We have finally had a major break in the smoke for most days now. Most of the time if we do see smoke it doesn’t come in now until the late afternoons. The skies have been blue and the fish have been biting very well over the past few days. The good news that came today is that the Inyo National forest has re-opened. Most campgrounds are now open again, but some will remain closed due to the late period of the season, as most start to close once October comes around. This also opens access to the June and Mammoth Lakes as well as Hot Creek. We can consider this as another mini-opener for these areas as the fish have had a short break from any angler pressure.
Temperatures have started to cool off at night now, and mornings are getting colder. No need to get out at the crack of dawn to start fishing now as the bug activity doesn’t really start going until after 8 am now. Daytime temperatures have been very pleasant in the low to high 70’s from Mammoth down to Crowley Lake. Bishop is still seeing daytime temps in the low 90’s to high 80’s.
Crowley Lake now has fish all over the lake once again, as they transition into their fall mode of moving into the areas around the north end of the lake. The channel areas in both areas of the lake are attracting fish now as they start to prepare for the fall spawn. We will see more fish moving into these areas over the coming weeks, but don’t overlook the other ends of the lake as fish will continue to feed and fatten up in all of the bays this time of year. Most of our fish have been caught in water ranging from 8-12′ feet in various areas of the lake. Getting away from the fleet of boats can be nice now where you can have areas of the lake all to yourself while catching some nice fish. Trying different depths is a good strategy as fish are up and down in the water column now. Larger streamer patterns are working for the fish which are chasing the juvenile perch and the fry around.
Brad displays a beautiful brown trout while fishing with Doug Rodricks.
Dave fished with Doug Dolan for this great brown trout.
Dave’s son Matt with a nice brown while fishing with Doug Dolan.
Stan fished with Jerry Gilpin and got this nice rainbow trout.
Jim fished with Seth Cline and displays a nice brown trout.
Todd fished with Doug Dolan for this large cutthroat trout.
S.L fished with Seth Cline for this nice rainbow trout.
Ed shows off a huge brown trout while fishing with Jerry Gilpin.
Ken fished with Seth Cline and scored a nice brown trout.
Dave fished with Doug Dolan and got this nice rainbow trout.
Dave with another fish, this time a large brown trout.
Ken with another monster brown trout.
Rich fished with Doug Rodricks for this nice rainbow trout.
Flies working on Crowley Lake:
SD Chironomidge #16, Mud Candy #16, Puff O’ Smoke #16, Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge #16, 18; Assassin Light #14, 16; Assassin Dark #14, 16; Parallel Assassin Light #16, Parallel Assassin Dark #16, Crystal Copper Zebra Midge #16, 18; Crystal Tiger Midge Long #18, 20; Crystal Midge Pupa Copper #18, 20; Gillie Chironomid Pupa Dark and Light #18, 20, 22,Click HERE to purchase.
Upper Owens River is fishing well with fish scattered around. The hopper hatch has come to a close for the most part now, so nymphing has been the preferred method of fishing. Look for fish in the deep sections and around the undercut banks. Flows have come up some since last week, but water remains clear. A few fish have moved up from the lake here and there, but no big numbers yet. As the weather gets cooler, we may see an early move of fish this season.
Brian fished with Seth Cline for this nice rainbow trout.
Brian with another nice rainbow trout.
Another nice rainbow trout for Brian.
Daniel also fished with Seth Cline for this nice brown trout.