Lodging Deals for Fishermen (Mention the Trout Fly)

Here's a deal for all you hardcores that don't fish on the weekend and show up for the weekdays . . . . Motel 6 has a special deal for Sunday through Thursday nights for only $49.99  plus tax running into the summer.  Hell, you can't get that good a price at the Motel 6 next to the docks in San Pedro! (760) 934-6660

I think a lot of angler's are not tuned into the real story on the weather in the Mammoth area and consequently are relying on the forecast for Mammoth Lakes which can be very misleading if you are fishing out in Long Valley (Upper Owens River, Hot Creek, and Crowley Lake).  Mammoth Mountain at over 11,000 feet essentially creates its own weather and the forecast for Mammoth Lakes is very accurate if you are planning to fish the Lakes Basin above town but falls short once you move 5-10 miles out into the valley.  In fact the whole idea of the Crowley Cam was to be able to see what was really going on at the lake since many days the wind is howling in town and dead still at the lake and vice versa. Long Valley and Mammoth Mountain are two separate and very different entities as far as weather goes.

We have had thundershowers predicted for Mammoth Lakes every day so far in June and indeed there have been showers off and on in town and up in the Lakes Basin many days one place or the other, but move only a few miles down to the Airport on 395, basically right next to Hot Creek, and the story is much different.  In the first 11 days of June there has been zero precipitation on 8 days and on the other 3 days it "rained" 0.01", 0.03", and 0.05" translated a chunk of clouds broke off from over Mammoth Mountain and passed over the airport, got the runway wet and were gone 15 minutes later. (My over simplification, but you get the idea)

Now, what about wind?  There are no predictions for anywhere except Mammoth Lakes and Bishop but an average with more of an emphasis on Bishop isn't bad for what you can expect for Long Valley, at least combined with the understanding that afternoon winds blowing in from the south is a local condition like the wind off the ocean everyday at the beach and that effects Crowley Lake in particular, but not so much Hot Creek and the Upper Owens.

So, let's take a look at this weekend as an example of what we can predict.  Using the links below and then clicking on the hourly predictions, the forecast for Mammoth Lakes on Saturday is for winds from the south and west starting at 2 mph at 8 am and increasing to 11 mph by 5 pm.  For Sunday it is 1 mph going to 7 mph for the same timeframe.  Bishop is 6 mph all day on Saturday, and 5 mph all day on Sunday again from the south and west.

You can do the math but I'd say for Saturday, Hot Creek and the Upper Owens will have minimal winds until about 3 pm then up to 8 mph in the late afternoon and Crowley will be fishable until at least noon.  On Sunday slightly lower winds for Hot Creek and the Upper Owens and Crowley will be good until 1 pm.  As to getting wet, you will have to be pretty unlucky to see any precipitation anywhere in Long Valley.

Lastly, for the East Walker you can use the Bridgeport forecast directly and for the Lower Owens you can use the Bishop forecast directly and both should be pretty accurate.  All the guys at the shop watch the forecasts and can give you an overall impression of the next few days for any of the areas we fish.  Give us a call if you are trying to make a decision on coming up and we'll do our best to give you our local forecast for where you want to fish.

Each week or so I'll show you something new or novel that I think you should check out that you may not have seen while in the shop.

The way it works is that floating on top of the two mercury columns of the thermometer are little steel pins (yes, floats - mercury is almost twice as dense as steel) and when the mercury goes up and down as far as it can, the pins stay behind to read the highest and lowest temperatures since the last time the thermometer was reset. With the new model, you simply push the red button to slide the pins down to the mercury and reset for next reading.

To take a temperature reading, pitch it overboard on a string, wait about 5 seconds, pull it back up and read the minimum temperature – that is the temperature on the bottom. These sell for a little over $20, one third the price of the electronic equivalent and are five times faster than the cheapo ones enclosed in a chamber which take forever to read and are not nearly as accurate.

If you happened to have purchased the underwater video, “Crowley, an Underwater Perspective” note the temperature readings when a fish is coming by the camera every ten seconds. You’ll be a believer in bottom water temperature like I am!

Available at the shop for $24 plus tax.  Free shipping if you order by phone (800) 637-6912  -k

I use Rio Extreme tippet with the Slide-a-cator™ for this application as it has almost zero stretcth making those deep-water sets more positive.  You can see the  complete set-up with Rio FluoroPlus, tippet ring, and split shot.  Oh yeah, don't forget the flies!

Now, for the "fine print". . . (Since I am always politically correct and thinking of my stillwater breathren)

Yes, since the leader passes through the indicator you must remember to attach it before you rig everything to your fly line and secondly, never pull the leader completely out of the indicator as there is no way to get it back in.  (They do make nice, lightweight marbles for your kids if you forget.)

But, don't fret, the Slide-a-cator™ comes with complete instructions which cover how to install it on a new leader so you can use the indicator over and over. Lastly, you must remember where your indicator was before you caught the last fish so you can reposition it to get the same height off the bottom each time.

I believe the extra steps necessary are far outweighed by the one big positive . . . being able to fish at depths up to 25 feet opens up at least twice the fishable area on the lake.  'No more crowding into the "hot-spot" with six guide boats, five other midgers, nine float tubes, and twelve bait-dunkers.   Use your fish finder to spot a couple of big ones in the middle of nowhere and anchors away.

The Slide-a-cator™ is made in the USA by highly trained fly-fishing addicts and is available at the shop for a mere $2.49 plus tax or three for $5.95 plus tax.

 We are also now carrying Mickey Barron's Sungicators for you yarn aficionados when not going deep.  -k

Clyde Ikeda with East Walker powerhouse

and Eric the "O" Hein with the hold.

Spencer Lee sent nice kudos for Josh,

who fished him on East Walker with

this as one result.

Nice 21 inch McGee bay special for

Kent on his day off.

Fish finally in the shallows again!

Martin Bryne and his buddies got some

of the big ones showing up in McGee.

Don Scales with his fat one.

Devan Hart with one of the many he bagged

with Mark and on Hot Creek - second time

fly fishing.

Guides Hint:

A six DVD set of last summer's 8-hour Crowley University is now available for those who could not attend. This is a reference library you need to add to your arsenal if you fish the lake. It is a de facto download of everything I've learned in more than 2000 days fishing and guiding the lake. It is being distributed to various shops around the state and available at Trout Fly.  Free shipping if you order by phone (800) 637-6912.

This year's Stillwater Classic will be on Saturday, August 8th this year, so circle your calendar and don't miss it or a chance to help the lake!  Note: the Double Haul has been pretty much shelved at least for another year.

 Guide's Hint:

Guides Hint:

Guides Hint: Concentrate on slowest slicks possible. With cold temps fish are not moving too far out of their lanes. So make several drifts to land these finicky fish.

RUSH CREEK Update by Nate Wray 6-30-09

Guides Hint: The E Walker can be a tricky river.  Now that the fishing pressure has caught up to it, catching a lot of bigger fish will not be a “gimme”.  This is one river where hiring a knowledgeable, local, experienced guide can pay off big time.

Guides Hint: Keep moving until you find fish.  Look for fish rising, bottom structure, insect activity or other anglers hooking up. If you are on Fish but not hooking up, adjust your depth before changing your fly.  Fish /Strip slowly near weeds or structure and/or close to the bottom , sometimes bouncing your fly into the mud.