Fall is in the air and soon the browns and brook trout will be spawning. This is your final stretch to get in the backcountry to catch brook trout, brown trout and golden trout. The best time of the year to be fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra is from September 15th to October 15th. September is the second biggest emergence of aquatic insects and a great opportunity to catch trout on dry flies. Dry flies, nymphs and streamers will all catch trout. Midges, caddis and mayflies are hatching and the trout are feeding on them.
Fall is the best time of year if you’re looking for a trophy trout in the streams or lakes of the Eastern Sierra.
East Walker River
Miracle Mile Section:
A hypoxic water (water with no oxygen) event took place killing most if not all fish in the first two miles of the East Walker River below Bridgeport Reservoir. Miles two to four of the Easter Walker River lost a lot of fish. CDFW is recommending fly fishers not fish the river for the remainder of the fishing season which ends on November 15, 2024.
With a major die off of trout from a hypoxic water event on the East Walker River it will be a year or two before fly fishers will have good fishing like we experienced this year.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
There is a trico hatch coming of in the early morning on the Interpretive Site of Hot Creek. Fishing with size 22 trico female parachutes and size 22 trico spinners will produce fish in the mornings until the hatch is over. Look for gray caddis hatches and blue wing olive mayfly hatches. To imitate these insects fish with size 20 blue wing olive parachutes, olive sparkle duns, gray elk hair caddis and gray X-caddis.
Fishing dry flies around the weed beds and in the narrow slots between the weed beds is easier than trying to fly fish with nymphs on Hot Creek Canyon..
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
Soon the wed beds will be reducing as they die off. For now the aquatic weeds is making fly fishing tough. Dry flies is the easiest way to fly fish around the weed beds as the flies tend to scoot over the weeds. Nymphing is tough as there is just not much open water for fly fishers to work their nymphs without hooking up on the weed beds. Fish with a size 20 blue wing olive mayflies, olive sparkle dun, gray elk hair caddis and gray parachute caddis. If you’re going to fish with nymphs use a size 16 SOS nymph, a size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, size 16 hot spot pheasant tail nymph and a size 18 olive quilldigon.
Fall is the time to catch trophy trout like this brown trout that took a balanced leech fished on a full sink line.
Crowley Lake
Mouth of McGee:
Crowley Lake is continuing to produce trophy trout for fly fishers midging in 10 to 20 feet of water. The trout are taking tiger midges, gray midges, zebra midges, blood midges and albino midges fished three inches to three feet off the substrate. For shore and float tubers targeting the weed beds fish with Sacramento perch fry imitations. Balanced perch, balanced olive leeches, balanced white leeches, olive matukas and olive wooly buggers are producing trophy trout on floating lines and sink tip lines.
Casting dry flies and nymphs upstream so they float down to the trout will produce lots of rainbows in the six to 12 inch range.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
Lots of rainbows in the six to 12 inch size range are taking dry flies, nymphs and streamers. There are a few trophy rainbow trout moving into the river. Soon there will be trophy brown trout in the upper Owens River system. For trophy trout work your flies in the deep holes, deep runs and cut banks. Remember that the regulations from Benton Crossing Bridge to Crowley Lake are two fish 18 inches or bigger with lures and flies. No scented baits. For dry flies fish with size 16 elk hair caddis, size 18 blue wing olive parachutes, size 12 stimulators and size 16 Adams parachutes. For the nymphs fish with size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, size 12 copper John’s and size 16 tiger midges. For streamers use size 6 or 10 black wooly buggers, black matukas and black marabou muddlers.
The advantage of nymphing with multiple flies is a double hook up like this rainbow and brown that took a stoner nymph and olive quilldigon.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind Bishop Veterinary Hospital:
Fishing middle of the day has been fun now that the weather has cooled off a little bit. Working nymphs is the way to fool the trout with stoner nymphs, hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, olive quilldigons, green/gold wire Prince nymphs and gold ribbed hare’s ears. Euro nymphing, nymphing under an indicator or with a Tenkara rod all are great ways to present your flies to the trout feeding off the substrate.