DreStyle
02-19-2010, 04:08 PM
With the impending insanity of starting my masters thesis looming in the months ahead, I decided to be a bad student and take a last minute trip to the Lower O when I found out our class would not be meeting this last week. I made my way up the 395 on Monday, but got into town too late to fish. The next morning I tried to get up on the earlier side, but it turned out the the mind was willing but the body was not. I decided to grab something tasty from Schat's and feed my Starbucks addiction and hit the river. Made a quick stop at the Sierra Trout Magnet and get the latest intelligence briefing.
The sign outside told the story and I headed in to get the details...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10087.jpg
I picked up some flies and headed down to the river. When I got there I saw a view that would have ALMOST made the trip worth it had I returned with the skunk.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/OwensinFeb.jpg
I had heard that the BWO hatch was on and so the first thing I tried was an Adams that turned out to be way too big compared to what I saw on the water. The water was carpeted with what I though were the BWOs but what I later found out were actually midges. Since I had also heard that Griffith's Gnats were having some success I changed it up and got a couple dink browns, one was caught when I let it swing "steelhead style" at the end of a drift. The first fish I managed to hook of any significant size beyond what I'm used to on the SGR fell victim to another Griffith's Gnat, but managed a long distance release.
After only small successes on the dries, I decided to probe the depths with some nymphs and that turned out to be the ticket. I fished several good looking holes and hooked several fish out of each one all of about the same size (10-14 inches) all browns. I ended up landing somewhere between 8 - 12 fish that day (I usually stop counting after I get around 5) and probably had about as many come unbuttoned. After catching a few fish, and developing a hankering for some grub I decided to call it a day.
Here are a few of the little brownies that came out to play on day one ...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10084.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10085.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10086.jpg
The next day I headed back to Sierra Trout Magnet to meet up with David for a float trip that I had booked on the way up. The trip proved to be, by far, the best fishing decision I've made to date. David is an excellent guide and not only got me on the holes with fish by masterful drift boat maneuvering and knowledge of the river. He was also an excellent instructor and helped me fix all sort of problems that I knew I had, as well as several that I didn't. It was a great day and I highly recommend hiring David for a guide trip, especially if you are somewhat of a novice like I am. Here are some pics from the day on the drift boat ...
Sam the Guide Dog at the ready ...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10088.jpg
A couple more brownies from the drift boat ...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/IMG_4721.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/IMG_4722.jpg
The next day I headed to the Wild Trout section below PVR and caught a few little guys before getting on the road.
The sign outside told the story and I headed in to get the details...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10087.jpg
I picked up some flies and headed down to the river. When I got there I saw a view that would have ALMOST made the trip worth it had I returned with the skunk.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/OwensinFeb.jpg
I had heard that the BWO hatch was on and so the first thing I tried was an Adams that turned out to be way too big compared to what I saw on the water. The water was carpeted with what I though were the BWOs but what I later found out were actually midges. Since I had also heard that Griffith's Gnats were having some success I changed it up and got a couple dink browns, one was caught when I let it swing "steelhead style" at the end of a drift. The first fish I managed to hook of any significant size beyond what I'm used to on the SGR fell victim to another Griffith's Gnat, but managed a long distance release.
After only small successes on the dries, I decided to probe the depths with some nymphs and that turned out to be the ticket. I fished several good looking holes and hooked several fish out of each one all of about the same size (10-14 inches) all browns. I ended up landing somewhere between 8 - 12 fish that day (I usually stop counting after I get around 5) and probably had about as many come unbuttoned. After catching a few fish, and developing a hankering for some grub I decided to call it a day.
Here are a few of the little brownies that came out to play on day one ...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10084.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10085.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10086.jpg
The next day I headed back to Sierra Trout Magnet to meet up with David for a float trip that I had booked on the way up. The trip proved to be, by far, the best fishing decision I've made to date. David is an excellent guide and not only got me on the holes with fish by masterful drift boat maneuvering and knowledge of the river. He was also an excellent instructor and helped me fix all sort of problems that I knew I had, as well as several that I didn't. It was a great day and I highly recommend hiring David for a guide trip, especially if you are somewhat of a novice like I am. Here are some pics from the day on the drift boat ...
Sam the Guide Dog at the ready ...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/SDC10088.jpg
A couple more brownies from the drift boat ...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/IMG_4721.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w229/jazznfishin/Sierras%202-10/IMG_4722.jpg
The next day I headed to the Wild Trout section below PVR and caught a few little guys before getting on the road.