Fishing Report for July 17, 2007

East Walker: 101 c.f.s.

The East has been fishing very well this week with lot's of California sunshine and consistent hatches this has in turn produced some great days to be on the water. A few of my clients this week had a few magic moments on the East and were able to nail that big fish on dry/dropper combo's. The hatches that I have seen on the East this week are the ever present midges, caddis flies, trico's, b.w.o.'s, and little yellow sallies. I am going to personally suggest that you fish the East right now early and late for the fact the water temperatures are in the 70's during mid-day. Please, take extra care when handling the fish and make sure that they return to the water as you found them. Do not let a fish swim out of your hands or net belly up. This would insure a cruel death to the fish. Suffocation. Yuck! The flies that I would suggest for the dry would be elk hair caddis, tan or olive, parachute caddis, parachute adams, and Big Hopper's for that extra special fish! I would suggest standard midge dropper's such as zebra midges, wd-40's, disco's, and chromie's for the a.m. and then moving over to caddis and mayfly stuff such as sparkle pupa, swimming caddis, p.t.'s, rs-2's, and lighting bugs for the p.m. Good luck!



Upper Owens: 111 c.f.s.

The Upper Owens has been fishing very well again this week with plenty of d.f.g. stockers, wild eye browns, and a slight showing of the blue wave(big fish from Crowley moving into the river to seek the cool oxegenated water of the Upper Owens). The bug activity on the river has been quite good with lots of tan sedges, midges, b.w.o.'s, callibaetis, and a few trico's that have been the mainstay on the river this week. The river has been very busy with traffic but their are plenty of fish in the river for everyone to have a good time. Bring plenty of mosquito repellent as those pesky critters are out and about. Sunscreen is also a must on this river as the u.v. rays are ever present at this time. Look out for those wily hoppers as their jumping fever has been the downfall of their short lived lives for some time now. Parachute hoppers, Dave's Hopper's, and a bead head pheasant tail will get the job done during the mid-day. Caddis pupa, mayfly emergers, midges, and trico spinners for the mornings and evenings. Also, streamers can be very productive this time of the year. Try stripping rubberlegged krystal buggers, wool head sculpins, muddler minnows, and matuka's through out some of the deeper runs and pools and hold on.



Crowley Lake: Good

It has been another fine week on Crowley as their are plenty of big fish coming to the nets. The fish are still concentrated in all of the inlets to the lake. McGee Bay, Upper Owens, Little Hilton, and Crooked Creek have been the most consistent areas that I have fished this week. I would suggest fishing very early on Crowley this time of the year as the fleet is getting going very early this year. 6:00 a.m. is the start time if you're up for the challenge. The fish in McGee Bay are becoming very selective right now as these fish have seen just about every fly in the book. Drop down in size if you are fishing in the armada as this will surely get you a few more grabs. In all other areas of the lake. A size 16 or 18 will get the job done in all other areas of the lake. I would suggest fishing black/copper, black/red, gray/black, and black/silver larva patterns in the mornings and then switching over to olive and gray pupa for the afternoons. Also, stipping a type 2 or type 3 sinking tip right now will surely get you into a few fish. I have witnessed a few perch fry swimming around this week and this has just caught the attention of the trout. Be on the look out for big fish coming to the net while stipping perch fry and damsel fly patterns this month. Good luck and happy hunting!



Lower Owens: 427 c.f.s.

We will be fishing here this fall when the flows are below 400 c.f.s. and the temps below 100.