Owens River - Section 3 - Upper (above Crowley) Fish Report for 5-27-2021
The Water is Now Very Dirty Below the Hot Creeks
Owens River - Section 3 - Upper (above Crowley) - Eastern Sierra, CA (Mono County)
by The Trout Fitter Staff
5-27-2021
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Water Conditions: Good
Flows are 55 cfs as of 5/27
Temperatures have stabilized but the water is still cold and with the snowmelt the water is off color, especially below Hot Creek.
Fishing Conditions and Hatches: Fair-Good
The water is now very dirty below the Hot Creeks (it braids out into 4 channels) and off color above. Yes, the Cutthroats are moving up but not in large numbers. If you like the idea of quality fishing with increasing numbers of fish, there are some very important facts to consider. 1) Unlike the rainbows the cutthroat spawn below the ranches. 2) They also spawn later so they are actively moving up after opening day. Actively spawning fish are in the shallow tailouts between the holes so any fish in these areas should be left alone. You should also refrain from wading through these areas, try to stay at least knee deep and preferably waist deep to avoid crushing the eggs. One of the big problems is that fish hooked on the redds will quite often release their eggs/ sperm during the fight or while being released. If you're going to fish during those times the best place to fish is the drop-offs below the shallow tailouts. A lot of fish will be sitting there picking of the food dislodged by the spawners digging out the redds.
Not much new to report, a few Tricos early along with the midges in the morning. A mixture of small and larger mayflies with caddis midday and then caddis in the afternoon. Best action is still early, whether it's pressure, hatches or water temperature the fishing has been slowing down around 11. That and the river below the bridge has opened with good but vague reports about good nymphing and slow on dry flies. The resident fish have been keying into the mayflies and midges, so we suggest trailing a midge (#18-24) or mayfly (#16-22) behind an attractor nymph to keep the action rolling between each lake fish. There have been some sporadic hatches of larger mayflies coming off mid-day. On calm afternoons the dry fly fishing can be productive but be ready to throw size 18 through 22 dry flies. Streamer fishing has been OK.
DRIES: Griffiths Gnat #20-24 | Parachute Extended Body BWO #18-22 | Elk Hair Caddis #20-22 | Para Caddis #16-22 | Missing Link #16-20
NYMPHS: Zebra Midge #16-22 | Prince Nymph #12-16 | Copper John #14-16 |Tungsten Jig Baetis #18-20 | Black Beauty #22 | Roza Pink Tag Jig #16d | Clearwater Emerger #18-20 | S&M Nymph #20-22 | Medalion Midge #20-24 |Bling Midge #22-24 | OCD Caddis #14-18|
STREAMERS: Shock Collar Leech #10 | Woolly Bugger White, Olive, or Brown #6-14 | Punk Perch light or dark #10-16
More Reports
The Trout Fitter Reports
for Thursday, May 27th, 2021Crowley Lake: The Best Spots Have Been Spread Out
The Trout Fitter Reports
for Friday, May 21st, 2021Crowley Lake: Crowley Lake Fishing Report
Owens River - Section 3 - Upper (above Crowley): Upper Owens River Fishing Report
Owens River - Lower: It Is Still a Little Dirty Starting About 9 Gates Down But Getting Better
East Walker River (CA): East Walker River Fishing Report
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