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Eastern Sierras
Capt. Tom Loe
September 27, 2004
Eastern Sierras - Freshwater Fishing Report
Fall 2004 Fish Report
September 27, 2004
Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to all for this fall 2004 fish report from the Eastern High Sierra.
The high country is in seasonal transition with the trees all turning various shades of fall colors. We had our first significant storm last week with a good dusting of snow in elevations above 8500. The mornings have become cool with frost and freezing temperatures the norm from now on. Daytime temperatures remain pleasant and warm and we are having “Indian summer” type weather after the first snow last weekend. The forecast is calling for a slight cooling trend through this week with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of afternoon T-storms in the high country. The Owens Valley will remain warm with morning lows still remaining above freezing this week.
I am putting my money on an early winter with some substantial snowfall coming in October. The fishing is very good overall in the areas not influenced by drought conditions. The fisheries impacted by the decreasing snowfields are not fishing as well and can be difficult to access.
Last weeks WON sponsored Double Haul fly fishing float tube event on Lake Crowley was cut short due to strong winds attributed to the untimely storm front that made conditions tough the entire weekend. Attendance was down once again this year for the event with 257 participants angling for trips and prizes. There have been as many as 400 entries in past years. 3-4 hours were all that the participants got to fish due to the strong winds that blew in from the south. Congrats to all who scored and our thanks for those who showed up for the seminar and BBQ at the Crowley Fish Camp on 9-17. High fives to Martin Willey for winning first place overall in some really tough conditions; he “be’d the fly”. Second place overall Tony Del Rio attended our D Haul seminar using the reliable “Loeberg” streamer and our advice to fish the short water in McGee Bay for his first of three scoreables, the others coming on a leech pattern Tony developed himself. Long time Sierra Drifter Margie Kamens again won the women’s division. You go girl! Hats off to Lee Watanabe who once again finished in the top ten by drawing to the number 9 spot. This guy is good! My personal congrats to veteran Sierra Drifters Chuck and Charlie Palmer, Chuck placed in the top twenty, well done guys I am impressed. First time entrant and long time Sierra Drifter Dirk Westfall scored and dumped a few others that would have “put him on top”, next year Dirky… Jake Holt broke out his new Sage outfit bought from the team at the Troutfitter and managed to get in to the winners bracket. Green puff down daddy!
See ya’ll next year, hope you get better weather!
Crowley Lake: Very Good
The lake takes a severe beating most years after the float tube event but this year has been an exception due to the storm that prevented any fishing at all for several days. You will find no problem getting into fish in all areas of the lake as it has been recently planted with next years models. The warm daytime temperatures have been the base for a strong chironomid emergence during the late mornings, with the best “catching” occurring after mid-day when the wind picks up. The early mornings have been “glacially slow” wait until the frost melts before coming on the lake. The larger fish have become spotty and you must move around some to locate the pods of larger fish. The most consistent area for the holdovers (larger fish) remains McGee Bay 5-8 feet and along the south shore west of the floating restroom. The weed lines are all but gone so look for the fish to be less concentrated along the shorelines. Six Bays remains hot from the shoreline, as does Green Banks in the late afternoons when the wind is blowing offshore or is calm. Leighton Springs near the island has been on and off, but there are some larger fish here especially in the mornings some days. This area historically starts to come on strong right about this water level and time of year.
Streamer fishing continues to be good with larger perch fry patterns being the fly de jour. Our punk perch #10-12, Loebergs #10, and crystal leeches #10-12 are all excellent choices. Troll these patterns at least 5-8 feet down for best results. You can add a dropper off the streamer for the midge hatch if you do not wish to use the stillwater nymph method. Our Drifters gray and black, or copper head pupa patterns work well for this #18-20.
Stillwater nymphing has been excellent during mid-days with the downside being the amount of smaller fish you will need to deal with while indicator fishing. Our crystal tigers and zebras #16-18 are red hot this week, with the upper flies being an emerger pattern like the gilled chironomid “gillies” and crystal pupa #18-20. Keep those lower flies 6 inches at most off the bottom when the breeze picks up, the fish are keying on the larva more this week and the wind stirs up the mud in shallow water triggering aggressive feeding. Copper or bright heads are getting bit better for us with the water becoming cleaner.
Ken, Ryan and Meagan Moss from Laguna Beach, CA did some stillwater nymphing with us recently and the gang whacked ‘em in McGee Bay. Check out the nice rainbow and group effort.
Sierra Drifters veterans Larry and Kyle Daniels from San Bernadino, CA have a stiff competition going when they clash rods on Crowley for big fish honors. Larry got the crown this time with a sweet rainbow while on a recent guided trip.
It has been ugly in past competitions for Rocky Taylor from Dana Pt., CA when he goes rod vs. rod with son Austin. Victory was sweet, swift and complete this time out. I can’t wait for the re-match guys!
Check out these gorgeous fish folks by visiting our website at: http://www.sierradrifters.com
The Conejo Valley Fly Fishers spent an afternoon on the Drifters Trophy pond for a shot at the MO-HOLE. Check out one of the bigs Steve “no trout too large” Anderson of Thousand Oaks, CA caught and released recently. More pics of the “pond” next report.
Lower Owens River: Very Good
Flows have been reduced to 150 cfs below Pleasant Valley and this has made fishing this section very enjoyable. We do advise you to keep wading here to an absolute minimum due to the NZMS troubles. The mid-days will be a little on the slow side but afternoons and mornings have been good with a combination of mayflies and midges being the best imitations. Try out our olive zebras here #18-20 for nymphing. Caddis activity in the late afternoons will be your best bet if you want some dry fly action. Fall caddis are typically larger, and you can get grabs with a #14-16 pattern this time of year.
For more information on the snail go to http://www.flyline.com
The initial drift boat trips have been slow as we fished the river when it was still flowing at high release rates. We are anticipating a very good and earlier than normal drift boat season. Get your trips booked early!
Pleasant Valley Reservoir: Fair
Power generation has decreased but is still occurring around noon until 5-6 pm weekdays. Look for this to decrease in duration in the not to distant future and expect some very good fly fishing opportunities in the section below the powerhouse. The reservoir proper is fishing ok near the inlet and in the shadows late afternoon by the dam. Troll the weed lines with perch fry imitations and stay down 7-10 feet.
The Gorge: Good
With the onset of cooler weather look for this section of the Owens to get only better. Fall is a great time of year to hike into this region and if you have a blustery cold day ahead of you in the high country, take the short drive down to the gorge and bring your 1-4wt rod and a handful of #16 anything’s that float along with some #16-20 bead heads and cast upstream to the small but plentiful wild browns that abound in most of the deeper pools and runs. The “evil nettle” is still prevalent and the willows dense with leaves but with some work you can salvage a bad weather day up the hill here.
Upper Owens River/Tributaries-McGee, Convict, Hilton: Good
The section from the Benton Crossing Bridge downstream to the posted rock monument will close after Sept. 30th to ALL fishing. The section downstream of the monument remains open until Nov.15th with the same regulations as Crowley, and the river above the bridge also will remain open until Nov. 15th with special regulations that are in affect year round. There are solid numbers of migrating fish working upstream daily here and fishing is picking up nicely. The light afternoon winds this week have made possible some excellent dry fly opportunities using caddis imitations #16-18. The jumbo rainbows and browns are still spread out but the 12-16 inch models are common and are becoming more prevalent each day.
Please keep your wading to a minimum here also as the NZMS and the destruction of spawning redds is critical to the well being of the Upper O.
For more information on the snail go to http://www.flyline.com
The DFG has ended its brown trout and Lahontan cutthroat stocking program for Crowley Lake and other waters in the Eastern Sierra for who knows how long due to budget shortfalls. Browns are a fall spawning fish and we ask that you minimize your fishing efforts here as these fish may become very rare in this area in the future.
The tribs have very low flows. McGee has some fish moving upstream as of this report. Dry droppers work best here, have some red or flash in the nymph patterns. Tiger midges rock this time of year.
Hot Creek: Fair
The low water levels here make it tough for the average fly caster to get into any numbers. Try fishing your nymphs without a strike indicator keeping a high rod tip and a short accurate drift in the open channels of the weed lines. Set on any “twitch” of the leader as you drift the rig through the open water. The caddis are very active in the afternoons and this is the best time to fish the “creek.” Keep your midge and mayfly imitations small #20 and down, and your tippet to 6X and 7X for best results.
San Joaquin: Fair
I do not care to fish the Middle Fork when the flows get this low. The recent snow last week has brought the creek up a little but you will find very little area in the riffles, pockets and flats, with most of the fish being stacked in the deepest pools. If you want some solitude and a gorgeous background then this is a perfect spot. It is beautiful here this time of year and crowds are light. You may drive your own vehicle in without restrictions.
West Walker River: Fair
The years of drought are impacting this area like many others and the flows here are getting very low also. The levels are up a tad this week due to last weeks storm, but you will find the fish stacked in the pools and limited areas to fly fish because of low water. Dry dropper combos are always deadly here. Use #16-18 crystal tigers or zebras under a stimulator.
East Walker River, Bridgeport “Pond”, Twin Lakes-Bridgeport: Poor-Good
Bridgeport “POND” is very low and there is a dangerously small amount of water to get through the winter. Flows have been reduced to below 46 cfs this week and the water is soupy and green. The meadow section below the dam has a good portion of the EW’s fish stacked here. We had good fishing when the flows were around 140 cfs, but at current releases you will find tough conditions and limited water. We suggest keeping pressure to a minimum here as these guys are facing another tough winter.
I suggest you fish the Twin Lakes above Robinson Creek when in this area. Both Upper and Lower Twin have reputations for kicking out huge browns and Alpers rainbows in the fall. Tubing and trolling larger streamer patterns with full sinking type 4-5 lines will get you into the 15-25 foot water where these rascals hang out and feed on the Kokanee salmon and chubs. Try our Spruce-a-bu pattern #8 in the dark colors and work the drop-offs near the landings and dry creek inlets. You will not find a more scenic area in the entire Sierra than here this time of year and it is worth the drive up the hill just to spend a day in the colors.
Rock Creek: Fair
Tubers fishing the lake with streamers at the 15 foot range are getting into some standard DFG stockers near the inlet. Crystal leeches and Loebergs are all you need. The creek is low and getting tougher to fish. The ponds below the lake remain good for small wild trout. Use a dry/dropper with a Drifters crystal olive zebra #18-20 as your nymph suspended 2-3 feet down. Killer combo here!
Mammoth Lakes Basin, June Lake Loop, Convict Lake: Fair
Most reports have the fishing slow in these areas with the fish holding deeper. Convict had the best marks but can be a zoo on the weekends. Full or heavy sinking tip lines are necessary to get those streamers down to the trout in these alpine lakes. Choose patterns with conspicuous amounts of red and flash in them to trigger grabs this time of year. DFG plants will begin to decrease as usual this time of year in all the put and take locations. Check out the Alpers plants schedule by clicking here.
2004 Alpers Trout and Mono County Dept. of Fish and Game fish stocking schedules http://www.visitmammoth.com
Grant Lake is also taking on “pond” stature these days as it has very low water. This is not necessarily a bad thing for tubers trolling here. Grant is big and deep and with the low water levels the fish will be more condensed. There are big browns in here and I will not be surprised to hear of a double digit fish being caught here this fall. Take advantage of this opportunity and troll #8 and larger streamers with a full sink line along the drop-offs. I like our blonde version of the Spruce-a-bu for browns. Silver, June and Gull are your best bets for numbers while tubing. Spruce-a-bu’s and Loebergs are great flies in these areas. Rush Creek is very nice to wade now and has some good smaller browns along with DFG stockers to play with in the larger pools. Use dry/dropper bead head combos here.
You can pick up our guide flies at the following stand out locations:
The Crowley Lake Fish Camp, The San Diego Fly Shop, The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks and the Crowley Lake Store and Deli. There are links to these locations at www.sierradrifters.com
The Crowley Lake Store can be reached at 760-935-4666.
Be the fly…Tom Loe
Sierra Drifters Guide Service
If you visit these links be sure to tell them Sierra Drifters sent you…
Mammoth Lakes Real Estate: http://www.mammothrealestateonline.com
Mammoth Lakes Lodging: http://www.mammothlakes.com/ml2/Lodgingx.html
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