The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that a sustained power outage has led to the widespread loss of fish at the Fish Springs Trout Hatchery. The power outage, which was outside CDFW’s control, occurred in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Owens Valley, and lasted more than two hours. Fish Springs Trout Hatchery, powered by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has backup diesel motors which can supply continued water pumping during power outage events. During the power outage on Tuesday, the backup diesel motors were non-operational due to a software issue.
Another loss of fish from a fish hatchery producing trout for Eastern Sierra waters.
I think summer heat is going to be here by the weekend and time will tell how long and how hot summer is going to be. June is the month when the most aquatic insects hatch. September is the second biggest month for hatching aquatic insects. This means good dry fly fishing opportunities in the future. Mayflies, caddis flies and midges are providing the aquatic insects the trout are feeding on now. No-see-ums and mosquitoes are showing up with the warm weather.
Fly fishing is a sport that you fish by yourself, but you get to be on the water with your friends.
East Walker River:
The miracle mile section of the East Walker River is still recovering from last year’s fish die off from deoxygenated water. Fishing from Murphy’s Pond to the Nevada border is offering good fishing for little to big trout. There is lots of algae to get caught on nymphs. It requires cleaning flies every two or three casts. Algae was the worst in the shallow riffles. There are sparse hatches of caddis and mayflies. For the dry fly fisher fish with size 18 blue wing olive parachutes, size 16 Adams parachutes, size 14 stimulators and size 16 elk hair caddis. For the nymphs use size 18 olive quilldigons, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 16 gold ribbed hare’s ears, size 16 perdigon’s and size 12 stoner nymphs. As the heat of summer days warms the waters of the East Walker remember to voluntarily implement Hoot Owl restrictions, fish early and late and not in water temperatures at 70 degrees or higher.
Shannon Chastain was fishing behind some boulders with a two fly nymph under an indicator when this thick brown trout took her nymph.
Owens River Gorge:
UPDATE: Owens River Gorge closed to public access for fish and wildlife habitat improvement from June 4th to 24th, 2025. No public access will be allowed within the Owens River Gorge from Long Valley Dam to the Control Gorge Power Plant. DWP will be performing a flushing flows event to fluff the stream bed.
For fly fishers looking for a less crowded spot and lots of browns willing to take nymphs and dries the Owens River gorge is the place to fly fish. It requires walking in for 20 minutes and walking back out for 20 plus minutes. There are rattle snakes, rose bushes and stinging nettles to contend with when fly fishing in the gorge. The wild brown trout are taking nymphs and dries. Fishing with a dry and dropper is a great way to fly fish the pools and riffles in the gorge. Wading is the best way to fish the gorge and carrying in waders and boots is more comfortable then hiking in and out of the gorge. For dry flies fish with size 18 Adams parachutes, size 18 sparkle duns, size 18 blue wing olive parachutes and size 16 elk hair caddis. Size 16 rainbow warriors, size 16 butano nymphs, size 18 olive quilldigons, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs and size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs are the nymphs that are producing the trout.
Fly fishers fly fishing in the Owens River Gorge need to avoid the stinging nettles plants that are prolific along the banks..
Lower Owens River
Wild Trout Section:
Flows on the lower Owens River are up to 400 CFS and are expected to continue to go up. This is too high to safely wade. This will be the last lower Owens River report until the flows drop back under 300 CFS which is the start of safe wading levels for the lower Owens River. I expect the flows to lower starting in October or November.
With flows hovering around 400 CFS it’s time to quit fly fishing the lower Owens River until flows drop below 300 CFS.
Hot Creek
Interpretive Site:
Caddisflies and mayflies are hatching and the trout are coming to the surface to take the emerging insects. The trout in the Interpretive Site are finicky and require longer leaders, nine to 12 foot 5X monofilament leaders, and tippets of 5X or 6X. Gray size 20 elk hair caddis, size 20 parachute caddis with gray bodies, and size 20 gray X-caddis , size 20 blue wing olive parachutes, size 20 Adams parachutes and size 20 olive sparkle duns are fooling the surface feeding trout. Hatches of pale morning duns and little yellow stones will be starting to hatch soon. Carry a few size 16 pale morning dun parachutes and size 16 Lawsons’s little yellow stoneflies to be prepared for when these insects start hatching.
First time fly fisher Dianne Ingram caught several brown trout fishing with a size 16 Adams parachute and a size 18 olive quilldigon on a dry and dropper rig.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:
Nymphing and dry flies are producing wild brown and rainbow trout. Cover the water thoroughly with your nymphs and dries. There are lots of trout waiting to take a properly presented and drag free drifted fly on the surface with size 20 gray elk hair caddis, size 20 gray parachute caddis, size 20 gray X-caddis, size 20 blue wing olive parachutes, size 20 Adams parachutes and size 20 olive sparkle duns. On the substrate fish with a size 18 olive quilldigon, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, size 18 Frenchie, size 20 gray La Fontaines caddis emerger and size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ear nymph . Fish with a dry and dropper using a size 16 Adams parachute , size 14 Chernobyl ant and a size 14 orange stimulator as the dry fly. If you have trouble seeing the small flies on the water in Hot Creek use a dry and dry rig. Tie three feet of 5X or 6X monofilament tippet onto the bend of one of the recommend dry flies in a dry and dropper rig. Set the hook on any movement in the larger dry fly or and surface takes withing a three foot diameter of your larger dry fly. No-see-ums are biting in the hair line and in the hair.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge:
Fly fishers covering lots of deep holes, deep pools and cut bank are finding a few trophy cutthroat trout to catch.
The trophy cutthroat season is winding down. There are a few cutthroat left in the river that will take a size 12 stoner nymph, size 12 green/gold wire Prince nymph, size 14 copper John, size 12 gold ribbed hare’s ear variation fished in the deep holes, deep runs and cutbanks where the cutthroats are resting and feeding. Rainbow and brown trout from six to 12 inches are feeding on nymphs presented under an indicator or with a Euro rig. These trout are taking size 18 olive quilldigons, size 16 gold ribbed hare’s ears, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs and size 18 midge nymphs in blood, tiger and zebra colorations. It’s time to start carrying mosquito repellent.
Wild brown trout are the dominate fish species in Bishop Creek Canal.
Bishop Creek Canal
Behind Bishop Veterinary Hospital:
This is a great spot to improve your fly fishing techniques. Nymphing is producing stocked rainbows and wild brown trout. Use an indicator or a Euro rig to present your nymphs to the trout. The weed beds are well defined and fly fishers need to drift there nymphs in the sandy lanes between the weed beds. Bishop Creek Canal is a great place to learn how to Euro nymph. With the Euro rod fish with size 12 stoner nymphs, size 12 green/gold wire Prince nymphs, size 18 olive quilldigons, size 16 hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, size 16 SOS nymphs and size 18 Frenchie’s. Under an indicator fish with a size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, size 18 olive quilldigon, size 16 bead head flash back gold ribbed hare’s ear, size 16 SOS nymph, size 14 tan with dark olive back scuds, and tiger and zebra midges in size 18.
