Howdy friends and Sierra Drifters. Best fishes to all for the "in like a lion-out like a lamb" fish report from the Eastern High Sierra, March of 2012.

Just when we thought the winter was fading, a series of cold disturbances will pass through the region leaving some snow on the valley floors and significant snowfall on the mountains. Very cold air will be around for these storms dropping morning lows into single digits in the upper valleys along the East Walker River, Upper Owens, and Hot Creek. Gonna be very windy with these fronts then high pressure will build quickly for the beginning of March with a nice warming trend forecast.

Crimp down those barbs and make sure you have a 2012 fishing license with you! Mono County has a new game warden to cover the year around fisheries beat and he does some walking to look over the areas. Good news. Both Inyo and Mono have been sharing one warden for quite some time. The East Walker, Upper Owens, Hot Creek, and the wild trout section of the Lower Owens are all barbless, artificial only areas with zero limits currently.

We are booking trips quickly for May on Crowley; get your dates in soon. The big "fish magnets" will be tuned and ready to go. The lake is ice free-has been since early January and I am forecasting a very good opening period this year for a change. Crowley is almost spilling it is so full and will be dropping steadily instead of the down-up-down we saw last year that made conditions so tough last season. Bridgeport will also be very good early on and is full pool with ice free conditions for a long time. My buddy Jeffery at the marina here is seeing chironomids emerge on the warmer days already! We will see some very "rotund" trout this summer as the fish have had a mild winter and have been feeding throughout the off season.

The above photo shows the "inventor" Dave Watzke with a blimp sized bow and friend Dave "radar" Crosser doing the net honors. Way to dip & flip Watz!

"Thanks for the pics and some great memories. You provided a fantastic experience and your knowledge and expertise was amazing. Hope to drift with you again soon. DC"