Fish West

Day Off On The Owens River

2010-09-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a day off in several weeks and needed to get out of town to do some fishing and the only place this late in the summer that is productive is the Owens River which is just four hours away. It is around 100 degrees right now which is crazy weather for late September. So it is best that you get out early in the morning. The problem is that it is still very cold in the mornings (20 degrees) and the fish are not very active. So you have to wait until around 8-9 am before you will see much action. Just don't stay until noon or you will fry your brain!

The fishing was good on the Owens River this week. Trout rising for dry flies and they were also hitting my Copper John. Nothing big, which is unusual. In fact, I was a bit surprised that I was able to catch as many as I did.

As I walked the river around 11 am I noticed that there was an entire school of fish in a deep pool trying to stay cool. They weren't going to rise for a dry fly so I put on artificial salmon egg and attached a small piece of non-toxic lead to my line and let the egg sink to the bottom and wallah; fish on!!!

As I said, don't stay too late on the river in the early afternoon or else you will get sun stroke. You can always come back in the early evening and try again.

Heading back home after a nice day off on the river.

To view other Fish West photos click here.

Day 2 On The East Walker River

2010-06-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

Spent Day 2 on the East Walker River. We spent several hours in the morning and early evening on the river. The weather was beautiful and the fish were biting.

I didn't catch all of the ones that rose to take a look at my fly. These Browns are just too smart for that. You have to be very attentive and also quick. When the fish comes up to take a look at the fly it will sometimes just look but at other times it has it's mouth open and is ready to eat. That's when you have to be ready to set the hook. That's easier said than done. Especially since you have to use barbless hooks.

But once the fish is on then fun begins. These Browns know how to fight. They will do almost everything from wagging it's head to jumping out of the water and spinning in the air to get the hook out of it's mouth. Sometimes you can get them in close as my wife Debra did this morning and then lose it. She said it was at least 20 inches long. And there are times when they are so big that they will even snap your tippet, as one did for me this morning. But then there are times when you can land them as I did today.

And that friends, is what it's like fly fishing on the East Walker River. Stay tuned for Day 3 tomorrow.

Fishing in Bridgeport

2010-06-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Bridgeport yesterday at about 3:30 pm for a few days of fishing on the East Walker River. This is a beautiful area for sightseeing as well as fishing.

After we got unpacked, Debra wanted to rest from our long drive. So, while she was napping, I took off to check out the river.. It was a little windy, which is always a challenge for fly fishing. But I was up to the challenge and decided to brave the elements. I wasn't left unrewarded. After just a few casts a nice brown trout was on the rise. It was a picture perfect presentation and the timing on setting the hook couldn't have been better. As a result I caught my first brown trout of the day.

Gotta go for now. I'll have more later on today.

Fishing At Jenks Lake

2010-06-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Fam went fishing yesterday in a local Southern California fav. It's called Jenks Lake which is located in the San Bernadino mountains, near the city of Redlands.

Our day started off at about 9am by first checking out the Santa Ana River. For many years I used to take church kids to to summer camp at Camp Metoche which is located along the river. We threw in our line but it didn't look like it had been stocked for some time so we didn't have any success there. So we decided to drive up to Jenks Lake.

It was a beautiful day and the sweet broom along HWY 38 was in full bloom and absolutely gorgeous! I saw some plants that were ten feet tall! There was even a little snow still left at the very top of the mountain range.

To get to Jenks Lake you exit off of HWY 38 onto Jenks Road and just follow it to the lake. Jenks Lake is a small mountain lake of 10 surface acres. It is open mid March through mid October from sunrise to sunset. There are picnic tables and hiking trails. Parking is $5 per vehicle. (Forest Permit not valid here) There are restrooms but no consessions. Nearest supplies are in Angelus Oaks.

There and numerous campgrounds located along Jenks Lake Rd. There is a swimming area located along the south eastern edge of the lake. And this is also black bear country. No motor boats are allowed. Rowboats, canoes, kayaks and float-tubes are permitted. There is no launch ramp and you must carry your vessel down a flight of steps.

I was told that Jenks Lake was recently stocked with rainbow trout. Jenks is stocked with rainbow trout during the Spring and Summer by the DFG. There are also some largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and catfish here. Last year (2009) Jenks Lake was drained, cleaned and refilled and restocked.

I have fished this lake many times and it can be difficult if you don't know what you're doing. The Lake is lined with trees that can aggravate any casting angeler.

The lake was in decent shape but there was some weed growth extending into the lake about 20 feet along the shoreline. This required a considerable cast and some accuracy. Children would not be able to fish the South bank because it is too steep. However, there is a nice peer that extends out into the lake where children would be able to fish successfully.

I used my Diawa light-weight backpacker rod and reel. I first set it up with a 1/4 ounce silver Cast Master lure. This is a killer lure that catches fish anywhere. I've even caught fish with it in the mouth of a volcano in the Andes Mountains in Colombia.

It took a few casts but I had a fish on within minutes. It hit at least 30 feet out and even did a tail dance! Most of the fish in Jenks Lake are catchable 12-14 inch fish.

However, sometimes you might also catch some really small ones!

Kimberly had some success but as you can see these were pretty small bass. She caught her fish with a Cocktail Spinner.

So, we had a great day together as a family, caught some fish, got outdoors and then to top it off we stopped at A&W on the way home and had a rootbeer float!

Fishing in the Cold and Snow

2010-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been a lazy bum and didn't get this story and pictures out right after our fishing trip to the Owens Valley.

Debra and I took our daughter Kimberly to the Owens Valley for her first fly fishing trip. I have taught my entire family how to fly fish; including my mom so I was excited to pass this on to my daughter.

We arrived in Bishop and there was a terrible storm brewing. I checked the weather reports before we left and it looked like we were going to avoid the storm but it didn't work out that way. While we were fine in Bishop, the higher elevations were getting a pounding.

As we climbed in elevation on our way to the Owens Valley the snow got deeper and deeper. The roads had been cleared but when we arrived on the upper portion of the river there was snow everywhere.

The temperature got down to about 20 degrees. The wind wasn't bad, but there was a wind chill factor and it was probably more like 15 degrees.

You can see by this next picture how much Kimberly and Debra were bundled up. It was very cold!

We fished as best as we could. Kimberly had an opportunity to learn how to fly fish and Debra enjoyed the outdoors and the beautiful scenery. I walked down river a ways to the bridge and was able to catch a small trout only about 6 inches long.

While the fishing experience was not very good, the time together was great!

So we decided to go to Mammoth. Kimberly had spent six months there working at the main lodge at the top of the mountain. We got into Mammoth and the snow was coming down but the roads were clear. We decided to drive to the top of the mountain so Kimberly could see the resort where she worked. As we got closer to the top there was more and more snow on the road and the wind was blowing pretty hard so it was a snow flurry. We found a parking spot and stepped out of the car into snow up to our shins. We started to walk across the lot to the cafeteria and about three-quarters of the way there Kimberly started to get lite headed and was having problems with altitude sickness. So we decided to go back down into Mammoth and get something to eat. After getting something to eat we drove back to Bishop.

We also fished the lower portion of the Owens River. The weather was much better at the lower elevation.

They had released a lot of water from up-river so the fishing was not any better in the lower section. You couldn't wade because of the shear volume of water. But Kimberly had an opportunity to practice her casting and at least we were warmer!

We had a very enjoyable trip together even though the fishing was terrible. I'm looking forward to going back to the Owens River when the weather, water and fish cooperate a little better!

Getting ready to go Fishing

2010-04-06T08:33:00.001-07:00

Planning a trip to the Owens Valley in the next week to fish the Owens River.

Stay tuned for pictures and reports.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Visiting Fossil Falls

2009-09-24T08:36:00.001-07:00

Well our vacation time has come to an end and we are back home and back to work. On our last day we were going to flyfish in the Bishop Creek just below Lake Sabrina. I have been there before and it is a kick to catch the planted rainbow trout that are sitting in the stream waiting for a tasty fly to come their way. But because of a previously scheduled appointment, we decided to cut our trip short, so we weren't able to fish on our last day.

However, the day was not a loss. Even though it was a 5 1/2 hour drive back home, we made time to stop along the road to do some site seeing at Fossil Falls which is located on HWY 395 on Cinder Rd. Once you exit the highway you will follow the signs down a dirt road for about one mile until you reach the parking area. From the parking area you will travel down an easy pathway about .21 miles through an ancient lava flow to the edge of the primitive rock formation overlooking the gorge below.

While you won't find any fossils or water falls at Fossil Falls you will find a very cool looking lava flow that was formed from a prominent cinder cone volcano located to the north known as Red Cinder Mountain, or Red Hill.

The black shiny lava was worn smooth from the Owens River which once flowed from an ancient lake. The water cascaded down the flow and created a water fall that dropped about 40 feet into a gorge below. The rock formations are astounding and literally were literally sculpted by the rushing water and wind. The 360 degree panoramic view is also spectacular and your eyes can hardly take it all in.

This is a fascinating area and well worth your time to stop and see. There is also a small campground nearby for an overnight stay and I'm sure you would get a beautiful view of the stars at night.

If you would like to see some of the photos I took of Fossil Falls click here.

Trip to Bridgeport and Beyond

2009-09-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

This morning we traveled to Bridgeport and beyond. Bridgeport is a great little town with less than 1000 people. It is a hunting and fishing paradise. To the North is the West Walker River and to the East is the East Walker River.

We chose to try to West Walker River first. After about 2 hours on the road we finally arrived at the West Walker River (see photo album). It was very low but still enough water in it to provide a habitat for the fish. But, to my surprise we didn't find any fish. I walked about 1 1/2 miles and didn't spot a single one!

It was around lunch time so we decided to take a break and head up to the town of Walker. We stopped at the local community park and had a picnic lunch.

After lunch we continued on our trip and headed for the East Walker River (see photo album). The East Walker is a restricted fishing zone. Barbless lures or flies must be used and only one fish may be taken and it must be at least 18 inches long. All others must be released.

I have camped in Bridgeport and fished the West Walker River before, but have never fished the East Walker River so I was excited to see what kind of action we would have. We traveled East along the river and pulled into several turnouts where I could walk down to the river's bank. But the river was totally overgrown with shrubs right up to the edge of the river. We kept driving until we actually passed over the Nevada border and decided to turn back around because we didn't have a fishing license for that sate.

We pulled over in a turnout just below the Bridgeport Lake dam. It was around 2:30 pm so it was in the heat of the day which means the fish would be looking for deeper and cooler water. So, I tried casting a nymph that would sink. I didn't get any takers, so I changed my fly and tried a dry fly. But still nothing. So I tried an artificial meal worm and cast to the opposite side of the river. It was then that I saw a silver flash in the water. It was a fish looking at the worm as it passed by. I cast several more times but nothing happened so I moved upstream, but still no strikes. It was apparent to me that I wasn't going to catch anything in the East Walker either.

So, we decided to call it a day and head back to Bishop. We left around 4:30pm and it was going to be a 2 hour drive back to town.

The scenery is phenomenal along the Eastern Sierras. We went over the Conway Summit which is 8143 feet above sea level. On the way down the summit you come to the Mono Lake Vista Point which gives you a panoramic view of Mono Lake and the Eastern Sierra range. It is a spectacular view which you can see in my photo album.

Just before you get to Mono Lake at the bottom of the summit there is a turn off to Lundy Lake. We had never seen this lake so we decided to check it out. It is only 5 miles off HWY 395. You can also see a picture of this lake in my photo album.

After viewing Lundy Lake we headed back down the mountain to HWY 395 and continued our journey back to Bishop.

It was around 5:30 pm and I realized that we would be passing the Owens River and that it was a good possibility that there would still be enough daylight for me to cast a fly to some trout. As fate would have it (and with a little help from my foot pressing hard on the accelerator) we were able to pull up along side of the Owens River around 6:00 pm. That would give me just a little more than an hour to do some more fishing.

As I walked up to the river I could see the water boiling with fish, rising to the top to catch mosquitoes. I tied a dry mosquito on my line and cast into into the river but didn't get a strike. So I continued several more times to cast up river and letting my line float down and across the river. It was then that I had a trout rise for my fly, but my timing wasn't good enough to set the hook. So I cast again to another part of the river and it was then that a nice 8 inch rainbow trout took my fly. A woman was standing behind me watching me fish and she was amazed that I caught something. (So was I!) She wanted to look at the fish so I showed it to her.

After releasing the fish back into the river I continued to cast the mosquito. Several more trout were interested but there were no takers. And then I had a great strike! It was a good sized Rainbow Trout. I set the hook and started to strip my line. The fish made a mad dash to some weed cover in the middle of the river. I was in a poor position to maneuver the fish and it was about then that the fish broke my leader. That is always a frustrating feeling.

I pulled out another dry mosquito and tried to tie it onto my leader, but it was getting darker by the second. I had to hole my line and fly up to what was left of the light in the sky to tie it onto my line. I was successful and again began to cast to another location where the fish were jumping out of the water to eat the dainty morsels flitting along the top of the water. With the sun now set and working in the dusk of the evening it was difficult to see my fly any longer so I decided to cal it a night and get back onto the road so we could get back to Bishop for a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow we are heading up the mountain to Sabrina Lake and fish Bishop Creek. So stay tuned!

Great day on the Upper Owens River

2009-09-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning and went back to the Upper Owens river to fish the same place that we went to last night. I didn't have much time to fish the area because it was late in the day and the sun was setting fast.

We arrived around 9:30 am and it was perfect weather for fishing. No clouds, no wind and the temperature was around 73 degrees.

I started out casting a Black Nymph as I did the night before and was able to catch a small brookie, but this time I got no bites at all. So within just a few minutes I changed to a Copper Head John, but still no bites. So I changed out to a pheasant tail and BANG I had my first strike! I wasn't able to keep the fish on the hook (barbless) so I cast again to a new location. And again had another strike, but still no fish. This happened several more times so I changed out my fly to a Elk Hair Caddis. That did the trick. The fish were rising and liked that presentation. That's when I caught my first brown for the day. It was small, only six inches, but it was what I was after.

I continued to use my Elk Hair for awhile longer and had plenty of strikes, but no takers. It is very frustrating when you can see the fish rise for the fly and then open their mouth, suck in the fly but spit it back at you before you have a chance to set the hook. But that's all part of the fishing experience.

Even without any other fish for the day I would be a happy fisherman because the weather was perfect and the scenery of God's creation was even better!

But, I wasn't ready to just settle for a nice day in the mountains with only one fish. I came for some Browns and I knew they were in the Upper Owens River and I wasn't going home until I caught a nice one.

So, moved a little further down river and changed my fly to a Grasshopper. I cast to the riffles on the opposite side of the river and let my fly drift down parallel to the bank. It then began to swing across to my side of the river into deeper water and that's when it happened! A good size Brown Trout hit my fly and I was able to set the hook and the fight was on! The fish jumped out of the water and did a tail dance two times and I could see at a distance that it was what I was looking for. It then dove into the deep pool, but with the tip of my rod up he wasn't able to go far. So, it changed directions and then swam up river against the current and tried to hide under the bank on my side of the river. I had a hard time getting it out from under the bank, but I was finally able to bring it to the surface and lead it into shallow water where I could land it. You can see a picture of it at the top of this post.

I successfully landed three two other Brown Trout from this same pool which you can see pictures of by clicking here.

With that I called it a day and headed back to Bishop to have dinner, take a swim in the pool and think about the great day I had on the Upper Owens River fly fishing for Brown Trout. It can't get any better than that!

Tomorrow I'll be traveling to some new lakes I've never been to in the Eastern Sierras. Watch for my new post and pictures tomorrow.

Fishing Upper Owens River

2009-09-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Bishop, California on September 20th and checked into our hotel. Decided to drive up to the Upper Owens river and see if we could get some fly-fishing in before it got dark. It was already 5:30 pm and we needed to drive along the Owens river on a dirt road through three gates to get to where I wanted to fish. It would take at least an hour, but it was worth the try.

When we arrived at the Owens, we passed another car coming back from the Upper Owens and I asked them if they had any luck. They had caught a few brookies and rainbows during the day and saw a few browns in deeper water. That's what I was after.

Because it was getting close to dusk I had already made up my mind to use a black bead-head nymph and sink it to the bottom.

We arrived at the access point and the wind was blowing. The winds in the Owens Valley always pick up in the afternoon but I was hoping that they would die down at dusk. But it just wasn't going to happen. So Debra decided to stay in the car while I put my gear on and made a dash for the river before the sun set.

I cast to the opposite side of the river along the bank and let my nymph float to the bottom and swing across the river. At about midway I had a strike on my first cast! That was a great sign.
I cast to another section of the river and got another strike. This happened several more times, before I finally caught a brookie within the first 5-10 minutes.

I walked a little further down river and had several more strikes but wasn't able to hook them and bring them in. By this time the sun was setting fast an it was getting hard to see, so I decided to walk back to the car and call it quits.

I'll be back again early in the morning and see what happens in the daylight. I'm looking for a brown this time around. Hope I can get one.

Stay tuned!

Fishing The Owens River

2009-09-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

The Owens River is a well know and very popular California wild trout stream.

Fishing in the Owens River is a great experience for anyone. There are places for the novice and the expert to fish. There places for catch-and-release as well as keep what you catch and eat.

This trip Debra and I chose to fish the lower catch-and-release portion of the Owens River. Here the river meanders through meadows with vegetation along the banks. Probably no wider than 50 feet, this section of the river has everything from large pools, deep runs and a few riffles and the bottom is gravel and sand.

It is estimated that there are approximately 7000 fish per mile along this section of the river so it isn't too difficult to catch a few nice fish ranging anywhere from 6 - 19 inches. During the morning the winds are calm but in the afternoon it can be very windy and hard to cast.

Usually Debra and set off in different directions. She is a very good flyfisherwoman (I taught her) and I like to get away to think, pray and fish alone. While Debra had several strikes she wasn't able to land any fish. I was fortunate to catch a few fish mostly using an Elk-hair caddis fly. You can see an example of this by clicking here. You can also view the other pictures by clicking here.

After fishing most of the morning Debra and I decided to take a break and have lunch. We brought a picnic lunch, our camping chairs and after just sat and took in the wonderful scenic views. Enjoy!

Fishing In Mammoth

2009-07-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Last week Debra and I took off for a few days and went fishing in Mammoth. We camped at Twin Lakes which is only a few miles from the city of Mammoth at an elevation of about 8600 ft.

The weather was excellent. Daytime was in the low 80s and night time in the mid 40s.

We took the 395 Hwy along the Eastern Sierra mountain range through Bishop and caught a glimpse of the Elk herds grazing out in the field. We arrived on a Monday, set up camp and relaxed for the day and evening. The stars were magnificent. We saw lots of satellites and also got a glimpse of the space station traveling across the Big Dipper! What a site it was!

You could hear the roar from Twin Falls that cascade down the mountain from Lake Mamie into Twin Lakes. It was the kind of sound that would just lull you to sleep at night.

We woke early on Tuesday and decided to fish Lake Mary which is just above Twin Lakes at around 8900 ft. Debra and I hadn't fished on Lake Mary for over 30 years. The last time was when our son David was a little boy. We rented a boat for the day and started in the marina. We had many bites but no catches. So, we decided to pull up anchor and start our way systematically around the lake and hit each cove along the way. Lake Mary is large, but not too large to fish in a day. The next cove we entered we got even more bites and fights, then finally, Debra landed a nice brook trout full of speckles.

After a few more hours of fishing, we traveled across to the other side of the lake and pulled ashore so we could get out and have a bite to eat. After having our picnic lunch we got back in the boat and started fishing some more. More bites, more fights and more fish.

Debra was getting tired and wanted to take a nap so I took her back to the marina so she could go back to our campsite and rest. In the meantime, I headed back out on the lake to fish for the rest of the day.

I wanted to do some fly fishing along the north shore where there was more vegetation. The winds had died down and it was easy casting and was nice to see the fish rise for the fly.

It was getting late so I decided to start back towards the marina where Debra was going to pick me up. While I sat in the marina waiting for her, I decided to try my luck there. It wasn't long before I had caught three more fish. One brookie and two rainbows. One rainbow was a good size and filled my net.

We returned the boat and decided to go to town for dinner. After a nice meal we went back to camp and spent the night around the camp fire and watching the stars.

The next day, Wednesday, we broke camp and headed for the Owen's River. I'll give you more details about this trip next week.

In the meantime, you can see pictures of our trip by clicking here.

First Day At Lee's Ferry

2009-06-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Our first day at Lee's Ferry was exciting. We arranged for a guide to take us up river almost to the dam at the base of Powell Lake. We used a guide from the famous Cliff Dwellers Lodge Fly Shop and Outfitters. All of the guides are excellent and have several very famous fly fishing guides such as Terry and Wendy Gunn. It is always best to hire a guide the first time you are on any river. Most of them have been there for years and are not only experienced fly fishers but also very knowledgeable concerning the area you will be fishing, the fish and the river.

We used our guide's boat and he packed us a nice lunch. We brought our own gear, but you can rent their gear if you don't have your own. The guide also brought plenty of flies, which we purchased if we lost. We road about 4 miles up river to a nice sandbar on the left side of the river.

Debra walked up river a little way. The guide went with her to help with some techniques. I found a nice place where the river flowed over the sandbar. I could see the tails of the fish sticking out of the water as the nuzzled their noses down into the sweet fresh water grass and grazed like cattle! I tied a fly on the end of my leader and threw my first cast into the cold Colorado River.

What happened next was incredible! Come back next week to hear what happened!

Fishing In Arizona

2009-06-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Lee's Ferry in Northern Arizona is a spectacular place to fish. It is kind of a paradox in a way. While the winter and spring can be very cold in the river valley and the summers delightful; on the plateau above it can be very hot in the summer.

While we were there the temperature on the plateau was about 115 degrees, while in the river canyon it was a very pleasant 85 degrees. The water temperature is nice in the summer, but will require long johns under your waders in the spring and winter.

Lee's Ferry is just South of Lake Powell, located along the top edge of the canyon along the beautiful Colorado River.

While staying in Lee's Ferry you might want to check out the Cliff Dwellers Lodge. Debra and I stayed there for several days. It is a bit rustic, but very comfortable and the people are very accommodating.

While you can fish along the river bank, I highly advise that you rent a boat. You will also need a trailer hitch to tow your boat down to the river.

The water is pristine with canyon walls reaching straight up 1500 feet above your head! The red rock is weathered from the rain and wind. And the fishing to spectacular!

To check out more pictures of our fishing trip to Lee's Ferry click here.