Spring weather has arrived early in the Owens Valley. In my humble opinion the very best time of year to fish the Middle Owens is upon us. The cold water mayfly called the “blue winged olive” thrives on the MO, & it’s emergence peaks in late winter through early spring. When air temps are above freezing at daybreak, look for a significant hatch to begin late morning. It can last as long as 4 hours; but typically peaks after 90 minutes around mid-day this time of year. The wild trout really focus on this cycle, and fly fishers who consistently get into double digit numbers in the wild trout section have BWO adult profiles in the #16/18 range, with nymphs like Assassins, flashback pheasant tails, & birds nest patterns for the periods before, & after the hatch. Small crystal olive larva patterns, #20/22 gillies or crystal midge pupa/emerger imitations, & #18 broken back tiger or zebra midges are good calls for colder days. Have some parachute midge adult profiles when it gets cold, the fish will look for midge clusters if the BWO’s don’t come off. Flows continue at low releases; but are already trending upwards and are at 100cfs. now. I predict March will be very different this year compared to the last several springs. Flows may be blown out as Crowley is very full, and the winter snowpack above average. Drift boat trips have been good with numbers of planted rainbows, and a few wild browns in the counts. The fish are smaller this year on average, with trophy sized fish MIA so far. The drought had a huge impact on the MO as well as other fisheries, & I believe we had fish kills last summer as water temps and low flows combined to make for lethal conditions for trout on the lower sections of the river around Bishop. The stocking of larger fish from the CDFW, & tourism entities in this area is not occurring thus far either. Guided drift boat trips are a great way to get into secluded sections of the river, & get into good numbers of rainbows. We fish streamers, casting sinking tip lines with a unique, user friendly method called the “dip & strip”. I strongly suggest this program for novices, and those wishing to learn how to fish streamers. Hot flies this week are smaller Punk Perch, Loebergs, & Spruce-A-Bu’s if it gets cold.