Guided fly fishing trips for Crowley Lake, Grant & Silver Lakes, the San Joaquin, Upper and Middle Owens Rivers, Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Hot Creek, & the Gorge located near Mammoth and Bishop Ca. will give you opportunities to catch trophy rainbows and browns while being guided by expert fly fishing pros. Sierra Drifters guides utilize top of the line center console bay boats, drift boats, float tubes, and high quality fly fishing tackle to guide you on these blue ribbon trout waters.



Warm weather moving in for the weekend. Crowley Lake is very good. North Arm & McGee Bay best. Perch fry, and midges best in 7-11 feet. Upper Owens action picking up for planters, bigs are still few and far between. Middle Owens around Bishop has ideal flows (135cfs.) for wading the wild trout section. Caddis imitations best. Drift boat conditions very good, cooler weather will help out the bite. Hot Creek slow, East Walker now dropping, & will trend lower (80cfs.) San Joaquin River trout holding in the deeper pools now that flows are low, & dropping. Alpine lakes benefited from holiday plantings. Get those full sinks and streamers out for a shot at a big brown. The river section at Pleasant Valley Reservoir picking up. Dry/dropper rigs good in the thick brush, PVR has very high water levels, & flooded into the trees.

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Algae bloom has decreased with much improved conditions. Fish are concentrating in the North Arm near Green Banks, & McGee Bay. Look near the weeds in 7-11 feet. We are seeing a solid midge hatch during the high pressure periods. The sub-surface “mud lines” are in good water depths now. The larger fish continue to hunt the perch fry, and last of the damsel nymphs; but with the increased midge activity, one can fish chironomid patterns with consistent results. The submerged aquatic weeds are protruding making the weed lines easy to identify. Tubers should be looking to troll some larger streamers, & perch fry/damsel nymphs along these weed lines. Hang your flies above a clean mud bottom in close proximity to a hard weed line for consistent action. The fish are primarily hunting the larva close to the bottom. Broken back midges, crystal zebra, or tiger midges (big ones), and damsel nymphs are all good calls while fishing below an “sliding” Under-cator. If you see those midges popping, get out those gillies, broken back gillies, & crystal emergers. My go to rig near the weeds has been an Assassin; or Drifters Punk Perch #14/16 as the upper, with a dark crystal tiger midge (#14), or broken back copper tiger (#16) as the larva pattern. Keep the tigers 6-12 inches off the deck. I have also been using twin Assassins; or a Punk Perch with an Assassin dropper along the weeds. Keep them a foot or more above the bottom. The rookies are being planted in numbers, so treat them with care. You may get into lots of sub-catchable rainbows & browns in some areas like Hilton Bay, or Crooked Creek. ***Special angling regulations begin on 8/1/16 and will continue throughout the remainder of the season on Crowley. The entry gate to the marina opens at 7am instead of 6am now.





The good news is the CDFW planted some fish around the campground area for the holiday. I also received a report that some larger fish have swam up from Crowley recently. Don’t expect much change in water conditions for the remainder of this year. Water flows will not go up much due to such low levels in Grant Lake. The bigs will begin to migrate upstream in October. Conditions are poor downstream from the Benton Bridge due to heavy aquatic weed growth. Upstream from the bridge special regulations apply, & the conditions are better above the confluence of Hot Creek inlets. Grasshopper activity slowing down. Use a stimulator with a bead head nymph like an Assassin, FB PT, olive crystal caddis; or olive zebra midge as a dropper. You will also see a decent caddis hatch, although I have not seen a great surface charge in a few trips here. Hi-vis caddis adult patterns used with a dropper can also get grabs. The water levels are very low above HC, & the irrigation canal inlets. You will find most of the planted rainbows, and wild browns in the deepest pools and pockets. There are a few nicer rainbows hanging around that are best fooled by attractor patterns like the “Drifters Crawler” and crystal eggs.





Flows stabilizing around 135cfs. making wading very safe & easy in the wild trout section. Caddis activity will remain solid through late October, with Trico mayflies showing when it begins to cool down in the Owens Valley. I would not hesitate to book a drift trip this fall as I believe the “catching” will be very good early on. Chub & sucker fry will be the primary target for the bigs, so have a selection of streamers like Loebergs, Spruce-A-Bu’s, and Punk Perch with a moderate sinking tip line. Good nymphs to have are Assassins, flash back pheasant tails, Drifters Crawlers, olive crystal caddis, olive dubbed caddis, and broken back tiger/zebra midges.





The water levels are really low once again this year, and the aquatic weeds are making extended drifts difficult. There is limited fishable water here. Add to this a lack of fish from new management practices designating the crick as a “wild trout” fishery. It no longer qualifies for planting, thus you have some pretty slow catching. Caddis & hoppers are around, with Trico mayflies not far off from popping.







The small river section can kick out some good numbers of hold over trout. Flows have dropped, & this fertile little river can be really fun if you work the harder to reach brush areas accessible when the powerhouse is not generating. I like dry/dropper combos like Stimulators, hi-vis mayfly, or caddis as the upper. Use smaller Assassins, FB PT’s, or crystal tiger midges as the nymphs.





Best time to fish this area is mid-September, through May. Flows are great at 52cfs. Use caddis adults, Hi-vis caddis, or para hi-vis mayflies as your upper fly. Good dropper nymphs are # 18 Assassin nymphs, or FB PT’s. Cooler temps improving conditions. Good call during weekends, or holidays.





Water is on the green side from algae. Fly fishers are reporting slow fishing. Trollers fishing the deeper section near the dam are getting into some planted rainbows.





Flows now falling with a downward trend. Currently 80cfs. There remain issues with aquatic weeds in the slower sections. Focus on the deeper pockets & pools. The slower runs are choked with weed. Attractor patterns like Drifters Crawlers, & SJ worms can get the bigs to move. Strong caddis, midge, mayfly, & damsel fly hatches are going off. Try larger Assassins, FB PT’s. and damsel nymphs. Hi-vis caddis, and hoppers are targets for surface feeders. Lob some Loebergs, Punk Perch, or damsel nymph streamers for a shot at bad LeRoy brown during low light periods.





Water levels are low, with fish holding in the deeper pools and runs. Pikel Meadows, or Chris Flats sections are receiving regular plants. A deadly rig for this area is a dry/dropper using Stimulators, or hi-vis caddis and mayfly imitations as the upper fly. Tie on bead head tiger midges, Assassins, or FB PT’s as your nymph about 2-4 feet below the dry.





Water levels are getting skinny as we move into fall. I like to fish hi-vis mayfly; or caddis patterns with a bead head dropper nymph like an Assassin, FB PT, or tiger midge. The riffles are best fished with high riding dries like stimulators, parachute ant patterns, foam beetles, & attractor adults. I suggest you have a stout wading staff even though the flows are down.







Beautiful Jurassic Pond is a private trophy trout fishery that is exclusively guided by Sierra Drifters pros. It is situated near McGee Creek, and overlooks Crowley Lake. We fish with streamers, nymphs, & dry flies during warmer periods. You will not find larger trout anywhere in the Eastern Sierra. If you want a dance with a twenty pound rainbow, or double digit brown-this is the best private fishery in the region. Summer session are booking fast. Contact us for availability please.





These lakes are highly dependent on planted trout, & the bite will be related to how many fish are stocked during your visit. Check CDFW/resort planting schedules to get the latest updates. Labor Day should see a good jag of fresh rainbows put in for many popular lakes. Tubers trolling streamers with full sinking lines can get into some fish while targeting drop-offs, inlets, & structure. Agent Orange, Crystal Leeches, Loebergs, Spruce-A-Bu’s, and Punk Perch patterns are good calls to use along drop-offs, structures like submerged stumps, and near inlets. Try dry dropper rigs using hi-vis mayfly patterns as your indicator/dry fly while suspending a small midge, Killa-baetis or Assassin nymph below it 2-3 feet during low light periods. The wild brookies and browns can be fooled using this technique during the warmer summer months.