We are going to get a couple of days break in between storms. At the upper elevations roads and towns are digging themselves out of the snow. These areas got lots of snow. At lower elevations, Owens Valley, we got mostly rain with a light dusting of snow that quickly melted. Dirt roads are wet, have puddles and erosion in them. Vehicle access is closed to Bishop Creek Canal. Owens River Road will be plowed when they can get to it. Access to the upper Owens River at Benton Crossing will have limited if any parking. The next series of storms will start on Saturday 01-14-2023 and is expected to last at least through Friday. I would stay out of the Eastern Sierra unless you absolutely have to be up here.
Before traveling to the Eastern Sierra be sure to check with Cal Trans for road closures as lots of roads have been closed due to rain, snow, and erosion.
Lower Owens River:
Wild Trout Section:
Chalk Bluff Road is accessible with lots of mud puddles on the dirt road. There are several area that have erosion on the road or the road has eroded. The river is up and way off color. It will take two to four days of nice weather for the river to clear up. Before the storm nymphing was really good with olive quilldigons, and Hot Spot Pheasant Tail nymphs. I would not fish the river until it has stabilized and cleared up. For daily updates on the rivers conditions follow my Facebook or Instagram page at Sierra Bright Dot. If you’re going to attempt to fly fish this section dress appropriately.
Flows out of Pleasant Valley Reservoir have increased and the river is muddy.
Hot Creek:
Interpretive Site:
With all the new snow this area is getting, access into the interpretive site will be on foot or with snowshoes. Few if any anglers are fly fishing the creek in these snow storms. When the sun comes out and your willing to put in some extra effort the trout will be willing to play. Nymphing with midges is best in this section right now.
The latest storms have filled in the tracks with two to four feet of snow and fly fishers will have to walk in from Hot Creek Hatchery Road.
Hot Creek:
Canyon Section:
This area is tough to access due to the large amounts of snow the storms have left. I would wait a week after the last storm to let the snow stabilize before trying to access the Hot Creek Canyon.
Fly fishers will no longer be able to park upstream of Benton Crossing Bridge as there is too much snow on the road for access.
Upper Owens River:
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
This area is inaccessible due to the large amounts of snow the storms have left. When this area becomes accessible it will require a snowmobile or snowshoes to access the river. My guess is that the storms will activate the trout and the river will have good concentrations of trophy trout. I will be checking out this area about a week after the last storm.
Max Kim from Orange County braved the cold and high muddy water on the canal to spend some time fishing.
Bishop Creek Canal:
Behind the Ford Dealer:
The good news is that flows in the canal are up. The bad news is that the dirt roads accessing Bishop Creek Canal have been closed by DWP. The other bad news is that the canal water is dirty brown. It will take two to four days for the water to clear after the last day of stormy weather. I’m guessing, but I expect the canal to be in prime fly fishing shape when these winter storms have moved through the Owens Valley.