Fly Fishing Report 11/23/2023
Welcome to my Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report for 11/23/2023, thanksgiving day! Im gonna keep this one short and sweet as Im in charge of the tri-tip and need to man the grill. We’ve had some incredible fishing throughout November with some days being better then others, but plenty of fish to be caught. The Upper Owens continues to provide some quality trophy trout fishing with big browns and rainbows spread out in the river. The central gorge has also been producing lots of wild brown and rainbow trout if you know where to look. December is always an interesting month for our fly fishing, we got potential weather, migrating fish, and temps dropping substantially. If you plan on coming up keep an eye on the weather as snow in higher elevations can happy anytime. Weather doesn’t mean fishing will be bad, but it does mean you want to plan accordingly, warm layers, be prepared to hike (Upper Owens), and get those streamers ready for possible high flows after a storm. I personally love this time of year and all the way into winter proper as there is way less crowds, bigger fish, and absolutely stunning views. Rob and I are now booking for December-March with prime trophy season being Jan/Feb on the Upper Owens. Our snow-bow season is one of a kind experience and can involve snow shoeing in with the right conditions, we would love to guide you this winter. Wishing everyone happy holidays and bent rods!
-Luke Kinney, Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide.
Phone; (858) 750 9820
Email; goldentroutguiding@gmail.com
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Trophy brown trout caught and safely released on the Upper Owens.
Bishop Canal- The Bishop Canal is decent right now, flows are high but totally worth fishing. Euro Nymphing or Nymphing under an indicator is the best way to hook up on fish. There have been some small but decent hatches of Mayflies and the occasional Caddis as far as top water action, but most of the feeding is subsurface. Always fun to run a dry dropper once you see fish rising on the canal and even though there aren’t many hopper around I still prefer to fish one as my dry fly. In particular I like running a (Para Hopper, size 6-12) to a (Mercury Midge, size 18-20). Fishing streamers is a blast on the canal and you never know what you might hook into, could be a brown or rainbow or could be a carp or largemouth bass. I like getting upstream and loading a long cast downstream feeding out 20-40ft of line and slow retrieving my streamer back covering plenty of water. Streamer fishing isn’t a numbers game but breaks up the pace of nymphing and requires being fully engaged throughout the entire drift. As far as streamers (Wolly Buggers in Purple, Black, and Olive, size 6-12) are all good options. I also like using leech patterns like Mayers Mini Leech to either slow retrieve of fish under a bobber. The canal is an accessible, scenic, and perfect place to learn how to fly fish. We have discounted half day trips on the canal starting in December. Reach out to book a guided trip on the Canal today and good luck out there!
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Lower Owens- The Lower Owens is flowing extremely high (572-600+ CFS) and is not worth fly fishing or at least seriously. In my opinion fish can be caught in almost any conditions but with the plethora of available water to fly fish I would focus on another area. High flows like these are DANGEROUS, use caution while exploring the Lower. Best to let it rest until flows are lowered, hopefully in January.
Central Gorge- The central gorge (canyon section) has been fishing well. Flows are fluctuating sometimes weekly with the release of water from Crowley so be cautions while exploring the Canyon. That being said even on higher flows fly fishing is still available and can be excellent. Navigating the central gorge is no easy task and requires some hiking, possible steep trails, and loose terrain. Having a guide in the central gorge is recommended. I tend to fish the central gorge and explore the area almost exclusively this time of year as when you get into the right spots hooking up with crazy numbers is not uncommon. Ive been averaging 20+ fish a trip with clients down in the Gorge, with multiple double ups going down. The BEST way to target wild browns and rainbows in the gorge is Euro Nymphing. The water is technical, boulders, bushes, deep and shallow, and small pools and pocket water making playing fish a whole new challenge. Hooking up is usually the easy part, getting the fish to the net in a tight zone tends to really challenge anglers, I love it. Having a longer softer rod will allow you to work very hard to reach areas ad feel everything going on in the substrate. I really enjoy teaching Euro Nymphing if you haven’t tried it and would love to show you around the central gorge. Nymphing is the name of the game BUT dry fly fishing can be really fun, even during the middle of winter. The Central Gorge fishes best when the sun is directly above the canyon from 9am-2pm and helps get those insects hatching. Small baetis, caddis, midges, and the occasional stonefly are abundant in the canyon so fish tend to be less picky. My fly of choice in the gorge is the (Duracell Nymph, Size 16-18) and will not let you down. Reach out to line up an exploratory day in the Central Gorge!
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Angler Boss Le caught this healthy rainbow while Euro Nymphing in the Central Gorge! Epic battle in a small pool.
Upper Owens River- The Upper Owens river has been decent the last few weeks. It was very good at the end of October and the beginning of November with lots of big browns this year in the system, especially before special regulations came into play and there was more water to work. As of now its hit and miss as far as targeting trophy trout, plenty of juvenile fish to be caught but we await the push of snow-bows this season as winter approaches. There are some residential trophy trout in the Upper Owens mostly rainbows and a few insane brown trout here and there. We got into some fantastic brown trout just recently by covering water and fishing hard. If you are getting skunked and being challenged on the Upper Owens this time of year don’t be discouraged as its not an easy fishery. Fish are spread out and migrating, just because you caught a nice one last year at a certain spot doesn’t mean it will be there again. Having a guide with local knowledge will absolutely increase your chances on hooking up with some nice fish. Some of us guides spend 3-5 days a week on this water keeping a pulse on the action and having that knowledge is key to success. Covering water will also help you hook up on fish, give an area that feels/looks fishy some time but don’t get stuck, move and move again. I like to use all kinds of techniques on the Upper Owens to get on the fish, Streamers, Euro Nymphing, Indicator Nymphing, Dry Dropper, and single Dry Fly. You could easily spend the whole day nymphing under an indicator, but having some more variety in your approach can help you learn more about the river and get your flies into areas that bobber fishing cant. I think streamers are very underutilized on the Upper Owens and especially in winter, it takes a specific type of breed to hammer on streamers all day on the Upper Owens but some of my finest trophy trout have been caught while swinging flies. There is nothing like a good streamer take! I am playing with an Idea of doing a Streamer Clinic For Trophy Trout this winter and will keep you posted as we see how winter weather unfolds. Here are some recommended nymphs for the Upper Owens, (Hare’s Ears, size 14-16) (Large Prince Nymph, size 12-14) (Perdigon, size 16-18) (Bead Head Frenchie, size 16-18) (Duracell, size 16-18) (Rainbow Warrior (red), size 14-16). As far as streamers… (Wolly Buggers, black, purple, white and Olive***, size 4-10) (Sculpzilla, size 4-8) (Balanced Leech, size 6-12). For dry flies I also carry small (Elk Hair Caddis, size 18) (Trico Mayfly, size 18-22) (Blue Wing Olive, size 18-20). Good luck out there and don’t be shy to give me a call to line up a guided trip on the Upper Owens. Both Rob and I have availability going into winter.
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Angler Carley Wiles with a beautiful lifetime Brown Trout caught while Euro Nymphing the Upper Owens for her first time!
Thanks for stopping by for my Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report for the Owens River. We love teaching new anglers how to fly fish and have a blast while learning. As they say teach a man or woman to fish…… that is our philosophy! We are all a community of anglers so let’s treat each other with respect on and off the water. We all remember what it’s like to be new at fly fishing so if you see someone in need of help or looking for it, give them some. If you have any questions on the report or would like to talk about what is working for you or what your seeing feel free to email me. Im always curious on how you like to get after it. If you’re not learning you’re not fly fishing.
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Checking out some meaty streamers!
