Here’s your Eastern Sierra Fishing Report for 5-4-25. Opening weekend has come and gone, and with it, we saw snow, rain, and some windy conditions. Anglers that braved the morning conditions were rewarded with some great fishing in most locations. Some areas saw a dusting of snow on opening day, while others saw inches. By Sunday, the weather had turned nicer with cold wind in the late afternoon, but rather pleasant fishing weather throughout most of the morning. We are now back to spring temperatures, and as of this report, we are getting through another mild cold front. Temperatures will climb back up this week. Crowley Lake is off to an excellent start. There are quite a few fish feeding in 10 – 12′ of water eating midges and other various nymph patterns. You’ll find small pockets of fish on your sonar as they move through rather quickly around McGee Bay. The Upper Owens has a few cutthroat starting to move in below the bridge area, with resident trout feeding on smaller nymphs and dry flies. Hot Creek is displaying a nice bite on midges in the morning and various nymphs throughout the day. The East Walker River is back! With healthy oxygen levels back up to normal in the mile section, the fish have moved back in. Opening weekend saw some good fishing here. Flows are around 112 cfs. The Lower Owens River flows have really been fluctuating the last few weeks. Flows have been going up and down between 10 and 40 cfs and are now at 125, so the increase may be coming soon. We will report on more waters as we fish them in the coming weeks.
Lakes: Sierra Fishing Report
Crowley Lake started great right out of the gate. A bit of weather got in the way for opening day, but the fish did not seem to mind. Fish can be found in 10-12′ in McGee Bay, but certain spots seem to be producing better than others. Small pods of fish are cruising through picking away at midges and callibaetis mayflies. Some afternoons the perch will move in heavy and cover the bay. Varying your depth may minimize the perch and get into more trout instead. #14 – 18 Blood Midge, #16 – 18 Mud Candy, #16 Light Assassin, #16-20 Copper Tiger Midge, #16 – 20 SD Chironomidge, and #16 – 20 Light and Dark Gillie’s are great patterns currently.
Rivers: Sierra Fishing Report
Upper Owens River is now seeing a few cutthroat moving in from below the bridge. There seem to be more of them closer to the lake currently. We’ll start to see more fish above the bridge in the coming weeks. The resident browns and rainbows are making for some fun action all over the river. They have been eager to take most smaller nymphs presented properly. Pheasant Tails in #14-16, egg patterns, midges, leeches, and worm patterns (all variations) have been working well. Keep the nymphs in the #16 – 20 range. In the dry fly area, go with our Hi-Viz BWO’s #18 -20, Elk Caddis #16 -20, Stimulator #16 – 18, and Griffith’s Gnat #20.
Lower Owens River flows have been fluctuating over the last couple of weeks but are sitting around 125 cfs. Water has been off color. Still ok for wading in the Wild Trout Section. Small nymphs in the Wild Trout Section have been fooling fish throughout the river, and the afternoon mayfly hatch has been a blast. Streamers launched from the drift boat have been picking up a good mix of rainbows and browns anywhere from 10 – 18″. Water clarity has been off color but the higher up river you go, the clearer it will get. The Gorge has been a good option for numbers.
East Walker River flows are now at 112 cfs. Good flow for moving the fish around a bit. Now that the oxygen level in the water has stabilized, the fish have moved back into the miracle mile section. With the big fish kill of last year, hampering fishing in the first couple river miles, we are happy to see the mid sized and some larger fish move back into this section. The East Walker River has an incredible amount of feed in it to help these fish grow at a fast rate. If flows don’t jump up too rapidly, it will continue to fish well here this spring.
Creeks: Sierra Fishing Report
Hot Creek’s access is completely open. Surface action has been really fun here as the fish move into the shallows and feed heavily on midges mid morning. A properly presented Griffith’s Gnat #22-24 will get instant takes. You have to be lighting fast with your reaction to the take, but very gentle when setting the hook. Some bigger rainbows and browns are hanging a little deeper and further out of view on the opposite banks. Both sections of the creek are fishing well. SJ worms #14 – 16, #18 Blood Midge, #18 – 20 Tungsten Zebra, #20 Bead Prince Nymph Tungsten, Broken Black and Blue Midge, #18 -20 Crystal Caddis Larva Green Black, #18 – 20 Crystal Copper Zebra Midge, #18 Flashback Hare’s Ear, #22 -24 Griffith’s Gnat, #20 Serendipity Black.
Thanks for reading our Eastern Sierra Fishing Report 5-4-25.
Check out our recent client catches:
Our center console bay boats are ready to get you to the fish on Crowley Lake.
Conrad got this nice rainbow trout while fishing with Doug R. on the Crowley Lake.
Joe and Mark fished with Doug R. on Crowley Lake and had a great morning catching rainbow and brown trout.
Mark shows off a nice Crowley Lake brown trout.
Joe an Mark displaying another Crowley Lake double of rainbow and brown trout.
Cam got this large cutthroat trout while fishing with Doug R. on Crowley Lake.
Joe holding another nice rainbow trout from Crowley Lake.
Cam with a healthy rainbow trout.
Cam with a feisty little brown trout.
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