Eastern Sierra Fishing Report 2/7/22

A rainbow trout in a wooden net with rubber mesh.  
The drought continues for the state of California. No precipitation is in the forecast for the coming week. There may be some hope for a return of some storms by mid-month, but nothing is really jumping out at weather forecasters for the time being. It has been a very cold winter up here which has helped to keep the snow that is on the ground around longer, but this week will bring the warmest winter temperatures this season and will start to produce some rapid melting during the day. The Upper Owens River has been the coldest of all the open fishing locations for larger trout and access is still limited to foot traffic. We are officially at the peak of the winter rainbow run this month with fish holding in most areas of the river. Hot Creek has the fish very selective on what type of nymphs they will bite, but the dry fly fishing can be very good later in the day. The Lower Owens River is still at at good flow for wading in the Wild Trout Section and the drift boat sections remain stable. Check out our YouTube channel and subscribe to it to get the latest videos that we will now be posting very frequently. These videos will feature, guide tips, instruction, techniques, video fish reports, and just flat out amazing on the spot fishing videos.

Hot Creek You will find fish in the deepest pools on the creek in the morning and as the sun gets higher they will move into shallower water to feed on midges and a sparse BWO hatch later in the day. The best fishing has definitely been around this later period in the day. Egg imitations have also been getting a few fish below the surface, with a few smaller nymph patterns working as well. The BWO hatch will really start to build here in the coming weeks. Access continues to be walk in only in both areas.

The Upper Owens River will reach its peak of the rainbow trout run this month and with warmer weather ahead, we should see even more fish spreading out to different river sections. Don’t think driving in is safe yet. Snow on the ground is hard packed in the morning, but will soften up during the day. Anything areas that look like a fish may be holding there can produce some quality trout right now. Egg patterns (all of our colors), #14-18 Light and Dark Assassins, #14 – 18 Flashback Pheasant Tails, #14 – 16 Parallel Flashback Pheasant Tails Gold and Dark Head,#14 – 16 Copper Tiger Midges, Pink and Purple Squirmy Worms and San Juan Worms in Red and Brown are working well now. Dont’ be afraid to mix it up with some smaller bugs here and there. The big fish will take them.

Lower Owens River flows now down to 97 cfs. Some good BWO hatches down here as the weather tends to be a little warmer than up the hill, and we can expect these hatches to grow in size. The wild trout section continues to fish well, with many wild brown trout making a showing. There have been some trico, PMD, and BWO hatches occurring late morning and the streamer bite has been really good. Smaller nymphs in the Wild Trout sections have also got the fish stirred up. Water is getting clear, so careful not to spook the fish with your fly line or presence.



A smiling angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Hans guided Alfred to some beasts like this awesome rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Alfred with another fat rainbow trout.

A smiling lady fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Annie got out on Hot Creek with Doug R. and got some colored up fish like this rainbow trout.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Chris whacked some huge rainbow trout like this one in the Upper Owens River fishing with Two Bug Doug.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

John got out with Doug R. for this hefty rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

John with another stellar rainbow trout from the Upper Owens River.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Tim fished with Two Bug Doug for this girthy rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Chris had a fun day fishing with Doug R. and got into some nice rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Yong fished with Two Bug Doug and hit some really great fish like this colorful rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Yong with another monster rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Doug R. guided Lance to his first big river rainbow trout.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Dan has been a long time Sierra Drifter and always hits the big rainbow trout with Two Bug Doug.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Todd got into some solid rainbow trout with Doug R like this one.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Jeff fished with Devin for this hefty rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Greg hit some excellent rainbow trout on the Upper Owens River with Devin.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Seth put Josh on some real stunning rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Josh with another sweet rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Phil also fished with Seth for some monster rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Ben got into some beautiful rainbow trout while fishing with Seth.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Two Bug got Andrew on some giants like this heavy rainbow trout.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Ben with another great rainbow trout from the Upper Owens River.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Cade fished with Seth and whacked some nice rainbow trout.

A smiling pair of fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Andrew and Sunshine are all smiles while fishing large rainbow trout with Two Bug Doug.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Sunshine with an awesome rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Cade with another large colorful rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Roger had a fun day fishing with Seth on the Lower Owens and got into some nice rainbow trout.

A man and a young female angler holding a larger rainbow trout on a snowy river.

Doug R got 10 year old Lexi on her biggest rainbow trout.

A smiling female fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Lexi’s mom Jennifer also landed this quality rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Jennifer’s husband Luke would take home big fish honors with this rainbow trout with Two Bug Doug as his guide.

A man and a young boy display a larger rainbow trout with snow covered ground in the background and a river flowing around them.

Luke’s son Blake hit this big rainbow trout with Two Bug Doug.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Seth got Scott on the big rainbow trout like this one.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Doug Dolan guided Ken to some larger rainbow trout like this.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Seth put Dwayne on the big rainbow trout like this.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Jason and Josh fished with Seth and got this double hook up on monster rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Ken with another nice rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Hans put Ryan on some monster rainbow trout like the one shown here.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Jason with another killer rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Dwayne with another solid rainbow trout.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Josh with another, you guessed it, massive rainbow trout.

A smiling female angler holding a giant rainbow trout on a river.

Hans put Seth on a lot of giant rainbow trout on this day from the Upper Owens River.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Scott also did a guide swap on day 2 with Doug Dolan for this heavy rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Jason with another bruiser rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Scott stuck some solid rainbow trout while fishing with Doug R.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Bill makes the webpage almost weekly while fishing with Hans and Seth. This rainbow trout was caught while fishing with Hans.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Scott with another nice rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Mark stuck some big rainbow trout while fishing with Doug R.

A smiling fly fisherman holding a rainbow trout on a river.

Kent was guided by Hans and got put on some real hog rainbow trout.



Here are our flies which are working on the Upper Owens, Lower Owens River and Hot Creek in addition to the above patterns listed in our report:

SD Chironomidge #16, Para Midge #20, 22, Puff O’ Smoke #16, Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge #18, 20; Assassin Light #18; Assassin Dark #18; Crystal Hi-Vis Parachute Blue Wing Olive #18; Crystal Tiger Midge Long #18, 20; Crystal Midge Pupa Copper #18, 20; Gillie Chironomid Pupa Dark and Light #18, 20, 22,Otter Eggs in all colors, Bead Head San Juan Worm Red And Brown #14, 16; Squirmy Worm Tungsten purple, pink, and red; Parallel Assassin Light #14-16, Parallel Assassin Dark #16; Loeberg Mallard Silver Badger; Spruce a Bu Dark and Light

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