Eastern Sierra Update

[cdevine]

I had to chance to fish EW the other day and the fishing gods were looking down on me. It was just one of those days. Flows were great at 350 CFS and water color/clarity was ideal. Fishing pressure was light and for those who don't know highway 182 which parallels the river is closed at the 182 bridge due to a slide near murphys pond. I talked to CHP officer and she mentioned maybe by 4-28. This doesn't mean you can't fish that section it does mean you can't drive it. I will leave it at that.

Small midges coming off but really its a meat eaters menu right now. I was throwing streamers on floating line using a rio versi tip in various colors from black/olive/grey. Bigger water and spring usually means going to 0-1x which is what I did and I'm glad. Predator browns aren't worried about leader size.

A few other observations.
Bridgeport reservoir is lower than what you would like for the opener but their is enough snow to fill it up 3-4 times so be patient. Twin lakes are both full.
West Carson river looks very good in the hope valley for those who hit that spot up. She's running in the 400 CFS range and color was clear/green. Probably 12-18 inches of snow on ground at various spots but its melting quickly. As you make your way down the canyon she's roaring.
West Walker is running quick in the canyon and tan in color. This is a true free stone so I expect her to be blown most of the early part of summer. Might be ok across from Marine Base as its much flatter.

[Sheepdog8404]

What an awesome fish! Glad you were able to get out and find a toad. Thank you for posting a report for us. I wish I could get over there in time but probably wont be able to for a couple weeks.

[RaffiB]

That's a beauty!!! Sounds like an awesome day!! Thanks for sharing

Raffi "Rafdawg_34"

[cdevine]

Thanks. I appreciate it. It was one of those days. Perfect weather, water, and flows were high but more than fishable. Winds were light and variable. I'm not going to lie. I don't pay that much attention to measurements and weight because for the most part you know whether you've caught a big or small fish and most seem to end up in that middle of the range area. And quite frankly all of them are beautiful. But this was a fish that I won't forget. Spring fishing has proven very effective this year in terms of inches. Not going to say quantity but the big boys seem to have come out and played. The river is in unbelievable condition. Its been scoured with all these high flows and I think fishing will only improve.
Get out there wherever that is and enjoy our playground!

[Kneedeep]

Killer brown!
Good report. Thanks

[yubaman]

AWESOME!!!! What a great Brown. Kudos to you for getting out and making it happen! I too have become a big fan of tossing streamers, especially on any river with Browns. The predatory manner of the fishing is a turn on. The shoulders on that thing are gigantic. Must have been a great fight. What weight rod were you fishing . . . 6 weight?

[cdevine]

AWESOME!!!! What a great Brown. Kudos to you for getting out and making it happen! I too have become a big fan of tossing streamers, especially on any river with Browns. The predatory manner of the fishing is a turn on. The shoulders on that thing are gigantic. Must have been a great fight. What weight rod were you fishing . . . 6 weight?

Thanks Yubaman. Appreciate it. That guy had some sharp teeth. He got me good on the thumb! I was using my favorite all around Sage Z-axis 5wt if you can believe it. That rod is really perfect for handling a stream like the EW and doing a variety of things like tossing streamers. A 6wt would have been nice though. For the truckee I've gotten into using a longer 10-11ft 4wt rods like sage ESN and One. Big thing for me is leader size right now. I'm using 0-1x for streamers and 1-2x nymphing. Water is too fast and off color for it too matter that much.

[yubaman]

I think I may go up and hit the Truckee on the 10th & 11th. I've had some success with the articulated Sex Dungeon up there. I think in these flows, it would be very good, white might be a good color right now, imitating a wounded minnow. I've used 2X mostly for leader. I also bring a spool of straight sinking line and I think that might work out real well in these flows.

I have a Z-Axis 5 weight as well and also a Winston BIIIX in 5 weight. I love both rods. That Z-Axis is hard to beat. The 10' rods must be great on the T.

[PV_Premier]

Outstanding report and congrats on a great fish. thanks for posting.

[EricO]

"For the truckee I've gotten into using a longer 10-11ft 4wt rods like sage ESN and One."

Hey Cdevine,

I've done the same....for bigger and wider water like the Big T, Feather I started using a
Cortland 10.5 4wt with a fighting butt. It has some good backbone and I can get at
least another 3-4 ft farther out when nymphing. It chucks indo's so easy.

Eric