So far really good. Great weather except for one freak day. 15-20 rainbows to hand the first day out. The last two days I have caught nothing but browns, about 50 to hand. Nothing gigantic, but quality fish. Great fishing all around! More to come...
looks like the owens will be one river on the TO DO, list this yr. nice fish
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Yes, I'm fishing in the lower section of the Owen's River. Much of the Lower Owen's is only a 5-10 minute drive from my house A lot of the river is stocked down here so a lot of times you are stuck with ugly planters. I found an area of the river that is almost completely inhabited by Browns, which was a great find. And only a couple miles up the river from this "all-brown" section is the designated wild trout area (C&R only). Fished in the WT section today and man are there some beautiful fish. All different colors of Browns and Rainbows. Even saw two leaches today on trout, which is a first. Fished most of they day and eventually stopped counting, just so many. One interesting thing happened today in the WT section. At one point, I was only catching browns on the size 18 beadhead PT and only catching rainbows on a size 22 zebra midge that was the trailing nymph. Not sure I have ever experienced a food preference with species. Any of you guys? There were only a couple fish that were exceptions. Then there's these three hogs (not caught in the wild trout section)... One 19" and two 17". The fishing is just absolutely fantastic right now. BWO and Caddis hatches happen all the time. And the forecast for the rest of the week looks great. The caddis fly hatches have been so large on a couple days that I could barely keep them out of my nose!
Jv...just got back last night and was fishing the same areas as you with the same results...Tues and Weds were perfect days both above and below PVR...lost counts of fish both days...didn't stop to eat during the day Weds cuz it was just on and I was afraid if I stopped for anything I might wake up and it would be over.
I'll post a report when I get some pics from my partner...-mike
Hey Stlhr! iFISH again. Still considering that week out somewhere in early April. Okay, now you reminded me of the Lower Owens at PV, as did jvento. Another old haunt of mine. Great time of the year to fish there as long as the water level is stable. Hatches can be on fire now too. And you and jvento obviously found fish Nivana while you were there. I've experienced a few of those days there as well. Who wants to stop and eat when the fish are? That is a loooong drive down from the Bay area, though. jvento is obvioulsy in the right location since the river is only "5-10 minutes from his house". We should all be so lucky. That's base camp for most of the great eastern sierra waters!
How was the campground area at PV? Was it crowded yet? Also, did you or jvento get down to the Chalk Bluffs section on the river? That's Brownie territory, big time.
Still looking for that ultimate 5 day'er in early April and its coming up soon!
"There is no place I fit in so well as a stream...Fishing ties me into the world of water and animals it contains, into mystery and something so primitive and valuable inside me."---Seth Norman
If you like Browns, heres a few from the Driftless area of Minnesota. Some really beautiful colors but the streams are still f-ing cold (notice the jacket).
-- Edited by Psyfisher on Friday 27th of March 2009 04:00:01 PM
Those are all bueatiful fish guys ! I think that the owens river is california trout fishing at its best bar none ! The 6 hour drive from the bay area is worth every minute. I got my 10 day trip over there all planned out for early july.
Hey Shon, have you ever fished the Big Springs section of the upper owens? There's a meadow there that can be very good. Small spring creek meadow section, but pretty, super gin clear water and a nice mix of fish. A stealthy approach will get you into some nice wild fish. Head up river above Big Springs campground toward the headwaters and you'll find a good population of Browns along the way. The Big Springs area is a nice break from the wind that can blow like crazy on the open grass sections of the Owens. Real pretty too.
I agree, the Owens is hard to beat in Cali. There's even great largemouth bass fishing I'm told in the river around Independence. Go figure.
Big springs is were I stayed last summer. It is great very small stream fishing. And its a great FREE campground. Yeah the wind is a real issue over there, It will blow just about every day its just a matter of how hard and from what direction.
A lot of the river is stocked down here so a lot of times you are stuck with ugly planters. I found an area of the river that is almost completely inhabited by Browns, which was a great find. And only a couple miles up the river from this "all-brown" section is the designated wild trout area (C&R only). Fished in the WT section today and man are there some beautiful fish. All different colors of Browns and Rainbows. Even saw two leaches today on trout, which is a first. Fished most of they day and eventually stopped counting, just so many. One interesting thing happened today in the WT section. At one point, I was only catching browns on the size 18 beadhead PT and only catching rainbows on a size 22 zebra midge that was the trailing nymph. Not sure I have ever experienced a food preference with species. Any of you guys? There were only a couple fish that were exceptions. Then there's these three hogs (not caught in the wild trout section)... One 19" and two 17". The fishing is just absolutely fantastic right now. BWO and Caddis hatches happen all the time. And the forecast for the rest of the week looks great. The caddis fly hatches have been so large on a couple days that I could barely keep them out of my nose!
