Fish’N Conditions

It has been quite the week here for fishing and weather. Wildfire smoke blows in some days and not so bad on others. Crowley Lake has continued to kick out some of the best fish of the eastern sierra on a daily basis. Bridgeport Reservoir good in the channels and the perch fry have been spotted all around the weeds. The East Walker fishing has been decent throughout the river as the flows have dropped to wadable levels. Hot Creek good in the mornings and evenings, lots of hoppers around which makes throwing terrestrials fun. Upper Owens River fishing good throughout. The deeper pools are holding small pods of rainbows. San Joaquin in great condition and fishing for wild fish with a dry fly has been productive. Middle Owens River flows up again and wading is tough. Best fished by drift boat after the flows recede. 

Crowley Lake

We have entered the stage of multiple food sources for the trout here. With such a variety to choose from, a single fly pattern can take on the look of multiple things. Perch fry, midges, and callibaetis mayflies have been making up the bulk of the food currently. The North arm of the lake has been good in the channel tight to the weed edge. The perch fry on this end of the lake are in their earlier growth stages than in McGee Bay. Hanging assassins and parallel perch here has been deadly. The fish are in tight to the weeds in McGee Bay in the mornings and on some days seem to remain here for an “all day” bite! The creek channel has also been giving up good numbers and good sized fish. There are periods throughout the days where any given fly will work while the fish are keying in on everything available.  It can pay off big time to move your craft and relocate if you are not getting into fish. Specific areas are concentrating the fish in weed holes, mud spots, and channel locations. Find these with a couple of fish marks on them using a decent sonar and it is game on! Hot and must have flies right now have been our #16 Parallel punk perch in both light and dark, #18-20 Gillies, and #18 Assassin Lights and PT’s. These are available to purchase on our website through our “fly sales” tab and just one mile away from the lake at the Crowley Lake General Store, or you can stop in at Reagan’s Sporting Goods in Bishop on your way up.

Bridgeport Reservoir

The perch fry are around now and the trout know it. Hang our parallel punk perch and punk perch patterns close to, on the edges, and above the weeds to get into some nice ones here. The lake has been fishing better than it has in over 6 years and some mega number days on large fish can be had here.  #14-16 Level Crystal Leeches, #14-16 Assassins Light, #12-18 Copper Tiger Midges, and Zebra midges have also been go to patterns.

Middle Owens River (Bishop Area)

Flows are up here big time. 542 cfs.  Combine that with record summer temperatures and it is time to look elsewhere for fishing opportunities. We will resume drift boating in the fall when the water levels drop and the air temperatures start to cool again.

Upper Owens River

The river has a good amount of catchable size rainbows all over. Flows at 106 cfs. Target the deeper pools and riffle water that leads into them and you can get into some fun action fishing small nymphs, dry/droppers, and small streamers. Look for rising fish in the mid-morning along the slower moving sections.

San Joaquin River

Flows now at 51 cfs. Cover some ground to hunt the wild fish willing to take a dry fly.  Dry fly and dry/dropper combos producing best. Keep your flies floating high and they will get looked at by most fish they pass over. A good mend in your line with little to no drag is all it takes. Give us a call if you would like us to get you into this area for some great dry fly fishing.

Hot Creek

 Hoppers have been great during certain parts of the day. Fish small midges when you see the fish feeding below the surface. The bite can get tough at mid-day but you can keep the fish biting by matching the hatch.  This program is great for half day trips in the mornings with no need for waders. We have had some fun and memorable days this summer getting our clients on some rising trout through the mornings. #18 mayflies, #18-22 midges, #20 Brassies, and egg and SD worm patterns have been getting some serious looks and takes from the resident trout. 

East Walker River

Flows now down to very fishable levels at 181 cfs. If you get here early enough, fish the shaded areas with midges and perch fry patterns. Use enough weight to get your offerings down to the fish.  Crawdad patterns work great this time of year, along with #18 Copper Tiger Midges, #14-16 Parallel Perch, #14-16 Level Leeches, and Assassins dark and light both Parallel and normal. 

Grant/Silver Lakes/Alpine Lakes

 Good fishing hanging midges under an indicator above the weeds at Silver. A good sonar will give you an idea of where the best concentration of fish are. This time of year the creek and river inlets hold the most fish unless you plan to go very deep. They still bite as the breeze comes up and you can have some pretty good number days here. The weeds are now well established at the south end of Silver. Other alpine lakes may require longer leaders to get down to the fish but the setup is still the same. 9′ leaders with #18-20 paramidges and griffith’s gnats for the surface action. Go with small copper john’s , Pt’s , and midges when going subsurface or hung under an indicator.