It’s hard to believe summer will be over in a month. Kids go back to school starting around August 14th depending on the school district. So now is the time to get in that last minute fly fishing trip to the Eastern Sierra. What started off with a heat wave as given way to nice summer days particularly at upper elevation waters. While early and late in the day is the best time to be on the water fly fishing, mid-day has been producing fish in the right waters particularly at upper elevations. Mayflies, caddis flies and midges are the hatching insects the trout are feeding on. Grasshoppers are showing up on some waters, but not all waters in the Eastern Sierra. Mosquitoes have not been bad this year so far.
With summer coming to an end real quick, especially for those with school aged kids, it’s time to get in one last summer fly fishing trip on the waters of the Eastern Sierra like the upper Owens River.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
Hot Creek Interpretive Site is offering the best dry fly opportunities in the Eastern Sierra right now. Mornings start off with the hatching female tricos. Followed by the trico spinner fall. Migrating caddis are offering sporadic opportunities for trout feeding on the caddis that crash on the surface of the creek. Pale morning dun mayflies and blue wing olive mayflies round out the morning hatches on the creek. Fish with size 22 trico female parachutes, size 22 trico spinners, size 18 pale morning dun parachutes, size 20 blue wing olive parachutes and size 20 parachute caddis in gray. Succes on Hot Creeks comes from delivering the fly gently on the water. Getting a drag free drift and fishing the fly pattern that represents the stage of the insect that the trout are feeding on.
Sneaking up on the trout in Hot Creek Interpretive site and making a gentle presentation is how you fool the finicky trout of Hot Creek Interpretive Site.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
In the middle of summer is when the weed beds are at full growth making it hard for fly fishers to get a drag free drift with their dry flies and nymphs. Learning to drift in the narrow lanes between the weed beds is how successful fly fishers fish Hot Creek in the summer. Concentrate on the open areas in an around the weed beds for easier spots to fish. A dry and dropper rig is perfect for mid-summer fly fishing in Hot Creek Canyon. For the nymphs fish with size 16 and 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 18 olive quilldigons, size 16 hot spot pheasant tail nymphs and size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears. For the dry fly use size 16 stimulators, size 16 Adams parachutes and size 12 chubby Chernobyl’s. There are decent numbers of hoppers moving around stream side. Use size 12 parachute hoppers, size 12 Fat Alberts and size 12 Dave’s hopper. Do not splat your hopper imitation on the water as the Hot Creek trout spook easy. Proper presentation of a hopper on Hot Creek is to land it gently on the water.
Afternoons on the upper Owens should be hopper season, but the hoppers just are not showing up in numbers to get the fish feeding on hoppers in the afternoon.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
Flows on the upper Owens River have subsided and cleared up. There are not enough hoppers in the meadow around the upper Owens River to get the trout to come to the surface to feed on hopper imitations. An Adams parachute in size 16, a size 16 pale morning dun parachute, size 16 stimulator and a size 18 elk hair caddis will produce more surface action in the afternoon winds. Nymphing with size 18 olive quilldigons, size 16 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears and size 18 tiger and zebra midges is producing trout all day. The key to nymphing in the upper Owens River is to work your flies right on the substrate. To do this you need to have the right combination of weighted flies or add weight to your tippets. Mosquitoes are around particularly when the clouds cover the sun in late afternoon.
Afternoon winds are pushing a few hoppers into the canal and the trout are keying in on the struggling hoppers.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind Bishop Veterinary Hospital:
Early mornings and late afternoons are the most productive time to be on Bishop Creek Canal fly fishing. Late afternoon is a good time to try a hopper pattern like a size 12 parachute hopper, size 12 Dave’s hopper and size 14 stimulator. Dropping a nymph of the hopper on three feet of 3X fluorocarbon with a size 18 olive quilldigon, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ear, size 18 tiger midge and size 14 scud will pick up the nymph eating trout.