Summer is about to turn to fall. Now is the time to get in that last fly fishing trip of summer. With a cool period behind us the Eastern Sierra is heating up again. Fly fishing in the mornings avoids the heat of day and the ever present afternoon winds. Mayflies, caddis flies and midges are the insects the trout are feeding on. If you are on the right water in the afternoon winds there are grasshoppers being blown onto the water offering Eastern Sierra trout a large meal.
Grasshoppers are showing up on some waters, but not all waters in the Eastern Sierra. Mosquitoes have not been bad this year so far.
A dry and dropper rig like a stimulator and tiger midge is the perfect way to fish the freestone streams draining the Eastern Sierra from Lone Pine to Bridgeport.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
Early morning dry fly activity is what you will find at Hot Creek Interpretive Site. The day starts off with the hatching of the female trico dun. Imitate the female trico dun with a parachute female trico dun in size 22. As the trico mayflies reproduce they will die on the water and the trout will begin to feed on the trico spinners. Use a size 22 trico spinner an hour plus into the hatch or when the trout quit feeding on your trico parachute patterns. Overlapping or right after the trico hatch look for the caddis migration. The caddis are bad fliers and crash onto the water frequently. Use a size 20 gray elk hair caddis or size 20 gray parachute caddis. Fly fishing slows down once the trico hatch is over. After 11:00 A.M. try throwing a hopper pattern, beetle pattern or an ant pattern.
Sam Reese from Complete changing flies tell he finds the pattern that represents the stage of the insects the trout are feeding on.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
While the weed beds of the canyon are intimating to some fly fishers it offers good dry fly and fair nymphing opportunities right now. The key to success it to get a drift in the tiny lanes between the weeds. For fishing a dry fly learning to cast a light long tippet, up to six feet of 6X monofilament, and pile it in the lane between the weeds. This allows the fly to drift without any drag for three to six feet. This technique takes lots of practice. Nymphing in the morning with size 18 olive quilldigons, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs and size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears is producing wild browns and rainbows. For dry flies use size 22 female trico parachutes, size 22 trico spinners, size 20 gray parachute caddis and size 20 blue wing olive parachutes. Try fishing size 12 parachute hoopers and size 12 Dave’s hoppers by landing them softly on the water so as not to spook the trout in the afternoon winds.
Working nymphs on the substrate of the upper Owens River is producing trout before the afternoon winds show up.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
Afternoon winds have been blowing off the few pale morning duns that have been hatching middle of the day. Nymphing with size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, size 16 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs and size 18 olive quilldigons in the morning is producing eight to 14 inch wild brown and rainbow trout. There are not enough hoppers around or being blown into the water to get the trout to come to the surface for a hopper pattern fished in the windy afternoons. Fishing with a size 16 Adams parachutes, size 16 elk hair caddis and size 16 stimulators will bring a few of the resident rainbows and browns to the surface. Key to success is to cover lots of water, get a drag free drift and don’t stand on top of the fish you are trying to catch.
With the temperatures in the Owens Valley heating up the best time to fish Bishop Creek Canal is in the mornings.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind Bishop Veterinary Hospital:
Mornings before 10:00 A.M. are offering fly fishers nymphing the best opportunities to catch wild brown trout and stocked rainbow trout. Use a size 14 tan scud with a dark olive back, a size 18 tiger or zebra midge, size 18 olive quilldigon and size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph. Fishing a hopper and dropper is a great way to fish the nymphs and get a few trout to come to the surface for the hopper.
Middle fork of Bishop Creek is offering good fly fishing with a dry and dropper rig cast to the pockets and pools in the creek.
Bishop Creek Canyon
Middle Fork of Bishop Creek:
Clear water and perfect flows makes fly fishing in Bishop Creek a great spot to fish particularly in the afternoons when the Owens Valley heats up. This is classic bush whacking fly fishing. Work the trails along the creek looking for the spots that you can sneak up on and dabble a fly or make an over head cast. A dry and dropper is a great rig to fish in the creek. Use a size 16 Adams parachute, size 16 elk hair caddis, size 16 royal Wulff and size 16 stimulator for the dry fly. These are all high visible flies that are easy for the fly fisher to see. Use size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ear and size 16 tiger and zebra midges on three feet of 5X fluorocarbon tipper attached to the bend of the dry fly.