Fish’N Conditions
Nice late summer weather has set the stage for great days on the water and a lot of the crowds of summer are beginning to thin out. East Walker River experiencing very warm temperatures as the record heat in California continues. Cooler nights are setting the stage for safer conditions for the fish. Bridgeport Reservoir ok in the creek channels with smaller fish and the occasional big ones. Silver and Grant Lake in the June Lake Loop decent under an indicator with midges and Assassins. Upper Owens River giving up school sized fish in the deep pools and underneath the cut banks using small nymphs and dry flies. Hot Creek good in the mornings and evenings with hoppers and dry flies. Nymphs working during mid-day. Crowley Lake still hitting for big fish but it is more of a mix now of small, mediums and large. Most life on the lake taking advantage of the perch fry. Middle Owens River has a ton of water coming through.

Crowley Lake
The lake is dropping at a fast pace and some shorelines are starting to re-appear that are usually high and dry much earlier in the season. You can see some of the weeds now, which once housed an abundance of new life,  sitting dry on the shoreline. Foot access is slowly starting to open up around Six Bays and the North Landing zone. The weed lines along the Owens River channel are now well defined and visible. Algae is starting to roll in from the cool snap that came through last week but it has not been a problem for fishing. Smaller midges are hatching now throughout the day and the fish are keying in on these over the mud bottoms. With the drop in the water level, the weed beds are becoming shallower and fishing the defined “Weed Walls” has been yielding some really nice trout. Our Parallel Assassin Light and Dark and Parallel Perch have been fooling some big ones! If you see the pelicans in the weeds, there are perch fry, and where there are fry, there are big trout!
 

Middle Owens River (Bishop Area)
Flows are blasting here at 562 cfs. With Crowley Lake losing water, don’t expect a drop in flows here soon.  We are awaiting the flow drop before we begin trips here again. Fish early mornings and evenings here if you go and use plenty of weight to get those flies down. Probably more effort than it’s worth at these current conditions.
 

Upper Owens River
Not much has changed here aside from a couple of larger trout in the higher sections of the river.The river has a good amount of catchable size rainbows all over, but more fish below the bridge.  Flows at 117 cfs. A few larger than average sized trout in the deeper sections.Target the deeper pools and riffle water that leads into them and you can get into some fun action fishing small nymphs, dry/droppers, and small streamers. Look for rising fish in the mid-morning and later in the afternoons along the slower moving sections. The foam lines have been where it is at. Throwing stimulators and hopper patterns in the foam can entice fish to take on the surface.
 

San Joaquin River
Flows now at 39 cfs. Still some nice wild fish to be had here. Cover some ground to hunt the wild fish willing to take a dry fly. Escaping the campground madness can get you some solitude and good action on fish.  Dry fly and dry/dropper combos producing best. Keep your flies floating high and they will get looked at by most fish they pass over. A good mend in your line with little to no drag is all it takes.
 

Hot Creek
Flows at 11 cfs now with weed growth prevalent. Target the open lanes between them for the best success. Hoppers have been great during certain parts of the day.  Fish small midges when you see the fish feeding below the surface. The bite can get tough at mid-day but you can keep the fish biting by matching the hatch.  This program is great for half day trips in the mornings with no need for waders. We have had some fun and memorable days this summer getting our clients on some rising trout through the mornings. #18 mayflies, #18-22 midges, #20 Brassies, and egg and SD worm patterns have been getting some serious looks and takes from the resident trout.
 

East Walker River
Flows now down to very fishable levels at 165 cfs. Warmer water has the fish spread out into the deeper sections. You’ll find cooler water the closer you get to the dam, and fishing in the deep sections can produce some nice fish. Take care when landing these fish after you play them for an extended period. The sooner you can land them the better. Try to minimize the trout’s “out of the water” time by having everything set up in advance for a photo if you choose to do so. A few seconds too long out of the water at these temps can be a death sentence to a trout.  If you get here early enough, fish the shaded areas with midges and perch fry patterns. Use enough weight to get your offerings down to the fish.  Crawdad patterns work great this time of year, along with #18 Copper Tiger Midges, #14-16 Parallel Perch, #14-16 Level Leeches, and Assassins dark and light both Parallel and normal.

Grant/Silver Lakes/Alpine Lakes
 Good fishing hanging midges under an indicator above the weeds at Silver. A good sonar will give you an idea of where the best concentration of fish are. This time of year the creek and river inlets hold the most fish unless you plan to go very deep. They still bite as the breeze comes up and you can have some pretty good number days here. The weeds are now well established at the south end of Silver. Grant Lake has been giving up some nice fish toward the inlet under an indicator. Other alpine lakes may require longer leaders to get down to the fish but the setup is still the same. 9′ leaders with #18-20 paramidges and griffith’s gnats for the surface action. Go with small copper john’s , Pt’s , and midges when going subsurface or hung under an indicator.