Dog days of summer are here. A lot of Eastern Sierra waters are under voluntary Hoot Owl restrictions. This means you need to quit fly fishing - catch and release fishing - when water temperatures reach 70 degrees or more. Waters that you need to be monitoring the temperature include Crowley Lake, upper Owens River, lower Owens River, Bishop Creek Canal, Bridgeport Reservoir and East Walker River. This is prime time to be fishing lakes and creeks above 9,000 feet where water temperatures stay under 65 degrees. Mosquitoes are prevalent and fly fishers should be sure to have insect repellant with them. Be prepared for hot afternoons, but be sure to have a rain jacket and a light jacket for afternoon showers. Trout on the surface and on the substrate are feeding on mayflies, caddis flies and midges.
Upper Owens River in the summer time is fishing mayflies in the mornings and caddis in the evenings on the surface for six to 14 inch wild brown and rainbow trout.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
Be sure to test water temperatures every afternoon as the river has been in the upper sixties and low seventies every sunny afternoon. Best time to be fly fishing the river is in the morning when the water temperature is in the mid-sixties and there is a hatch bringing trout to the surface. Fish with size 18 Adams Parachutes, size 18 blue wing olive parachutes, size 20 female dun trico parachutes and size 16 elk hair caddis on the surface. Nymphing with size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 18 olive quilldigons, size 18 Frenchie’s, size 12 stoner nymphs, size 14 copper John’s and size 16 Duracell nymphs is producing wild rainbows and browns up to 16 inches. Fish with size 10 balanced leeches, Landon Mayers jigged pine squirrel leeches, wooly buggers, slumpbusters, muddler minnows and matukas early and late in the day in deep holes, deep runs and next to cut banks.
Fishing the upper Owens River in the summer time is wet wading and fishing dries and nymphs for wild trout in a high mountain meadow.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
Hot Creek Interpretive Site offers some of the most consistent dry fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra. The trico hatch and caddis migration starts things off in the mornings around 8:00 A.M. Look for a good trico spinner fall around 9:00 A.M. Start the morning off with a size 20 gray parachute caddis, size 20 gray X-caddis and size 20 elk hair caddis. Fish the caddis while the migration is taking place and switch to a size 20 female dun trico parachute pattern when the trout stop hitting the caddis. Fish the female dun trico parachute until the trout quit hitting and have switched to feeding on the trico spinner fall. Use a size 22 trico spinner pattern fished three feet below a size 16 Adams parachute fished on 6X tippet. This is a dry and dry rig and should be fished just like a dry and dropper rig. Fly fishers need to set the hook on any movement in the leader-tippet or the Adams parachute.
Hot Creek and surrounding waters are in danger once again from KORE Mining resubmitting a drilling permit. Your voice is needed to stop KORE Mining from moving forward with exploratory drilling. For more information contact nohotcreekmine.com.
With weed beds at full growth fly fishers need to fish with dry flies in Hot Creek Canyon.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
Fly fishing with nymphs in the Hot Creek Canyon area is tough as nymphs hang up on the weed beds that are full growth this time of the season. Now is the time to be dry fly fishing with size 20 gray X-caddis, size 20 gray parachute caddis, size 20 gray elk hair caddis, size 20 female trico dun parachutes, size 20 female trico sparkle duns and size 20 blue wing olive parachutes. Key to success is getting your dry fly or your dry and dry fly rig to float in the tiny three to four inch lanes between the weeds. Start your morning by being on the creek by 8:00 A.M. and fish with either a caddis imitation or a trico parachute. Somewhere around 9:00 A.M. switch to a size 22 trico spinner pattern.
With flows on the lower Owens River holding around 400 CFS, fly fishers need to find unobscured banks to fly fish from in the morning and evenings.
Lower Owens River
Wild Trout Section:
With temperatures in the Owens Valley being in the 100’s, it’s tough to be fly fishing in the middle of the day. Pulling streamers first thing in the morning and last thing at night will produce some nice sized wild trout. Use size 10 wooly buggers, slumpbusters matukas and muddler minnows. Early and late in the day fish with mayflies and caddisflies on the surface of the river. Use size 16 elk hair caddis, size 18 blue wing olive mayflies and size 20 trico parachutes. Flows have been hovering around the 400 CFS range and at these levels fly fishers need to be fly fishing from the banks. Mosquitoes are in full force early and late in the day on the lower Owens River. Fly fishers should be sure to have insect repellant with them.
With a voluntary hoot howl in effect fly fishers will find trout feeding in the evening on Bishop Creek Canal.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind Bishop Veterinary Hospital:
Eight to 10:00 A.M. is the time to be on the water with caddis and mayfly imitations. Mid-day temperatures in the low 100’s is making it too hot to be fly fishing on the canal. Use size 18 elk hair caddis, size 18 Adams parachutes, size 18 blue wing olive parachutes and size 14 stimulators to fool the wild brown trout and stocked rainbows. Nymphing with size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 18 olive quilldigons, size 16 Duracell nymphs, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, size 12 green/gold wire Prince nymphs and size 12 stoner nymphs is producing trout. Use size 10 balanced leeches, Landon Mayer’s jigged pine squirrel leeches, wooly buggers, slumpbusters, muddler minnows and matukas for pulling streamer for bass, carp and trout. Mosquitoes have been active early and late in the day.
Wild brown trout are the rewards for fishing a size 14 stimulator with a size 16 green/gold brassie as a dry dropper rig in Bishop Creek.
Bishop Creek Canyon:
This is where you can fly fish middle of the day to escape the heat of the middle of the day. The trout are feeding opportunistically on your favorite dry fly. Size 14 Royal Wulff’s, size 14 stimulators, size 16 elk hair caddis and size 14 Adams parachute are high visibility flies that float high on the water making it easy for fly fishers to see their flies. A dry and dropper is a great way to be fly fishing for opportunistically feeding trout in a freestone creek. For the nymphs fish with size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 16 Prince nymphs, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ears, size 16 tiger midges, size 16 zebra midges and size 16 green/gold brassies.
Golden trout are sitting in the pools around the logs and under the willows looking for insects to float by to feed on.
High Altitude Creeks
With Golden Trout:
Summer is the time to be chasing golden trout in high Sierra streams. It’s a perfect way to escape the heat of the Owens Valley. Golden trout like dry flies particularly ones that are bright in color. Fish with size 14 Sierra bright dots, size 14 Sierra Adams, size 14 Royal Wulff’s, size 16 elk hair caddis and size 14 stimulators. A dead drift is a great way to present a dry fly to actively feeding trout. Golden trout like flies that are bouncing and moving on the waters surface. If you’re not getting hits on a drag free drift try a little movement in the flies. These fish are small, but make up for it in their beauty and abundance.