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Eastern Sierras
Capt. Tom Loe
March 22, 2004
Eastern Sierras - Freshwater Fishing Report
First Day of Sring 2004 Fish Report
March 20, 2004
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to all on this first day of spring 2004 fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
The unseasonably warm and dry weather this March has the region in an early summer pattern. The Owens Valley continues to experience daytime highs in the upper 70’s to mid-80’s; with the lows hovering in the 40’s most mornings. This extended period of warm has brought water temperatures well into the upper 50’s on the Lower Owens River and has triggered substantial hatches of both caddis and stoneflies. The trout have become very active early in the day with the warmer water. Late afternoon caddis activity will provide opportunities for the dry fly enthusiast. The forecast is calling for little change throughout the week, with the forecast calling for freezing and unstable weather to once again set in by next weekend.
It has been so warm recently that we have been “wet wading” most days on the Lower O. The mosquitoes are out in force so have some repellant handy. I have also seen a couple of snakes in the Gorge this week so if you are planning on doing the “Baton death march” down into the canyon keep a close eye out for the rattlers. B.T.W., fishing has been pretty much wide open down in the gorge during this period of warm weather. The flushing flow that scoured out the channel last summer has without a doubt assisted in providing superior trout spawning and aquatic insect habitat. I am impressed with the numbers of small wild browns here.
In general fishing is very good in most areas with the exception of Pleasant Valley Reservoir which received a thrashing from a “put and take” event that took place last weekend and was rumored to have 1000 participants (present company excluded for sure!). It is apparent that there was more “take” than “put” and unless you are in the aluminum beer can, Styrofoam and plastic recycle business, cross this place off for another week or so.
On another note, please take time to visit our website and click on the news release by the Cal Fish and Game www.sierradrifters.com
There will be a print out of the actual donation form. It pertains to the special funding request (donations) of the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery located in Mono County by means of a pilot program initiated by local business men, state and county government. The Hot Creek Hatchery is arguably the most important trout rearing facility in California and is in serious jeopardy of closing due to the states economic woes. If this hatchery does not receive funding for the fiscal 2004-2005 year it will be a tremendous disaster to all in this state who value trout for both recreation and business. For those of you who may care less about planted fish and want only wild trout please take note that in the Eastern Sierra drainages and Owens Valley there are only two “native” salmonid species, the Little Kern Golden Trout and the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout. All other rainbow, brown, golden hybrids and brook trout species including those in the back country lakes are direct descendents of planted fish.
Winter is losing its grip in this region and it will not be long before we will be doing updates on the many fine fisheries we have in the area. Crowley Lake is beginning to thaw, although it is still 70 percent covered with ice as of this report. The freestone creeks are flowing high especially in the Lower Eastern Sierra.
The spring spawning migration has begun and I am witnessing good numbers of mature rainbows migrating up the tributaries that flow into Crowley. We are anticipating very good early season fishing due to the timely nature of this year’s run-off. There will be some high water flows to reckon with early on if the warm weather continues into April. Expect the lakes above 8500 feet to have ice on them through May and perhaps well into June if it cools down again. The stage has been set for a solid year of fly-fishing opportunities in this region and with the decent snow pack the late summer and fall periods should be the best we have experienced in several seasons. See you on the water!
Lower Owens River: Very Good
The parade of large fish continues to be highlight of most drift boat trips and the numbers have been steadily on the climb since our last update. We have been spending a significant part of many mid-day drift trips taking advantage of the great dry fly opportunities that the initial caddis hatches are providing. There is also a baetis emergence to a lesser degree and as each generation hatches, they have become smaller. The bwo’s these days are in the #18-20 range, the caddis are brown to chocolate body’s #16-18. You will also see #16 golden stone flies that come off around noonish. I like to tie one of these on as the point fly which is easy to read and then attach a 14-16 inch dropper off the hook eye of the stone to a caddis or mayfly imitation. This is a deadly combo and works well on all the waters we cover on this report.
The wild trout section is excellent most days, with the exception of heavy pressure during the weekends. Flows continue to remain around 100cfs. Nymphing with crystal larva patterns and #16-18 flashback hares ear flies will do the trick on most bends. A couple of #4 shot will get you down with a tandem bead head rig if you wish to use a strike indicator.
Dirk and Linda Westfall from Temecula, CA are long time Sierra Drifters and always seem to get the “nice uns” Check out these chunky rainbows that got fooled by the dip and strip method. The dry fly action was excellent as well for Dirk and Linda that day as they spanked a good number of browns on an elk hair caddis imitation. Linda took big fish honors and relaxed the last hour of the drift, (her arm was sore from all her big fish!)
Harold Green and Mark Harpin from Norco, CA are also veteran Sierra Drifters and Harold takes his annual birthday float trip with us each March. The birthday boy got his present in the way of this 22 inch, 5 lb. rainbow that smacked a Drifters punk perch pattern after an enticing dip and strip presentation by the “Green” machine. The boy’s racked em up this float with a handful of trout in the 3 lb. category. They both “Be’d the fly” on this drift.
If you don’t see the pictures here on your email report you may visit our website at http://www.sierradrifters.com to check these and other photos out.
The Gorge: As good as it gets
Have you ever watched a pro basketball team do lay-up drills? Observed Minnesota Fats practice shooting a rack of balls? Tiger Woods putting? Get a fly in the water here without spooking the wild trout and it is a done deal right now. I tried to find a fly that did NOT get a grab on one section, I failed. On a recent trip with Marines Dave “Razor” Ruddock, Jim “Reddog” Collins and Mitch “Duke” Dukovich all from San Diego, the Razor caught and released 35 browns to 15 inches in ONE spot! Use a dry dropper on the deeper runs and you can get 40 grabs in a 50 foot section here. The fish counts are high in the less fished sections of this region and the browns are on the bite. Your average fish here is about 9 inches in length, with the larger fish in the 16 inch class with an outrageous paint job. At the larger sizes some are looking a tad like Caulista Flaukheart on a diet! They are scrappy and at the current water temperature will get major air at times and give a 3 wt. rod a good workout.
I want to emphasize that this piece of water is not for everybody. It can be a strenuous and difficult climb both in and out if you choose to use the less popular and frequently used routes. The rewards are worth it if you are in good shape and willing to sweat a little to get into this remote region of the Lower Owens River. The warm weather has also brought the rattlesnakes out of hibernation. The “evil nettle” is not a major factor at this point in time, but in several weeks it will be a topic of your censored words! Make sure you hydrate yourself before hiking in here and have a water filter or bottle for the walk out. Make sure you tell a friend you are dropping in and give an e.t.a. when you expect to come back out. There is NO cellular service down in the hole.
Pleasant Valley Reservoir: Poor
This area really got hammered on the weekend of the 13th and has not yet recovered. I did witness a DFG hatchery truck pulling out from the launch ramp area and this would be the best place for tubers to hit this early part of the week. The powerhouse started generating today and we are told it will continue through Monday afternoon then shut down for the week. Fishing the inlet area when the “thing” is running is a lost cause and it takes a day or so for the fish to adjust after generation ceases from the drastic change in water level in the reservoir.
On a recent trip with seasoned Sierra Drifters Craig “no cast too far” Holmes and buddy Tony “strip set” Lugliani we found better fishing in the riffle water upstream from the inlet and directly below the powerhouse for mostly smaller browns. The #18 baetis came off here around 1 p.m. and the small browns hit the dries aggressively for about an hour.
Tubers trolling and stripping with streamers will find some fish around the 10 foot level near the launch ramp and dam. Patterns like our Loebergs, Punk Perch, and Crystal Leech in #8-12 are good choices. You may even encounter a defiant Trophy Alpers trout that made it past the gauntlet of 1000 anglers last weekend.
You may purchase our time tested guide flies at the following fine fly shops:
The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, and Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks. There are links to all shops at www.sierradrifters.com
Be the fly…Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
Email [email protected]
www.sierradrifters.com
Phone 760-935-4250
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