Jim Stimson Reports on 2.23.2017There was a little break in the weather over the weekend so with a saltwater guide buddy of mine from Southern California, we jetted north to the East Walker to chec...
Jim Stimson reports on 2.16.17We have had a few days off from inclement weather which has been great but it looks like we need to get psyched for at least another week of snowy conditions. Lower Ow...
Jim Stimson reports on 2.9.17There is not much new to report other than as I write this rain is pouring off our roof by the bucket loads. Amazing. Plus at 6:30 am it is 50º outside. It has to be sn...
Jim Stimson reports on 2.2.17It is official – more snow has fallen this January than in any other month in Mammoth’s recorded history with 246” (that’s over 20 FEET!). The previous record was smash...
Jim Stimson reports on 1.26.17It is official – more snow has fallen this January than in any other month in Mammoth’s recorded history with 246” (that’s over 20 FEET!). The previous record was smas...
Jim Stimson reports on 1.19.17We are off to a good start with winter. After getting slammed last weekend with 21 inches of water at Mammoth Pass, the snow pack is deep and dense. It is saturated wi...
Jim Stimson Reports on 1.12.17We are off to a good start with the weather. Here is the current local forecast: The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area has received over 16 feet of snow from this last weather...
Jim Stimson reports on 1.5.17We seem to be off to good start with the weather. Here is the current local forecast. Of course, read it with a grain of salt, anything can happen but it does appear th...
Jim Stimson reports on 12.30.2016The Eastern Sierra is looking very winter like. Even where I live in Crowley Lake, the rain shadow, we received roughly 8” of snow from that storm system that arriv...
Jim Stimson reports on 12.22.2016Has anyone ever had a close encounter of the bovine kind? Let me explain. I was guiding a client on the Lower Owens River and was rammed by a cow! I inadvertently s...
Jim Stimson reports on 12.15.2016Lower Owens RiverThe Lower Owens is flowing at 75 cfs. This is on the low side but the wading is easy and the trout are hungry. With the background peaks cloaked wi...
Jim Stimson Reports on 12.8.2016And voilà! Just as the weather forecasters predicted, we have snow! Not exactly an “atmospheric river” but there is snow on the ground with more expected throughout ...
Jim Stimson Reports on 12.1.2016Brrrrrr! The thermometer seems stuck at 14º F this morning. I can look across the Long Valley Caldera and see a thin, wispy veil of fog that hovers above the Upper O...
Jim Stimson Reports on 12.24.2016As I gaze out the window this morning, a cold, biting fog drifts in and out of the foothills. The sage and rabbitbrush are coated in a delicate frost from the Pocon...
Jim Stimson Reports on 11.17.2016Tioga Pass is open again along with Sonora and Monitor Passes. Come on over the hill. The weather outlook looks clear, warm, and sunny until later in the month.Lowe...
Jim Stimson Reports on 11.10.2016cannot write this without some commentary on the election. Although I was not a supporter of the Trump campaign, I have to accept the results as part of our democra...
Jim Stimson Reports on 11.3.2016What a World Series! Congratulations Chicago!We had another weekend of wet weather. The ski area received anywhere between 6-24” of snow, depending on the elevation....
Jim Stimson Reports on 10.27.2016We had an interesting weekend of weather throughout the Sierra. At our end of the State we had primarily a wind event, though the town of Mammoth Lakes reported jus...
Jim Stimson Reports on 10.13.2016I have been dividing my time between fishing and photography. The autumn colors are about as good as it gets between Bishop and Bridgeport. The mornings are crisp w...
Jim Stimson reports on 10.6.2016First things first, Go Giants!Autumn is on full display now on the high benches and most of the canyons along the Eastside. The mornings are very crisp with frost an...
Jim Stimson Reports on 9/29/2016We had to throw some plastic over our garden tomatoes and peppers last night as the temperatures plunged into the low 30’s. Autumn is in the air. There was a hint of...
Jim Stimson Reports on 9.8.2016Gone are the sweaty nights sleeping with the windows open, no covers, under the sweeping drone of a ceiling fan. The morning temps are starting to dip into the 30’s, ...
Jim Stimson reports on 9.1.2016My home lies on the edge of two worlds….. the Eastern Sierra and the Great Basin Desert. The light is changing, the shadows grow longer and the distant peaks are pick...
Jim Stimson Reports on 8.25.2016Last Sunday I ventured into new territory. I led a backcountry photography workshop into the Emigrant Wilderness Area just south of Sonora Pass out of Kennedy Meadow...
Jim Stimson Reports on 8.11.2016Ahhhh….. we’re enjoying a lull in the local fires. We’ve had two major fires, just to the north and just a few miles from the house. Scary! Thanks to all of the ha...
Jim Stimson Reports on 8.4.2016Summer is the time of year when I think about getting into hiking shape. We live at the base of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra and nestled up high, often above ...
Jim Stimson Reports on 7.28.2016It has been clear and hot for weeks now. Usually we start getting some monsoonal flow come July, but no sign of relief yet. It would be nice to get dosed with some r...
Jim Stimson Reports on 7.21.2016Clear, hot, and breezy….. the perfect weather for fires. Let’s be careful out there. And speaking of temperatures, as these lazy days of summer bear down upon us, ke...
Jim Stimson Reports on 7.14.2016I’ve been away from California, the computer, my fly rods, and trout. My wife and I spent nearly two weeks visiting with our daughter and exploring New England. I di...
Jim Stimson Reports on 6.30.2016The mercury is rising….. the weather is hot and windy. Bishop has been in the triple digits all week. With the warm temperatures, the snow is melting even in the hig...
Jim Stimson Reports on 6.23.2016The mercury is rising….. the weather is hot and windy. Bishop has been in the triple digits all week. With the warm temperatures, the snow is melting even in the hig...
Jim Stimson Reports on 6.15.2016I won’t sugar up this report. We are in the midst of June-Gloom. A couple of weeks ago the fishing was off-the-charts stellar, now with the runoff upon us, trout are...
Jim Stimson Reports on 6.9.2016June is for elections and spring runoff. I won’t dive into politics too much other than this is the most bizarre scenario for a Presidential election I can ever recal...
Jim Stimson Reports on 6.2.2016Wow! June has arrived with a bang. They say, “If you don’t like the weather now in the mountains, just wait a day.” It was chilly and very unsettled through the Memor...
Jim Stimson Reports on 5.26.2016The weather has been rather unstable lately with a big drop in temperatures and blustery conditions. We’ve been getting spring showers with a little bit of lightning...
Jim Stimson Reports on 5.18.2016Pinch those barbs! I was fishing the East Walker on Sunday and watched as two fly fisherman were given citations for not having their hook barbs pinched. They simply...
Jim Stimson reports on 5.12.2016The wife and I packed up the Subaru and dashed off for an extended weekend to Bozeman, Montana! We watched with pride as our son graduated from MSU with a degree in ...
Jim Stimson Reports on 5.5.2016The weather on the Trout Opener, Fishmas, did not disappoint. Crowley Lake was nasty with biting winds, snow, sleet, cold temperatures, and of course trout. Anglers h...
Jim Stimson Reports on 4.28.2016Merry Fishmas! April, in like a lamb, out like a lion….. the weather is unsettled now as it always seems to be around the trout opener. By Saturday, you can expect C...
Jim Stimson reports on 4.13.2016The countdown to the official season opener begins, April 30th is right around the corner. I am looking forward to fishing “new” water. The Lower Owens is raging, ...
Jim Stimson reports on 4.7.2016April….. the weather is getting warm in Bishop. Not only are we getting high temperatures (mid-80’s), the water levels on the Lower Owens are sky rocketing. The Los A...
Jim Stimson Reports on 3.31.2016We’re almost ready to turn another page on the calendar. It’s hard to believe it is almost April and the official fishing opener is a month away. For the Eastern Sie...
Jim Stimson reports on 3.24.2016With the stable weather out there (all we seem to get from El Niño is wind), I’ve been poking around and exploring a little. I checked out the East Walker two weeks ...
Jim Stimson Reports on 3.16.2016aIf I had to hazard a guess, I would say that winter is over for the Eastern Sierra. This doesn’t mean that we won’t get some more snow before spring sets in, but I ...
Jim Stimson Reports on 3.9.2016Fishing at Pyramid Lake is always entertaining. I was there last week with a buddy John Fochetti. We were standing on ladders, not too far apart, exchanging stories a...
Jim Stimson reports on 3.3.2016Could it be we’re in for another Miracle March? The weather Gods seem to be beating their drums. As early as Friday, we could be in for a couple weeks of wet and hop...
Jim Stimson Reports on 2.25.2016¿El Niño, dónde está? February is going out with a fizzle. I mean the weather is unbelievably nice, don’t get me wrong, but t-shirt weather? Hopefully March will b...
Jim Stimson Reports on 2.17.2016I have to admit, I have been away from my home turf. With the torrential rains Northern California has been getting hammered with, I have been looking at the long ra...
