PDA

View Full Version : Eastside Frolicks in the White Stuff



DarkShadow
05-26-2015, 11:28 AM
May is almost done, but Mother Nature apparently gave the Eastern Sierras a bit more of the white stuff before she makes way to scorching summers and dried up creeks. Will the latest run off be enough to assist the already tough conditions? Only time will tell.

Fishing was decent in the familiar haunts on dry dropper combos. Hatch below PVR happened at the usual time, with last generation BWOs giving way during the cloudy conditions. Got broken off on a larger brown on that stretch that inhaled my only size 16 Klinkhammer BWO. Did see some caddis activity as well. Flows are about 144 cfs, with the water being warm enough for wet wading. Higher elevation creeks are also producing the standard fare of popcorn fish, with "larger" fish (relatively speaking of course) not being as aggressive as their smaller counterparts and taking good casting and stealth presentations in order to get them to go.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/673/4tFOOz.jpg
Paradise


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/537/kB1d7L.jpg
My Gear Taking a Break


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/673/uYjmhE.jpg
"What up dogg?"


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/538/Hp2iYi.jpg
Blue


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/537/NxCsl9.jpg
Meadow


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/540/FFPmv1.jpg
Fish Stick Brookie


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/537/1yDu12.jpg
Looking Down


http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/673/BSduIx.jpg
How Now Brown Trout

Panorama: http://imageshack.com/a/img911/6488/Y0cBmu.jpg

TROUT MASTERS
05-26-2015, 12:22 PM
Thanks for the great pic's and report,just made my day,too bad cant make it up there yet but i can dream can i ? :LOL:

shinbob
05-26-2015, 03:26 PM
Awesome report and pictures! That place (first batch of pictures) is such a paradise, it has a little bit of everything. I love it there, but haven't been up that-away in a few years. Was thinking about stopping by on my trip this year, but apparently they are rebuilding the road -- were there any delays getting up and down? Might wait until next year when the dust has settled...

DarkShadow
05-26-2015, 04:20 PM
were there any delays getting up and down? Might wait until next year when the dust has settled...

Road work was definitely in full affect, but there was zero delay on Sunday. A few bridges apparently suffered some deterioration during the off season and in a pair of those places, there is only one lane open, but the bulk of the delay was traversing the stretches of what was a paved road, now being gravel, so you can't blast through at 40 mph as usual, unless you want an angry passenger yelling at you for going too fast.

And, that particular stretch of creek going upstream has definitely seen better times though, because as of a few years ago, you could definitely pull a few 12" fish if you took the time, but now, it seems only a small population of tiny Brooks populate that creek. I'm not much of a stillwater fly fisherman, but I presume you may run into better quality fish in the lakes up there.

City Dad
05-27-2015, 09:29 AM
way to live the life, dude! I have dreams of that stuff one day...

DarkShadow
05-27-2015, 02:44 PM
way to live the life, dude! I have dreams of that stuff one day...

LOL.

The only reason I know and fish this place is because of your reports of years past.

Good thing about fishing it this early is that the valley's namesake still hasn't reproduced enough to necessitate the use of 4 cans of DEET.

City Dad
05-28-2015, 10:40 AM
LOL.

The only reason I know and fish this place is because of your reports of years past.

Good thing about fishing it this early is that the valley's namesake still hasn't reproduced enough to necessitate the use of 4 cans of DEET.

perhaps it is my pessimism speaking... but one of those pics showing a stretch of stream sure looks a lot like and area that used to be an actual pond, now all dried out. I hope I am wrong...

...and oh, when I first read "Eastside Frolicks in the White Stuff" I thought maybe you'd been on a cocaine binge in Riverside...

old pudd fisher
05-28-2015, 11:19 AM
Nice photos I like the first one the best. What kind of camera were you using ? It all most looks like a oil painting.

DarkShadow
05-28-2015, 03:39 PM
Nice photos I like the first one the best. What kind of camera were you using ? It all most looks like a oil painting.

I hate admitting this, but my Nikon mirrroless and Canon DSLR were left at home.

The pictures were taken with my Samsung S5, which has the best camera out there IMO. I honestly may start leaving the bulky stuff at home when the shots taken are that good. Plus, the S5 is IP67....and I've dropped it various times in the drink without experiencing any issues.