Fly
Fishing Report August 19, 2018
Crowley has really slowed down this past week. The HOT weather,
and low flows of ice cold McGee Creek water has caused a lot of
fish to leave McGee Bay earlier than normal. You can still catch
fish early in the morning from the creek channels, but it seems
to shut down around 9:00 or 9:30 every morning. After that, you
can usually pick up a few more fish near the edges of the weed beds.
With the shorter days, the water is actually starting to cool down.
Morning water temps have been around 68, but go into the low 70’s
by mid day. The cooler water temps have triggered a small algae
bloom, but it has not been a problem at all. We have been catching
fish in McGee on all the usual flies. Small Copper Tigers, Small
Albinos on the bottom. On top, a gray fly, or some kind of perch
pattern. The fish are starting to show up in the North Arm, mostly
in the Owens River creek channels. The channels up here are
surrounded by very thick weeds. So, put the 5X away, and rig up
with 4x so that you can stop the big ones from going into the weeds.
Up here, the fish are after perch fry, so hang them as your top and
bottom flies. The Punk Perch, and a small Olive Birds Nest have been
producing the best. It is also very important to position your boat
IN THE WEEDS, not in the channel. You don't want to anchor across
the channel, unless you absolutely have to because of the wind. And
remember to give the perch patterns a little movement, as if it were
alive.
Had first time fly fisher Michelle Ito on board this week, She picked
up a pair of big Cutts from the McGee Creek channels.
Crowley has really slowed down this past week. The HOT weather,
and low flows of ice cold McGee Creek water has caused a lot of
fish to leave McGee Bay earlier than normal. You can still catch
fish early in the morning from the creek channels, but it seems
to shut down around 9:00 or 9:30 every morning. After that, you
can usually pick up a few more fish near the edges of the weed beds.
With the shorter days, the water is actually starting to cool down.
Morning water temps have been around 68, but go into the low 70’s
by mid day. The cooler water temps have triggered a small algae
bloom, but it has not been a problem at all. We have been catching
fish in McGee on all the usual flies. Small Copper Tigers, Small
Albinos on the bottom. On top, a gray fly, or some kind of perch
pattern. The fish are starting to show up in the North Arm, mostly
in the Owens River creek channels. The channels up here are
surrounded by very thick weeds. So, put the 5X away, and rig up
with 4x so that you can stop the big ones from going into the weeds.
Up here, the fish are after perch fry, so hang them as your top and
bottom flies. The Punk Perch, and a small Olive Birds Nest have been
producing the best. It is also very important to position your boat
IN THE WEEDS, not in the channel. You don't want to anchor across
the channel, unless you absolutely have to because of the wind. And
remember to give the perch patterns a little movement, as if it were
alive.
Had first time fly fisher Michelle Ito on board this week, She picked
up a pair of big Cutts from the McGee Creek channels.