The general trout season opener has finally happened and fishing is underway in all open waters. There are still inaccessible areas that remain under ice or limit vehicle access, however most lower elevation areas along 395 are teeming with hungry trout that haven’t seen a tied fly since mid-November. Caltrans has been hard at work assessing and clearing our mountain passes.

With cooler weather still in the mix, you can expect the fish to be holding in deeper water in the early season, but they will adjust to warming temperatures as the season plays out. The big draw and tradition for many years has always been Crowley Lake, where hundreds of anglers and boats make their way all over the open water to try and get their early season licks in. This year the boat scene resembled Lake Havasu on spring break.

Well maybe not quite that bad, but you get the point. The lake surface temperatures are ranging from 55-62 degrees and there is a good spread of perch mixed in with the trout currently. The East Walker River has been hot fishing on some days and slower on others. Warming water here will put the fish back on the chew. Hot Creek has been fishing great as usual. Fishing small dark patterns that imitate micro-midges have been the ticket. The Upper Owens is awaiting the push of the spring cutthroat as the large winter rainbows have all moved back into the lake. Still a bit muddy in some spots so take care driving down to the river. Middle Owens River flows have backed off for now, but I’m sure we will see a rise very soon. Please remember to leave your comments on the proposed regulation changes for Crowley Lake and McGee Creek on the fish and game website. Here is an outline of our thoughts that you can follow or even copy and paste to use. Ultimately, the best management for Crowley would be keeping in line with the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s limit of 2 fish per day and 4 in possession. This practice has worked extremely well for Eagle Lake. The fish grow larger, the bait season can be extended without any major population decrease to the fish, and it is definitely more cost effective for the state considering the smaller amount of trout plants that are taking place currently. We do not agree with delaying the bait season by one month at Crowley as this would have a negative impact on the community and local businesses. Some businesses in the area would not be able to stay open for that first month of the general season and the month of May generates a lot of revenue not only for the community, but for the county. Extending the bait season with a 5 fish bag limit on Crowley would put the largest egg producers and male trout at a greater risk of mortality. The proposed extension into the months of August and September would decimate the large wild trout population in a matter of a few years. The amount of (diploid) trout being put into the lake is too small compared to the amount that would be taken out. This imbalance, would turn a potential trophy trout fishery into a “put and take” fishery that is completely hatchery dependent like the majority of lakes in the area. Some may argue that a 2 fish bag limit would hurt business and the number of catch and keep anglers that bring their business to the lake each year would greatly diminish. This may be the case, and it is important that we find a good balance for business owners and the wild trout in the lake. I think everyone would be in agreement on leaving the current regulations that are in place for the lake as they are and not change them. There will always be a disagreement on bag limits when it comes to the catch and keep community and the catch and release crowd, so in this case it would be best to default to the current regulations. McGee Creek is a major spawning tributary to spring run wild cutthroat and rainbow trout. These fish are entering the creek later in the spring rather than earlier as they have done in the past. By late April the creek would be holding large numbers of wild cutthroat and rainbows, but each year they seem to hold off until May and stay in the creek into the month of June. The new proposed regulations would open the creek to a 5 fish bag limit during this time, starting on the Saturday preceding Memorial Day. You would end up with a similar scenario to Crowley Lake in the months of August and September, except the access to these large cutthroat would be much easier. Many fish would end up being foul hooked and dragged in as they lie visible in large pods in very shallow water. This practice would without a doubt eliminate any chance for these fish to reproduce or would remove them prior to the spawn. At this rate, the cutthroat fishery would be wiped out in a couple of years. There are not many lakes in California that have the potential to be designated as trophy trout stillwaters, but Crowley Lake is one of the few.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will take comments until May 3rd. If you haven’t done so already and agree with my opinions for Crowley Lake and McGee Creek please go to the following link and leave your comments. If you have your own thoughts, opinions, or plans that the department can use in making their decision please leave them for the commission to read. The new changes will go into effect as of March 2020. Please click here to leave your comments. Thank you.

Crowley Lake 4/30/19
It was a busy weekend here to say the least, but most anglers did well on trout and lots of perch too. The midge hatches are coming off daily and should really get going by Mother’s Day weekend which is typical each year. Most fish are being caught in the 11-14′ range with some as deep as 17′ coming to the net. It was not an on fire bite over the weekend, but the fish are there and they are feeding. Midges seem to be working best with the fish switching to larger offerings like leeches later in the day. They then seem to go back on the midges into the evening. The fish have been ranging from 14-20″ in length and are looking very healthy this year again. You may have to do some repositioning of the boat if you find yourself getting into a heavy perch bite. The perch are raiding the shallower mud bottoms and eating midges like crazy and at times are overrunning the feeding trout. A short move can change that situation and get you back on the trout bite. #18 Broken Back Copper Tiger, #18 Broken Back Dark Tiger, #18 Broken Back Zebra, #18 Broken Back Gillie, #12 Level Crystal Leech, and #18 Gillie Dark and Light Chironomid Pupa are best flies.

Middle Owens River/Wild Trout Section (Bishop Area) 4/30/19
Suprisingly, flows have dropped back down to 400 cfs here. This level is still too high for wading in the wild trout section, but fishing the slower water and the edges can yield some takes. Smaller nymphs with some flash in them are a good call with plenty of weight to get your bugs down. Look for some afternoon hatches on all sections of the river. We have been holding off on drift boat trips here but may get the boats back on the river if the flows hold. When the mayfly hatch is happening, try switching to our #16 Punk Perch and Crystal Leech just prior to and after the peak of the hatch. Best flies for these area have been #10 Loebergs in all colors, #8 Spruce-a-bus in light and dark, #16 Punk Perch, #14 Crystal Leech, #18 Assassin Light, #16 San Juan Worm Red, #18 Blue Winged Olive, #22 Parachute Midge, #18 Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge, and #18 Crystal Caddis Larva Olive Dubbed-Black.

Upper Owens River 4/30/19
The last run of Wyatt Earp and his band of rainbows… oh wait wrong scene. The last run of the trophy Crowley rainbows have come and gone. Most, if not all of the trophy trout have made their way back to the lake. You may still find the occasional brown trout lurking around. The water is running pretty stained below the lower entry of Hot Creek and cleaner above the upper entry. Some smaller school sized and wild fish are feeding on small nymphs and Blue Wing Olive mayflies in the afternoons. Try our Hi- Vis Blue Wing Olive in size #16-18 when you see them breaking the surface. Smaller flies are best currently like #16-18 Copper Tiger Midges both long and short, #16-18 Gillie Dark and Light, #16-20 FB Pheasant Tails and Tungsten Pheasant Tails, and #14 SD Crawlers in red and brown still getting bit. Use caution when driving in the mud bogs.

Hot Creek 4/30/19
Complete access is now offered on Hot Creek in both areas. The bite has been really good as fish are feeding on small midges in the mornings and BWO’s in the afternoons. If you are nymphing go small in the canyon in the I- site area. Best flies this week have been #20-22 Para midges,  #16-18 BWO’s, , and Otter eggs and SD Crawlers in red. #18 Gold FB Pheasant tails are also hot.

This is a year around fishery with special regs in place. We walk and wade guide here.*Doug Rodricks, Doug Dolan, Hans Grotewold, and Devin Preston are under permit from the Inyo National Forest Service to guide Hot Creek.

East Walker River 4/30/19
Flows continue to hold true at 300 cfs and the fish are spread out. It can be epic on some days for large fish and other days you have to work for them. That is how spring fishing goes sometimes as the fish are transitioning from winter to spring. Some nice ones are being taken on soft eggs, midges, assassins, and SJ worms, and SD Crawlers. Fish are holding in the softer sections and tailouts of the deeper pools. Make sure you are getting your flies down near the bottom to get into the big ones.  Otter eggs in all colors, #18 Copper Tiger Midges, #14-16 Parallel Perch, #14-16 Level Leeches, and Assassins dark and light both Parallel and normal have been great patterns to hang.