Some spring monsoon thundershowers have been rolling through occasionally in the afternoons and evenings. The eastern sierra is a fickle place when it comes to the weather. Forecasts of rain and thundershowers do not always mean it is going to rain buckets all day long. Most of the mornings and early afternoons end up being quite pleasant and very warm with little wind. The last few days called for rain, but we didn’t see much in the way of precipitation and the midge hatches were off the chart at Crowley Lake. The upcoming Mother’s Day weekend usually marks the beginning of the first major hatches, and that typically translates into fish that feed heavily throughout the day. Fishing has been very good so far on the lake and will get even better in the coming weeks. The Upper Owens is still waiting the arrival of the spring run cutthroat. Some smaller trout are in the river now and they can be caught on small dry flies and nymphs drifted through the pools. Hot Creek fishing fun as usual in the Interpretive and canyon sections. Small bugs are still the norm here. East Walker hit and miss and flows are now on the rise. Some nice fish taken on the fly here before the change. Middle Owens holding stable at 400 cfs.

Crowley Lake
Some heavy perch in some areas like the north arm of the lake, and likewise some heavy trout in other areas as well. 13-18′ seems to be the hot ticket currently for depth. Some monster midge hatches have been taking place as is usually the case around this time each year. Once you find the fish that are actively feeding, they go on the bite big time. We haven’t had to move the boats in 8 hours of fishing in the last couple of days. Some nice quality browns, cutts, and rainbows are now in the mix and loading up on midges. Try moving your flies higher up off the bottom as the morning meets the afternoon. #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)
Flows are remaining stable at 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.  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
Slower around this area until the cutthroat show up and the caddis start coming off. It’ll get real fun here soon when the pods of cutts start to make their run here.  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
Flows starting to ramp up here a bit, but still good fishing in both of the sections. Finding the good holding areas for the majority of trout is the key. Water temps are colder now with the run off starting but the fish are still feeding. 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.

East Walker River  
Flows are on the rise here but hopefully not at a blowout pace. 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.