The East is running about 40 cfs right now, it’s been bumping up and down a bit this past week but mostly just 5 or 10 cfs at a time so it hasn’t really affected the fishing at all. There is still some good nymphing action to be had down there with small midge patterns and we’ve had a couple decent streamer reports as well. Not much dry action that we’ve heard of but hopefully with the lower flows that will come on when the caddis start hatching. Most anglers that we’ve been talking to have been getting into anywhere from 3 to 8 or 9 fish per day though there are always some reports from anglers who haven’t done that well. I find that for these fishing reports it’s best to focus on the successful anglers and what they were using to catch fish so as to help other anglers narrow down what patterns and techniques will give them the best chance at having a successful day. Here are a few patterns to try: dead drift crayfish, dali lama, moal leech, zuddler, sculpzilla, zebra midge, flashback emerger, psycho prince, darth baetis, rainbow warrior, silver streak, squirmy wormy, san juan worm.
We had a few cancellations on the ranch this week so didn’t get many reports from down there, however, typically it will fish similar to the California side this time of the year with the exception that you can usually get away with larger flies and often you can do better with dry/dropper rigs. That being said I would be packing some chubby chernobyls, stimulators and maybe some hopper patterns to float some dropper nymphs from.
Bridgeport is still kicking out some good fish these days, though not every angler we talk to has been successful. The trolling still seems to be the best technique with lots of anglers reporting 3 to 6 fish per day and we just had a 6 lb 9 oz rainbow come in just this morning. The successful trollers have been using Rapalas, crawlers, Thomas Bouyants and needlefish. There’s a few fish being caught with bait as well, not as many it seems as on the troll but over near Rainbow Point there has been some action with inflated crawlers, mice tails and power bait. The shore anglers have been doing just ok down near the dam, mostly with bait, not a lot of fish being caught from shore but some good quality fish. Haven’t talked to any fly anglers lately on the Reservoir but I’d be thinking about stripping streamers with nymphs droppers out there this time of the year.
We didn’t hear any news from Kirman yet, hopefully there are still some fish in there leftover from last year but it’s hard to tell. Last year the fishing up there was pretty tough with just a few successful reports coming in for the whole season. Hopefully the DFW will be able to get some fingerling fish in there this year and get the fishery back on track.
The Twins are still kicking out some good fish for the boat anglers with the shore anglers catching some but not as many as the boat folks. Trolling with Kastmasters, Rapalas and needlefish has been good and the bait anglers who are getting into some fish have been using pinched crawlers and ice tails quite a bit. Early and late in the day seems to be the best with the action being a little tougher midday.
We didn’t get much for reports from the West this past week, the water is a little high with the runoff and slightly off color most days but not entirely un-fishable. The water is very cold right now so it will likely be tough until the run-off is over and the water warms up a bit. If I was going to give it a try I would probably go closer to the town of Walker where the water might be just a bit warmer and the fish a bit more active.
We hadn’t had any reports from the Virginias this week so I took a drive up there this morning to see what it looked like. Little Virginia is about 50% ice free and I heard the Virginia Lakes Resort is sheduled to open on June 3, I’m sure by then it will be completely ice free and ready to roll. Big Virginia is about 2% ice free today, there is a tiny spot on the back side that you could probably fish from the shore but I don’t know how worth it it would be. I’d say another couple weeks and it should be ready to roll too.
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