Freestone Creeks- San Joaquin R., Mammoth Creek, McGee Creek, Convict Creek, Hilton Creeks, The Upper East and West Walkers, Rock Creek, Lee Vining Creek, Green Creek, etc.

Freestone creeks get water flows directly from snowmelt or runoff. They are not regulated by dams, diversions, or springs directly. They have a tendency in the Eastern Sierra to be rocky and swift with many riffles and plunge pools. They have high oxygen content, and will be much cooler and influenced by weather conditions on a daily basis more so than other moving waters. They typically have excellent water clarity but will off color and rise quickly with snow melt or rainfall. This condition generally occurs in the spring with snowmelt, and again during the summer when there are significant thunder storms.

Attempting to forecast or give reports on freestone creeks this time of year would not be reliable information. Day by day is the only way to report on these fisheries. We have a bunch of migrating fish in the tributaries of Crowley Lake and Bridgeport Reservoir and the some of these are very much influenced by the weather conditions. You could spank fifty on McGee Creek one day and go back ten hours later and be fortunate to get a few grabs. Use a lot of flash, red and orange colors in your nymphs and streamers in these waters and you could do very well. San Juan Worms, glow bugs, and flashback PT's are all excellent patterns currently. If the water is high and off colored, keep on truck'n!

Tailwaters- Lower Owens River, East Walker River (below Bridgeport Reservoir), the Gorge, Rush Creek

Tailwaters emanate at the base of a dam. Some of the greatest trout fisheries are located on tailwaters. This is due to the fact that the water flowing out of the dam remains a very consistent temperature year round because of the insulating nature of deep water associated with large lakes or reservoirs (this keeps metabolic rates of the fish stable), abundant aquatic food, and elevated oxygen contents. This scenario propagates an ideal habitat for trout to thrive. The flows from tailwaters are for the most part very regulated and consistent much like spring creeks in a way. Trout will adjust their feeding behaviors to the flow cycles of tailwater fisheries much like fish feed on tides on large bodies of water when they are consistent. This occurs when hydroelectric generation takes place, or daily commercial irrigation occurs.

We are fortunate to have several excellent tailwater fisheries in the Eastern Sierra. They are stuffed with trout and are arguably the best trout fisheries in this region. On the down side they can be difficult if not impossible to fish when agricultural and domestic water demands require abnormal flows. As water and power demands increase, so do flow releases. This can adversely affect the normally stable conditions on tailwaters making them difficult to fish. The East Walker and the Lower Owens are not at the "top of their game" right now because the flows have increased dramatically. The fish are still there but to effectively present flies to them you will need a chunk of battleship chain to get those nymphs down! The LO is at flood and has 600cfs roaring down the channel. The EW has come up and is over 300cfs recently. The trout will adjust to the higher flows in the near future if they stabilize or drop especially on the EW. Advanced fly fishers will have fair to good results here. We have provided links to both the LADWP and EW flow rates. Click on www.sierradrifters.com/fish.htm and those links are towards the top of the page.

The Gorge has a very stable release and does not change much over the course of the year. This is an excellent time to fish this area and you may have the place to yourself. It can get hot down here so bring in plenty of water. There are some snakes starting to move along the rocks. Dry dropper-dry/dry combos work the best here and midge or may flies are the best imitations in the #14-18 range. Rush Creek is still flowing at fishable releases but may go up soon if it gets warm. There are some quality browns that live in the canal section below Grant Lake. I consider these fish to be the most difficult trout to catch in the Eastern Sierra. If you want a shot at a trophy sized fish and are not into numbers this is a great location for you. Long leaders and precise presentations will get you a shot at some fine browns here.

Alpine lakes, Rock Creek, Convict, Mammoth Lakes Basin, June Lake loop, South Lake/Sabrina, Lundy, Virginia lakes, Twin Lakes Bridgeport etc?Ķ

Most have snow and ice on the northern exposures. Slow to medium fishing with streamers being the best call for those wishing to troll or strip at the 15 foot depth. I suggest patterns with lots of flash, red, or orange built into the paint jobs. This is what an attractor pattern is all about. They do not necessasarily look like any natural food, but are high visibility and large enough to trigger grabs from otherwise lethargic trout in cold water. One of my favorite flies for the alpine lakes areas is called the Spruce-a-Bu. It has high visibility, excellent movement with a well defined profile while being trolled or stripped. Use full sinking or heavy long sinking tip lines to get this fly down quickly. There has been some recent late snow, and the extended forecasts show a high probability of more in the future so look for some slower fishing in these areas until the conditions improve.

Sierra Drifters Flies, Killer Kits & Sungicators are available at the following great fly shops and stores: Crowley Lake Fish Camp & The Crowley Lake General Store in Crowley, Bridgeport Marina at Bridgeport Reservoir, Kittredge Sports in Mammoth Lakes, Malibu Fish'n Tackle in Thousand Oaks, Stroud's Tackle in San Diego, The San Diego Fly Shop in San Diego, The Fishermen's Spot in Van Nuys, Bob Marriott's in Fullerton, Buz's Fly Shop Too in Bakersfield, & Crosby Lodge at Pyramid Lake, Nevada. There are links to these locations at www.sierradrifters.com/resources.htm. We pride our Guide Service & Products on Innovation not Imitation!