Fishing Opener is Finally Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome friends to the 3D Fly Fishing report. Whew! What a fantastic opener we had here in the high country. With great weather and lots of sunshine this has to be one of the best openers I have seen in a long time. There were record numbers of visitors here at Crowley Lake and I estimate the total on the lake at well over 10,000 people on the water. The catching was great and all the folks that have been coming into the shop have had great reports. Spring has began really early this year and I look for the catching to be really hot these first couple of months and then the bite slowly tapering into the fall as the water levels decrease around the high country and the fish have seen just about every fly in the book. So come on out to the high country and book a trip as my guide log fills up earlier every year!

Crowley Lake: Good
The opener for Crowley Lake this year was nothing short of phenomenal! With record numbers of anglers on the lake and great catch rates this has to be one of the better openers we have had in the past few seasons. I would suggest fishing Mcgee Bay in 8-12 ft. of water near the mouth, Big Hilton, and also Sandy Point. I have fished all of these areas in the past few days and all three have been very consistent. The fish are podded up and spread out and are foraging for midge larva. I would suggest using #16-#18 black/red, black/silver, gray/black, as well as grey/copper emergers in the afternoons. I would also suggest using brown or black leach patterns in the sizes of 10-14 as the point fly to get you into some of the larger models in the lake. We are going to have a bit of a weather change this week as the forecast is predicting snow for the high country. After this little weather impulse, the catching should start to really pick up and the fishing is going to red hot! Book your trip early this year as the larger models are going to be on the prowl earlier than the past few seasons.

Bridgeport Reservoir
This reservoir had a great opener with lots of people showing up for opening day. The catch rates have been very good and the midges are coming off very well during the day. The callibaetis mayflies have not made there showing just yet but look for this hatch to be coming off shortly. This is a great hatch to fish on the reservoir as the fish will key in on this delicate morsel at all depths of the water column. From fishing dries in the mornings, to nymphs suburface, to sight casting to cruisers (bone fish style)! This is a great piece of water that receives about half of the pressure that all of our other lakes on the east side receive. I would suggest using size #14-16 midges in black/silver, black/red, brown/black, red/black. Also I would suggest using a hare's ear or a pheasant tail in sizes#16-18 as the point fly to get you into a few more fish. Also stripping has been consistent with medium sink tips pulling hornbergs and brown and black leech patterns in sizes #10-14. I would suggest fishing near the inlet of the East Walker as well as the flats in Buckeye Bay. Also there has been good numbers of fish off of Rainbow point. Come on out and check out this phenomenal fishery as the first part of the season is going to be the best before the dreaded algae bloom shows up in the res.

East Walker: 160 c.f.s.
The East Walker has been fishing very well as of this past week and the action is just starting to heat up. There have been great numbers of larger fish in the river this year. This river has returned to blue ribbon trophy trout fishing once again and if you have not fished this piece of water I would suggest you drop everything and run for this phenomenal tail water. This river holds some of the largest trout in the state and double digit fish are caught and released every year from this fishery. I would suggest using small midges in the mornings and then swithching over to size #18-20 baetis and size #16-18 caddis fly nymphs in the afternoon. Also, stripping has been a consistent bet and I would suggest using wool head sculpins, clouser minnows, and matuka's for some of the larger fish in the system. I would stop by Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport in order to pick up some of the hot flies for the week. This retail shop is the best fly fishing outfitter in North County and has the best information and advice for fishing the waters surrounding the Bridgeport area.

Upper Owens: 105 c.f.s.
The Upper Owens has been fishing very consistent for the past few weeks despite what other fishing reports may say. You have to fish there in order to write a report. The larger models of fish have made there way into this feeder stream and have made for some great catching with lots of big fish to the net. The sections below the bridge have been fishing well with lots of fish from the lake in the lower reaches of the river. The sections above the bridge in the Long Ears section have also producing some nice fish. These fish are spread out in the river but they are also stacked up in certain holes, so if you can locate a pod make sure you put your time in on these fish and hook as many as you can as it may be a long walk until you find the next pod of fish. Also stripping has been consistent with a type 2 sink tip and hale bopp leaches has been a consistent bet in the river.


Lower Owens: 201 c.f.s.
The Lower Owens has been fishing very well again this week and the caddis are coming off in droves. The wild trout section has been the best bet with midges in the mornings, caddis and yellow stones in the afternoons. Nymphing has been the best bet in order to get into numbers of fish. Also stripping has been a very consistent component in getting into larger fish in the Lower Owens. Flies I would suggest for nymphing are size #18-20 zebra midges, #18 Lafontaine's Sparkle Pupa, size #16 yellow stone fly nymphs, and the usual stand by WD-40's in size#18-22. Also for stripping I would suggest using hale bopp leaches, muddler minnows, matuka's, and wool head sculpins. Come on out and enjoy the sunshine and great weather here in the Owens Valley for a productive day of fishing on the L0wer Owens.

Owens River Gorge: 60 c.f.s.
This fishery is fishing really good once again this week. There have been some very consistent days of catching down here in the gorge with 30 plus fish days being the common occurence on our guide trips down here. The caddis and blue wing olive mayflies have been coming off very consistently the past few weeks and the fish are keying in on the duns as well as emergers just subsurface. I would suggest throwing your standard attractors: Trudes, Humpies, Parachute Adams, and Royal Wulff's in sizes #16-18 with a small bead head dropper in the sizes of 18-22. Zebra Midges, WD-40's, Copper Johns, and pheasant tails will get you into fish. The stinging nettle is starting to show it's ugly face down here at the gorge so I would suggest fishing this piece of water very soon as the nettle will grow at a phenomenal growth rate as soon as our temps warm up. So come on out and book a trip with us and see if your angling skill is up to the challenge!

Yours Truly,

3D Fly Fishing