Here’s your Eastern Sierra Fishing Report for 12-11-25. It was a crazy month of November, with good fishing, perfect weather, wildfires, and some snow. Unfortunately, the Pack Fire ripped through McGee canyon and took quite a few homes with it. The community of Crowley Lake has come together to help those that have lost their homes and given everyone a wake up call for being prepared for events like this. Nights have turned to freezing, but the lack of snow and high pressure have kept daytime temperatures at an unseasonable 60 plus degrees during the day, which have made for some great days of fishing. The Upper Owens had some crowds around Thanksgiving weekend but the fishing pressure has since come down. Fish are holding throughout the river, but water has become extremely clear, so stealth is important. The Lower Owens has been fishing well in the wild trout section, with the standard nymph patterns in sizes 16-20. We have not done much drift boating but will be starting to look at these sections in the coming days. Hot Creek has been hot during the BWO hatch in the afternoons, all the fish are waiting for this one, and with the stellar weather the bite has been fairly consistent. If you’re looking for upcoming holiday gifts, guided trip gift certificates are a fantastic and easy. We have them and can get them to you right away in time for the holiday. Give us a call for more details. We will be at the Pacific Coast Sportfishing Show on March 5-8 in Orange County at the OC Fair and Event Center and at the show on March 19-22 in San Diego at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. This is an amazing show that is everything fishing! Come by for a visit as we’ll have a booth and seminars during the show. It’s a great place to check out boats, the latest tackle and electronics, fly fishing, and much more from freshwater to saltwater. Check it out here for more info.
Creeks: Sierra Fishing Report
Hot Creek midges are still going strong in the mornings. Switch to nymphing by late morning and into the afternoon. Look for a short window to gather fish up on dry flies. BWO’s in #16 are getting the bites on top consistently now in the afternoons. Water is clear and low so spotting fish is easy in the Interpretive Site. Down in the canyon you can see some too, but there are more places for the fish to conceal themselves. Smaller nymphs in the #18-20 range are working along with egg patterns.
Rivers: Sierra Fishing Report
Upper Owens River flows are holding at 100 cfs and fishing is good for larger fish now. Water is super clear now so be cautious when walking the banks. Fish are all over the river. Attractor patterns like eggs, glo-bugs, SJ Worms, SD Crawlers, Leeches, PT’s, Hare’s Ears and Assassins are finding fish.
Lower Owens River flows are ideal now at 90 cfs. This is an excellent level for accessing the river without too much trouble wading. Seek out the deeper sections, drop offs, pools, undercuts, or any transition zone that has a dramatic change in water texture. Get the flies down deep for the larger fish. The BWO hatch is going strong down here in the early afternoons. Tight line nymphing and indicator rigs are great right now at these levels.
Thanks for reading our Eastern Sierra Fishing Report 12-11-25.
Michael fished with Two Bug Doug and caught this nice rainbow trout.
Mitch fished with Two Bug Doug and scored this wonderful rainbow trout.
Brendon fished with Two Bug Doug and got this jumbo rainbow trout.
Nathan had a great day with Two Bug Doug and got this nice brown trout.
Nathan with another nice rainbow trout.
Alexia got this fat rainbow trout while fishing with Two Bug Doug.
Jeff scored this awesome rainbow trout while fishing with Two Bug Doug.
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