Friday, February 27, 2009

EAST WALKER- The flow just came up today and is currently 67 cfs.  With a little more water in the river we should see the fish start to spread out a bit more.  Continue to look for fish in the slower and deeper slots.  Fishing has been good most days with nymphing and dry fly opportunities.  Hatches of midges and BWO's are still the main attraction.  Recommended flies are Brassies 18-22, Zebra Midge 18-22, Disco Midge 18-20, Barr's BWO Emerger 18-20, Micro Mayfly 16-18, P.T. 18-20, BLM 18-20, Griffith's Gnat 16-22, Sprout Midge 18-22, Hatching Midge 18-22, Stuck In The Shuck Midge 18-22, Para Adams 18-20, Bivisible Dun 18-20, Biot Dun 18-20.

HOT CREEK-Light crowds and great fishing.  Most anglers are fishing the public access by the hatchery, hiking into the canyon will give you a bit more solitude.  There is still snow on the trails leading to the creek so watch your step.  You can nymph the deeper pockets and pools but most fish can be reached with a dry-dropper rig.  Midges, BWO's and caddis can be found hatching most days.  Recommended flies include Cardinal Midge 18-22, Disco Midge 18-20, W.D. 18-22, Brassies 18-22, P.T's 18-20, Barr's Emerger 18-20, Micro Mayfly 18-20, Chamois Nymph 18-20, Fox's Poopah 16-18, Para Adams 16-20, Bivisible Dun 16-20.

UPPER OWENS-Recent warm weather has melted the snow so access is no problem for now.  Nymphing will get you into fish, but don't neglect the dries.  Look for risers in some of the eddies and slower pools.  Expect to find midges, BWO's and some caddis hatching.   We are seeing mostly hatchery fish with some smaller browns mixed in and the occasional spawner showing.  Recommended flies are W.D.'s 18-22, Wired Zebra Midge 18-20, Midgeling 16-18, Brassies 18-22, P.T.'s 16-20, Copper John 18-22, BLM 18-20, Prince 16-18, Hot Wired Prince 16-18, Bird's Nest 16-18, Hatching Midge 18-22, Sprout Midge 18-22, Para Adams 16-18, Bivisible Dun 16-18, Elk Hair Caddis 16-20.

LOWER OWENS-Fishing great most days!  Flows are right around 100 cfs which is just perfect.  Start the day off fishing nymphs on the bottom, then switch to dries as the day warms and you begin to see consistent surface activity.  Midges, BWO's and Caddis (sound familiar?) can be found throughout the day.  The Wild Trout section has been particularly good and we've seen some big rainbows lately.  Recommended flies are W.D.'s 18-20, Zebra Midge 18-20, Brassies 18-22, Midgeling 16-18, BLM 16-20, P.T's 16-20, Micro Mayfly 16-20, Poxyback Stone 16-18, Copper John 16-20, Bird's Nest 16-18, Chamois Nymph 16-20, Prince Nymph 16-18, Para Adams 16-20, Bivisible Dun 16-20, Elk Hair Caddis 16-20.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Cold and stormy weather has returned to the high country.  February could see our snow pack double in depth, a good thing, as California has been in a drought for the past few years.  The cold weather has slowed the fishing just a little.  The biggest problem has been keeping ice out of the guides.  Long range forecasts are showing a chance for a wet spring so keep your fingers crossed for more precipitation.

EAST WALKER - The flows have remained steady at 20 cfs for the bulk of the season.  Water temps are still low so look for fish to hold in the slower, deeper water.  Nymphing continues to be the most productive method with opportunities for dry flies during mid-day and afternoon. Midges continue to be the main attraction with hatches of BWO's on warmer days.  Look for Skwala stoneflies to begin hatching as we get closer to spring.  Recommended flies include Silver streak 18-20, W.D.'s 16-22, Disco Midge 18-20, Brassies 16-20, Biot midge 18-20, P.T.'s 18-22, Micro mayfly 18-20, Poxyback stone 10-14, San Juan worm 10-12, Sprout midge 18-22, Griffith's gnat 16-20, Para BWO 16-20, Para Adams 16-20, Bivisible dun 18-20.

HOT CREEK - Flows are hovering around around 6-7 cfs with consistent fishing most days. Nymphing has been productive during hatch and non-hatch periods.  During the warmest part of the day expect to see a light BWO hatch with fish rising in slower pools.  Recommended flies are the same as the Walker.

UPPER OWENS RIVER - Access has gotten a little tougher with recent snow but the river continues to fish o.k. for persistent anglers.  Some nice fish have been caught recently as long as the weather cooperates.  Once again, nymphing is the way to go with midges and small mayflies getting grabs as well as eggs and san juan worms.  Try to pick a day with nicer weather and little wind and you may be pleasantly surprised. Recommended flies include Pettis' unreal egg 12-14, Stevie's Panama red 16-18, Zebra midge 16-20, Brassie 18-22, Mercer's midgeling 16-18, Poxyback baetis 18-20, S.J. worm 10-12, P.T.'s 16-20, W.D.'s 16-22.

OWENS RIVER GORGE - Great fishing can be had by the adventurous angler with fish holding in every pocket.  Make sure to wade carefully, it's a long hike out on a twisted ankle.  This is perfect water for a dry-dropper setup, just keep moving and sticking fish.  Recommended flies include Prince nymph 16-20, P.T.'s 16-20, Micro mayfly 16-18, Bird's nest 16-20, Brassie 18-20, Zebra midge 16-20, Biot midge 18-20, Disco midge 18-20, W.D's 16-20, Para Adams 16-20, Bivisible dun 16-20, Para biot bwo 16-20, Elk hair caddis 16-18

LOWER OWENS RIVER - Flows dropped again and were at 109 cfs today in the wild trout section.  The lower elevation of Bishop makes this a great option during cold spells.  A decent hatch of BWO's is coming off mid-day and early afternoon providing some great dry fly action. There is also a heavy hatch of midges with the occasional caddisfly to keep things interesting. Recommended flies are same as above.


Saturday, February 7, 2009

  We haven't updated our report in quite a while so we apologize for that but we have been chasing steelhead in Nor-Cal . We plan to do a lot of work to our website this summer and would like to hear some ideas of what you would like to see on it, so please send us your thoughts.
 When I returned to Bridgeport it did not feel like February , it was almost 60 degrees so I went down to the river around 10:30, I went to a favorite spot on the Mile and when I peeked through the willows I could see lips . They were eating pretty good and I was excited, what a homecoming. But all I had on me was 4x and that wasn't cutting it. The next day I came back prepared and had a great time working the run from the tail to the head catching about 9 fish on dries all 14 inches to 20. And now its snowing , I guess my point is we are in the transition time of winter to spring and that is a great time of year for fishing the E. Walker. Each day is as different as the weather , I have seen fish rising on cloudy days as well as sunny ones. As long as the air temps are not to cold the fishing has been good.
EAST WALKER  : Nymphs are the most productive method right now and small is the key to a successful day. Zebra midge 18-22 WD-40 18-22 Mercer's Root beer midgeling 18-22 Disco midge 18-20 Rainbow warriors 18 -22 Barr's blue wing olive emerger 18-20 Mercer's micro may 18-22 Silver streak 18-20 San Juan worms 14 - 12 Stone Flies 10-12.
Dries can be used on most days right now if you look in the right spots . Griffith's gnats 18-20
Neversink gnat 18-20 BWO"S 18-22 Blue duns 18-22 Brook sprout 18-22.
  Remember these are flies that we know work but don't forget to look through your box and change up flies and throw them something they might not have seen before.
HOT CREEK : Drew and I fished it three days ago and it was pretty fun. We had hoped for more dry action but it just didn't happen, so we mostly tossed a dry dropper - dropper set up and had a great time. we turned some rocks and it looked like the Beatis were almost ready so any day could be that epic one.
Nymphs - Brassies 18-22 WD-40 18-22 Zebra Midge 18-22 Mercer's  Poxyback Baetis 18-20
BLM 18-20 PTs 18-20 Biot Baetis 18-20
Dries- Para Adams 16-20 Parachute Baetis 16-20 Camparadun 18-20 Brook sprout 18-22 Griffith's Gnat 16-20.
LOWER OWENS : Was flowing at 135  when we fished it  two days ago.  This outstanding winter fishery is  getting near prime time.  We start out fishing nymphs with baetis and midge patterns and then switch to dries if we see any risers.  Most days you can expect to see fish feeding on dries and emergers by early afternoon.  As with Hot Creek,  be prepared to imitate midges and baetis with smaller flies 18-22.  See fly recommendations above.
UPPER OWENS : The upper river is fishing well, weather permitting.  We've had a few storms roll through this last week helping out our dismal snow pack.  We've been seeing some nice fish lately but please leave actively spawning trout alone.  Most of the fishing has been nymphing but streamers can entice the odd fish as well.
Nymphs- San Juan Worms 10-12 Brassies 18-20 W.D. 18-20 Disco Midge 16-20 Mercer's Micro May 16-18 Prince Nymph 16-18 Egg patterns 14-18