Fly Fishing Report 4/30/2024
Golden Trout Guiding Co. LLC est. 2021
Welcome to my eastern sierra fly fishing report for the beginning of May. Opening weekend for our general trout season was excellent as our trout streams and available lakes were all fishing well. This years opener compared to last season was a real treat as the average winter we have had has lead to fishable flows and water so far this spring. Spring melt has led to an increase in flow rate on some of our spring fed tributaries but its not affecting the quality of fishing so far!
As of now I am booking trips all summer through late october for a variety of waters and Locations. Our trophy cutthroat run has started on the Upper Owens and should last up to around memorial day weekend (May 27th). Now is the time to come to fish the Upper Owens if you are looking to hook up with some quality cutthroat trout. I am also booking trips for the East Walker as flows are perfect right now, and I will do my best to keep yall posted on conditions. The East Walker host some of the biggest trout on the Eastern Sierra and a chance to hook up on a true personal best. I am also booking for Crowley Lake trips! Crowley Lake is one of the only places you can catch all three primary species on the Eastern Sierra, Rainbow, Brown, and Cutthroat trout. We also catch Sacramento Perch on Crowley and they are a great and fun fish to play, especially while learning to fly fish.
I just wanted to note that I love guiding new anglers and you don’t have to have any fly fishing experience to get out on the water and have success. As much as I love guiding seasoned anglers, my true joy in guiding is teaching those who are curious or have never even held a fly rod or stood in the river. If you’re nervous because of your experience level, I totally get that but I will meet you where you are at and we will have fun! Remember that fly fishing is fun, that is the most important element in my book. Let’s all have a fantastic summer season on and off the water!
-Luke Kinney, Owner and Orvis Endorsed Fly FIshing Guide.
Call to book today (858) 750 9820
Email Me; goldentroutguiding@gmail.com
We now have only 2 spots left for our 2024 Golden Trout Trip. Join us for a week long excursion into the pristine backcountry wilderness in search of some of the purest strain of native golden trout on the planet. We will be joined and accompanied by McGee Creek Pack station and Eastern Sierra Sport Fishing who will give us the luxury of setting up camp, cooking for us, and allowing us to spend as much time fly fishing and enjoying the scenic nature of the golden trout wilderness. We will be on foot as our team travels ahead and secures camp so a certain level of physical preparedness is expected. Visit our webpage for the full trip itinerary/pricing, and give me a call to discuss more in detail and see if this is an adventure fitting for you!
Full Trip Itinerary Click Here.
Although small in size the native Golden Trout is one of the most sought after bucket list fish for any serious angler. This is going to be a trip of a lifetime, we are so excited!
Lower Owens River- The Lower Owens is currently flowing at 425 CFS, way too high to fly fish effectively and dangerous to wade. We will not be guiding on the Lower Owens until flows drop in the fall, usually around late October/November. This last fall/winter/spring season on the Lower Owens was by far one of the best years we have had the pleasure of enjoying. To all of those I was able to fly fish the Lower Owens with, we had some amazing trips and I appreciate the business and getting out with you all. Till this next fall!
A prolific caddis hatch on the Lower Owens in late March. We will be back on the Lower Owens this fall, and will keep you updated as we get closer.
Bishop Creek/Rock Creek- This year I have obtained permits to guide on Bishop Creek and Rock Creek. Small stream fishing is one of my favorite ways to fly fish. Its technical, beautiful, challenging, at times silly good and always rewarding. When I think of how I got started fly fishing I was working tiny creeks with a single dry fly, at times just dipping the fly in the water and waiting for a small brook trout to take my parachute adams. Small stream fishing made me fall in love with fly fishing, which is hard not to romanticize. As spring unfolds both Bishop Creek and Rock Creek will be the most affected by spring run-off and depending on how fast things warm up at high elevation will dictate how well these waters will be fishing. I am predicting by June we will be in full swing on these smaller mountain tributaries. I will be spending the next few weeks heading up the canyons and documenting/fly fishing these waters to get a better pulse on the conditions. If you are eager to go fish Bishop or Rock Creek I would recommend Euro Nymphing or tightlining any slower moving water you can find, as it is still cold enough up there where fish are staying deeper and feeding sub-surface. Watch your step and your wading if you are in/near the river, although these streams might look mellow enough, the water is cold and fast during spring melt and can be dangerous. Be careful with your Dogs as well, every year we unfortunately lose a few to the river… There are some nice sections on both of these tributaries that open up to meadow like areas and I would focus on working those. Dry fly fishing or running a dry dropper during the middle of the day, especially on the warmer days can be effective. Fish are SPOOKY on these small streams, casting from a distance and being out of view is key to hooking up. Recommended flies for Bishop and Rock Creek as of now, Copper John 16-18, Mini Prince Nymph 18, Small Baetis Nymph 18-20, TF Midge 18, Black or Olive Zebra Midge 18-20. As far as dry flies in early season it’s hard to beat a small Black Ant 18-20, Parachute Adams 16-18, Elk Hair Caddis 16-18. Looking forward to working these beautiful mountain streams all summer long personally and with other anglers! I recommend booking a trip on Bishop/Rock Creek sooner then later for June-September as my calendar will fill up quickly. For those of you who want to fish topwater I highly recommend booking one of these experiences. Brooks, Rainbows, Browns, and Golden Hybrids are all on the board.
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Teaching my Mom to fly fish last season on Bishop Creek!
Crowley Lake- The Lake is FULL haha.. very full, and as far as how it’s going to fish this season we will just have to wait and see. I got out for the first time yesterday and made sure that boat is still floating and the fish are still there, and good news is they both are! I spent most of the morning with Rob checking out various locations, drop offs, and bottom to see where the fish are. Similar to last year they are quite spread out, and hopefully as things warm up they will congregate at their usual places and start feeding more on midges and small baetis. There was a decent midge hatch from 9am-Noon yesterday and trout were slow to feed but taking a well presented midge off the bottom. Anglers were hooking up on both trout and perch, with perch being the primary eater as of now. I caught one nice medium sized brown trout and Rob caught himself a perch, great to not get skunked on our first outing! It’s good to commit to any particular water you are marking fish or feeling confident and giving it time to get a strike. Crowley Lake is a patience game as the bite just seems to start picking up like clockwork and if you don’t have flies in the water you can miss your shot. Right now fish are being caught between 16-30 ft. in depth, so rig for longer leaders. I am bringing two rods with me, one rigged for 16-22 ft and the other 25-30 ft. Midges and perch fry are a great way to target fish right now on the lake, Copper Tiger 16-18, Albino Wino 16-18, and midges of various designs and colors with a white bead head are choice. We are all hoping for a productive and fun season on Crowley! Still water fly fishing is an enjoyable way to spend the day, and learn how to use a fly rod, especially while playing those bigger trout. Crowley host some of the bigger fish on the Eastern Sierra and it only takes one 20+ inch trout to the net to make your day. Even better when you get 10+ of those in a day, and those days happen and can happen at any time.
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Angler Matt Weaver Bent on a trophy rainbow trout! Outside of the amazing fish Crowley Lake has to offer the views are exceptional.
First time fly angler Constance with her first trout on Crowley Lake!
Upper Owens River- The Upper Owens river is higher than usual as spring run off is already affecting the flows but it hasn’t slowed the fly fishing down. The flows above the Hot Creek Confluence are coming in around 82 CFS and below the confluence around 110 CFS. I have been guiding on the Upper Owens and even in some poor weather we were managing some beautiful fish to the net averaging between 10-18 inches. The trophy cutthroat trout are in the system as we speak and it seems to be a good spawning year for them, with lots of migrating fish. Stick to the deep bends, undercut banks and pools to avoid fishing for actively spawning trout. If you see fish in very shallow clear water usually un phased by your presence please LEAVE THEM BE, they are trying to establish their beds and spawn. As fun as it is to fish for these trout just like any spawning fish or season we need to practice ethical and sustainable fly fishing for the future and health of the fishery. If you can commit to sticking to one side of the bank or keeping your footprint light while crossing this is also highly recommended as not to disturb or tramble the Redds. Do your best to keep those trophy trout wet from catch to release, and if you want to take the grip and grin shot, make it quick! They look just as good in the water as they do out. By the time you’re done setting up that Iphone on the bank and fooling around with the fish for the perfect shot, that fish is as good as dead, and even though you might see it swim away it will be belly up 30 seconds later. Not trying to guilt trip here as we have all done it, and part of learning and becoming better anglers is doing it better in the future. Nymphing either under the indicator, tight lining, or Euro Nymphing is the most productive way of catching trout on the Upper Owens as of now. Small hatches of caddis, pale morning dun, and blue wing olive are happening throughout the day but nothing massive. As weather warms up our hatches should become more substantial and happening earlier in the morning. Right now it’s a mid day hatch but come june through the heat of summer it will be a sunrise bite and hatch, especially as the water gets warm. Look for those deeper holes, back eddies, and deep banks to get those flies in, takes can be subtle so set on everything. As they say hooksets are free! Recommended nymphs for the Upper Owens as of now, Perdigon 16-18, Bead Head Hare’s Ears 16-18, Duracell in purple or olive 16-18, Frenchie 16-18 are all solid options that will produce fish. These high flows also lend themselves to great streamer fishing opportunities, MIni Sculpin 12-14, Mini Jig Leech in Black or Olive 12-14, and your classic Wolly Bugger 8-12, are all great flies to swing through those bigger bends. As far as dry flies, small blue wing olive 18-20, elk hair caddis 16-18, and small pale morning dun 18-20 are good options. As the wild lupin wildflowers start to bloom and the grass turns vibrant green the Upper Owens shows true beauty, let’s keep it that way!
Book the Upper Owens River
Angler Stephanie learned how to fly fish using an Indicator and got herself into a handful of beautiful trout!
First time angler Celine hooked up and learning how to maintain tension while playing a trout! 40mph winds did not stop us from getting after the trout. Some of the best days I had while guiding or personally was during some harsh weather, its always worth going and seeing what the day has to offer.
The trophy cutthroat trout have arrived! They are beautiful fish. Caught and safely released by local fly angler and fly tyer Nate Ostrander.
Hot Creek- Hot Creek is currently flowing between 28-30 CFS and has been really fun to fly fish as of late. Both the interpretive site and down in the canyon section are fishing well with nymphing being the primary way of fooling trout. Spring is always a great time to fly fish at hot creek but can also be very tricky. If there isn’t much of a hatch, being able to have good presentation for your flies is a must if you are hoping to hook up. Some days down in hot creek are just amazing, and the next day you go with the same flies and fish it the same way, and you can seem to buy a bite. Make sure your mixing it up down there, changing your flies or even your tippet size. For the big flat shallower sections of hot creek I prefer fishing a dry-dropper set up, something like a bigger caddis to a small baetis nymph. Right now most of those fish are taking that small nymph under the dry fly, give that nymph some time and if its not working out switch it up and try something new. My favorite nymph to run under a dry fly down their is either a Chartreuse Copper John 18, or a BWO CDC Loop wing emerger 20. Look for those current breaks and changes in depth as fish will be holding where they can spend less energy. With these higher flows during spring tight lining the channels and braids down there can also lead to some nice fish. It’s very easy to catch everything on the bottom while tightlining so having a quick lift and drop after that cast is key. Hot Creek is a great place to work on your casting and top water game, and always beautiful to visit. Recommended dry flies for hot creek, Parachute Adams 18, Elk Hair Caddis 16-18, Olive Foam Caddis 16-18, Blue Wing Olive 18-20. If you find yourself in a good spot and its fishing well I would recommend staying put before moving on, as trout tend to stack up in holes and spots down there.
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Working on our dry fly presentation and mending the line in hopes of a drag free drift. Not Easy!
East Walker River- The East Walker is holding steady around 260 CFS which is great flows for that river. I was up there opening weekend and it’s safe to say the river is fishing very good. Close to 40 fish in the net, and the weather was beautiful. This is looking like it will be a good year for the East Walker as there is plenty of water in the reservoir and water temps should stay nice all summer long. Water was temping around 52-56 degrees, perfect for feeding trout. Solid hatch of small caddis throughout the morning with very few fish rising to take an adult but plenty of trout feeding subsurface. Switching between an Indicator and Euro/Tight Line set up is my favorite way to work that river. Look for any solid current break or change in depth, and behind those boulders! Trout love to ambush all of the small baitfish on the EW near the banks so be careful while wading upstream to spook trout, water is clear move slow, and get a good pair of polarized sunglasses. Fishing streamers is a great way to get into some of the larger trout up there, casting downstream let them swing to the bank and slowly retrieve them back. The EW is a tricky river at times, and can challenge even the best of anglers, having a guide up there is highly recommended. Now is THE TIME to book for the EW as it is a short season and flows dictate how fishable and accessible it will be. I am predicting high fishable flows through august, at least I got my fingers crossed. If you want a chance to potentially catch a fish of a lifetime and some of the bigger brown trout on the East Side I strongly recommend booking a full day on the EW. Recommended flies for the EW as of now, Large Prince Nymph 12-14, Squirmy Wormy 12-14, Perdigon 16, Hares Ears 14-18, Duracell 16-18, Bead Head Hare’s Ears 16, Pheasant Tails 14-16, Sculpzilla 10-12, Wolly Bugger 8-10, Jig Leech 10-14, and Dali Lama 8-12. I spend as much of my free time over the season fishing the EW and would love to show you around, give me a call to line up a guided trip. EW trips are full days only.
Book East Walker River
One of the many beautiful brown trout found on the EW, caught while Euro Nymphing a faster run.
Thanks for stopping by to my Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report for the beginning on May! Conditions are looking excellent for this summer as far as water levels and fly fishing. I hope everyone is getting excited about fly fishing on the Eastern Sierra this year. Give me a call to line up a guided trip for you or a small group. All levels of experience are welcomed and all gear is provided. Learn how to fly fish in a fun, safe, and educational environment.
-Luke Kinney
Psalm 95:4-5; In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
