March Madness on the West Side

March Browns and just general trout madness is what's happening NOW. Savvy California anglers are already checking-in with Sierra Fly Fisher regarding some of the service's early season waters. Impressive fishing is to be had on the Merced and the Kings. Both have year round waters. Sierra Fly Fisher's March Brown camp is promising to be better than ever because no one will be looking over their shoulder for fear of sudden and dangerous spikes in flows due to runoff. Sure flows will fluctuate but, again, in no way as intense as normal. Shame to think that one should take advantage of mother nature but she laid the cards on the table and the cards say "Well, yeah it was a sucky winter but if you want to fish early season, be my guest!". Give SFF a call ASAP at (559) 683-7664 if you care to discuss!




* Featured photos by Andrew Maurer and Bernard Yin

News From the West Slope....

Our man in the field Bernard Yin reports that Sierra Fly Fisher's first year as a permitted guide service for the Kings and Sequoia National Parks is off to a great start. Fine-tuning certain beats and identifying the habits of the region's fish has been a blast and the feedback from the trout gods is favorable. The clients have been happy. The fish are wild and strong. This is an overlooked west slope destination especially for one who may wish to combine sightseeing and crazy terrain with some angling. 

The region is much less crowded and Bernard reports with amazement the ease with which one can roll up and find a campsite, walk a short distance and have some fun with the fish. Higher elevation destinations for back country types is at one's fingertips as well. Also, important to note, is that many of the waters are a higher up in elevation than people realize and with the heavy water year we have had, they are staying cool for the trout. We're talking the Kings, Kaweah etc. Some of the region's waters are only now (in August!) becoming fishable. This means that a lot of trout have not be harassed by anglers when normally, by now, they'd be sick of us humans. Please contact Sierra Fly Fisher (http://sierraflyfisher.com) to discuss further.

March and April Browns

We just got a great report from the Sierra Fly Fisher crew
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The annual March Brown "event" on the Upper Kings has remained true to form: Mysterious yet rewarding.

Photo: Artin Marootian

The hatch would shift in time and even location but it held enough onto tradition and we got into some action. Between the feeding frenzies we were spoiled by the amazing spring beauty and while smelling some flowers SFF guide Bernard Yin planted his face roughly two feet from a sizable rattler. "I never heard a flower like that!" As he adjusted his focus, he tells us, "All I saw were scales and huge diamonds" (as in Diamondback Rattlesnake). Luckily the only thing bitten were our flies. Pocket water hunting provided fish when the bugs were less active. Mayflies and numerous types of stoneflies were and are the predominant insect at this time. This river is truly an interesting game. What is this all about? We look for good weather but not so hot that the high country slopes start to melt. We then dash in and work hard at finding the hot zones. Upper Kings bows are strong and wild. A foot long fish is average but a few in the "teens" are always sprinkled in. Look at the bend on client Dave's rod...

Photo: Andrew Maurer

Note that this is the catch and release section of this massive river and also remember that most streams are not open for fishing until the last Saturday in April. Don't be discouraged, just know the regs.

We have been blessed with great photographers. Last year Stephanie Skiff shot a multitude of great shots. Over the last few days we had the honor of guest photographer Andrew Maurer (see: http://www.troutstreamdesigns.com ) in our company.

Photo: Andrew Maurer

The collective crew be they guides, clients or others crated a wonderful mix and camp every night was a great hang with food and laughter. Some of these shots are a sneak peek at Andrew's stellar work and look out for more photos very soon. For those of you in So. Cal. Jimmie and Bernard will be present at The Fishermen's Spot (April 8th). More of Andrew's photography, Stephanie's photography and even some exclusive 2010 helicopter footage of the drainage will be showcased. The conversation will be about Yosemite, The Kings, our Fall brown trout camp and mucho mas.

LATE BREAKING NEWS
April 1st UPDATE: The upper Kings continues to be fishable fish despite a "false alarm" on Weds./Thurs. that spring runoff might kick in.

Suddenly a cool front curtailed the rise in flows and we're seriously considering heading back on the river! April Browns we call them (nudge nudge wink wink).

Contact us if you want to talk trout or we'll see you March 8th in the early evening at the Spot. Call Ken or Steve for details.
The Sierra Fly Fisher Team