We are back to warm weather again, as the cooler summer finally has given way to bright sunny days with little precipitation. The afternoon breezes have been coming up and cooling off the day to very pleasant temperatures. Bridgeport Reservoir had a good run of rainbows, browns, and kokanee salmon showing up last week. The East Walker River is fishing well on smaller nymphs and medium sized streamers. The San Joaquin River is at ideal flows and the dry fly fishing has been good. Hot Creek has stayed consistently good from season’s start through the summer months. The Upper Owens River has continued to kick out lots of fish with the best bite method being dry flies and grasshoppers. The hatch this year is off the charts! Crowley Lake finally starting to trend downward in water elevation. Fish are still spread out throughout the lake. The Middle Owens River still holding at 400 cfs with some caddis, trico, and midge hatches daily.

Crowley Lake

The lake level is beginning to drop and exposing the tops of the weeds in some areas. There is still plenty of flooded grass and shorter weeds where fish have been feeding heavily on perch fry throughout the day. Midges are also being sought out over the mud bottoms, but they have been scarce this season as the rising water levels forced the fertile shallow areas deeper. It will probably be another few weeks before any midge activity starts to appear in the shallower water. This year, the term “shallower water” refers to anything under 20′, which is not usually the norm for a season on Crowley. Perch fry and callibaetis imitations have been doing very well in the channel and along the weeds.  Tiger midges fished along the bottom have also been accounting for good numbers of fish. Fish are spread out throughout the lake but are gravitating toward the creek channels. When the wind comes up in the afternoon the bite can really turn on in McGee and the north arm! Best Flies: Parallel Assassin Dark and Light – 16; Assassin Dark and Light – 16; Parallel Punk Perch Dark and Light – 14, 16; Broken Back Dark Zebra Midge- 16; Crystal Tiger Midge Long -18; Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge – 18; Crystal Copper Tiger Midge – 18; Crystal Midge Pupa Black – 20; Crystal Caddis Larva Olive Copper – 18; Punk Perch Dark and Light – 14, 16; Damsel Nymph Dark and Light; Flashback Pheasant Tail Tungsten Black Head – 14, 16, 18.