My favorite time of the year is here Sept-Oct. The 15th of September to the 15th of October is the best time of the year to be fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra. Fall colors are starting at high elevations. Trout are feeding on hatches of mayflies, caddis and midges on the surface and on the substrate. This is meat fly fishing time of the year with your favorite streamer patterns for trophy brown and rainbow trout. Water temperatures are cooling off and Hoot Owl regulations are over for the year. Fall frost has not happened yet and there are still hoppers and mosquitoes out there.
With the heat of summer behind us fly fishing in the Owens River Gorge is a perfect place to spend an afternoon fishing a dry and dropper rig for wild brown trout.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
A morning trico and blue wing olive mayfly hatch have four to six inch juvenile trout feeding on the surface. The juvenile trout are taking size 20 female trico dun parachutes, size 18 blue wing olive parachutes and size 16 Adams parachutes. This is a great time to be fly fishing with dry flies especially for beginners. The morning hatches are over by noon time and the wind is coming up around noon. Trophy trout are starting to show up in the river. Nymphing under an indicator or with a Euro rig is producing trophy trout. Use size 12 stoner nymphs, size 12 green/gold Prince nymphs, size 14 copper John’s, size 14 Richard’s variation of a gold ribbed hare’s ear and a size 14 Duracell nymph. Streamers, particularly early and late in the day are producing trophy fish. Use size 10 wooly buggers, size 10 slumpbusters, size 6 sclupzilla and size 10 muddler minnows. The trophy trout are resting and feeding in the deep holes, deep runs and cutbanks.
Trophy rainbows are starting to show up in the upper Owens River above Benton Crossing Road.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
After the morning mayfly hatch and caddis migration try fly fishing with hoppers. Softly land a size 12 tan parachute hoppers, size 12 tan stimulator and size 12 tan Chernobyl ants casting the hoppers into the wind against the bank. The morning caddis migration, trico mayfly hatch and blue wing olive mayfly hatch are bringing eight to 12 inch wild browns and rainbows to the surface. Fish with size 20 Adams parachute, size 20 blue wing olive parachute, size 20 sparkle dun in olive, size 20 gray parachute caddis, size 20 gray elk hair caddis, size 20 gray E/C caddis, a size 22 trico female dun parachute and a size 22 trico spinner.
Mornings are the perfect time to be fly fishing with dry flies in the pools in the Interpretive Site of Hot Creek.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
The canyon has water with a stepper gradient providing reactive hits from the trout. This means your presentation and fly pattern does not have to be as perfect as it is in the Interpretive Site. Weed beds continue to hamper fly fishers drag free drifts. Fish the tiny lanes in between the weeds or the holes and riffles with no weeds even though they are few and far between in the Canyon Section. In the morning start off with the caddis migration and getting a drag free drift with a size 20 gray E/C caddis, size 20 gray elk hair caddis and size 20 gray parachute caddis. The trico hatch comes off at about the same time as the caddis migration. Use size 22 trico female parachute patterns and then switch to a size 22 trico spinner pattern when the trout start keying in on the dead trico spinners on the water. Look for a blue wing olive mayfly hatch late in the morning as the trout are finishing up taking the trico spinners on the water. Use size 20 blue wing olive parachutes, size 20 olive sparkle duns and size 20 Adams parachutes. In the afternoon winds fish by gently landing size 12 tan Chernobyl ants, size 12 tan stimulator and size 12 tan parachute hoppers as not to spook the skittish trout of Hot Creek.
Owens River Gorge is going to be closed for seven days from September 17 to September 24th for flushing flows.
Owens River Gorge:
With the summer heat behind us now is the time to be hiking in and out of the gorge to fly fish a dry and dropper rig. This is a tail water fishery that fishes like an opportunistic water. A size 14 stimulator with a size 16 tiger midge, size 16 disco midge and size 16 green/gold brassie are the flies that are fooling wild brown trout to 12 inches. The gorge will fish good until the heat of summer keeps fly fishers out of the gorge.
Finding banks where fly fishers can cast dry flies and streamers is the way to fly fish the lower Owens River with summer flows at 500 CFS.
Lower Owens River
Wild Trout Section:
Flows have not dropped and I don’t expect to see them drop until October. With the cooler weather still check water temperatures, but I think we are done with voluntary Hoot Howl regulations. In the meantime fly fishing early and late in the day with streamers and dry flies are producing trout. Use size 6 and 10 wooly buggers, matukas and slumpbusters. For dry flies fish with size 18 elk hair caddis, size 18 E/C cadis and size 18 Adams parachutes.
Early mornings look for trout rising to the surface feeding on the hatching trico female duns and trico spinners.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind Bishop Veterinary Hospital:
I’m still checking afternoon water temperatures to be sure they’re under the 70 degree mark. The morning trico hatch is short lived and is taking place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:30 A.M. Start fishing with a size 20 female trico dun parachute and then switch to a size 20 trico spinner pattern when the trout stop taking your parachute pattern. Fish in the afternoon winds with a size 12 gray parachute hopper, size 12 Chernobyl ant and size 12 tan stimulator if the water temperatures are under the 70 degree mark.
Fishing in and around the vegetation looking for the pocket and pools is where you want to fish dry flies and a dry and dropper rig in Bishop Creek.
Bishop Creek Canyon
South Fork:
Fishing in the afternoons with a backdrop of yellows and golds is a great way to be fly fishing on Bishop Creek. Using a size 16 Adams parachute, size 16 elk hair caddis, size 14 Royal Wulff and size 14 stimulator for the dry fly and size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ear nymph, size 16 Prince nymph, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, a size 16 green/gold brassie and size 16 midges in zebra and tiger coloration in your dry and dropper rig are the flies that are producing wild brown trout and stocked rainbow trout. Fishing with size 12 tan parachute hoppers, size 12 tan stimulator and size 12 tan Chernobyl ants is imitating the hoppers that are getting blown in to the creek.