Fly Fishing Report 9/14/2023
Golden Trout Guiding Co. LLC
Welcome to my Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report for September. Temps are cooling down flows are stabilizing and fly fishing continues to be excellent. Some areas are fishing better than others, but we have plenty of options. I have a few favorite months on the Eastern Sierra and Oct/November are at the top of my list. My schedule is jam packed for October with most weekends full, I still have some open dates during the week. We still have some availability left for our 2023 Fall Fly Fishing Clinic hosted by myself and Rob Hrabik @sierraflyguy. Join us for two full days of immersive learning as we dive deep into the world of fly fishing. Learn how to approach the river with confidence and maximize your time. Reach out to reserve a position for yourself today!
Phone; (858) 750 9820 // Email; goldentroutguiding@gmail.com
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Fishing Report
Lower Owens River; The Lower Owens has come up in water levels to around 400CFS making is fishable but with limited access. Be careful trying to wade in these flows, I would not recommend trying to cross the river or getting in too deep. We are in that time of year where the Lower Owens starts to turn on as flows should continue to decrease and stabilize going into fall. Fishing from the bank or where you can access the stream is the best call for now. I recommend nymphing with a few heavier flies either under a bobber or tight lining depending on the type of water your working. Sporadic hatches of Caddis and Blue Wing Olive are happening throughout the midmorning and evening with trout willing to take a well presented dry fly. If fishing drys look for that slower water on the edge of the seam and get a good amount of cast in that area. Having some dry fly float will increase your chances of getting a better drift in this high water. Don’t be shy to throw a bigger dry fly a size 14-16 Elk Hair Caddis will be easier to see and stay on the surface longer. Don’t expect big numbers while fishing dry flies, hopefully those days will start up soon! I have been guiding on the Lower primarily Euro Nymphing and fishing nymphs under a bobber. If you see trout torpedoing just below the surface film chances are they are keying in on emerging adults so fishing just below the surface film and allowing your flies to swing at the end of your drift can lead to some nice hookups. My favorite caddis emerging patter is the CDC Emerging Caddis, give that a shot. Be patient while working emergers, it is a technique that takes time too perfect. As far as your nymphs, keep em heavy with a bead head… Flashback Pheasant Tail (size 14-18), Bead Headed Hares Ear (Size 16-18), Duracell in Olive (Size 16-18), Prince Nymph (Size 16-18), Various Czech Nymph Patterns and Perdigons (Size 16-18). If you’re a streamer junkie like myself now is a great time to cast bigger flies and let them swing through the deep runs and bends, keep that retrieve slow and let it hang longer then you think you should! Good luck out there and be safe while working the river.
A healthy colored up 16’ Brown Trout, doesn’t get much better!
Teaching beginner fly angler Tricia how to maintain a tight line while working the current seam. Leaning how to read the stream is a huge part of the learning curve for fly fishing.
Fighting trout in fast flows is challenging, having the right size tippet, hook strength, rod weight all come into play. Kevin successfully landed this beautiful 16’ rainbow by navigating the fish to slower water near the bank. Having a friend or a guide to help net the fish can make or break your fight. Friendships and guide relationships are tested over fish lost at the net haha.
Plenty of healthy well fed fish in the Lower Owens right now! All the water was troublesome earlier in the season but now we are reaping the rewards.
Anglers Buck, Ronan, and Travis had a fun day catching wild brown and rainbow trout. Solid Crew!
Bishop Creek/Rock Creek- The higher elevation streams continue to fish well. We have had some interesting weather lately with impromptu thunderstorms creating atmospheric changes higher up which is definitely affecting the fly fishing. As temps cool down we will see less hatching insects, making dry fly fishing more difficult but not impossible. Depending on elevation and time of day you can still get some good top water action, but I would be running something like a dry dropper rig to cover more water and possible hook ups. I like fishing a larger Caddis (Size 12-14) to a small baetis nymph or midge (Size 18-20). A Hopper Dropper can be a great rig as well to really help float that nymph or midge hanging in the water column. This time of year in the high country I like to fish small streamers or leeches as the flows get lower and the water stays cold. Fishing streamers allows you to work sections where getting a drift would be impossible, like banks with lots of bushes or under submersed logs. Our higher elevation lakes and tributaires going into fall become more technical and challenging but less crowded. Still plenty of nice fish to be had higher up! Check the weather before heading out too deep into the back county, as flash floods and thunderstorms are a real possibility.
Crowley Lake- Crowley Lake has slowed down this last month with some days being decent and other days your spending some serious time looking for fish and takes. Boats are spread out around the lake hoping to get into trophy trout and find hatching insects. Although the bite is hit and miss I really enjoy guiding and fishing on Crowley going into early fall as crowds are down, temps are nice and cool, and the fish get big! Right now is quality over quantity on Crowley and hopefully the classic September bite picks up. Working the weed beds and inlets fishing with damsel fly nymphs, balanced leeches (black or purple), perch fry patterns, callibaetis nymphs, and midges are the best way’s to target trout. Giving your flies some movement or even slow stripping them back to the boat can help instigate a take. I’ll be out on Crowley for the next couple weeks guiding and Im excited to see where fall fly fishing leads us, the hunt is on! Reach out to line up a guided trip on Crowley Lake and enjoy the changing colors on one of the most beautiful lakes in CA.
Angler Bridget landed this perfect chrome rainbow trout which gave us a nice aerial show!
Angler Joey Maylas put together this rad video of him hooking up on a personal best rainbow trout.
New fly angler Matt getting bent on a trophy cutthroat trout! Beautiful morning on the lake.
Upper Owens River- The Upper Owens is flowing around 75CFS above the Hot Creek confluence and 100+ below. The Upper Owens got affected with some dirty water during some of these last big thunderstorms but is already cleaning up nice. This is one of my favorite times of year to fly fish on the Upper Owens and temps cool down and we start to see more hatches of Caddis, Blue Wing Olive, Pale Morning Dun, and Trico Mayflies. Who doesn’t love casting tiny dry flies on 5x to rising heads! Right now Im seeing mostly Caddis mixed in with a few mayflies but its always enjoyable to see so many insects on the river. Although you might experience a solid hatch, the Upper Owens is notoriously challenging to actually have a productive day fishing with dry flies. I always tell my clients and anglers if you don’t see them sipping on top water, stick to nymphing. I will wait until I really start seeing trout feed on adults to switch over to top water. That being said its smart to carry two rods with you this time of year as our hatches can last from 5-20 minutes and completely shut down. There are plenty of juvenile trout in the system right now which is a healthy sign for the fishery with a few residential trophy trout spread out between stretches. Covering water will lead you into more fish and keeping a stealthy approach is key. The Upper Owens is exposed so blasting across the river or throwing your shadow over the deeper pools will spook fish. We wait patiently for our trophy brown trout to start making their way up stream in pre-spawn this fall. Im crossing my fingers with all this water that we have a good fall brown trout season. Last few years have been low and warm, this year is a completely different story. Time will tell! As far as recommended dry flies, Trico (Size 18-22), Blue Wing Olive (Size 16-20), Pale Morning Dun (Size 16-20), Elk Hair Caddis (Size 14-18), Stimulators (Size 12-16) and Parachute Adams (Size 16-18). For nymphs I recommend, Prince Nymph (Size 14-18), Czech Nymphs and Perdigons (Size 16-18), Small Baetis Nymphs in Olive (Size 18-20), San Juan Worm (Size 12-14), Zebra Midge (Size 18-20), Rainbow Warrior, Holy Grail Nymph (Size 16-18). Reach out to line up a guided trip on the Upper Owens! Nows the time to come up and fish this river.
Intermediate angler Brandon working a slow tight pool with a dry fly. This was a tough day on the Upper post thunderstorm as the water was off color and fish were hard to target.
A perfect Brown Trout took a size 18 Holy Grail Nymph while Euro Nymphing.
The colors on this brown are mind blowing. Caught by 16 year old angler Skip!
The Upper Owens is quite possibly one of the prettiest rivers in CA but sees a-lot of pressure. Covering water will help lead you into more fish. I like to practice the 3 bend rule, allowing anglers to have their own space while working the stream.
East Walker- The East Walker has been just phenomenal over the last few months as flows have stabilized around 300CFS which is in my opinion perfect for that river. There is plenty of water for fish to move around in, you can access more runs and cross the stream (with caution!) and use a variety of techniques to target trout. I have been guiding primarily on the East Walker lately and loving every minute of it. On some runs we start with Euro Nymphing in the fast moving pocket water and as we move down stream move into fishing with an indicator and by the tail end of the run we are swinging bring streamers into the slower deep pools, its epic. These recent storms have cooled things down throughout the day allowing the water and fish to feed from sun up to sun down. Healthy amounts of 10-14 inch brown and rainbow trout are throughout the system mixed in with 20+ inch trophy trout that wake you up quickly as your fly line starts to feed out your reel. I have seen some nice hatches of larger Caddis happening throughout the day as well as some grasshoppers roaming around the bank. If you spend the time and energy working dry flies or a dry dropper and can get a 20 foot cast you might just land a personal best on topwater, no easy feat! Due to the healthy amount of forage fish throughout the system, streamers, leeches, and crayfish patterns are all producing awesome takes. Ive been fishing Dali Lamas and letting them roam around the big pools with a slow retrieve. Ive also been doing well on perch fry patterns, and the Mini Drunk and Disorderly (Imitates a wounded baitfish). For nymphing I recommend trying out some larger stone fly patterns the classic Prince Nymph (Size 10-12) is hard to beat on the EW. Czech Nymphs and Perdigons are a great point fly choice, make sure your using strong hooks (2x). San Juan Worms and Hares Ear (Size 12-14) are all good options for nymphing with under a bobber or tight lining. We have till Nov 15th to get on the East Walker and as long as flows stay fishable and don’t get too low I will be guiding that river. It has been years since we have seen these conditions and I strongly recommend reaching out to book a date now if you wish to experience one of CA’s finest trout fisheries.
This monster rainbow took a olive leech while swinging across a deep pool. One of my best rainbows caught in CA.
Angler and guide Rob Hrabik landed this chunky brown with a small perch fry pattern while working some faster pocket water.
Angler Roger Backlar with a personal best rainbow trout! Roger has spent some good time on the East Walker cutting his teeth and learning the river.
Fly angler Kyle was able to catch a personal best trout and knock off two new species on the fly including this massive carp and perch!
Kyle learning how to read the stream and where fish are holding. You might have the right flies but putting them in the right location in the water is the most important factor!
Thanks for stopping by to read my fly fishing report. If you would like to receive the report automatically via email please sign up on my homepage and enter in your email. If you have any questions on the report or would like to see something added don’t be shy to reach out. We are all a community of anglers so lets share the stream and be nice to each other! Fly Fishing is good fun and to be shared with each other.
-Luke Kinney, Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide
