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Check the Lower Owens report.
Both Hot Creek and the Upper Owens flows have gone up , and gotten dirtier. The Lower Owens is now up to 467cfs, Once stabalized these flows are fine but being early in the season and how fast the flows came up I'd give it a week or two. East Walker is fishing very well with great flows but the crowds where impressive. With the early round of runoff more small streams are becoming accessible but the flows are high, the water is cold and the bug hatches are scarce.
This weekend is predicted to cool down with possible showers and snow showers with a warming trend by Monday, Hot Creek and the Upper Owens should be low-mid 60's for highs and mid 30's at night. Lower Owens will be mid to upper 70's and mid 40's at night.
The Fish Report - May 1st 2024
951-906-4854
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Hot Creek - Flow Rates
Water Conditions: Good, showing 29 cfs as of 5/1
Click "Flows" above for up to the minute info
Remember, these are the flows just below Highway 395 on Mammoth Creek.
Hot Creek is the least affected stream by big temperature drops due to being spring fed.
Fishing Conditions and Hatches: Good-Very Good
All parking lots are open and the walk down into the canyonis clear.
The warmer temperatures should help the fishing considerably.
Fishing has been streaky day to day with A LOT of small fish, a good sign for the future.
There's been some good dry fly action, Interpretive Site 9-11 on midges and the BWOs but with increased runoff the hatches have tapered off. The canyon is like the Interpretive but an hour or so later and a lot more subsurface on mayfly nymphs, midges and scuds. We had been seeing an increase in dry fly action in the canyon, but the increase in flows and dirty water will slow it down. With the water clarity dropping due to runoff it's a good time to try Scuds, worms and streamers.
I still tell my clients that a 4 second drift is average and finish with an aggressive pickup, you will hook fish you never knew existed.
DRIES: R.P. Emerger #22 | Mother Shucker #24 | Griffith's Gnat #20-24 | Stillborn Midge Black #20-22 | Miller's Caddis #16-18 | Spider Varient #18-20 | Brooks CDC Baetis #20-24 | Stimulators #8-10 | Hi-Vis Para BWO #16-18
NYMPHS: T Midge #24 | Zebra Midge #18-22 | Buckskin Caddis #16-20 | Scuds #14-18 | Tailwater Sowbug Rainbow #16-18 | Bling Midge Brown #24 | TB Millers+1LT #16-18 | B/H Pheasant Tail #16-20 | San Juan Worms #12-14
STREAMERS: Take your pick
Crowley Lake - Surface Elevation
Water Conditions: The lake is dropping an inch a day but still very close to capacity and clear.
Fishing Conditions and Hatches: Fair or Poor
As is quite often the case at opener the fishing over the weekend was slow with some bright moments. So far the best results seem to be between McGee Bay and Sandy Point in 12-15 feet. For float tubers access is very limited with the gate closed at the Whitmore entrance, this cuts off access all the way from Green Banks to McGee Bay.
Dries:
Nymphs: Balanced Hares Ear Tan or Olive #12-16 | Albino Baron | Gold Bead Optimidge Flash Back #16-18 | Copper Clown | Copper Tiger | Tungsten F/B Black Beauty #16-18 | Double Bead Zebra #16-18 | Optimidge Black or Olive/Dun #16-18
Streamers: Marabou Leech Burgundy or Brown #12 | Hornberg #8-14 | Punk Perch #14-16 | Cheech Leech #1
Water Conditions: Dirty but fishable
Flows are 80 cfs as of 5/1
Click "Flows" above for up to the minute info
The stretch of river above Benton Crossing Road is artificial, barbless, catch and release only. Below the bridge is now open. Flows are up a little and the water is a lot dirtier all the way up to the private ranches.
Fishing Conditions and Hatches: Fair to ??????
Right now you can drive up the main road but I would be very careful about the side roads to the gates. I'm not sure it makes much of a difference, the water is very dirty and not all that clean above Hot Creek. We're getting some good early reports from down by the lake but no specifics.
UPDATE: The spring run is in the river but most are up into the private ranches so the fishing for big fish has slowed way down.
Even though it's slowing down all it takes is one or two bigger fish to change your outlook.
With the improved fishing on the Lower Owens and Hot Creek pressure has dropped way off. Having said that, the winter spawning Rainbows as well as the Browns are for the most part back in the lake. Water clarity coming out of Hot Creek has gotten worse, the river below is now down to 2-3 feet visibility. The up side is the fish are a lot less spooky. With the higher and dirtier conditions the hatches have become more scattered. This is early for the runoff so it may come and go with the weather changes
REMEMBER: The winter spawning Rainbows and a lot of the spring spawners are strains of Rainbows no longer stocked so if you like these fishing opportunities keep the fish in the net and in the water while taking pictures/releasing the fish. Also, even though most of the fish spawn up higher in the private ranches there are fish that spawn lower down so keep an eye out for the Redds in the tailouts and try to wade in knee deep or deeper water.
As usual the lake fish tend to hang out in the deeper holes during the day and move upstream at night. Both the migratory browns and rainbows are scattered throughout the system. Above the Hot Creek confluence they are a lot spookier so move slowly and stay away from the high banks on the outside of bends.
It's good to remember that there aren't a lot of "resident" fish in the Upper Owens, it's basically a nursery for Crowley Lake and as they get bigger most of them will move down to the lake. The fish that haven't gone to the lake yet tend to be pickier because it's their natural environment. Not to say there aren't big resident fish but they tend to spend their entire adult life far back under the cut banks, venturing out to eat a 12 incher every once in a while.
If you're not familiar with it, to get to the upper most branch of Hot Creek, go through the first drive through gate on the main road and immediately turn left. The confluence is between the first and second walk-thru gates.
DRIES: Parachute Adams #18-22 | Hippie Stomper and Rubberleg Stimulator #12-16 | Hi-Vis BWO #20-22 | Elk Hair Caddis #14-20 | Grffiths Gnat #22-24
NYMPHS: Zebra Midge #16-22 | Copper John #14-16 | Bling Midge #22-24 | San Juan worms assorted colors | Birds Nest Natural #16-20 | Prince Nymph #12-18 | F/B Hares Ear #16-18 | Pheasant Tail #18-22 combo flash and or bead | Egg Patterns
STREAMERS: Shock Collar Leech #10 | Woolly Bugger White, Olive and Brown for the Tadpoles #6-14 | Punk Perch light or dark #10-16 | Baby Fat Minnow |
EURO Streamers: GD UV P/Jig White #12 | Kaslar M/G/S Olive #12
Lower Owens River - Flow Rate
Water Conditions: Good
Flows are 467 cfs as of 5/1
There is Gorge access to the middle and upper power plants as well as the reservoir.
Fishing Conditions and Hatches: ????????
I'm going to leave the rest of the report up for the time being, but with the huge jump in flows and lots of other options I'm getting zero reports.
The Grannom caddis are done but there are plenty of other hatches to be excited about. Midges are available all day, the Craneflies are hatching midmorning, BWO are coming off sometime midday. Mid to late afternoon they will be eating egg laying caddis so alternate dead drift presentation with skittering and skating your dry flies and get ready!
The BWO hatch has been 11:00 to 2 or so with an emphasis on 1-2. The nymphing has been very consistent and dry fly action is picking up. The mayflies have gotten a little smaller #18-20. A note about the dry fly fishing. Because the hatches are so varied it's important to understand "rise form" and type of water the fish are rising in. Today by 12 there were aggressive rises in the main current seams while the slow foamy backwaters primarily had subtle "sippy" takes, so emerging BWO's around the main current and spent midges in the backwaters. The BWO emergence ended about 1:30 but the fish continued to feed in the slow backwaters until after 3. Just another example that along with hatches varying up and down the river but also in different water types within a small area. Another good sign is that there are just enough stonefly adults around that using #6-8 stonefly adult patterns instead of an indicator can be very effective.
The subsurface is a veritable smorgasbord. Several different species each of mayfly, caddis, black fly, midge and stonefly. Bigger flies have been working better than the smaller patterns # 10-16 Perdigons and stonefly patterns seem to be doing best. With all the bug life if we have anything close to a normal winter, fishing should be spectacular this spring.
A few things I've seen, the banks are very unstable and walking has gotten a lot better but be very careful around the high banks. Weed and brush overgrowth is spectacular.
DRIES: MIDGE-Stillborn Midge #20-22 | Griffith's Gnat #22-24 | CDC Transition midge #20-22 | No Mercy Midge #18-24 | Boroff F/Homie #20, 24 MAYFLY- Para CDC Baetis #16-22 | Para Adams #14-22 Hi-Vis Baetis #18-22 CADDIS- Millers C/Cad Olive and Tan#14-16 | RL Stimulator Yellow #14-16 | Elk Hair Caddis #14-16 STONEFLY- Chernobyl Ant #6-8
NYMPH: Pheasant Tail #14-22 | Hares Ear #16-22 |Perdigon #10-14 | Zebra Midge #18-22 |Weiss BP light or dark #18-20 | Bottom Roller Phsyco Rhyco #10-14 | Chamois caddis #16-20 | TB Millers +1 Lt #16-18 | Tungsten Sally #16-18 | Iron Sally #18 | HDA Fav. Variant #12-16 |
STREAMERS: Wooly Bugger Olive & Black #10-12 | Mini Sculpin Olive & Black #10-12
East Walker River - Flow Rates
Water Conditions: 265 cfs as of 5/1, high for this time of year but a welcome level
Click "Flows" above for up to the minute info
Fishing conditions and Hatches: Good-Very Good
Water temperatures are already in the upper 50's and the flows are ideal. The water is very clear so the fish can be spooky. Fishing was very good over the weekend but the crowds were HUGE. Already we're seeing the fish in the mile are getting pickier and quicker to spit. The primary hatches have been Baetis and midges with some big mayflies (#10-12), also Black flies and Daphnia up by the dam. As can be expected streamer fishing has been very good with streamers up to 6" but that will slow down soon when the fish start wising up.
DRIES: Caddis Adult Tan #14-16 | Chernobyl org/grz #6-8 | Parachute Adams #16-22 | Elk Hair Caddis #12-14
NYMPHS: Prince Nymph #12-16| Bottom Roller Psycho #10-12 | Copper Zebra #16-22 | Zebra black/silver #20-24 | S&M Nymph #18-22 | Tungsten Jig Baetis #18-20 | TTS Opal B/L #14-18 | JuJu Baetis # 18-24 | V-Rib midge Claret #14-16 | Joe's Mini Crayfish #10 | Dead Drift crayfish | Pat's Rubberlegs #6-10
STREAMERS: Meat Whistle | Baby fat Minnow #8 | Belly Scratcher Minnow Chub #2 | Bank Robber Sculpin #2 | Punk Perch Light #10-14
| Rio's Brown Town Tan #4 | Hornberg #6-12
EURO Streamers: GD UV P/Jig White #12 | Kaslar M/G/S Olive #12
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