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Eastern Sierras
Capt. Tom Loe
February 18, 2004
Eastern Sierras - Freshwater Fishing Report
President's Day 2004 Fish Report
February 15, 2004
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. We hope you all have the opportunity to get on the water here in the Eastern Sierra over the holiday weekend or in the near future. Conditions have been ideal recently and the forecast over the next several days shows no indication of any major changes. The pattern of weak and moisture poor cold fronts looks to be a continuing trend throughout the coming weak. You may find some gusty winds and partly cloudy skies in the Owens Valley occasionally as these fronts come and go. Weather conditions can alter quickly in this region during this time of year so be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.
We would like to thank again all the friendly fly fishers who visited and attended the shows we did in Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks and Pasadena last week. We are looking forward to seeing you all on the water soon.
Lower Owens River: Good
Bring those BWO (blue winged olive) patterns you will need them. #16-18 baetis mayflies have been hatching mid-day consistently and the wild trout are responding to the hatches aggressively. The cloudy calm days will provide the best action on the surface as these mayflies emerge in large numbers during this condition. Midge larva patterns in #18-22 will also get you grabs while fishing near the bottom with either an indicator or just high stick, dead drifting techniques.
Flows remain at 102 cfs below the dam at Pleasant Valley Reservoir. At these release rates wading is easy and access in this section is excellent. The water temperatures are in the upper 30’s during the mornings, with low 40’s by afternoon.
Most of the fish in this area will be browns that average about 10 inches, with plenty of 14-inch fish around. There have been ever increasing amounts of rainbows showing up in the wild trout section, some of them in the 20-inch range. These are planted fish that have run the gauntlet and have made it upstream to the promised land of catch and release. The larger pools will hold these fish and you have a better chance of hooking one of these rascals on a streamer or nymph rig.
The drift boat sections have been kicking out some very large rainbows and the browns are getting increasingly more active on the surface during the baetis hatches. Streamers in #6-12 should be your choice if you are looking for the larger trout this time of year. The “dip and strip” method we developed is vital when fishing upstream either by boat or wading. Use a heavy sinking tip line for best results. You may link to our website and look up the guide tips section to get full details on the dip and strip technique. We featured this as one of the topics in our presentations during the seminars last week at several fly fishing clubs.
Chris and Fran May from Oxnard, CA took a float with Sierra Drifters guide Brad McClain recently and Fran spanked a huge rainbow that took fish of the day honors and definitely in the top five big ones category this season. Check out the shot of Fran and Brad, this fish has a great paint job!
Former big league pitcher and currently Angels assistant GM Ken Forsch and catcher Gary Wilburn are now throwing flies instead of baseballs while drifting for trout on the Lower Owens River. Check out the nice rainbows these guys “struck out” on a recent guided drift boat trip with us.
Frank Carlsen and son Eric from La Crescenta, CA got into some nice fish while on a float with us down the Lower “O”. Eric had the right stripping action to make our spruce-a-bu pattern look just right for the big fish honors that day.
Check out these lucky folks fish pics and others by visiting our website at http://www.sierradrifters.com
Pleasant Valley Reservoir: Good
Conditions have changed here since last week due to increasing water levels of the lake. You will encounter high water near the inlet section. Wading can be “iffy” at best and with the reduced shoreline area, overhead casts are difficult in most sections. Watch those long back casts! You will find yourself in the penalty box if you are not factoring in the brush behind you. The fish can be reached by roll casts (see guide tips below) and in the lower sections of the inlet, float tubes. Rainbows and browns are being caught and released on both dry-bead head dropper rigs and streamers fished with light to moderate sinking tip lines. The baetis are coming off here as well and using some BWO imitations on the surface and as emergers will also get you grabs.
The days are getting a tad longer and the sun feels warmer during the mid-day periods. With the higher water levels you may find “freeze” tubing a better alternative to wading. Access to the transition zone between the lake and river is superior from a tube. The launch ramp area is always a good bet this time of year. Fish towards the inlet while trolling streamers in olive, black or orange #6-12. Use a full or heavy sinking line in the reservoir proper.
There will be above average numbers of fisherman and those who choose to use floating stink baits… in this section. This is a small piece of water, use discretion if you tube it to avoid unpleasant confrontations with shore anglers.
The Gorge: Good
The wild browns here are becoming more active with the increasing daylight and mayfly activity. This is a good place to escape the significant numbers that are forecast to be in the easier to access locations of the Eastern Sierra. The willows and “evil nettle” are still dormant and will be for another couple months. Access is optimum this time of year and fishing here will continue to improve as the weather warms. There is no snow on the trails leading into the gorge from the middle sections to the reservoir at this time. It is still quite a hoof down here and you should be prepared for at least an hour of strenuous walking and boulder hopping. Bring along a 2-4 wt., 7-9 foot rod with a floating line. Have a selection of mayfly adults and nymph imitations, with some midge larva bead head patterns #16-20. Have several #14-16 attractor patterns to be used as your indicator when using the dropper style rig. Dry dropper combos are deadly here, and you will find trout that are not spooked on your approach to be aggressive in taking most anything well presented on the surface most of the time.
You may pick up our time tested fly patterns and innovative tackle at the following fine fly shops: Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Malibu Fishing Tackle in Thousand Oaks. There are links to all stores at www.sierradrifters.com
Guide tips: The Roll Cast
If you spend anytime on densely brush lined trout streams, this cast is an essential part of your presentation. It is fundamentally simple and with very little practice one can become proficient enough to handle the majority of situations the cast is designed for.
One must have water to properly practice and develop his or her roll cast. A lawn, mat or other dry surfaces do not provide sufficient enough resistance of the fly line to effectively “load” or bend the rod during the cast.
The beauty of the roll cast is that you do not require any space behind you for the line to be back cast into. It is an especially nice cast to use with the wind at your back. All the fly line remains in theory, in front of the plane of your shoulders. Before you actually take a rod to hand try imitating the cast by using this practice motion. Pretend for the moment you have a small hand axe in your casting hand. You are going to “chop” a large tree limb that is situated an arms length distant and just slightly above your waist height. You know from experience that you will not be able to cut the limb with one fell swing, but a series of blows will do the job. You bring the axe up, cocking your arm by bending your elbow slowly so as not to hit yourself or anything behind you. Your elbow stays in front of your body and well out in front of your shoulders; elevated as far as necessary to give you power to hit the tree limb. The imaginary axe may be well above your head, with your hand being about ear level. You stop the axe completely from its backward motion while at the same time aiming for the limb. The stroke of the arm is downward towards the limb, with a little break of the wrist added just as your arm becomes straight, just prior to the axe hitting the limb and stopping abruptly. Practice this in slow motion at first, increasing your power and speed when you feel comfortable. Remember to stop the arm completely just about as your hand gets to waist level.
Use the resistance of the water on the fly line to drag out a section of line by keeping the rod tip low to the surface and allowing slack to be pulled down the rod and onto the surface in front of you. You may need to do this several times to get enough line to cast (20 feet is good to start with). Keep your elbow in front of the plane of your shoulders and elevate your entire arm with your forearm being perpendicular to the surface of the water and the rod tip high and eventually pointing at the 1 O’clock position if you are right handed, 11 if you are left. Do this motion slowly, keeping the fly line ON the waters surface. Do not pull the line out of or off the surface. You elbow should be well out in front of your shoulders and elevating as you bend your arm bringing the rod back to the proper angle. Study the lines position in relation to your rod, it should NOT be laying alongside it and touching. If it is, slowly roll your wrist outwards to move the line away from the eventual path of the rod. You will notice a slow curve of fly line coming from the water towards the rods tip. This is the pre-formation of the loop you will eventually cast. Use the analogy of the axe to continue the casting motion, remembering to stop the rod abruptly once it has reached waist level. Do not allow the line to go back behind your head. A common mistake with roll casting is to drop the rod tip down bringing the “loop” of line lower than the height of the rod tip when cast forward. This will cause a poor cast and you may even hit yourself with the fly line or leader as it goes forward. Another common error is a “back and forth” motion of the rod when casting. Make sure you stop the rod completely before going forward. This hesitation is necessary to properly load the rod when it changes direction. The line will follow the path of the rod…ALWAYS. As you get more proficient with the cast you can even “shoot” additional line after the loop develops. Practice this cast on both sides of your body by bringing the rod over your opposite shoulder. This is called a backhand cast. Use your elbow as a “pivot” point keeping it out in front and on the same axle or line that you would use with your forehand roll cast.
This is a must know cast and it will give you superior presentations when adverse conditions warrant.
Be the fly…Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
Email [email protected]
www.sierradrifters.com
Phone 760-935-4250
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