Sierra Drifters Guide Service
Guided fly fishing trips for Crowley Lake, Grant & Silver Lakes, the San Joaquin, Upper and Middle Owens Rivers, East Walker River, McGee Creek, Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Hot Creek, & the Gorge located near Mammoth and Bishop Ca. will give you opportunities to catch trophy rainbows and browns while being guided by expert fly fishing pros. Sierra Drifters guides utilize top of the line center console bay boats, drift boats, float tubes, and high quality fly fishing tackle to guide you on these blue ribbon trout waters.
A message from Doug Rodricks 3/26/20
Well, it was just a matter of time before Mono County would see the first cases of COVID-19 start to surface. There are now 6 confirmed cases in Mono County and 2 confirmed in Inyo County. If we go by the average rate of spreading the infection, you can double that over the next few days and we know that there are definitely many more infected. I have been taking calls over the last few days from anglers that would like to go fishing currently. I feel it is necessary to lay out the orders that must be followed at this time, so everyone is clear as to “what is and what is not allowed.” First off, our county has restricted any business that is non-essential from operating. Therefore, any guide service that is currently running trips is in violation of these orders. This also applies to traveling anglers coming from outside the county violating the Governor’s order to stay in place and not travel. Some have asked me if there is a “work-around” to where they can come here and go fishing. This is a time, where we need to come together and get on the same page. It really is not a matter of what one can get away with, but rather how we can all do our part to ensure the safety of this community, your community, and the rest of the world at this point. I strongly feel, that the best way to act while this order is in place, is to act as if we are all carriers of the virus. If we all did this and took the necessary precautions and followed the CDC guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus, we would beat it at a much faster rate and save a lot of lives in the process. This is by no means an easy situation for anyone. Everyone has been affected by this in some way or another, and believe me when I say we would all love to go fishing right now. Fishing does so much more for people than just getting outdoors and enjoying the sport. For some it is an escape from everyday repetitive life, a vacation to recharge one’s energy level and mental state, and even a healing activity for many, especially our wounded war veterans. It is a great family activity, and can also be a great way to connect with others that share the same interest and passion. Friendships, memories, and lifetime experiences are made participating in the sport. We all love doing it for one reason or another, and it’s a huge part of driving the economy for those that live here in the eastern sierra. I know we can all agree on one thing; that we all want this to be over as quickly as possible. The time to listen to the health experts on this is NOW. Let’s work together on this and think about the well being of each other, and in a few months or possibly sooner, we will all be on our favorite trout water casting flies to some hungry trout. So I am personally asking you as a friend, a guide, a family man, and a concerned local to please refrain from traveling to this area. I look forward to seeing each and everyone of you on the water here in the near future, and I thank you for taking the time to read my message. Until then, stay safe and healthy, keep washing those hands, and I wish the best for you and your family and friends. Be the Fly… Doug Rodricks.
https://coronavirus.monocounty.ca.gov/
https://www.mammothmountain.com/covid
Sierra Drifters is a guide service based near Mammoth Lakes, CA. There is no retail shop to visit, but our time tested fly patterns are available to purchase at select locations and online here on our website. Click here to view our entire selection of flies.
Lower Owens River/Wild Trout Section (Bishop Area) 3/11/20
Pretty solid hatches here now in the afternoons on BWO’s. You will see midges, some stoneflies, and even caddis poking around throughout the day. We are going lighter, or not as deep using our streamer patterns due to a slight flow drop. Water is still very clear in most sections of the river. The punk perch in dark and light has been the fly of the month. You can try mixing it up with different colors depending on the lighting conditions.
Doug Dolan drifted Roger and Van Smith down river and Roger connected with this nice brown trout.
Here’s Van with a chunky rainbow trout.
Best Flies: Spruce-a-Bu #8 Light and Dark, Loeberg #10 all colors, Agent Orange #8-10, Crystal Leech #8-10, Punk Park dark and light #8-12, Flashback PT #16-18, Copper Tiger Midge #18-20
Hot Creek 3/11/20
The afternoon mayfly hatch has been loads of fun this month. Some good hatches in the afternoons have the fish looking up at everything that floats by or lands on the water. Fishing smaller midge patterns prior to the big hatch can be deadly too. Small nymphs and egg patterns are also doing the trick throughout the day. Water is very clear and low, so stay hidden for more bites.
Jeff Hudson fished with Doug Rodricks and scored some nice Hot Creek rainbow trout.
Best Flies: Flashback PT’s #16-#20, Tricos Spinners #20-22, SD Crawlers in Red #14, Copper Tiger Midges #18-20, and #18 Assassin Dark, Tangerine Opaque, Kiwi Flash, and Apricot Flash Otter Eggs have been excellent.
Upper Owens River 3/11/20
Still great fishing here, and soon we should be getting into our favorite way of fishing for these large rainbow trout, dry fly fishing. Yes, that’s correct, as the fish get closer to returning to the lake, they will take up feeding positions in the shallows and take advantage of the BWO hatch. It is at this time where you can throw dry flies to them. It is the best dry fly fishing for trophy trout in the sierra and we excitedly awaiting this window to arrive. In the meantime, standard egg patterns, serendipity, leeches, Pheasant tails, and san juan worms are fooling the big ones. You will find some smaller and medium sized fish in here as well. Road access is great, although it may get muddy after this weekend’s storm.
Colin Lynch fished with Doug Rodricks and scored this nice rainbow trout!
Doug Dolan guided Reuben Loy to this fat rainbow trout!
Reuben with another nice rainbow trout!
Travis Hudson fished with Doug Rodricks and got this great rainbow trout.
Jeff Hudson with a stunning rainbow trout.
Check out this giant rainbow trout that Jeff got.
Best Flies: Stimulator – 12, 14, 16; Crystal Copper Tiger Midge – 16,18; B100FB – 14, 16, 18, 20; Spruce a bu dark and light; Loeberg Mallard Silver; Loeberg Guinea Silver, Crystal Midge Pupa Black – 18; Crystal Chironomid Emerger Copper – 16, 18; Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge – 14,16,18, Tangerine Opaque, Tangerine Red Flash, Kiwi Flash and Flamingo Otter Eggs.
This is a year around fishery with special regs in place. We walk and wade guide here.*Doug Rodricks, Doug Dolan, Hans Grotewold, and Devin Preston are under permit from the Inyo National Forest Service to guide Hot Creek.
East Walker River 3/11/20
Flows have now come up a little. Good fishing here in the deeper sections, but don’t overlook any water just deep enough to hold a trout along the banks. Fish will move into these areas to feed during the warmer weather days and retreat back to the depths in the evenings. Water is still cold so they aren’t really chasing much. Look to the deepest pools and get your flies down, or vary the depth depending on where they are holding in the water column.
Best Flies: B100FB – 18, 20; Crystal Copper Tiger Midge -16; Crystal Zebra Midge – 16, 18; Punk Perch Light and Dark – 14, 16; Parallel Punk Perch Light and Dark; Crystal Leech – 12, 14, 16; Agent Orange 12, 14, 16; Parallel Agent Orange – 14, Spruce-a-bu Dark and Light, Eggs: Tangerine Red Flash, Dead Egg, Tangerine Opaque, Flamingo.
Be sure to check out our fine selection of the best fly patterns in the Eastern Sierra. Click on “fly sales” on the navigation bar above, hit “menu” first from a mobile device to access the navigation bar.
You can pick up our flies & Under-cators at Reagan’s Sports in Bishop, the Crowley General Store (not at the lake), Ricks Sport Center in Mammoth (limited selection), Bridgeport Reservoir RV Park , Stroud’s Tackle in San Diego, & Malibu Fish’N Tackle in Thousand Oaks, and Fly and Field Outfitters; Bend, OR.
Thank you for visiting our website and checking out our report. Please feel free to explore our sight by clicking on any of the links at the top of this page. Be the Fly…. Doug and Jenny Rodricks, Sierra Drifters Guide Service
