Double Haul 2003 Fish Report September 15, 2003 Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to you all for this Double Haul in the Fall 2003 fish report from the Eastern Sierra. Conditions have remained stable in most areas we have reported in since our prior update last week. We will fill you in on the current areas that have some changes and give an in depth report on Crowley Lake for those participating in the Double Haul float tube event. The weather forecast is calling for gusty westerly winds off and on all this week, with a warming trend occurring towards the upcoming weekend. The weather looks very good for the event slated on 9-20-03. The annual “Double Haul In The Fall” fly fishing, catch and release, float tube event will be staged at Crowley Lake on Sept. 20th. Up to 400 participants are slated to join in for a plethora of prizes donated by the sponsors of the event and orchestrated by Western Outdoor News Magazine. If you are planning a trip to Crowley during that time frame and are not entered in the event, we suggest you go elsewhere as the lake look likes a giant bowl of Cheerio’s and the fishing can be influenced by the number of experienced fly-fishers ripping lips for a couple of days before and after the event. We will be presenting a seminar at the Crowley Lake Fish Camp at 5 p.m. Friday 9-19-03 illustrating what it takes to fool these fish. There will be a BBQ dinner following the seminar. The seminar is free; the tri-tip dinner will cost $10.00. Anyone interested is invited. Please call the fish camp at 760-935-4301 for more details. Double Haul participants can PRE-REGISTER and get their NUMBER DESIGNATION all week prior to the event at the Fish Camp. You may also purchase all the flies, tippets, gear, etc… to win the event and get current information on what is happening on the lake. Good Luck D-Haul contestants! Crowley Lake: Excellent Fly fishers continue to enjoy the best fishing of the year in McGee Bay. We have had “epic” days this last week with over 100 trout being caught and released in an eight hour day by the foursome of Don and Lynn Morton from June Lake, CA with Lynn’s brother Denny Smithgall and friend Jennifer Morrison being the lucky recipients of a classic short water “bite” while stillwater nymphing with us. The numbers being caught are somewhat tainted as over half the trout being landed are recently planted “littles” that have found their way into the promised lands of McGee Bay and are providing steady action on the reliable chironomid hatches coming off late morning. Do not be dismayed my friends, the lake is consistently kicking out fatties from 18-23 inches in length to put the icing on the cake. A great stroke of luck from the weather gods created a series of strong westerly winds this week in the morning which have pushed the significant amount of algae towards the east end of the lake keeping McGee Bay relatively clear. You streamer tuggers should be out early morning and then again late in the afternoon before the sun gets high and the boats begin to anchor up in McGee Bay. Great reports from those trolling and stripping our “punk perch” and Loeberg patterns #10-12. If you do not dig stillwater nymphing, tie a chironomid imitation dropper off your streamer 18-24 inches for best results. You will get more fish on the nymph amigos! Use a sinking tip or full sinking line that will get your imitation down to the 5-8 foot range. Fast, erratic retrieves are best. Be the fly people, you are a wounded perch fry away from cover! I will put my money on the contestant that has the right stage of the midge at the right location. This equates to the angler that knows how stillwater nymphing is the most deadly means of catching Crowley trout. Currently a gray-bodied #20 emerger pattern is the hot ticket. Our crystal emergers and gilled chironomid imitations fit this like a glove. There is a bummer to this report. The fish are stacked in McGee in 6-11 feet. No significant numbers of trout have made a showing anywhere else. It will be very “comfy” if conditions do not change by the following weekend. The Linkletters from San Pedro, CA are veteran Sierra Drifters and always get big fish. Chris and Scott spanked over 100 trout in back to back days recently with Chris landing and releasing two gorgeous rainbows that fell to our stillwater nymph technique. First timers to Crowley, but well traveled fishers Jake and Jan Jacobson hit it big in McGee with a double hook up of a 20-inch brown and 20-inch cutthroat recently. Check out the pics of these beautiful trout and others by visiting our website at: http://www.sierradrifters.com/fish.html The current new management at Crowley has committed to better serving the problems tubers have with accessing the many areas of the lake. Ramps have been installed on the floating rest room facilities and a “shuttle” service from the fish camp to both McGee Bay and the North Arm are being provided for a minimal fee. The reports I get from those whom have utilized the new service are excellent. Tubers check this service out it is a great idea! Call 760-935-4301 for info. You may purchase our guide flies at the following fine fly shops: The Trout Fly and Troutfitter located in Mammoth Lakes. These great fly shops are also sponsors of the D-haul and you may pre-register and get current info and gear from the pros at these Mammoth Lakes locations. Malibu Fish’n Tackle in Thousand Oaks. Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego. The Crowley Lake Fish Camp. There are links to all these shops at www.sierradrifters.com/resources.htm Lower Owens River: Fair Flows remain very high at 450 cfs. This is a difficult release level in which to fish any section of this tail water. Sources tell us that in the very near future the release level will decrease for maintenance reasons and we expect some really good fly-fishing opportunities below the dam at Pleasant Valley Reservoir. Power generation will become more sporadic in the near future as well and the river leading into Pleasant Valley below the powerhouse could offer some fantastic caddis fly opportunities soon. Stick to plenty of weight while nymphing with a plethora of nymphs in the wild trout section. Flashback hares ear and pheasant tail will suffice for your mayfly imitations. Olive bodied bead head crystal zebras are a solid choice for caddis and rock worm fakes. It is still quite warm in the Owens Valley during mid-day, we suggest you concentrate your time during lower light periods or hit the cloudy days when possible. Have a selection of caddis and small mayfly imitations for the hatches in the morning and late afternoon, #18-22. The drift boat season is not far off and it looks very good for November, as the flows will be low this year. Upper Owens River: Good (9/8/03) I had some doubt as to whether or not the new regulations would impact and improve the fishing in this area in the short time they have been implemented. The conclusion is without a doubt positive and we need to keep the closures below the campground area near the Benton Crossing Bridge during spawning cycles to insure a full comeback of the wild fish that will populate this tremendous fishery. If you wish to voice your opinion on this matter please contact Dept. of Fish & Game, Michael Flores, PO Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94244-2090. Fishing has improved this season for both numbers and size. Stick to hopper patterns with an emerger or bead head nymph as a dropper in the runs that are less that 3-foot in depth. Hit the big pools and bends with tandem nymph rigs or streamers. There are rainbows working upstream to the gravel spawning areas as we speak, this trend will continue to increase as the water cools this fall. West Walker River: Very Good (9/8/03) If you do some walking away from the campgrounds during the lowlight periods of the day you can have all kinds of fun with the smaller wild trout that heavily populate this freestone river. The trout will take both mayfly and caddis imitations in #16-18. Levels are ideal for pocket water fishing and the large riffles still have enough flow to hold fish during the cloudy days and lowlight periods. East Walker River: Fair (9/8/03) You will still encounter some “split pea soup” colored water here due to the algae coming from the reservoir, but conditions are improving with the promise of a decent fall. This area has received substantial rainfall this summer and Bridgeport Reservoir is not empty as has been the case for the last couple of seasons. Reports are mixed, with nymphing being best overall with midge patterns #18 or smaller. San Joaquin: Excellent (9/8/03) The campgrounds have thinned out immensely and the flows are low, but not to the point in which it makes presentations difficult. You may have to search out holding areas like deeper pools, bends and channels. When you find such a spot it is possible to get multiple grabs and several trout holding in the deeper water. Mixed imitations will work here including mayflies in #14-18, caddis imitations #18 and stoneflies #16. Nymphing with our crystal caddis larva and tiger midges #16-18 will also get grabs when used as a dropper off a dry or below an indicator as a tandem rig. Hot Creek: Very good (9/8/03) Catching has been real solid here although the fishing has been more difficult due to the decreasing flows. The bulk of the trout will be on the small side. If you hit a warm cloudy day, you will get grabs on most any decent drift with a small mayfly or caddis fly imitation #20. I suggest you stick to the morning and evening periods when the trout are less wary. There is hopper activity on the windy afternoons. Use a #16 Stimulator with a yellow body. Crowds have been lighter than normal, even on weekends. Mammoth Lakes Basin: Very Good (9/8/03) Upper Twin below the falls continues to provide steady action for both hatchery rainbows and wild brookies. Good reports from those using stillwater nymphing methods with zebra and tiger midges. Streamers continue to get grabs on Lake Mamie and Mary. Some holdover Alpers and DFG brood stock rainbows will get you bendo from a tube. I like our Loebergs and Spruce-a-bu patterns for these areas. Use a sinking tip or full sinking line and get those imitations down at least 10-15 feet. Guide tips: Into the backing!!! Why do big fish get big? They have been hooked before and know how to play the game without getting caught. When you eventually set the hook on “Troutzilla” there are several things I suggest you can do that may help you get a photo opportunity with the fish of your dreams. First, make sure you keep your rod tip high and the upper half of the rod bent! Do not let the butt section of the rod get parallel to the water surface and allow the tip to point at the streaking fish. Keep an angle to your running fish. Hence the name of the sport: angling. Your rod is a spring that absorbs shock use it! As line peels off the reel the resistance of the fly line increases dramatically as the amount of line increases. You must back off on the pressure you are applying to the fish as it makes its initial burst. Keep your rod tip as high as possible (hold the rod well above your head if necessary), this will keep a significant amount of line out of the water and reduce friction that can break a line or weaken a hook set. Resist the urge to “palm” or slow down the reels spool. A decent drag set properly prior to the hook set has no emotion. It does not care if the fish is 8 inches or eight pounds! Let the reels drag do its job. When you do finally see that mysterious thin line called backing peeling off the reels spool, rest assured you have a substantial adversary on the end and your fight is in the infancy stages. The weight of the line and the reels drag will eventually slow the fish down if your gear is properly matched to the potential of the water you are angling in. Observe where potential obstacles like weed beds, anchor lines and shallow water are. You must watch the lines direction and put side strain on your fish by moving the rid tip opposite to the direction the fish is motoring immediately. Do not strip backing! Whatever it takes, keep the reel spool turning if the fish alters direction and comes back towards you. Backing materials do not lay as well as fly lines and not only will you lose the fish, you will be in the penalty box trying to untangle a gob of Dacron! As you retrieve line the fish will no doubt make several more runs away from the pressure. These are prone to be shorter and with substantial but somewhat less energy. Keep your hand off the reel handle when not actually retrieving line; many fish are lost during this series of shorter bursts due to “hanging on” of the reels handle. The tug of war will go on until the fish’s runs are very short with many headshakes and rolls of its body. Jumps may occur any time, lower your rod tip and dip the rod tip swiftly near the water to prevent losing angle and breaking off at all times during a fish getting air. You must apply steady pressure by keeping the rod bent at all times. Get your tip up immediately after a jump. Hopefully you have a good long handled catch and release net handy. Avoid bringing your leader into the guides of the rod until you are convinced the fish is ready to bring into net. Most of the time its head will skim the surface if you have your tip high, this is a good time to slide the fish into net. After a prolonged battle fish will acquire tremendous amounts of lactic acid that build up in the muscle tissue. Please make sure you fully revive the fish by holding its tail and moving it back and forth while laying it upright under the water. Avoid lengthy durations of time out of water for photos, as it is a death sentence. Be the fly…Tom Loe Sierra Drifters Guide Service 760-935-4250 [email protected] www.sierradrifters.com