A week of consistent warm temperatures was a pleasant surprise to all the afternoon rain showers and the rains from hurricane Hillary. Lakes and streams are getting stocked for the Labor Day Weekend. Wild trout waters continue to recede and offer good fly fishing opportunities. Mayflies, caddis and midges are hatching and the trout are feeding on them. Heading into fall I’m expecting stream and lake fly fishing opportunities to offer the best fly fishing of the year. If you’re looking for a guide trip with Sierra Bright Dot this fall I recommend you book soon as Richard and I are starting to get booked up.
Fall is coming to the Eastern Sierra which is my favorite time of the year to be on the water guiding and fly fishing.
Lower Owens River
Wild Trout Section:
Chalk Bluff Road and Pleasant Valley Campground are now open giving access to the entire Wild Trout section of the lower Owens River. Flows in the river have been hovering right around 300 CFS. Trout are feeding on nymph patterns worked off the substrate under an indicator or on a Euro rig. I’ve been fishing with hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, stoner nymphs, bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, olive burlap caddis and midges. Success here is to have the right amount of weight to keep the flies bouncing on the substrate. Looking forward to flows under 200 CFS and fishing the river all fall and winter.
The gate at the bluff on Chalk Bluff Road is now open giving fly fishers complete access to the wild trout section of the lower Owens River.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
Nymphs continue to produce quality fish in the mornings when mayflies and caddis are active. Bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons, stoner nymphs and La Fontaine caddis emergers are fooling wild trout. There are a few trout in the deeper holes and runs that are coming to the surface for the emerging mayflies and caddis. I’m fishing with trico spinners, blue wing olive parachutes and gray elk hair caddis on the surface.
The lower section of Hot Creek Canyon get the least fly fishing pressure in the canyon section.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
As water levels recede fly fishing is improving in the canyon. This is still primarily a nymph fishing situation with bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons, bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, scuds and olive burlap caddis. There are some trophy trout in this section just waiting for anglers to properly drift a fly right in front of them.
Juvenile brown trout are taking elk hair caddis off the surface of the river. To see what this trout ate check out the stomach pump report page on my webpage..
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
There are lots of juvenile brown trout and rainbow trout feeding on the surface on mayflies and caddis flies. I’ve been using Adams parachutes, elk hair caddis, beetles and ant patterns to catch trout up to 10 inches on the surface. Nymphing and covering lots of water is producing a few trophy rainbow and brown trout on hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, stoner nymphs and green/gold Prince nymphs. Horse flies are biting me in the parking areas and there are still a few mosquitoes around the stream banks.
A trophy rainbow trout that took an olive balanced leech stripped in five to 10 feet of water at the inlet of McGee Creek. Photo by Shane Dishion.
Crowley Lake:
There has been a lack of midges hatching this year as the midges have not established themselves in the shallow areas of the lake that have just recently been flooded with the lake being at maximum pool for the first time in years. With the absence of midges, damsel fly nymphs, callibaetis nymphs and perch fry are what the trout are feeding on. Stripping woolybuggers, olive marabou damsels, matukas, and balanced perch are producing trout when stripped around the inlet of McGee Creek and along the developing weed beds. I like to fish a Prince nymph or abbreviated Prince nymph 18 to 24 inches above the fly patterns I’m stripping. Working midges under an indicator is producing a few trout in areas of the lake that have hatching midges.
Bishop Creek Canal has been my go to water this summer with the Euro rig.
Bishop Creek Canal:
Behind the Old Ford Dealer:
The canal has been getting a lot of pressure from anglers. I’m seeing a lot of trout being handled poorly before being released back into the canal. Try to keep the trout in the water, carefully remove the hook and be sure they are not allowed to flop on the banks of the canal. I like fishing my Euro rig with a hot spot pheasant tail nymph, stoner nymph and green/gold Prince nymph. Have not seen the trico hatch on the canal yet this season. It is usually on the water between 8:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.