Water Conditions: Excellent

The algae bits are starting to show across the lake now but overall still clear.
Weeds showing up on the bottom at Sandy Point and especially off Pelican Point. If you see more than 6 inches of weeds on your fish finder, the fish should be there sometime in the day on the feed.

Fishing Conditions and Hatches:

Fish are mostly in about 15-18 feet of water everywhere.
Sandy has been the most popular place for midging but crowded. Fishing gets better daily as more fish arrive.
Thunder storms continue to push everyone off earlier than noon. If you can sneak back out after the sparks pass, it can be red hot.
Sometimes Bay is holding some nice Rainbows. Big Hilton has some nice Browns but it is long waits between grabs, but worth it if you prize size over body count.

Recommended Flies:

Midges:
As the clear water goes so does the realistic. Blood worms early, and red/ black patterns through the day have been best. Flashback PT trimmed to be midge shaped will also do the trick.

Streamers:
The stripping has turned on finally and they will chase a slow-trolled size 10-12 Docs with a little flash. Black a nd purple working well but you have to get your fly down to them so type 5 or very very slow in the tube. Try every cadence until you find the soup de jour.
The Crowley Cam is now at the Fish Camp and ready for your viewing.

Click here to see live wind conditions on Crowley Cam

Guides Hint: If your rod starts humming in the rod rack or little sparks start jumping from your fingers to the hook keeper, this is an early warning that charge is building up and you should head away from that area unless you like fried20angler. And, definitely don't stick your rod tip in the water to make it stop. You are helping complete the circuit from water to sky.
The deep-water nymphing can be done with the break-a-way indicators we have in the shop but we have perfected two other set-ups that make this technique much easier and you are almost unlimited in the depth you can fish. Book a guide trip on Crowley and we will teach you these new methods and all of a sudden the area on the lake you can midge is doubled! Ever see those big fish stuck to the bottom on your fish finder in deep water as you are idling into an area? Now, I hit the brakes and pitch the anchors. Th e big fish seem to not be even slightly choosy at 20+ feet . . . they chomp it and swim off . . . no drive-bys, all solid takes . . . life is good!
A six DVD set of last summer's 8-hour Crowley University is now available for those who could not attend. This is a reference library you need to add to your arsenal if you fish the lake. It is a de facto download of everything I've learned in more than 2000 days fishing and guiding the lake. It is being distributed to various shops around the state and available at Trout Fly. Free shipping if you order by phone (800) 637-6912.
This year's Stillwater Classic will be on Saturday, August 8th this year, so circle your calendar and don't miss it or a chance to help the lake! Note: the Double Haul has been pretty much shelved at least for another year.

Commentary:
Maybe I am just getting testier with age, or maybe it is the fact I spent a good portion of my life studying science and engineering but it really galls me when someone takes a few pieces of seemingly related scientific information and combines this with their own observations and comes to a personal conclusion and then voices that conclusion as hard fact. This is what is known as pseudo science (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience) and the reality is that it is no more than an untested or unproven hypothesis.
In this case I am talking about the latest warning from Tom Loe that deep-water nymphing is harmful to Crowley trout and should be avoided. I won't even bother addressing the holes in the logic presented but rather offer the findings of real experimentation, done in real studies, by real scientist, which you can go dig up on the Internet just as I did - "The data indicated no increased catch-and-release mortality of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) or Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) as a function of capture depth up to a depth of 10 meters . . ."
So, that puts that one to bed. Now here is what else the studies indicated that quantified what does account for high catch-and-release mortality rates . . .
Air Exposure Ferguson and Tufts (1992) found that there were direct effects of air exposure duration on mortality of rainbow trout. Rainbow trout that were chased for approximately 10 min had a survival rate of 88%, however this fell to 62% for fish that were subsequently exposed to air for 30 s and survival was only 28% for fish exposed to air for 60 s (Ferguson and Tufts, 1992). So, take less fish pics if you really are worried about our fish!