Owens Valley Warmwater
Bass
We were seeing temps steadily climbing and beginning to see bass moving into their spawning grounds but this weekends storms have slowed the progress. We will also see more storms coming later in the week. Water temp in some places is hitting 65*F.
Irrigation is starting up so look for flows everywhere to increase as many of the ditches will be turning on. Slow jigging on the bottom with weedless flies is a great tactic this time of year and don’t be afraid to go big some of my crawdad patterns are 4-5”s long and very bulky. Work them slow and don’t worry, if you aren’t sure the bass ate your fly you can slowly but gently tighten your line and feel the bass moving, they’ll hang on for quite a while before spitting it.
Flies- Jaretts’ Tentacle Craw #1/0, Weedless Babyfat Bluegill #2-4, balanced leech #4-6, Crawbugger #4-2
Carp
Conditions for carp are great, water temps are rising, more food sources are showing up and they have not started to spawn yet. But they will be shortly, then we will have to start paying closer attention to their behavior. You’ll want to look for solitary fish that don’t look like they are going on a mission or courting with other fish. Don’t waste your time on groups of fish, or cruising fish. You want to see tails in the air or a fish that is slowly moving, stopping every now and then, these are feeding fish and the only fish you stand a chance against. Not all fish spawn at the same time and the spawn can carry on well into summer so sorting spawners from feeders is your job the next few months.
Guide Tip: Be careful when handling carp, they release a pheromone called Shreckstoff which is an alarm signal that warns other fish of danger in the area. This can cause fish to evacuate the area.
Flies- Carp Coachman #6-8, Jarett’s Carp Damsel #10-12, Swimming Nymph # 6-8, Primordial Carp Stew # 8-10, Lafontaines Sparkle Pupa #10-12, B.H. Hares Ear #10-12
