Conditions got tough for a few days on Crowley while most of the creeks continued to produce well on dry flies and terrestrials. With nights starting to cool off and thunder storms rolling through on occasion in the afternoon, the water temperature has begun to cool down some now. Fish have turned heavily to perch fry, callibaetis, and damselfly nymphs as opposed to chirionomids. They are being caught in shallow water now. The Upper Owens has been good for dry fly fishing and nymphing and Hot Creek is seeing some great hatches throughout the day, with lots of fish responding. Lower Owens River flows are lower for this time of year but still high for wading. Water temps are a bit warmer down here and fishing is better up the grade. Summer is in full swing and families have been making their trip to the area before the kids go back to school. We still have room available in August so give us a call or click here to request a trip with us.
Hot Creek has been pretty good with dry flies at different times of the day. Midges, tricos, and migrating caddis in the morning give way to nymphs and terrestrials later in the day. There are a few different hatch windows opening up, so having both a nymphing setup and a dry or dry/dropper rig ready to go is a good idea. Check out some of our new terrestrial and dry fly patterns here to match this hatch. The Interpretive Site and the canyon are both fishing equally well.
The Upper Owens River is now flowing at 58 cfs. This flow is not bad and the water has been very clear. Hot Creek Hatchery has resumed its fish planting schedule below the bridge and some of those fish have found their way up river. We have seen some larger fish in the 18″ plus range as well. Hoppers, caddis, mayflies, and stimulators have been very effective. Don’t overlook the late evening bite here, as most anglers are off the water, and the magic hour before dark can provide for some great opportunities.
Crowley Lake is picking up and the fish have finally moved into shallower water in McGee Bay and pretty much anywhere there are still solid weed beds to be found along the shoreline. Perch fry are thick and hanging along the edges and pockets of the weeds for protection from roaming trout. The midge hatch is slowly returning, but the big swarms we see through the summer have not built back up yet. The next week or so, we should start to see a solid build up. Algae has cleared for the time being. Our best flies as of late have been Dark and Light Assassins #14, 16 and Parallel Assassins Dark and Light #14, 16, Punk Perch Dark and Light #12, 14, 16 and Parallel Punk Perch in the same size and color. Click here for a look at some new flies, (terrestrials, nymphs, dry flies, stream side tools, split shot, leaders, etc) Best midege patterns to have on hand are #16 – #18 SD Chironomidge, #16 – 20 Tungsten Zebra, #16 Midge Larva, #12 -18 Blood Midge, #14 -18 Grey Water, #16 – 20 Red Butt Midge Dark Head and Glass Head, #16 -20 Red Rib Midge Glass Head, #18 Gillie Light and Dark, #16 – 20 Copper Tiger midge, #16 Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge, #14 – 16 Blood Midge, and #16 -18 Mud Candy.
Lower Owens River flows are hanging around 225fs which is still tough for wading. Scorching hot days in the Bishop area have set in now, and the best bite windows are early morning and late evening. There has been an explosion of ticks down here, so take care not to let your pets run around on the banks and make sure to check yourself after walking around here. Fish are spreading out and holding along the edges now.
Dan fished with Devin Preston for this fat rainbow trout.
Doug R. guided Ed to this nice Cutthroat trout.
Bruce caught this standout rainbow trout while fishing on Crowley Lake.
Parker pulls a solid brown out of shallow water along the weeds from Crowley Lake.
Two Bug Doug guided Nate to some nice ones like this awesome rainbow trout.