: March 2011

Bishop Fly Fishing : Lower Owens River – 3.18.11

The big news here is the fact that the river has been raised to 250 cfs.. This seems like a lot when coming up from 85 cfs but actually 250 cfs is a great flow to fish the Lower O. It is perfect for my drift trips and I will continue to drift it sucessfully up to 330cfs. Wading can be a bit tougher but very managable when making the correct wading decisions. Water is clear and foam lines are evident.  Yesterday at 250 CFS the river was on fire with BWO's and Caddis both coming off together and getting eaten on the surface by hungry trout... Throax BWO's in sizes #16-18, Etha Wing BWO's in #'s 16-18, CDC BWO's in #16-18 all will do the trick. Elk Hair Caddis in #18's, Turkey Quill caddis in #18-20, Fertile Caddis, Hot Creek Caddis and Henrys Fork Caddis in sizes #18 will also take fish on the surface.  For  nymphs go to: Sparke Trigger BWO emerger #18-20, Split Case BWO #18-20, Bubble back emergers #16-20,  Robo and various PT patterns in #16-20, Electric Rock Worms #16-10, Cased Caddis #16, Scuds #18,  And lots of Soft Hackles (hares ear and peacock) in #'s 16-20 will take fish when presented properly. Read More

Mammoth Fly Fishing : Hot Creek – 3.18.11

Hot Creek is going to be accessable very soon as the snow begins to melt the berm created by the plow moving snow from the Hot Creek ranch entrance.  Spotty snow and wet ground will be with you most of the day as you fish Hot Creek.n Flows are still low and managable as the fish are responding to small BWO and Baetis patterns. Of course, they will usually always eat midges.  On overcast days some great topwater action has been happening with a major BWO feeding frenzy on the surface. For dries try: Throax BWO #18-20, Etha Wing BWO #18-22, Ex Body BWO #18-22, Split Wing Baetis #18-22 and other specialty BWO patterns in similar sizes. On the bottom try:  Half Back BWO emergers #18-22, Epoxy back BWO emergers #18-20, WD-40's in most colors #18-20, Biot and Disco midges in reds and blacks in #'s 18-20 have all produced lately. Read More

Mammoth Fly Fishing : Upper Owens River – 3.18.11

The Upper Owens is fishing better and better as springtime rolls around leaving the ground wet and more accessable each day. A variety of sizes of trout are in the Upper Owens right now. Some people are battling the hogs of the river while others seem to get into a steady catch of 13-16 inch trout. Flow is down and perfectly managable at 87cfs. Mayflies and Caddis are seen over the water with repsonse from the smaller trout. For the bigger fish one must nymph or strip streamers.  SJ worms #8-12, Robo PT's, Flashback PT's, and Trigger Nymphs and in #'s 16-20, Hares Ears #16-20, Tigers and Zebras #16-20, Poly wing emergers #18-20. Prince Nymphs and various copper Jons are also some flies to fool the trout of the upper Owens with. Read More

Bridgeport Fly Fishing : East Walker River – 3.18.11

The East Walker was fishing great with some really good sized trout coming out up until they let this much water out. At 800+ cfs the release at the dam is one scary sight!. Look for this to drop down to somewhat reasonable flows in the future (hopefully near) After feeding and fighting  the river at current flows we will see  how the trout fare when the river is back down to reasonable levels. I am predicting we will see some pumped up, ,meat fed, fat, and very strong trout!  Read More