Fly Fishing Report 4/17/2023
Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and mayflies and caddis are hatching! Spring is here, and it feel’s amazing. After what seemed like a never ending winter we are finally having consistent warm days as we watch the Eastern Sierra bloom and fill with up cold run-off. Flows are coming up and will continue to rise as this melt-off is just getting started. Finding good fishable water is tough right now. I will be booking primarily for Crowley Lake starting May 15th, as we will most likely have a delayed opener while the lake continues to thaw out. I will also be booking river trips depending on conditions and flows, give me a call and we can discuss options. Im predicting high flows through May and hopefully starting to stabilize in June. Although conditions are not ideal right now, we are looking to have an awesome summer going all the way into fall with this abundance of water. We are grateful! There are 2 spots left for our 2023 Spring Fly Fishing Clinic hosted by myself and our head guide Rob Hrabik @sierraflyguy give us a call or email to reserve a spot for yourself today! Wishing everyone a beautiful spring and tight lines.
Cell- (858) 750 9820 /// Email- goldentroutguiding@gmail.com
****Opening Day is April 29th, there is limited access to campgrounds and rivers. Please check with cal trans as things are changing quickly for road conditions. For more daily fly fishing reports and updates you can follow Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing on FB.
We have 2 available spots left for our Spring Clinic may 13th/14th
Thank you for your pre-orders! We will be receiving all of the swag this week and shipping it out to you. We will have more available merchandise in the future. I am currently working on my online store.
Lower Owens River- The Lower Owens is flowing around 745 CFS. These flows are extremely high, making fly fishing almost impossible. I have not been fishing or guiding on the Lower Owens and will wait for flows to drop substantially before getting back on the water, might not be until this fall. I will keep you all posted!
Bishop Canal- The Bishop Canal has been producing some nice fishing over the last few weeks. My go to has been indicator fishing with two heavy flies in the early morning, usually a few “Check Nymphs” to get my flies down deep. Ive also been using flash back pheasant tails (sizes 14-18) copper john (sizes 16-18) midges (size 16-20) and the classic prince nymph (sizes 16-18). Once things warm up around 11am fish have been consistently rising to small caddis and BWO. During the warmer parts of the day Im fishing a dry dropper with a larger caddis (size 12-14) to a small midge. Ive been getting takes on both flies throughout the day and into the evening. These fish are spooky and see plenty of anglers, joggers, horses and mules so getting the right presentation is key! I like the canal for working on my top water game and getting long cast’s in as there are usually no obstructions to get caught up on. The canal is the perfect place for new anglers to work on skills and hook up with some nice fish.
Flows are up with some nice water to Fly Fish on the Bishop Canal.
Central Gorge (Canyon Section)- The Central Gorge has been my go to spot for guiding and fly fishing over the last two weeks. Certain sections of the river are blown out as melt is flowing into the canyon with small waterfalls cascading into the river. Finding good fishable water is still happening, but it takes some exploring. We have been having some banner days down in the gorge targeting healthy wild brown trout and the occasional rainbow. Euro Nymphing the tight runs between rocks and pocket water can lead to a lot of hook ups! Euro Nymphing allows the angler total control over the stream and where the flies are in the water column when done correctly. Having a set depth with a dry dropper or indicator rig limits the maximum amount of water you can work while fishing the stream. That being said when things start to warm up in the canyon, fish start to feed higher in the water column and switching out to a dry dropper is not a bad call. The trout in the canyon section are not as picky as they see less fishing pressure and will rise to most dries. I like running a para hopper, or chubby as my dry fly down to a heavier nymph or midge. When fishing a single dry fly you cant go wrong with a Parachute Adams (size 16-20) down there as it imitates a variety of adults. Elk Hair Caddis (Size 16-20) BWO (Size 16-20) and Sierra Bright Dot (Size 16-20) are all great options for the canyon section! We will see how long flows stay fishable as they are controlled by DWP. Flows are less effected by spring run off, but at some point Im sure DWP will need to pump water through as Crowley Lakes fills up quickly. Everything on the Eastern Sierra is timing right now. Get the goods while you can!
Angler Steve Luczy with one of his personal best rainbows
They don’t have to be big to be perfect. The colors on this wild brown are stunning!
Angler Joey Maylas working between rocks while Euro Fishing.
Angler Cal Brierley caught this down right gorgeous 18’ bow while Euro Nymphing a deep run.
Trout have been feeding heavily in the central gorge.
Head Guide Rob Hrabik with an exceptional rainbow. Check out the freckles on the head.
Upper Owens River- The Upper Owens river is still closed at Pit Road. Hiking in is about a mile to the bridge. I have fished the Upper a few times with little success over the last couple weeks. The winter rainbows are moving out, flows are quickly rising, and we await the cutthroat trout to move in. There is a substantial amount of debris coming in from the Hot Creek confluence so be prepared to clean off your flies. We are in the in-between period on the Upper Owens and it will require some patience for it to get good again. If you hike in the snow is soft, and post holing even with snowshoes will happen. These warmer temps will melt the snow quicker than expected, leaving the dirt access roads muddy and dangerous to travel. Last I checked the river was near the bank, expect to see overflow very soon if its already not happening. Even with high flows the Upper is usually fishable. Access is really the primary issue as of now. If you decide to hike in, I would recommend throwing streamers, Wolly Bugger in white or olive (Size 10-14), Leeches (Size 12-14) Black or Olive. When nymphing I would be under a bobber fishing two flies plus some weight (split shot). Recommended subsurface flies, Prince Nymph (Size 12-16) Perdigon (Size 16-18) Zebra Midge (Size 16-18) Rainbow Warrior (Size 16-18) Mercury Midge (Size 18-20) TF Midge (Size 18-20). There are bound to be some hold over rainbows still in the system but few and far between. Top water hatches of BWO’s are happening around 11am and lasting throughout the afternoon with the right conditions. You might be able to catch a few rising trout with some luck and perfect presentation. I will start guiding the Upper Owens again when access becomes available and depending on flows. We are in the middle of a transforming river up there, summer morning’s should be all time this year, hoping for an epic grasshopper hatch! Excited.
First Light on Benton Crossing Rd in April! A sight to behold…. the will be heavy flooding over the next few weeks.
Local angler Halley Bagley and I did a photo shoot and hunted for some left over rainbows with little success. As you can see the snow is quickly melting from the bank and the water is rising.
Hot Creek; Hot Creek has seemed to slow down over the last week, with hit and miss days in the canyon section. Getting out there is becoming an endeavor as post holing your way out in the afternoon sun is a reality. Flows are slowly rising in Hot Creek and eventually will be high and mighty. Similar to the Upper Owens access is they key issue to fishing the canyon sections as the road is only plowed to the Private Ranch. Weekends have seen a lot of anglers who are eager to get lines wet making parking problematic with the little room available. Please be careful parking up there, especially on weekends. Please leave room for the snow removal crews to get by. There has been some great dry dropper fishing in the canyon, Ive been running a larger Caddis (Size 12/14) to a Mercury Midge (Size 18/20) and having some nice hook ups. Euro Nymphing is decent at Hot Creek but I find myself catching the weed beds far too often. I prefer to fish a single dry fly or sometimes two dry flies while fishing the pools and bends. My go two double dry set up is a (size 16) BWO to a (size 18) elk hair caddis, I try to mend to my first fly and let that caddis skate the bank. Its a powerful presentation and a fun way to fly fish! I have not fished the interpretive center in a few weeks but I would imagine running some of the same techniques and flies down there to be equally effective.
Thanks for stopping by for our Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report! If you would like to sign up for our bi-monthly report and newsletter please visit the homepage of my website and towards the bottom you can enter your email. If you have any questions on the recent fly fishing report don’t be shy to send me an email. Id be happy to help if I can. Thanks and tight lines!
-Luke Kinney, Orvis Endorsed (Owner and Guide)
