---

Literary accounts of fishouts in the recent past,
to make you sorry you didn't go.

Owens River, April 15th - 23rd

Many warm, glorious days in the Owens Valley were bookended with storms that didn't stop us from pursuing the mighty fish. The Gorge produced very well, especially with extra large attractors. We bobbercated Pleasant Valley Reservoir for several days with delightfully surprising results. As anticipated, the lower Owens was running in a torrent as L. A. Water & Power was trying to get ready for a massive spring thaw, so we only fished it on one day, and with poor results. We needed Jon Bowman and his nymphing expertise. Then, as promised, we made a couple of excursions to local bass ponds. During the week, when the weather was good, the bass and bluegill were cooperative late in the day once the water warmed above 58¡F. The last day of bass fishing was a joke, trying to entice bass between thunderstorms and dust devils. Oh, well! This year's spring in the beautiful Eastern Sierra was enjoyed by Doug Severin, Betty Rentz, Kathy Powers, Sheryl & Tim Loomis, Ray Dow and John & Elaine Cook.

The 5th annual Roostercomb Ranch bass fishout was enjoyed by Tom and Sonia Deetz, Elaine Cook, Lee Fitzsimmons, Eric and Ava Schaefer, Sam and Karla Nigh, Tom Pelikan, Deanna Raudman, Doug Severin, Bob and Kennette Roberts, Cindy and Mike Phinn, Mary Breckenridge, Debbie Jones and Dick and Cecilia Stipes. After months of extraordinary rain we lucked out with a weekend of beautiful warm weather. Fishing was especially outrageous at four of the nine ponds: Paradise, Tule, Harvey and Jack Rabbitt. Saturday evening's gathering on the porch featured our guitar song-master, Sam Nigh, leading all of us in song after song, dancing and even synchronized hand gyrations to "Y-M-C-A".

Especially notable: Elaine Cook, whose fear of heights was conquered on the 4-WD drive to Harvey Pond; blown out tires. both by Eric Schaefer and Mary Breckenridge; and the up close 'n personal encounter with a huge catfish by Eric Schaefer and the largest bass, caught by Kennette Roberts. - Cecilia Stipes

Ah, yes...spring and the bass are getting nasty, hungry and coming up into the shallows. Time for the annual Roostercomb Fishout augmented by the party hearty crowd on the front porch crowd fueled once again by Brian's world class mind-numbing margaritas.
We fished Shadow Pond on Friday - yes, you can catch bass on a dry fly. The bass were mostly in a reticent mood. They would not come to my gurgler or popper. But if you cast to the shore line from your float tube and hit one of them on the head they would take pretty much anything you sent their way. I had good success later in the day with a large yellow-orange stimulator and even a Royal Wulff - go figure!
On the way out of Shadow, in keeping with this history of adventures at Roostercomb, "If you fish with Pelikan you get ADVENTURE," Mary's giant truck had a too-close encounter with an equally giant and sharp rock jutting out from the trail on the ridge above Shadow Pond. Lee Fitzsimmons, who didn't have her seat belt on, went flying through the air from the right front seat, bounced off the dash and console, but fortunately was not injured. The right front tire was toast, and the rock. We were also just coming up out of the shade and Mary was blinded by the sun at the critical moment. This made it pretty much impossible for her to dodge or even see the boulder sticking out.

Lee, bravely took off up the ridge to see if she could reach the ranch with the radio. (Anyone remember the old Gene Autry Radio Ranch serial..., "Gabby to Gene, Gabby to Gene..."?). Since she couldn't get radio contact she just hoofed it to the ranch to get some help.
Meanwhile on the side of the cliff... Mary and I decided to see if we could make some progress... find the spare, the jack - we actually had to read the directions! (Dodge , how about a few more detailed directions about where everything was hidden, how it hooks up, etc.?) The short version (this leaves out a lot of swearing on my part), we found the jack, extension rods, lowered the spare tire, loosened the bolts...we changed the tire on Dodge quad cab, turbo diesel 5.9 L with a 6 speed tranny and a 2-speed transfer case (low-low) on the side of a cliff as the sun set slowly in the west. The tire on that truck weighs as much as I do.
Where's AAA when you need them? I think the best part, other than Brian's margarita(s), was passing Scott and the posse on the way back, coming out on their ATVs to rescue us.
Saturday, we fished Secret Pond with the same or slightly better results - think it was pretty muddy but the same hit-them-on-the-head tactic worked when the classic popper / gurgler tactic didn't work.
Sunday - whoopee, Tule - came alive about 11 AM and bass and really big blue gill (10 inchers :) ) would come "running" to and attack my crunchy frog popper with lots of rubber legs (the small blue gill love to nibble on them). I showed Mary how to "call" a bass with the popper sound. It doesn't always work but when it does it's a wonder - and the last day at Tule Pond the conditions were just right.
The damsel fly nymphs were being hit hard by the bass that day. We saw them climbing up the aquatic plants to emerge and the nymphs were actively swimming about the pond. Ralph Cutter's "Fish Food" book has a wonderful description of this emergence.
All in all, it was another memorable Roostercomb Adventure. Thank you Cecilia and Scott - and his ATV mounted posse - for all their hard work. I hope to be going even when I look like Gabby Hayes.
Did I forget the porch singing and dancing...?- Tom Pelikan

Tom Donovan drove up to the rez with me as his passenger. We met Richard Kline, Scott Bedell, Tom Bradley and Troy Mayers on the water. Weather was perfect; fishing wasn't. Most of the larger fish (browns and bows in the 18" range) were caught on Rickert's stillwater nymphs by a couple of guys from the Salinas club at the bottleneck area of the rez. Troy spent the whole weekend there camping out at one of the only sites available, also at the bottleneck area. - Tim Loomis

When we arrived at Trout Creek Flies Lodge on Saturday, May 6th, the weather was chilly, wet and windy. The next few days' fishing was difficult, with fish away from the bank, out in the deep water, necessitating many hours of nymphing.
After the first spate of showers and wind, the weather warmed up, the fish began drifting in closer to the banks of the river into the shallow water, where they could be plainly seen, mostly feeding on nymphs and emergers, occasionally rising to the surface, but only to roll over onto an emerger, not doing the characteristic heads-up, open-mouthed grab, leaving a bubble, as with taking a dry fly. Fishing an indicator like a sailor ant, with a zebra midge or bead head nymph trailer was the most productive method. However, I caught several fish on my indicator, a size 12 Turks Tarantula.
Dougald Scott was on his way to Colorado and spent Monday and Tuesday with us. He fished the pools at Little Hole, near the boat ramps, and did OK, but had to get back on the road, as he had an appointment to keep.
As Kathy Powers and Mary Breckenridge were walking up the trail along the river, they chanced upon a man who was pulling fish up out of the water at an astonishing rate. They watched him in fascination as he ran a drift past a pool, hooked a fish, released it, ran another pass, caught another fish, and another, and another, to the point where Kathy couldn't stand it anymore and had to ask him what he was fishing. It turned out to be Jong Andy Kim, a well-known fishing guide from the San Juan River. He proceeded to give a streamside lesson to Mary and share his secrets of nymphing with Kathy, and was most generous and instructive to them both. They were both very impressed by his largesse.
John and I went on a drift trip on the B section of the river with our friend and guide, Doug Burton, on Wednesday, and caught many (a quantity sufficient for us both to stop counting) fish, using a balloon indicator about the size of a golf ball, with two nymphs suspended under it. The balloon is an excellent indicator, reacts to the slightest take, and cuts down on missed hits considerably. John even caught a whitefish during our drift. They may not be as desirable as the browns and rainbows, but they put up a pretty good fight.

The next day, Thursday, Mary and I went on a drift trip on the A section of the river, directly below the dam, with Gene Gautieri, another guide with Trout Creek Flies, and the inventor of the balloon indicator method of fishing. Just as we had rigged up and begun fishing, Mary and I both hooked into some browns. It was a good omen; the rest of the drift trip, we each had fish on almost the whole time, and even had two more "doubles". Mary, too, caught a whitefish. It went a long way toward assuring Mary that she was, indeed, a competent fisherman, and I got a kick out of her gleeful reaction each time she hooked a fish. She may be a beginner, but what she lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm. We took many photos of each other and shared them later back at the lodge.
Elaine deserves much credit for Mary's improved skills, as she spent a lot of time coaching and instructing her. Even with time taken out for tutoring, Elaine managed to catch many nice fish, setting a good example for her student. Kathy also put in a lot of time teaching. She is the go-to gal for fly selection, and is one of the best small-fly tiers in the Club.
As the week progressed, the weather warmed even more, the wind laid down, and the fishing got even better. John and Tom Pelikan went on a "Toad's Wild Ride." John had purchased a pontoon boat, and Tom rented one, and they shot the rapids together. They each caught a couple of fish, but only when they had beached themselves on the opposite bank of the river. Fishing while negotiating the river proved to be a little too much; each of them was far too busy rowing and dodging rocks to be able to handle a fly rod while bumping down the river. Doug Severin and Mary ran down the river after them, frantically snapping photos of them both.
Going to the Green River a bit earlier this year was a good idea. The dam releases were delayed, so the water level and rate of flow stayed stable, making fishing much more pleasant and productive. The weather cooperated and was mild, and the canyon was in its spring glory, with the cottonwoods leafing out in vivid, tender green, and the wildlife sporting its spring finery. We saw blue herons, ospreys, hawks, ibis, mallards, mergansers, cottontail rabbits, otters, and muskrats. On an off-road jaunt with Doug Burton, I even caught a fleeting glimpse of a mountain lion, chasing some deer.
Our hosts, Denny and Grace Breer, made us feel at home, with comfortable accommodations, sumptuous breakfasts, and bountiful feasts for dinner. Trout Creek Flies, the weather, the water flows, and the group of us together made for a fantastic spring fishing expedition. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to it! - Pat Steele

Back to Table of Contents