ROWIN` THE OWENS; EASTERN SIERRA FISHERY YIELDS YEAR-ROUND TROUT.

Byline: BRETT PAULY Angling

In winter you can almost wade across the Lower Owens River. Doesn't that make a boat to shuttle anglers down it overkill?

My doubts were largely reconfirmed after Mammoth Lakes fishing guide Tom Loe scraped the hull of his aluminum McKenzie-style drift boat along the gravelly bottom last Friday morning.

A cold snap had sent the resident rainbows and browns into a state of lethargy. Casting the heavy sink-tip fly line was a chore in the face of a stiff wind.

The only action was a beaver that disappeared with the slap of a tail as we rounded one of the river's many oxbows that can make a compass schizophrenic. Sure, there was also a hat that blew into the water and a rare foul in lines in which two anglers' hooks became enjoined, but to say things were slow is an understatement.

My suspicions began to wane an hour into the seven-hour odyssey when the first brown, about a foot long, was caught. As the afternoon water temperature rose enough for the fish to take a more serious look at our offerings, I warmed to the adventure. A few minutes after 2 p.m. I boated a 19-1/2-inch, 4-1/4-pound rainbow, my largest ever fly-fooled trout.

``Are you a believer now?'' asked Loe, who in November quit his commercial pursuits of harpooning swordfish and hook-and-line rockfishing to open Sierra Drifters Guide Service.

I was sold.

The colorful size No. 8 spruce-adaptation streamer pattern had done it's job; meant to mimic a baitfish, the fly proved irresistible when the line was pulled underwater with short, irregular strips through the guides on the 9-foot, 5-weight graphite rod.

``Whatever size trout you catch on streamers - which imitate sculpin, squawfish, carp and other small prey - they hit it real hard, so you think you have Moby Dick on the line,'' said Gary Gunsolley, a Bishop tackle-shop proprietor who cast a No. 10 olive Hornberg fly while sharing the boat's bow with me.

The brilliant crimson that defined the fish during the fight had faded to a mere blush by the time she was returned to her chilly home. A metal clip on the gill plate designated it as a trophy trout. (See related story on Page 12.)

I might not have had a chance to release the fish, let alone land it, had I been wade-fishing, Gunsolley explained; one surge from the trout's tail could have pushed it around a bend in the river, snapping the line. But with the boat's favorable positioning, the fish was kept closer to the middle of the channel, tiring sooner from the force of the current.

Wading was not a likely option on this section of the Lower Owens anyway. The banks are lined with an impossible tangle of willow, wild rose and tule. Access is further impeded by a lack of nearby roads.

Having grown tired of failing to navigate the dense brush on previous excursions, Dana Point stockbroker Bill Sidenfaden surprised his girlfriend, Kelly Lee, with a Valentine's weekend trip with Loe's outfit.

``Didn't hear a person, didn't see a person. The fresh air and the scenery is spectacular, with the snow-capped Sierra mountains and the ospreys and all kinds of birds,'' Sidenfaden said of his recent drift. ``You can see it's a classic fishery, with perfect water and unpressured hole after unpressured hole.''

While wading on earlier outings, he said, ``I would fish a section for an hour and then want to move down river, and you can't because of the brambles. You're stuck.''

The couple put three dozen trout in the boat; Sidenfaden lost what was thought to be a 7- or 8-pounder in the weeds before any real battle began. He plans to fish again with Loe in March and April.

Wind makes casting from the boat difficult, but that's only if you manage to keep the line out of the bushes on the back cast. The problem is solved by rollcasting, a relatively simple technique in which the line is not cast above the angler but instead rolled out while it lays atop the water.

Loe offered other tips.

``The most important thing is to stay in contact with the line, so you can feel the fly through the line and detect a strike,'' he said. ``By having the rod tip actually in the water you are minimizing the slack in the line and keeping the fly deeper and closer to the fish.''

Cast to either side of the foam, which flags the swiftest current. It is here in the ``neutral zone,'' as Loe calls the slack water, where the fish hover comfortably, close enough to the main channel to dart in and grab a meal while expending the least amount of energy. In winter, when their metabolisms are slow, these trout need an excuse to move. By bringing the bait to them, dangling a faux meal just above their maws, logic dictates it might entice a bite.

The day produced just 10 boated trout, but Gunsolley was happy with a 16-inch rainbow and I'm still bragging about my prize.

Loe is hoping to buck the odds and sway anglers to target Eastern Sierra waters in the offseason. Most trout anglers take a hiatus from traveling Highway 395 from November to late April, when the bulk of the region is closed to angling. The Lower Owens River is but one of a handful of fishing holes that are open year-round. Loe has his work cut out for him.

``We have a resource here that is 98 percent underutilized in the winter,'' said Mike Seefeldt, assistant manager of the Mount Whitney and Black Rock state fish hatcheries to the south.

As a teen-ager living in Bishop in the 1950s, Seefeldt and a buddy floated and fished the Lower Owens in a pair of torpedo-shaped airplane fuel tanks that were welded together. ``It was a real Huck Finn experience,'' he said. ``I grew up in an environment where what we took from nature supplemented the dinner table, heavily. We took what we needed - rainbows and a lot of browns.''

While the river can still be treacherous and Seefeldt urges newcomers to be cautious, fishing has changed a lot since then. The boats are better and catch and release is practiced. But Seefeldt can't figure why someone didn't think of making a business enterprise out of drift-fishing the Lower Owens earlier.

``I'm surprised it didn't materialize years ago,'' he said.

To reach Tom Loe Sierra Drifters Guide Service, call [phone] or visit www.mammothlakes.com./driftfish.

EASTERN SIERRA HEADS UP

While the Eastern Sierra opens to angling for the most part April 24 this year, an early trout-fishing season opener is slated for March 6 along the western edge of Inyo County.

Fishing grounds include all waters bounded by the Inyo County line to the west and south, Independence Creek (which runs through the town of Independence) to the north and Highway 395 on the east. The daily bag limit is five trout; a total of 10 fish can be in possession. The season runs through Oct. 31.

For additional information, contact the Department of Fish and Game in Bishop at [phone].

Meanwhile, a couple of Eastern Sierra angling tournaments will take place next month:

Anglers will gather at Diaz Lake, 1-1/2 miles south of Lone Pine, from sunrise to 3 p.m. March 6 to compete for prizes. Diaz is open year-round. Information: [phone].

The annual Blake Jones Fishing Derby at Pleasant Valley Reservoir northwest of Bishop, slated from sunrise to 4 p.m. March 13, will also feature a plethora of prizes. The derby is named for the late Owens Valley resident and prominent Eastern Sierra-fishing promoter. Information: [phone].

- Brett Pauly

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Map, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) Bishop angler Gary Gunsolley roll casts a streamer fly pattern under the High Sierra, as guide Tom Loe of Mammoth Lakes maneuvers his drift boat on the Lower Owens River.

(2--Color) An Owens brown trout is fooled on a streamer fly.

Phil McCarten/Daily News

Brett Pauly/Daily News

(3--Color) Streamer flies, such as a spruce, from top, and a Hornberg, mimic baitfish, and dwarf dry-fly insect patterns like the blue-winged olive.

Phil McCarten/Daily News

(4--Color) LOE

MAP: EASTERN SIERRA

Dionisio Munoz/Daily News

BOX: EASTERN SIERRA HEADS UP (see text)