty fish day, or if the fish switch turns off just a few. The surface action has been disappointing the last few days, nymphing has been good. I believe it has to do with dissolved oxygen and water temperatures emanating from Pleasant Valley dam. The Middle Owens is a tailwater fishery and this shallow reservoir can have "mixed" batches of water moving through at times. The BWO/PMD mayfly & spring caddis hatch is in full swing and the wild fish are moving into the riffle water and tail outs to feed mid-day. The caddis hatches are coming off afternoon. The trout are really keying in on these hatches & you may experience a decline in grabs after the emergences some days. The midge hatch is nearly a blanket emergence on the high pressure days. These smaller insects are a mainstay for the Sierra's trout. Use very small patterns like tiger and zebra midges with crystal tails #20/22 to imitate the shucks they crawl from. # 20/22 gillies, pupa, & crystal emergers work well while nymphing beneath an Under-cator. Midge cluster patterns and parachute adults #20/22 are best for dry fly enthusiasts. The BWO or baetis mayfly hatch is also a hot ticket now. The recent warm weather has also triggered the beginning of the spring caddis emergence. On the high pressure calmer days you will see good numbers of these light bodied delta winged insects covering the water. Hi-vis Elk hair caddis adults are good replicas #16/18. Nymph patterns like assassins birds nest, flashback pheasant tails, and ribbed hares ear patterns work great to represent the larger sub-surface profiles. #14/18 are good calls. Mayfly adults have upright wings, twin tails, and ride high in the foam lines. The pale morning duns (PMD's) are good sized for mayfly adults. Use a #16 pattern for these sulphur bodied duns. Keep them high riding in the suds or foam lines. "The foam is home, don't roam from the foam" during a good mayfly hatch! Streamer fishing using the "dip & strip" (see my guide tips on how to fish this method- top of any page of this site), is also productive & will fool larger trout more often. During low light periods , or "off hatch" cycles use the Spruce-A-Bu. This has been my top producing fly for many years on this river fooling countless larger trout. With the fish feeding now and warmer water temps, patterns like olive and light punk perch #12/16, Loebergs #10, crystal leeches & agent orange #12/16 are good choices. Recent drift trips have the olive punk perch as the top producer. This fly is a "strymph" pattern. Cross between a streamer and a nymph. Use these with a light sinking tip & swing your fly into the foam lines or main current-do not cast on top of where the fish are holding so you don't put them down or spook them. And did I mention the first little yellow stoneflies are poppping? It be true! Stimulators are great representations for the adults #14/16. Larger PT's and assassin birds nest are great as nymph clones #14/12.
Flows are currently at 106 cfs and stable. The LADWP real time gauge at the Pleasant Valley outlet is currently functioning (I have a link to it on my resources page of this site) The "Middle Owens" near Bishop was once named the "Lower Owens "and was changed since the LORP project re-watered the section of river down from Tinemaha Reservoir a few years back.
Pleasant Valley Reservoir:
Conditions are darn near perfect here with the rez level excellent for fly fishing the transition area. This section is fishing SUPER WELL with huge numbers if you know how to strip a streamer or use a dry/dropper bead head combo. Not a lot of huge fish, but the numbers can be silly. The transition area is much further south currently at this level. The level is very low which makes for better fishing near the lake proper as the channel is deeper. Check out the short river section just down from the powerhouse using dry dropper combos like hi-vis para BWO and stimulators as the upper-broken back tiger and zebra midges, assassin birds nest, flashback PT's, crystal olive zebras, and copper or dark tiger midges as the nymph. Don't "roam from the foam" as the fish really line up on this section of water to feed on the emergers drifting down in the slower current. Tubing has also been very productive using Loebergs, Punk Perch, Agent Orange, & crystal leeches. Use a full or heavy sinking tip line. Still water nymphing Crowley style can also get you into big numbers along the drop-offs. Use Broken back midges like gillies and tigers, crystal emergers, and pupa patterns are good calls as upper flies on a tandem rig. Stick to tigers and zebras as the lower flies. Watch out for the slippery or frozen mud along the shoreline so long as the level remains low.
The Gorge is fishing well in the deeper pools & pocket water. Late winter & fall are excellent periods to visit this area as the dense foliage and brambles are not so much a factor. You will see huge midge and mayfly emergence's on the good weather days. Caddis are popping in the afternoon. Dry/dropper bead head rigs are deadly here. I like flashback PT's in #18/20, assassins in #16/18, & crystal olive caddis larva in #18/20 as nymphs. Dry fly action is also good for better casters who can turn a leader over in compromising areas. It is wise to fish downstream of your target water here, don't expect to get across from the wild browns here-they will spook instantly when they get a shadow on them. Tie on a #16/18 BWO adult, or parachute midge #20 for consistent surface takes during the hatch. Midges in the morns-mayflies at noon.
Hot Creek (3/28/14)
This next cold front on 3/29/14 could be a game changer here for a few days. Depending on snow levels access could become more difficult. Decent caddis & mayfly activity occuring daily. The small spring caddis are like candy to these wild fish and you will enjoy the best snap during this hatch. #18/20 hi-vis elk hair imitations will suffice, try some crystal olive caddis larva patterns for nymphs. Dry dropper rigs using para midge or hi-vis para BWO or blue wing olive adult patterns #14-18 as an upper, while dropping a broken back zebra or tiger midge, assassin bird's nest, or crystal olive caddis/zebra larva pattern will get you into fish in the slots between the weeds. Lengthen your leaders to ten feet here, 5X is a good tippet size. The deeper pools can be fished with weighted attractors like SJ worms and egg patterns hung beneath an Under-cator. A hot rig is an olive or light Punk Perch as your upper fly with an assassin or PT as a dropper. You may also "swing cast" the Punk across the deeper slots and pools for a shot at one of the bigs that hunker along the weed lines or in the gut of the larger holes. Use the yellow, or clear for short water nymphing. Midge cluster, or para midge adults in the #20-24 range are hot flies for surface action. BWO adults fished high in the suds #16/18 also good calls afternoon when the baetis start to emerge. Access remains good as of 2/26/14 however the forecast calls for some snow to hit on the weekend.
*Tom Loe is under permit from the Inyo National Forest Service to guide Hot Creek.
East Walker River (3/28/14)
Flows consistently at 22cfs. If the levels improve you may want to dash up here. Pressure has been light and reports of fair to good "catching" came in when the flows came up. The West Walker has also opened to year around fishing & one may consider doing a Walker combo trip? The EW has had a tough time the last couple of years due to extended low flows from dry winters causing poor overall conditions. Fish counts are not what they were several seasons ago and what remains are concentrated in the deepest pools and runs. Some significant storms in March could improve conditions greatly for Bridgeport Reservoir and the EW. We are keeping our fingers crossed!
My great friend Jeffery Wenger runs the Bridgeport Reservoir Marina & RV Park. His hands & business are "up in the air" due to the continuing drought. "It is impossible to say if the marina will have enough water for slips this season. We will be renting boats and launching from the other end of the lake if need be. The RV park will be fully operational and ready to go for opener." 3/19/14
I am happy to announce that the we will have a fully stocked fly box and Under-cators in Reagan's Sporting Goods in Bishop! The Drifters fly box will carry all the guide tested patterns you see on the fish report including patterns for Pyramid Lake, Eagle Lake, Lake Almanor, & other great trout fisheries in the west. This is a great shop with knowledgeable and super friendly people that is open daily 7-5 during the winter. They are located on Main St. with easy access and parking. This store has everything you need for fishing, hunting, camping. They sell licenses too!
Pyramid Lake is well known for gigantic cutthroat trout like this one Chris Linkletter got with me a few seasons back. Still water nymphing and streamers can both get you into huge cutts in the late winter through spring. You can get flies & Under-cators for Pyramid right on the way up from S0-Cal by stopping at Reagan's in Bishop, or the Crowley General Store.
I have added a picture gallery to the website this year. You can click on it at the top of any page of this website. My apologies to any of our wonderful clients who have been with Sierra Drifters for the last seventeen seasons and do not have a picture posted. I just can't post the 30,000 pics we have taken! I will make an effort over time to post what I have. Click on the "gallery" button and do a search for your name, or scroll through the pages. You can double click on the picture to enlarge it once it is located.
Thanks for reading my report.
Be the fly….Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
www.sierradrifters.com
760-935-4250
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