May Fly Fishing Report - 2004 May 2, 2004 Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to all for this early May fish report from the Eastern High Sierra. The weather gods have been smiling on those fly fishing souls who have come up to fish the east side during the first 9 days of the general trout season. It has been flat out summer like with unseasonably warm daytime high air temperatures. Looks like there may be a cooling trend developing by mid-week with some gusty winds forecast for the region. Record breaking crowds in many locations have somewhat jaded the excellent fishing conditions due to extreme pressure. Fishing has been overall very good throughout the region and this trend should continue until late May. The record warm temperatures in March and April, coupled with well below average precipitation for the area during these months will once again put this region below normal for yet another season. Anticipate early snow melt for the freestone creeks and expect substantial increases in water releases below the tail waters in the not to distant future. Tim Alpers is a well established “trout farmer” and has seeded most of the waters in the Eastern Sierra for a number of years with high quality hatchery rainbow trout. His facility is located on the Upper Owens River downstream from Big Springs. Recent decisions by the Cal DFG have forced Mr. Alpers to suspend planting operations in NZMS (New Zealand Mud Snail) negative fisheries due to the further and possible infestation of this potentially devastating invader from down under. The New Zealand mud snail has been documented in all of the waters downstream from Big Springs to the Upper Owens River, Hot Creek and the Lower Owens River wild trout section. Some of the irrigation canals emanating from the Bishop Creek have also tested positive for NZMS infestation. Waters that are currently snail positive may still be planted with Alpers fish. Click here for more information regarding the NZMS www.flyline.com/NZ_mudsnail.htm Preliminary stages of a bill brought to the California Legislature (by Assemblyman Dave Cogdill) that would insure a significant part of your fishing license revenues goes directly to the “capsizing” hatchery system looks good for getting through the political “mucky muck” process that has the Cal DFG in irons, with very dark clouds on the horizon for recreational anglers in this state. Click on his website for more information on this bill and where to write to the Assemblyman http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/members/index.asp?Dist=25&Lang=1&Body=PressReleases&RefID=2059 We regret to inform you of a tragedy that occurred on May 1st on Crowley Lake. A float tuber died from exposure after capsizing in his tube while fishing in McGee Bay on Crowley Lake with his teenage son. The U.S. Coast Guard requires ALL persons who occupy ANY floating apparatus (especially float tubes) to have an approved life jacket or personal flotation device (PFD) for each and every individual. It may save your life. Crowley Lake: Excellent Fly fishing has been “sweet” on the lake for this early in the season. The unseasonably warm air temperatures have the chironomids coming off consistently and in significant numbers. The fish are up off the bottom early and holding in the 10-14 foot range along the drop-offs in the Sandy Pt. area, Six Bays, Leighton Springs and along the deeper water near Green Banks. No weed, no algae to be seen as of yet. There are no special regulations on Crowley Lake prior to July 31st and many people enjoy taking out fish to eat. Due to severe cut backs in the Cal DFG budget the brown trout and Lahontan Cutthroat stocking programs have been TERMINATED for Crowley and other fisheries in this region. This will severely impact these fisheries in the future. The cutts were doing extremely well in Crowley with many fish over 22 inches and several measured up to 25. Last year we saw the best brown trout fishing experienced in many seasons, it also marks the last plantings of browns in the foreseeable future. We are asking those of you who take fish out for eating to consider the release of the browns and cutthroats until these programs are hopefully put back in place. Crowds have been wicked on the weekends especially in McGee Bay. Look around for some open water; there are fish in most areas of the lake and you will have a better opportunity to get some numbers if you locate some water that is not a parking lot. The hot patterns this week have been Drifters crystal copper tiger midges #16-18, Drifters copper pupa #18-20 and during the emergence twin Drifters “gillies” (gilled chironomids) #18-20. Keep your lower fly at least 9 feet below the indicator and you may need to get the larva patterns down 12 feet if the hatch poops out. Mike and Mary Small from Lakeside, CA get the honors of our first 48 trout caught and released in a day while fly fishing from the “fish magnet” recently near Sandy Pt. M+M had a mixed bag of rainbows and cutts with several fish in the 19 inch range. Mikey pulled out an upset by getting the cutt of the day on a Drifters crystal copper tiger. Looking forward to the re-match kids! Crowley Tributaries: Upper Owens, McGee Creek, Hilton Creek, Big Springs, Good The spring migration of 12-16 inch Kamloops rainbows has peaked and you will still find good numbers of these fish scattered along the gravel beds and riffles in all the tributaries of the lake. Glow bugs, San Juan Worms, Drifters tiger midges and streamers in the larger creeks will all get grabs. Please avoid trampling the redds when wading. Bridgeport Reservoir: Good As we predicted in our opening forecast this lake was home to the largest fish caught during opening weekend. I believe it was an 8 lb. plus brown caught on a lure. This is a great fishery that fishes best for fly casters in the spring before the thick weeds and heavy algae make fly fishing all but impossible. You will also find substantially less crowds here. The launch ramp and dam section of the lake are always solid choices for tubers, the Walker River channel on the east end of the lake near the airstrip can also be excellent if the water levels remain high enough. Snow pack in this region was better than it has been in past seasons and the lake is about 75% full. Stillwater nymphing is a very effective method of fly fishing this fishery. Drifters crystal tigers and zebras #16-18 are good choices here. As the water warms look for increased damselfly nymph activity, these imitations can also be suspended from an indicator or stripped with a moderate sinking tip and will fool the chunky rainbows and browns that inhabit this lake. East Walker River: Good Conditions have been very good here and although there are not huge numbers of fish being seen or caught in the upper reaches of the public sections on the California side, the average size of the browns have been very good and will put a smile on anyone’s face. Fish counts have traditionally been better as you go further downstream on the East Walker as there is private water and less pressure this time of year. Look for the BWO emergence late morning with the best hatches coming off with some clouds. Drifters crystal olive zebras and tiger midges #18-20 did a number on the browns here recently as Angels assistant G.M. and prior big leaguer Ken Forsch and former big league catcher Gary Wilburn ripped plenty of lips while using both dry flies and nymphs. Ken got this 20 inch brown that would not quit fighting even for a picture! West Walker: Good The fishing for hatchery rainbows has been good around all the campgrounds and the water levels are still good for wading the Pikel Meadow and canyon sections upstream of HWY 395 This water shed is extremely vulnerable to snow melt and rainfall, so look for the levels to begin rising here shortly and fishing to become difficult by June. Dry/dropper bead heads are deadly here, as are streamers fished with light sink tip lines. Lower Owens River: Poor-fair Fishing has been very slow on the drift boat sections of the river this week thanks to increased flows and colder water temperatures associated with water releases. We also experienced some very windy conditions last week that made good presentations and casting difficult. Decreased DFG and Alpers trout plantings, coupled with heavy angling traffic on the weekends have made a negative impact in the lower sections of the river. Dave Stoll and Tim Richardson from Westlake Village, CA booked a drift boat trip with Sierra Drifters guide, Brad McClain a while back and Dave saved an otherwise slow day on the river with this beast of a rainbow he caught near the end of the float. You gotta check out the choppers on this fish. You caught and released the right fish Davey! High fives to you pal. The wild trout section has also been on the slow side, although if you stick to midges in the #20 or lower category you will find more consistent fishing in the larger pools. Mornings and evenings are best here as it has been down right hot in the Owens Valley in the afternoons. Fall through early spring are the best times to fish the Lower “O” so do not look for a great improvement in this area with regards to fishing in the near future as the flows will be going up and the catching going down soon. The NZMS is perhaps best spread by wading. It is especially populous in the section nearest the dam and below the campground. Keep wading to a minimum, designate a pair of wading boots for this region, or fish this location last. Bleaching, or freezing your wading gear for at least 3 hours will destroy the rascals. Veteran Sierra Drifters Mike Rippee from Milpitas, CA accompanied by June Lake locals Don and Lynn Morton had a good day on numbers floating with us recently with Mike getting his best ever drift boat rainbow late in the morning on our blonde Spruce-a-bu affectionately nick named “the Kelley Bundy” Mikey used our “dip and strip” method and has his unique way of getting that K.B. to wiggle just right! Sweet fish Mike. Hot Creek: Good The water levels have been on the low side here and getting a long drift is tough at this flow however, fishing has been pretty good for those who can fish small midges and emergers with a long leader. As you may expect fishing pressure has been heavy here. Before you step right up to an open section of water at Hot Creek, evaluate the potential holding areas where you will eventually stand. There are a lot of fish that hold on the close bank right where you walk down and cast from. You will never get an opportunity to catch these fish after you spook them out from under you. If at all possible, step back and read the close water, making some short line, high stick presentations along the near side before approaching the bank. You may be surprised at the results when you get a deep slot or pool close to the edge. It is necessary to optimize every bit of water in crowded areas so you can spend more time fishing than walking to find open or untouched areas. June Lake Loop: Fair The lack of Alpers rainbows, DFG brown and cutthroat trout plants will eventually impact this area. Right now fishing is fair in Silver near the inlet to Rush Creek trolling streamer patterns around the 15 foot level. Try out our Drifters crystal leech and Loebergs here. Grant is very low and the drop-offs are difficult to fish along. Crowds are not large here however. Plenty of DFG stockers in pods along Rush Creek, I like a dry dropper combo with a #14 Stimulator and a #16 Drifters black crystal tiger midge suspended about 3 feet under the dry. Rock Creek: Good The lake is thawing rapidly near the inlet and will be ice free if the weather holds before Memorial Day. The creek has been planted with DFG fish and they are in good numbers around all of the open campgrounds in the lower sections of the creek. Use the dry dropper bead head rig. The run-off has not been significant yet but with this warm weather look for levels to increase soon. The browns are not ravenous here yet due to the colder water, but should be getting increasingly more aggressive as the sun gets higher and the mayfly and caddis flies become more prevalent. Mammoth Lakes Basin: Rotten ice Expect these areas to open up and fish sooner than expected if the weather stays warm. South Lake, Bishop Creek: Good Bishop Creek is receiving extra DFG fish due to the suspended Alpers plantings and you should have no trouble getting into “the stockers” around the campgrounds and larger turnouts. The lakes are reporting thin to rotten ice with the roads being open to all. Two more weeks of warm weather and the water will be clear enough for boats. San Joaquin River: Road closed until mid-June The Gorge: Good It has been very warm down in the hole this week and you may see a snake. If the weather cools you will have good success in the mornings here prior to the sun removing the shadows. Good caddis activity, along with smaller mayflies for the dry fly guy and girl, I like a dry dropper, or dry/dry combo. Stick to imitations #16-18 for best results. Fish facing upstream, work the edges first. Do not do your water buffalo imitation when wading here and you will get on some fish. Pleasant Valley: Fair The power house is on during mid-day and it messes up the inlet area. Look for this trend to increase and become more of a factor as the A/C’s go on in So Cal. The dam section and launch ramp area towards the inlet are your best bet for tubing here. Get your streamer patterns down at least 10 feet. Work the shadows of the canyon walls in the morning and late afternoons for best results. You may purchase our time tested guide flies at the following fine fly shops: The Crowley Lake Fish Camp, The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes, Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks, and we are pleased to announce the addition of another fine shop in the San Diego area, The San Diego Fly Shop managed by Peter Piconi. There are links to all shops at www.sierradrifters.com/resources.htm If you have trouble viewing any of the pictures on this email please click on www.sierradrifters.com/fish.html Be the fly…Tom Loe Sierra Drifters Guide Service Email [email protected] www.sierradrifters.com Phone 760-935-4250