EMBRACE CHANGE

While all good things must come to an end, new opportunities must be recognized and acted on.

I am sorry to see an end to Scott Olson’s time as President of our club. He’s a good leader, good friend and the kind of angler you don’t want to fish behind. I want to thank him for his effort and passion is guiding us through the last 8 years.

I am excited to be taking over as your new President and want to extend an opportunity to anyone who’d like to voice an opinion on where they’d like to see the club going, and better yet, an opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors – track me down and we can discuss. I value your input.

Sincerely, Charley Beals

President Conejo Valley Fly Fishers

Fishing Report | Scott Olson

Lower Owens Winter Fishing

A couple of weekends ago my crew (Joe Callewaert & Mike Bereny) and I headed up to the eastern Sierra to try our luck at a little winter trout angling. It turned out to be a good decision.

Winter angling can be tough due to the potential for harsh weather conditions and the fact that trout are usually less active when water temps drop, however that did not turn out to be the case on this trip, even with a full day of rain on Saturday.

We fished the Lower Owens River (at 147 CFS) between the dam and the road bridge just north of the Pleasant Valley Campground.

Sticking mostly to the riffles and softer edges along the banks lined with leafless willows we presented a variety of nymph rigs to the resident browns and rainbows.

Our most successful offerings were the Green Rock Worm (Rhyocphelia), Hare’s Ear, Flash Back Pheasant Tail and Prince Nymph in sizes 16 & 18.

We generally fished 3 wt., 4 wt. and 5 wt. rods using indicators (with some tight line Euro nymphing tossed in) at twice the depth of the water column using 5x & 6x tippet and with enough weight to get down to the bottom as that is where the fish were holding.

Weight placement was generally between the flies on a two fly rig, however I used a three fly rig with a drop shot with success as well. The fish we caught were anywhere from 4” to 18” and gave a spirited battle in the strong riffles.

On a side note we fished the Interpretive Section of Hot Creek on Sunday morning and experienced a great PMD hatch that lasted a good three hours.

The flies were small and most of the fish were hooked on size #18 through #22 emergers trailing a dry fly “indicator” on 6x & 7x tippet. These planted fish are now getting quite “smart” and careful, drag free drifts and matching the hatch are a must if you want to fish here with any success.

So the take away from this trip is don’t be afraid to test your skills in the winter time angling for trout in the Sierra as the rewards can be ample.

Tight lines and fighting fish to all!

- Scott Olson