Eastern Sierra Fishing Report 7/12/22

A mountain background with a large lake.  
Warm summer weather is here, but diurnal south easterly winds are keeping things pleasant in the afternoons and evenings. Fishing on Crowley has been producing very prime quality trout, and most of the fish are hanging deep to escape the warmer surface temperatures. Annual insect and fish activities are looking delayed this year by a couple of weeks. The San Joaquin River is at a great flow for dry fly fishing and some eager wild trout are taking flies all over the river. Hot Creek is slowly coming around again with more fish back in the pools, and with the hoppers a little larger now they are taking hard looks at most dry fly patterns presented properly. The East Walker River has reached conditions that are not healthy for the resident trout. Warm water temperatures combined with low flows makes this area a place to avoid for the sake of the fish. Playing fish in any area (lake or stream) should be done quickly to avoid additional stress on the trout. The Upper Owens River hopper bite is starting to pick up, but the fish are not as plentiful in the river as in past years.

Crowley Lake’s damselflies are now making a better showing, and the weeds have grown tall in the shallows. We can expect to see the trout start to make their migration into shallower water soon, but for now they are holding deep in 30 plus feet. We are finding fish at various depths and you will see quite a few feeding on the surface throughout the day. Christmas Bay, Sandy Pt, Hilton, and portions of McGee have been the holding areas. Best patterns have been #16 -20 SD Chironomidge, #16 – 18 Puff O’ Smoke, Dark Assassin # 14 -16 in parallel and regular, #14 – 18 Mud Candy, #16 -18 Blood Midge, #16 -18 Copper Tiger Midge, #16 -18 Crystal Tiger Midge Long, #18 -20 Gillie Dark and Light, and Tungsten Zebra Midge # 16 – 20.

Hot Creek flows are in low mode with lots of weeds now in the canyon. Dry flies have been productive along with smaller flies hung as a dropper. A straight dry fly will keep weeds off your line and will be easier to cast. Terrestrials like small hoppers and ants are good flies to throw in both the Interpretive Site and canyon stretches. Scuds are great this time of year, along with annelids and midges. #18 Crystal Scud, #16 SJ Worm in Red and Brown, #18 Flashback Hare’s Ear, SD Crawler Red or Brown, and #18 -20 Flashback Pheasant Tails have been working well.

Lower Owens River flows jumped to 225 cfs. Wading will be tougher now, but the same patterns are still working well when you find the right sections of water. Smaller nymphs like #18 – 20 Flashback Pheasant Tails, #20 Serendipity Black and Red, #18 – 20 Tungsten Zebra Midge, #20 – 22 Crystal Chironomid Emerger Copper, #20 Red Rib Midge Glass and Dark Head, #18 -20 Crystal Caddis Olive Dubbed Black and Crystal Caddis Olive Larva Black have been catching trout here.

San Joaquin River flows are dropping quickly, but the window is great now for walking and throwing dry flies and small nymphs as dropper flies. Wild rainbows and browns are aggressively taking flies off the top. Not much pressure in this area this year and campgrounds seem to be not as full as prior years. The paved road in is a little bumpy in spots this year so take caution and keep your speed down. Gin clear water as usual will have the fish spooky so plan your attack strategy well.

The East Walker River flows have plummeted to 82 cfs which is getting close to unsafe conditions for the fish with high air temperatures. It is best to avoid this area and let these fish rest. Stressing them out by forcing them to expend energy will deplete their oxygen levels fast and many of them will perish. Low water years like these are very tough on the trout in the rivers.



A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth rainbow trout.

Doug R. guided Ian to some nice ones like this hefty rainbow trout.

A smiling angler holding a large brown trout in a boat on a lake.

Jerry guided Robert to this massive brown trout.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth rainbow trout.

Josh guided Ethan to this nice rainbow trout.

A smiling fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a large rainbow trout.

Seth guided Patrick and Carter to some big fish like this rainbow trout.

A fly fishermwoman on a lake in a boat holding a large rainbow trout.

Doug R got Jayne into some chunky fish like this rainbow trout.

A fly fisherwoman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth brown trout.

Jayne with a nice brown trout.

A smiling fly fisherwoman on a lake in a boat holding a large rainbow trout.

Kathy fished with Doug R. and bested this hefty rainbow trout.

A fly fisherwoman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth brown trout.

Jeanne shows of a nice brown trout while fishing with Doug R.

A gin clear stream in the eastern sierra nevada mountains.

The San Joaquin River in its current state.

A mountain background with a large lake.

Convict Lake is looking very nice this time of year.

A smiling fly fisherman in a boat holding a large rainbow trout.

Brett shows off a nice rainbow trout while fishing with Doug R.

A smiling female fly fisherman and a young girl wearing pink on a lake in a boat holding a large rainbow trout.

Young Avery fished with Two Bug Doug and got this nice cutthroat trout.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth cutthroat trout.

Avery’s dad Sean shows off a great cutthroat while fishing with Two Bug Doug.

A smiling angler holding a large rainbow trout in a boat on a lake.

Doug R. guided Lucas to this nice brown trout.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth brown trout.

Trey was guided by Doug Dolan to this beast of a brown trout.

A smiling lady angler  and a male fishing off the back of a boat.

Austin and wife Courtney hooked up off the back of the boat while fishing with Doug R.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a large brown trout and rainbow trout with a kid.

Here they display one of many doubles with their daughter.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth brown trout.

Young Rylan knocked the fish dead, (they were released alive) while fishing with Two Bug Doug.

A smiling fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a large cutthroat trout.

Randy fished with Two Bug and netted this beast of a cutthroat trout.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth brown trout.

Norm fished with Two Bug Doug and slammed this hell of a brown trout.

A fisherman holding a giant brown trout on a lake.

Brandon fished with Doug Dolan and got into some acrobatic brown trout.

A fisherman holding a giant cutthroat trout on a boat in a lake.

Two Bug Doug guided Adam to some jumbo fish like this cutthroat trout.

A fisherman holding a giant rainbow trout on a boat in a lake.

Ken fished with Two Bug Doug and scored this sweet rainbow trout.

A smiling female fly fisherman and a young girl  holding a large rainbow trout.

Josh put Katherine on some big ones like this beautiful rainbow trout.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth brown trout.

Seth guided Ron to some nice ones like this hefty brown trout.

A smiling angler holding a large brown trout in a boat on a lake.

Check out the lengthy and massive brown trout that Jerry put Robert on.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a behemoth rainbow trout.

Josh got Joe on some big ones like this colorful rainbow trout.

A smiling male angler holding a large rainbow trout in a boat on a lake.

Patrick fished with Seth and spanked this big rainbow trout.

A fly fisherman on a lake in a boat holding a large brown trout.

Seth got Ted into some chunky fish like this brown trout.

A fly fisherman on a river holding a behemoth brown trout.

Seth took him to the river where he scored this great brown trout.



Here are our flies which are working on the Upper Owens, Lower Owens River, East Walker 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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