John Rickard reports on 5.30.19

Anthony Carruesco reports on 5.30.19



Hogan Brown reports on 5.30.19

Lower Yuba seems to maybe...don't want to jinx it...dropping a bit. It has come down from 6700cfs to around 5700cfs. The clarity is fine and there are a few people getting out and fishing the river and catching fish. As the river channel has widened over the last 2 big winters it has changed and grown to accommodate high flows so 5700cfs while it sounds big there is room to fish. 

Jim Stimson reports on 5.30.19

Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report

Could there be a break in the weather? In other words, is Spring just around the corner? I fished the East Walker yesterday in chilly, blustery conditions (fishing was very good), then today I hit the Nevada side of the Truckee River with a guide buddy from Reno. The temps were in the low 70’s and it felt like a heat wave, It was wonderful and I managed to scratch up some nice fish before having to blast back down to Carson City to visit with my dermatologist. Warning: It is not too late to wear gobs of sunscreen. 

East Walker

The flows have been dropped down to about 250 cfs and the water temps are coming up stimulating some nice insect hatches, in particular BWO’s. The trout are moving around and settling into their new habitats. Fishing is good now. There are a lot of hogs in all the good places. Try skwala and baetis patterns. These flows are perfect!

Hot Creek

The creek is flowing through the canyon at 64 cfs. Target your casts to the feeding lanes between the grasses and rocks. You may not see fish, but they are there. Try a dry-dropper setup with a caddis or mayfly pattern above and a midge or scud below.

Upper Owens River

The flows are at 71 cfs but these are readings taken high in the river system. Once Hot Creek dumps into the mid-section the flows are closer to about 130 cfs. More and more trout are spreading out throughout the river system. The cutthroats are in the river now for their spawn so be careful where you wade and fish. If you see spawning beds AND more importantly trout sitting on their redds, please avoid the temptation of hooking into spawning fish. Leave the spawning trout alone, they are stressed out enough and can die easily during this important time of the year. Cast into the deeper buckets… there are a lot of fish following the spawn feeding on eggs being washed downstream from the cutthroats.

Lower Owens River

The Lower Owens flows have dropped (finally) to 380 cfs. This is still on the high side for this section of the river so exercise some caution when you fish. You can easily go for am impromptu swim and end up flushed downstream if you are not careful. Most trout are in that 10-12” range but if you poke around and get lucky, you can hook into some browns in the 15-16” category. There are some healthy midge and mayfly hatches throughout the day. I caught fish on everything from green caddis worms to black midges. 

Capt. Hogan Brown reports on 5.30.19

Capt. Hogan Brown reports on 5.30.19

Valley Striper fishing has been hit or miss with the weather but with the weather stabilizing and supposedly hitting 91 by saturday fishing should stabilize and all the rivers resident stripers should get on a more stable pattern of feeding. June - October is prime time on the Yuba, Feather, and Sac for resident stripers and with all the water these rivers have this year fishing should be very good. There are not many guides that fish these rivers and are licensed captains so if you are not on anyones books yet make sure to get on them. I know I have a few dates left as does Capt. Chuck Ragan and Capt. Darrin Deel but soon the calendars will be full and we will be booking 2020. 

Matt Koles reports on 5.30.19

Truckee

More rain and snow.

Good for fishing, not much fun for anything else.

I’ve been mostly down on the Nevada side of the Truckee River just to get out of the rain, that, and I have the whole place to myself. Good solid fishing. Normally, I’d be done floating the river down there around this time just because it’s too hot, not this year.

Flows have remained steady this week. Still high, but not as high the last few months. Water is very clear here, and just a little off color the lower you go down the river.

So on the fishing front, not much has changed. Bring a rain jacket, pack some streamers, and fish some nymphs. Seems like the trouts are more keyed in on the hatching bugs now, and not the worms and eggs and things. Think march browns, green drakes, golden stones, beatis, and pmd nymphs. This is a really great time to throw streamers. The water is a little warmer than a few months ago and we have good overcast, mainly low pressure conditions. Getting one fish on a streamer is worth 10 on the bobber rig.

Gonna have a tight line nymph clinic on June 15.

Richard Loft reports on 5.27.19

Spring Putah Report

Hey everyone, I want to report my latest intel over the last few months. Starting in March, Winter flood waters started to come down and flows fluctuated in the 600 cfs to 400 cfs range. The side channels did not disappoint me or clients; after a few attempts, we found a few really nice 15 inch Rainbows willing to play two days in a row both days on a midge pattern but not under an indicator, instead of utilizing high sticking techniques.  <*)()(>< On one of my days, we missed seeing an 18 before I could tempt it with a fly and it moved away, sensing our presence and became unwilling to play so it pays to really slow down and scan the shallow edges of any run.  I am continually reminded how elusive and on guard these wild Putah fish can be--remember they are a prey species and food for many other animals so they are really good at spotting threats sneaking up on them from the sides or from behind especially in shallow water riffles.

Being sneaky is the rule when working your way up to head of a run and having a second rod for high- sticking pocket water really helps by not adding an indicator to the mix but high-sticking has its limitations as well; covering distance being the biggest ones so don't get rid of your indicators yet. While I'm talking about indicators, they can spook fish and if not set properly create a delay fish can exploit and you may not ever see the take so I carry several different sizes and colors to match conditions like glare from the sun or them being pulled under by hydraulics, either way, they have a few pros and cons.

April and May brought much lower flows and one of the nice side channels became a great spot to spend a few hours and I was pleased when a few clients landed some decent fish; also with the lower flows a lot more of the river opened up and fish became much easier to locate in one 4 to 5-hour session we hooked 12 or 13 fish  all but one were directly in the main stem on an indicator  and one just upstream high sticking All OF THOSE FISH WERE IN THE 16 TO 17 INCH RANGE .. so keep in mind you will get better results as you fish different spots.

 If you want to find a spot to fish you might need to get an early or very late start as the pressure is fairly heavy so be prepared to fish water you need to spend time finding a way into; after eleven years I am still seeing sections I have never fished but want to fish. Lastly, Late May brought much lower flows so the side channel just below the resort is almost dry now and the fish have moved on to another hole.

So if you've been waiting to book a trip for yourself or a family member, now is the time; give me a call/email and let's get you out on the water!

Fish on!

Richard Loft 707-294-4738

Hey All,

I am just back from a 3-day float trip on Deschutes River. The trip started a few months ago when my brother pulled some permits to float the river. David Dines LCO’s freelance photographer and designer and I barely made our 1 hr flight to Redmond arriving at 1am due to insane lines and my lax approach to airline travel. As most LCO’s trips go we try to waste very little time on travel and keep it tactical. We walked on the plane 5 mins before boarding ended a little too tactical…

We had the raft packed up at trout creek by 9am Saturday morning with 10 fly rods, camera gear, and camping gear for next 3 days. The ramp was buzzing with baggers and guides getting ready for a variety of different length trips asking each other where they planned on camping some smart asses commenting simply north and others working together to find some space. Saturday was to be our best day of weather with rain forecasted for Sunday and Monday. For those of you who have not fished the Deschutes, it has few unconventional rules: You can only fish the right side of the river through the reservation, You cannot fish from the boat.

I fished a size 8 purple chubby with a variety of droppers the whole trip and with a 3x leader I fished the same fly the whole trip. The first day was my best day of fishing with the rain holding off until just after we got our tent set up.  For the next 24 hours had pretty constant rain which is not what one hopes for or expects in a desert.

I caught plenty of fish the first 2 days and by day 3 the fish were keyed in on the PMD’s that were intermittently coming off. Dustin, my brother, spent most of his time nymphing and absolutely slayed them. The fish seemed to be stacked up in the head of the runs with very few fish spread out in the soft water.

While the fishing was excellent and the weather was not what had hoped for the pace of pack raft trip is great. The methodical packing of the raft to maximize space and ensure everything is available is oddly therapeutic and comforting. Finding a rhythm where everyone becomes a well-oiled machine is a beautiful thing. The trip became less well oiled when we are delayed 18hrs out of Redmond back to SF. Many beers, a few bloody mary’s, and a day later we made it back to SF.

I can’t wait until next year. If you want to get a Deschutes float trip on the books for next year now is the time to book as there are limited permits. We have a good number of guide friends up there that we know will put you on fish and run a first class camp. Email us and we will put you in good hands.

Ladies Surf Clinic:

Last Saturday 9 fly fisherwomen came out to Crissy Field to join the LCO crew for the first ever Ladies “Fly Fishing the Surf 101 Clinic”. The range of experience and age made this crew a wonderful mix of anglers. At 7am, with rain on the way, these ladies were ready to buckle down and learn as much as they could before bundling up to hit the surf.

As soon as the demonstrations would finish, everyone would head down to the water, ready fish hard even in the extremely rainy conditions. Their energy was a perfect match for the incoming tide. These ladies were hooking up into Stripers, Surf Perch and even a few Crabs! In fact, this women’s clinic caught more fish than we see in most surf clinics, and I believe that the enthusiasm had everything to do with it.  By the end, we were all drenched, laughing, going over the fish caught, exchanging photos, and planning future times to get together and fish!

In the days after the clinic I was able to chat with a couple of the lady-anglers about their experience. Both had done fly fishing for trout in the past, and had no idea how much they would enjoy fly fishing the surf! And both already had surf fishing days on the books! I am so impressed by how quickly this group developed and how tough they were through the hours of rainy conditions.

Don’t be surprised if you start seeing more and more ladies out fly fishing the bay in the near future!