Ernie Gulley - Professional Stillwater Fly Fishing Guide

SUMMER IS DEFINITELY GONE AND FALL IS IN THE AIR.   MORNING TEMPERATURES ARE DOWN INTO THE LOW 40's AND THE RIDE OUT TO THE FISHING GROUNDS IS VERY BRISK TO SAY THE LEAST.   THE WATER TEMPERATURES HAVE DROPPED DRAMATICALLY ALSO, LAST MONDAY ON MY EARLY MORNING GUIDE TRIP I WAS IN THE NORTH ARM, BACK IN GREEN BANKS AREA AND THE SURFACE TEMPATURE WAS 61 DEGREES.   THIS IS A LARGE DROP FROM JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN STARTING TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE HIGH 60'S.   THIS IS GREAT FOR OUR TROUT AND ALSO WILL MAKE THE TROUT MORE ABLE TO SPREAD OUT IN THE NORTH ARM AND NOT BE LOCKED UP IN SUCH TIGHT SPACES LIKE THE MOUTH OF THE OWENS RIVER AND MOUTH OF MC GEE CREEK.  

 

FINDING FISH FROM DAY TO DAY IN THE NORTH ARM IS TOUGH.  YOU HAVE TO MAKE MANY ADJUSTMENTS DAY TO DAY, HOUR TO HOUR.   THE FISH ARE CONSTANTLY MOVING AROUND FROM 8 FEET OF WATER AT THE MOUTH OF THE OWENS, ALL THE WAY OUT TO 16+ FEET OF WATER BY NORTH LANDING POINT AND SIX BAYS.  WHAT IS EXCITING LIKE LAST WEEK FOR ME AND THIS WEEK FOR OTHER GUIDES, YOU CAN BREAK OFF FROM THE FLEET AND BE ON SOME GREAT FISHING A FEW HUNDRED YARDS AWAY FROM EVERYONE ELSE.   

 

I HAVE BEEN FISHING THE SAME STANDARD BUGS FOR THE LAST MONTH, COPPER AND BLACK, COPPER/RED, GREY/BLACK AND GREY/RED.   FISH DARKER COLORS LIKE A BLOOD MIDGE JUST A FEW INCHES OFF THE BOTTOM TO START, THEN IF YOUR TAKES SLOW DOWN AND YOU SEE BUGS HATCHING, MOVE ON TO THE GREY SERIES OF MIDGES AND MOVE THEM UP TO 12" TO 18" OFF THE BOTTOM.   I AM STILL RUNNING MY BALANCED PERCH PATTERNS AS THE TOP FLY, 4 TO 5 FEET OFF THE BOTTOM AND THEN MY MIDGES FOR MY BOTTOM FLIES.   SOME DAYS YOU MAY STRIKE OUT ON THE TOP FLY, HOWEVER SOME DAYS YOU CAN ALMOST GET INTO DOUBLE DIGIT NUMBERS ON THE PERCH PATTERNS.   

 

DON'T FORGET TO GIVE THOSE MIDGES A LOT OF TWITCHES TO GET THOSE TROUT TO TAKE YOUR FLIES.   ANY MOVEMENT YOU CAN EVERY 30 TO 40 SECONDS WILL BE A BONUS AND GET YOU MORE TAKES DOWNS.  A FUN WAY TO FISH IF YOU ARE NOT PRESSURED TO PUT A LOT OF FISH IN THE BOAT WHEN GUIDING IS TO TAKE OFF THE INDICATOR AND FISH THE MIDGES AND PERCH PATTERNS WITH YOUR HANDS.   CAST UPWIND, AS FAR AS YOU CAN AND RETRIEVE YOUR FLIES AS CONSISTENTLY AS POSSIBLE BACK TO THE BOAT ALLOWING YOUR PATTERNS TO LOOK MORE NATURAL MOVING IN THE WATER COLUMN AND YOU WILL GET TAKES THAT WILL EXPLODE IN YOUR HANDS AND BREAK OFF 3X IMMEDIATELY.   THIS IS A FUN WAY TO LEARN HOW TO FISH WITH YOUR HANDS AND CREATE THE MOVEMENT OF THE FLIES TO TRIGGER SOME FANTASTICALLY LARGER FISH THAN WHEN FISHING WITH THE INDICATOR ALL OF THE TIME.  IF YOU WANT TO LEARN THIS TECHNIQUE, GIVE ME A CALL AND WE CAN SET UP A GUIDED TRIP AND I CAN TEACH YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT THIS TECHNIQUE.

 

I WILL BE SPEAKING TO THE SOUTHERN SIERRA FLY FISHERS CLUB WHICH IS HEADQUARTERED IN KERNVILLE, CALIFORNIA, GATEWAY TO THE SOUTHERN SIERRA AND GOLDEN TROUT WILDERNESS AND THE BEAUTIFUL KERN RIVER.   GUY GEANS, OWNER OF THE KERN RIVER FLY SHOP HAS A BEAUTIFUL FLY SHOP AND IS THE MASTER OF GUIDING THE KERN RIVER AND ITS SURROUNDING WATERS.   IF YOU COME UP TO SEE MY PRESENTATION "CROWLEY LAKE FLY FISHING TACTICS" WHICH IS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM YOU WILL EVER SEE ON CROWLEY LAKE FLY FISHING, BE SURE TO STOP IN HIS SHOP AND LOOK AROUND, MAYBE EVEN HIRE HIM FOR A GUIDED TRIP.  HE IS ONE OF THE BEST GUIDES AND BEST SERVICES YOU WILL FIND IN CALIFORNIA.  

 

MY SHOW WILL BREAK DOWN EVERY ASPECT YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING SUCCESSFUL AND NOT STRUGGLING WITH FISHING CHIRONOMIDS AND PERCH PATTERNS AT CROWLEY LAKE.   I WILL BREAK DOWN HOW THE FISH MOVE AROUND THE LAKE, WHEN EACH FOOD ITEM WILL APPEAR IN THE LAKE AND HOW TO ATTACK THESE FISH WHEN THEY ARE KEYING IN ON EACH INDIVIDUAL FOOD ITEM.   I WILL BREAK DOWN WHAT RODS, REELS, LEADER SYSTEMS, PATTERNS AND HOW TO PROPERLY ANCHOR UP AND FISH EACH FOOD ITEM.   I HAVE SPENT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HOURS ON THIS BODY OF WATER AND HAVE LEARNED SOME VERY SMALL NUANCES THAT I WILL SHARE WITH YOU SO YOU CAN BE BETTER THAN THE OTHER FLY ANGLERS OUT ON THE LAKE.  

 

SPEAKING OF PRESENTATIONS, I AM VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE I WILL BE SPEAKING ON OCTOBER 16TH FROM 8AM TO NOON AT THE FLY FISHING FAIRE AT THE TRI-COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS IN BISHOP, CALIFORNIA.   MY WORKSHOP WILL BE "CHIRONOMIDS FROM TOP TO BOTTOM" AND I WILL BREAK DOWN EVERY APSECT ABOUT THE BUGS LIFE CYCLE AND HOW YOU NEED TO FISH EACH CYCLE TO BE A BETTER CHIRONOMID FLY FISHING ANGLER.  THIS IS A GREAT FLY FISHING FAIRE PUT TOGETHER BY THE FEDERATION OF FLY FISHERS, SOUTHWEST COUNCIL.  THE COUNCIL, ALL OF ITS MEMBERS, AND JOINED BY MANY FLY FISHING CLUBS THREW OUT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WORK DAY AND NIGHT TO PUT TOGETHER THE VERY BEST SHOW POSSIBLE.  THIS IS A MUST TO BE PART OF WITH PROFESSIONAL GUIDES AND TEACHERS TO SHOW YOU EVERYTHING YOU WOULD EVERY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLY FISHING.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU ATTEND ALL THREE DAYS OF THE SHOW!

 

LAST WEEKEND I WAS ABLE TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH MY FAMILY UP AT CROWLEY AND TEACH MY CHILDREN HOW TO FISH WITH FLY RODS AT CROWLEY.   MY SONS, AIDAN (8) AND LOGAN (12) HAVE BECOME VERY SOLID AT ROLL CASTING, MENDING AND CATCHING FISH WITH CHIRONOMIDS UNDER AN INDICATOR.   THEY HAVE PUT ON A FEW SHOWS OUT ON THE LAKE AND I AM SO PROUD OF THEM AND HOW FAR THEY HAVE ADVANCED TO BECOMING VERY CONSISTENT ANGLERS AND BEING ABLE TO FISH ALL BY THEMSELVES.  HERE ARE A FEW PHOTOS OF SOME VERY NICE FISH THEY LANDED AND RELEASED OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND.

 

I ALSO HAD THE PRIVILEGE AND OPPORTUNITY TO GUIDE TWO EXCELLENT FLY FISHING GUIDES, COURTNEY DESPOS AND WHITNEY INMON. THEY LANDED SOME REALLY NICE FISH OVER THE TWO 6 HOUR SESSIONS WE PUT IN ON THE WATER.   THE FIRST AFTERNOON WE BATTLED 20+ MPH WINDS BUT STILL MANAGED TO LAND SOME NICE FISH.   THE NEXT MORNING, MUCH BETTER WEATHER, WE WERE ABLE TO LAND MANY FISH TO THE NET BUT NOTHING OVER THE 17" MARK SO WE WERE VERY UNLUCKY TO NOT GET INTO SOME OF THE 20" TO 24" TANKERS THAT CROWLEY IS KNOW FOR!   BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, CROWLEY WILL ALWAYS BE HERE WAITING FOR A REMATCH!  

 

IN A NUT SHELL, CROWLEY LOOKS TO ME TO BE PRIMED TO HAVE AN EXCELLENT FALL FISHING ENDING SEASON AND I FOR ONE AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE LARGE NUMBER OF BROWNS IN WOLF PACKS, PATROLLING THE DEEPER DROP OFFS OF THE LAKE AND LOOKING FOR A NICE TASTY RAINBOW IN THEIR DIET.   HOPEFULLY WE WILL ALL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LAND ONE OF THESE BEASTS, PHOTOGRAPH AND PROPERLY RELEASE THIS BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL AND SEND IT BACK DOWN TO THE DEPTHS TO LIVE AND GROW FOR MANY YEARS TO FOLLOW. 

 

JUST WANTED TO GIVE ANOTHER SHOUT OUT TO MY SPONSOR "HARDY"  I HAVE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO BE PART OF SUCH A FANTASTIC COMPANY AND HAVE USED THEIR RODS AND REELS THE WHOLE SEASON.   THESE HARDY ZEPHRUS RODS AND ULTRALITE CADD 5000 REELS AND BEEN THE BEST RODS AND REELS I HAVE FISHED.   MY CLIENTS HAVE ENJOYED FISHING THIS ROD AND REEL SETUPS DURING THIS SEASON AND I HAVE HAD MANY COMPLIMENTS ON HOW SMOOTH AND POWERFUL THIS COMBO PERFORMS.   I WANT AGAIN TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK "HARDY" FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THIS FANTASTIC COMPANY AND LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING A LONG, LASTING RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM FOR YEARS TO COME.   HERE IS ONE OF THE NEWEST REELS OUT OF HARDY LINE AND I LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING THESE BEAUTIES FOR A SPIN OUT ON THE WATER SOON!   IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF HARDY PRODUCTS, PLEASE GO TO THE HOME PAGE OF MY WEBSITE AND AT THE BOTTOM OF MY PAGE JUST CLICK ON THE HARDY LOGO AND YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO THE HARDY WEBSITE.

 

GOOD LUCK OUT ON THE WATER, PLEASE BE SAFE!

 

I do love me some "Stillwater" fly fishing…..Ernie

 

 

 THE BEAUTIFUL COUPLE OF MATT AND CECE RUBIN PUTTING ON A SHOW AT CROWLEY

 HOW ABOUT CECE RUBIN WITH A 23" CUTTY -  SHE GAVE VETERAN MATT RUBIN A LITTLE SPANKING ON THE BOAT THIS TRIP

"THE PATRICIA" WITH MANY BENDOS IN THE EARLY AM 

IT GOT TO BE A HABIT FROM 6:15 TO 7AM ON THIS EARLY MORNING TRIP

  "THE PATRICIA" WITH A HEALTHY RAINBOW

  MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES STAYING AT CROWLEY LAKE FISH CAMP!   "THE PATRICIA" FIRST CAST 90 SECONDS LATER AT 6:20 AM WITH THIS 23" CUTTY 

  HOW ABOUT THIS CHROMER FROM "THE PATRICIA"

 JEFF HOWARD WITH A QUALITY CUTTY

 GARY HOWARD WITH A QUALITY RAINBOW

    TOUGHER DAY OUT ON THE LAKE FOR THE FATHER AND SON TEAM GARY AND JEFF HOWARD BUT THEY MADE THE MOST OF IT WITH SOME QUALITY FISH

 SAM FROM THE CALIFORNIA FLY FISHERS UNLIMITED WITH A TANKER OF A RAINBOW

 SAM HAD A HARD TIME HANGING ON TO THIS MONSTER SO I THOUGHT I WOULD GET INTO THE PICTURE

       GUY OF THE CALIFORNIA FLY FISHERS UNLIMITED FLY FISHING CLUB ALONG WITH GOOD FRIEND GARY HAD OVER 40 FISH TO THE NET FOR THEIR TRIP!

 PATRICIA WALDEN AKA "THE PATRICIA" WITH A BIG BENDO ON CROWLEY AT BEFORE 7AM

  HOW ABOUT RONALD FLYNN WITH HIS FIRST FLY ROD FISH EVER AND A MONSTER 23.75" CUTTY

 JEFF WEAVER WITH A PHAT RAINBOW

JEFF WEAVER AND RONALD FLYNN WITH A BEAUTIFUL DOUBLE -  THEY HAD OVER 40 FISH TO THE BOAT AND ALMOST 100 GRABS FOR THE DAY

 

Howdy friends,

Just back from a guiding 10 out of the last 12 days at Crowley Lake.   The lake is fishing very solid right now with many 20 to 50 fish days.  

My Hardy rods and reels are really getting the job done on these very large trout from Crowley Lake

The algae bloom has come on strong and is in the stringy stage, however its only a few feet thick so the wind will blow the algae around and clean up the water very nicely in most cases.  When dealing with the algae situation, remember to use very thin profile flies, coated with additional coats of Sally Hansens hard as nails and use a couple of size AB split shots to help get it down thru the goo fast!

The fish are still hanging out in McGee Bay, You will find a lot of browns if you get up tight to the weeds in 10 to 12 feet of water.  You can be very successful throwing midges, perch fry, damsels and leech patterns.   I have been hitting bigger fish early in the morning and then moving on to the North End, Green Banks area and North Landing areas.   The fish in the North Landing areas are spread out and moving around from day to day and hour to hour.   You will find about a 70% Cuttthroat ratio to 30% rainbow in the larger fish over 15" and I have only had 4 browns landed in my last ten trips to the North Arm but they will come!  I have been very successful fishing away from the weed edges, away from the crowds and finding humps and depressions out in the bay that are holding a lot of fish.  I have had success in 9 feet of water all the way out into 17 feet of water.  The last two days guiding anglers had over 40 fish to the net with 80 or more grabs.    The fish are in three different catagories, small (6' to 12") medium (14" to 17") and very large (20" to 24").   We have had a dozen fish each trip over the 20 inch mark including multiple fish over the 23" range and larger with the excepting of one of my last 10 guided trips.   I have been averaging about a dozen legals almost every single trip!  Same set up in North Arm, midge on the bottom and a perch or damsel pattern as the top fly.   Some anglers have moved back into 9 feet or less or water and fishing larger holes in the weeds with leech or perch patterns hanging about 6 feet under and indicator in 8 to 9 feet of water.   Its very crowded back there and I am hanging back in the middle or edges of the bay and keeping a very good pace with quality fish and less crowds.  

The water temps have dropped to around 65 surface temperature in the mornings and will continue to drop because of the nights and mornings being much more chilly.   Make sure you have your jackets on for the ride out in the early am, you will need them.  We have seen some throat samples that have been coming up with daphnia, this means the bite may shut down for a while but we will have to see, its going very strong right now.  My throat samples of about a dozen fish have only found three out of the twelve fish sampled with daphnia so lets pray for the best!

My midge patterns have been staying very consistent, starting with blood midges 4" off the bottom, when this slows I switch over to a Copper Tiger 7" to 12" of the bottom and when that slows the grey midges 12" to 36" off the bottom are working well!  Sometimes they want the white head, sometimes they don't so keep switching and don't be afraid of change.   The strip bite is off and on, sometimes I see the float tubers hammering fish and then not getting many at all.   We are using small punk perch, horn bergs, low-bergs, haresears and perfection perch patterns with success.  Don' forget a small pheasant tail nymph with a flash back will look like a small perch also.  

The float tubers are also getting very aggressive around the guide boats that are landing a lot of fish.   I am a float tuber with thousands of hours out on the water and I have never been asked to move away from a guide boat or any other boat for that matter.  Use proper judgement for space and PLEASE BE COURTEOUS TO OUR CLIENTS AND DON'T RUN OVER OUR INDICATORS!   You can fish behind our boats as much as you want, far enough away so we can't hit you with our back cast but PLEASE DON'T RUN OVER OUR INDICATORS!  We all want to share the water, lets all be courteous to each other out on the lake!

I am very excited about a very strong fall and great finish this year for Crowley Lake!  

Hope this helps anglers and good luck and be safe out on the water!

I do love me some "Stillwater" fly fishing….Ernie

 

This year, the Stillwater Classic will be held on Saturday, August 13th.

Since the fish camp began running the Tournament in 2013, it has become a high-light of our summer. We very much appreciate all of the participants, volunteers, and community support. We look forward to the event each year and have welcomed the suggestions and make improvements year after year.

This year, we have a few major changes! For the first time we will be holding a separate Ladies, as well as a Junior (16 & under) competition!!! There will be separate prizes and trophies for these additional categories, as well as a reduced entry rate of $50!

This will not change the Team category, teams are teams, whether made of all adults, all kids, all ladies, ladies and gents, ladies and kids, ect....

We have also commissioned an artist who is busy making some awesome and unique trophy plaques that all 1st through 3rd winners will receive.

Please tell your friends to come join in on the fun!

www.crowleylakefishcamp/stillwater-classic/

 

Fishing has been for most on the tougher side if your note being guided and the fish are beginning to get very finicky because of the amount of anglers that are fishing the small area of McGee Bay where the creek runs into the lake.   You must be patient and constantly change your midges out every 15 minutes or so if you are not getting enough grabs. 

 

The fish are also concentrating now on the millions of perch fry and damsel nymphs up against the edges of the weed beds.   You can also be successful in rotating your perch fry patterns to see which pattern the fish are keying in on that day.  

 

When fishing in a tournament environment like the Classic, I have found that you have more success by trying to break off from the pack and fish away from other anglers if possible.   Fish as far inside or outside as you can from other anglers and if you can fish away from everyone on the edges.   This has given me and other winners the edge in the past to win these tournaments.

 

Even with the fish keying in on the fry, the fish are very active on the midges right now.  I have been starting out with Black/Red with a Copper head in the morning and them switching up to the Grey patterns once I see a few midges start to come off the water or I slow down on the takes.   The Grey and red with a white head has been excellent for me before gone to the Grey and black with white head.  

 

Be patient and if you can corner an area where no other anglers can get in front of you, fish as close to the weed edges as possible.   If you can find a small depressions or bowl that just goes back into the weeds just a few feet, fish inside out just outside this area where fish will be moving thru.   If the wind is blowing in from the weed line, cast up against the edge of the weeds and allow your midge to move back to you in the current.   This makes your presentations look much more real and also lets you know if your midge is getting caught up on any stickups along the bottom.   If your indicator is not coming back, move your fly up about 3 inches and try again until it comes out smooth and not catching up on the lake floor. 

 

My best words of advice are this:   DO NOT BE AFRAID TO MAKE CHANGES OFTEN AND MOVE AWAY FROM THE PACK.   You will be surprised to see you will catch more and larger fish when you are not around other anglers. 

 

Good Luck Anglers, 

 

I do love me some "Stillwater" fly fishing…..Ernie 

 

 

 

Anglers, if you want to try your hand at fishing damsel nymph patterns, now is the time to get to Crowley! We have thousands of damsels coming off and the fish are really cashing in on the damsel fish food factory that Crowley has to offer!  Dust off the float tubes or any fishing platform you own and head out to the lake! You will see literally hundreds of fish aggressively attacking the damsel nymphs from early morning to last light!

 

 

The fish are agressiveley attacking the damsels right up against the weed lines.   In the photo you can see that the weed beds have become large matted platforms for the damsels to climb out on and become adults.   Even though the water depth outside the weed lines are 14 feet, you will still want to fish the upper water column, no more than three feet deep.  The fish are cruising the weed lines and having a field day, dinning on these little tasty treats.   

 

 

Now is the time to bring all of your favorite damsel nymph patterns.   Fish them with a floating line with a 15 foot leader (I prefer straight 3x or 2x) if you can get away with it and super slow retrieves, sometimes even not retrieving at all but allowing the damsel pattern to just hang in the high water column and move with the side current.   I cast sideways into the wind and allow for the leader to slowly sweep until it is completely down wind and start a very, very slow retrieve back towards the weedline!  

 

 

 

The most important part of this style of fishing is that you must us a slip strike and be very supple with your hands because the takes are so aggressive, the fish will break 3x and 2x right off in your hands if you lift the rod to quickly and get too tight!   I like longer rods, 10ft rods that have a very soft tip to help with these aggressive strikes the fish will give you on the damsel patterns.    

 

 

 

 

The damsels are a very olive/brown color and are of course, slender like a pencil lead.   Try to fish patterns that are extremely slim, the smallest pinch of long marabou will work wonders in imitating the swimming motion that the damsels produce in the water.  I have some nice producing damsel patterns, but I have asked my good friend and Master Stillwater angler, Doug Ouellette for some of his world famous damsels patterns and will be trying them out this coming trip to Crowley.  I have learned a lot of great techniques and unique little nuances from Doug in the past that he has mastered and have used them to make me a much more rounded and productive stillwater fisherman.   I highly suggest if you would like to talk to Doug or be guided by him in the stillwaters of Northern California, you will not find a better guide with a better understanding and pair of hands than Doug Ouellette.   www.calvadaflyfishing.com

 

 

 

 

 

If you are not comfortable or not having success with a floating line, a hover line and a true intermediate line that sinks at 1.5" per second can work also but will not allow you to use the hang method of just letting the patterns just sit in the hight water column.  

 

 

 

Another way to fish the damsel is to hang your patterns about three feet under an indicator, I prefer a clear indicator and then fish you midges or chironomids a foot off the bottom down the length of the leader system.   This is a perfect technique at Crowley that produces big numbers of fish and many very large 20+" specimens. 

 

 

 I will be targeting some more of these big beautiful trout at Crowley this weekend, after my guide trips and looking forward to using some of Stillwater Guru Doug Ouellette's famous damsel patterns.   I hope I can have half the success he has fishing damsels at all of the stillwaters he fishes, including the stellar days he has at Davis Lake.

 

 

 

Look forward to seeing you out on the water soon!

 

I do love me some "Stillwater" fly fishing…..Ernie