Bishop Area

Weather Report

The following report courtesy Sierra Drifters Guide Service:

REPORT AS OF 11/16/11

Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. It has been a fantastic fall season in the Eastern High Sierra. The fall migrations of rainbow and brown trout are running late in some areas this season thanks to an extended period of mild weather. Look for increasing numbers of fish to begin moving en mass within the next couple of weeks.

Overall flows are excellent in most fisheries and running nicely thanks to the huge snowpack of last winter and a good dusting atop the Sierra crest earlier in October. The one exception is the Lower Owens which remains very high, making access difficult for those who wish to angle in the wild trout section or other areas along the Owens banks.

Lower Owens River:

Flows continue to be very high; however they appear to have settled in just below 600 cfs. Not good news for wading and accessing the LO on foot. There are areas that can be reached in the wild trout section and fishing is actually pretty good in some limited sections, but crossing and positioning can be dangerous and difficult in much of the river at this time. Sorry to report that these high flows will remain for much of the fall and perhaps into early winter this year.

Drifting is the best way to fish the river currently and it has been pretty good using streamer patterns with heavy sinking tip lines. We see some big fish in the fall and early winter from the drift boats and with the mild weather pattern setting in we will see some fine "catching" going on this season.

Upper Owens:

GREAT NEWS. Thanks to a special effort by the LADWP the irrigation ditches that had become de-watered are once again flowing. This will give the many trout fry that had become stranded a second chance to make it back into the Upper Owens before winter sets in. Due to highly unusual circumstances this summer; the high flows allowed the myriad of irrigation ditches to become easily accessible to the spring hatch of wild rainbow trout. Traditional fish screens failed, or were not in place at key locations allowing this disaster to occur. The water rights to this area are complicated and have many "grandfather" clauses written in to the lease arrangements with ranchers. In addition there are private riparian privileges that further complicate the situation here. Bottom line, we need to keep the fry out of these irrigation canals by placing and maintaining fish screens at the sources of inlet and outflow.

Special thanks to Tim Bartley conservation chair for the SWFFF group for his help & to Mike Caltagirone who is on the board of the Sagebrush Chapter of TU for his assistance.

The out pour of positive support from regional fly fishing clubs that responded to this was amazing and I hope we can work with the Cal DFG and LADWP together next spring to insure that this tragedy is avoided. I believe this to be a milestone and a turning point as to how the LADWP addressed a situation that they were not legally bound to do. The fact that they accommodated the saving of wild trout should not be taken lightly.

Hot Creek:

The water conditions are very good for this time of year. With the mild weather so far this fall we are still seeing some excellent hatches and opportunities to fish hoppers & dries on the surface. Dry dropper bead head combos work well in the riffle water and tailouts.

East Walker River:

Flows remain great (200cfs as of this report) for the fall season but should begin to fall some in the near future. The EW has been a popular destination lately especially in the miracle mile section immediately below the dam. All methods of fly fishing are proving to get grabs currently but you will get a better shot at a trophy fish staying below the surface using nymphs and streamers. I suggest you use patterns that have some red in them this time of year on the EW; they can incite aggressive behavior with the browns. Perch fry imitations are good choices for streamers.

Pleasant Valley & the Gorge:

Too much water moving in the river inlet to PV right now as power generation is going full blast. The rez is fishing ok near the inlet and launch ramp, use streamers and still water nymph the drop-off on the west side across form the road. Lots of rainbow stockers and the brown bite is picking up near the inlet.

The Gorge is still very over grown but should thin out here by mid-November. It is fishing very well in the areas that can be easily accessed. Still some hoppers and caddis around as well as a decent mayfly hatch. Dry dropper bead head combo's are the ticket.