Spring weather is nice days with a few storms moving through the Eastern Sierra. The storms tend to bring lots of wind and little precipitation. Welcome to spring in the Eastern Sierra. If upper elevation waters get snow they will be dried out in a few days of sunny spring weather. We will see what the storm this weekend actually does and how much precipitation we get. Hatches of mayflies, caddis and stoneflies will continue to keep the trout feeding on the nymphs and adults. Dry fly fishing and nymphing continues to offer fly fishers good fly fishing opportunities throughout the Eastern Sierra. The opening weekend festivities in the Eastern Sierra will commence with the traditional opener on Saturday April 27, 2024.
The parking areas on Chalk Bluff Road below the walking bridge at Pleasant Valley Campground are numbered one to 15.
Lower Owens River
Wild Trout Section:
The lower Owen River will continues to offer great fly fishing for a few more weeks. Expect the lower Owens River flows to increase to levels above safe wading, greater than 300 CFS, by mid-April. In the meantime fly fishers should take advantage of the mid-day mayfly hatch that has the fish feeding heavily for a couple of hours. I’m finding the best places in the river to fish are where a shallow riffle, where the insects live, spills into to a deep hole, where the trout live. Casting your flies a foot or two into the riffle and letting the current naturally carry the flies into the hole presents the dry fly or nymph exactly the way the trout will view a natural insect. For nymphs I’m fly fishing with an indicator or a Euro rig with bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons, hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, Frenchie’s, olive perdigons and stoner nymphs. For the dry flies fish with Adams parachutes, blue wing olive parachutes and olive sparkle duns.
The back drop of the Sierra Mountains with snow on them makes the lower Owens River in Winter a picturesque winter fly fishing spot in the Eastern Sierra..
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
Before the storm the road into Hot Creek dried out and fly fishers can drive right into the interpretive site and walk out to the creek. This spot is still a better nymphing spot than a dry fly spot. For dry flies try fly fishing with size 20 Adams parachutes, blue wing olive parachutes, olive sparkle duns, Griffiths gnats and quill bodied midge adults. For the nymph angler using an indicator or a Euro rig try fishing with size 18 or 20 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons, hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, Frenchie’s and olive perdigons. Hot Creek will become the fly fishing spot for nymphing and dry flying as soon as the lower Owens River flows increase to levels unsafe to wade. Guiding on Hot Creek this spring will fill up fast for those looking to learn the proper fly fishing techniques to catch trout in the Eastern Sierra hardest to fish fly fishing water.
After the snow storms the warm weather dries out Hot Creek giving fly fishers complete access to the creek and the wild trout feeding on nymphs.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
Until the flows in the lower Owens increase to unsafe levels fly fishers on Hot Creek will find very little fly fishing pressure. While there are days where the trout consistently take dry flies, nymphing continues to be the most productive method of fly fishing the creek. Nymphing with an indicator or a dry and dropper are the productive methods of nymphing in the canyon. The creek is shallow and having the indicator three feet above the bottom fly is the right placement of the indicator or dry fly. Nymphing with bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons, hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, Frenchie’s, olive perdigons, tiger midges, zebra midges and brassies in size 18 or 20 are the standard productive flies. Other fly patterns that work when nymphing in the canyon would include scuds, olive burlap caddis, olive wooly buggers and mop flies.
In between the storms the upper Owens River is drying out and fly fishers can access the entire river.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
Persistent fly fishers covering lots of deep holes, deep runs and cut banks will find a few trophy trout willing to take their size 12 stoner nymphs and green/gold Prince nymphs. The road is dried out and fly fishers will be able to drive right up to their favorite parking areas. The trophy cutthroat trout are expected to be in the upper Owens River from early May through Memorial day. For fly fishers looking to catch a trophy cutthroat trout Sierra Bright Dot Guides have available dates from May 5th through Memorial Day. Weekends will book up quick so book now if you want a chance at a once in life time trophy cutthroat trout from the upper Owens River.
Wild brown trout like to feed on olive quilldigons on the Euro rig in Bishop Creek Canal.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind the Old Ford Dealer:
I expect water flows to increase in Mid-April when flows in the upper Owens River increase to unfishable wading levels. When this happens I switch over from fly fishing in the lower Owens River to fly fishing in Bishop Creek Canal. Nymphing under an indicator or with a Euro rig is the most productive method of fly fishing the canal in spring. Wild brown trout are taking fly fishers olive quilldigons, bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, Frenchie’s, and stoner nymphs.