The creek fire which is responsible for most of the smoke in the Mammoth Area is now over 60% contained. This fire is difficult to battle due to the tough to access area in which it is burning. There is currently no threat to the Town of Mammoth Lakes and some snowfall which is possible this weekend may start to give a greater advantage to fire fighters. Predicting how the smoke will be on a given day is like trying to predict an earthquake. We are getting a mix of smoky days and clear days. We don’t know what we are going to get until we wake up in the morning and look outside.
It has been very good fall fishing this month and this will continue on after Crowley Lake closes to boating in another 9 days. The lake will continue to remain open through November 15th for shore and float tube fishing. The lake has begun to rise as we start to get a little more water entering from the Owens River and as flows get reduced from the Pleasant Valley Reservoir outflow. The fishing in shallower water continues to shine as the fish are cruising up and down the shoreline looking for food. Midges and Light Assassins have been accounting for most of our catches and some real standout fish with beautiful fall colors are now showing. This is a popular time with our clients for fishing the lake and landing some really colorful fish. Click here if you would like to be guided from our center console boats to get a shot at some of these fall beauties.
The Lower Owens River flows have dropped even more which is good news for wading on the Wild Trout Section and around the Five Bridges area. Smaller nymphs this time of year are a good call to get down in the deeper holes where the wild fish are holding. You will see some October Caddis flying around throughout the day, but no major hatches of them. We are still sticking to throwing streamers with sink tip fly lines from our drift boats to get at the nicer sized fish in the river. All of our runs are now accessible by boat and these trips are a great way to escape the angling pressure and take in some scenery while fishing areas that are hard to access by anglers on foot.
The Upper Owens River is getting ready to receive its annual fall run of rainbows and browns that move in from the lake. Flows are running higher now at around just over 100 cfs, so you will have to pick and choose your fishing locations to locate the fish. As the water chills, the fish will seek out the slower areas where they can exert minimal amounts of energy and take advantage of the adult aquatic insects in these areas. Smaller nymphs, egg patterns, and even streamer/nymphs like level leeches and parallel assassins and pheasant tails are all good patterns now.
Hot Creek has been fun, especially after the morning frost melts off. Look for lots of surface activity now on tiny midges and mayflies. Running egg patterns through the deeper runs that are holding larger amounts of trout are getting fish. Go small once again here with the nymph patterns. Caddis larvae patterns, midges, and pheasant tails are all effective when presented properly. Keep those drifts drag free and you can fool these fish.
The East Walker River has been up and down on flows the last week, but is now back to around 60 cfs and could go higher or lower in the next week. This is an advantageous period that allows anglers to fish in more areas of the river before the flows drop again. Look for bigger fish to take advantage of the flow increase and move around from their deeper pools to feed. Once the flows lower again you will have the best luck in the deepest pools and runs. There is an abundance of juvenile perch that have been flushed from the lake and the large fish are noticing them. Streamer patterns like our #8 and #10 Punk Perch imitate these high protein meals and can land you that trophy trout.
A view of the aspen trees in fall colors with a veil of smoke hanging above.
Jeremiah shows a healthy cutthroat trout while fishing with Doug Rodricks.
Chris fished with Jerry Gilpin and scored this chunky brown trout.
Kirk fished with Jerry Gilpin and shows off a quality rainbow trout.
Rusty and his trusty Golden Retriever fished with Doug Dolan for this nice brown trout.
Rusty with a nice cutthroat trout.
Ed fished with Doug Dolan for this large spotted brown trout.
Ed with a nice cutthroat trout.
Alyssa fished with Doug Rodricks and scored this brightly colored brown trout.
Scott fished with Jerry Gilpin for this butterball brown trout.
Meigan fished with Doug Rodricks for this monster rainbow trout.
Scott with a beautiful rainbow trout.