We got hit with a short burst of winter again! Kind of unexpected this late in May, but the fish never showed any signs of changing their feeding patterns. We had a couple of storm days with high winds, but between the storms it has been an incredible bite on Crowley Lake. McGee Creek is also starting to show a few spring run cutthroat moving in. The Upper Owens River has a couple of pre-spawn fish moving up as well. Hot Creek has been fishing well as usual. The cooler periods have slowed the run-off that would be typical for this time of year, so most of the creeks have had good conditions. East Walker flows have ramped up recently which will slow down the fishing for a few days until flows stabilize. Middle Owens River still on the slower side,  but flows are stable at 400 cfs.

Crowley Lake
Some days we are seeing 50-60 fish coming to the net, depending on who is behind the fly rod. There have been some great opportunities for beginner fly anglers and seasoned veterans to get into some healthy trout. The midge hatches have been heavy during the high pressure periods, and during the storm events fishing larva patterns tight to the bottom has yielded non-stop all day action. It is pretty much as good as it gets for the month of May right now. We are filling our summer dates fast, but still have openings with our large fleet of center console boats. Remember June 1st is closing in fast, and with that will come our rate increase, so get your bookings in now to get our guide trips at our current rates. #18 Broken Back Copper Tiger, #18 Broken Back Dark Tiger, #18 Broken Back Zebra, #18 Broken Back Gillie, #12 Level Crystal Leech, and #18 Gillie Dark and Light Chironomid Pupa have been the hot flies this week.

Middle Owens River/Wild Trout Section (Bishop Area)
Flows are remaining stable at 400 cfs here. It’s been a little slower here lately. This level is still too high for wading in the wild trout section, but fishing the slower water and the edges can yield some takes. Smaller nymphs with some flash in them are a good call with plenty of weight to get your bugs down. Look for some afternoon hatches on all sections of the river.  When the mayfly hatch is happening, try switching to our #16 Punk Perch and Crystal Leech just prior to and after the peak of the hatch. Best flies for these area have been #10 Loebergs in all colors, #8 Spruce-a-bus in light and dark, #16 Punk Perch, #14 Crystal Leech, #18 Assassin Light, #16 San Juan Worm Red, #18 Blue Winged Olive, #22 Parachute Midge, #18 Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge, and #18 Crystal Caddis Larva Olive Dubbed-Black.

Upper Owens River
A few cutthroat showing up in the lowest sections of the river. It’ll get real fun here soon when the pods of cutts start to make their run here.  Smaller flies are best currently like #16-18 Copper Tiger Midges both long and short, #16-18 Gillie Dark and Light, #16-20 FB Pheasant Tails and Tungsten Pheasant Tails, and #14 SD Crawlers in red and brown still getting bit. Use caution when driving in the mud bogs.
   
Hot Creek
The flows have slowed down for a bit with the cooler weather. Finding the good holding areas for the majority of trout is the key. Water temps will start to warm back up with some coming high pressure. If you are nymphing go small in the canyon in the I- site area. Best flies this week have been #20-22 Para midges,  #16-18 BWO’s, , and Otter eggs and SD Crawlers in red. #18 Gold FB Pheasant tails are also hot.

This is a year around fishery with special regs in place. We walk and wade guide here.*Doug Rodricks, Doug Dolan, Hans Grotewold, and Devin Preston are under permit from the Inyo National Forest Service to guide Hot Creek.
 

East Walker River
Flows are on the rise here and now at 458 cfs but hopefully not at a blowout pace. It can be epic on some days for large fish and other days you have to work for them. After these late winter storms pass through and high pressure builds again we will see the water temps start to warm up. Some nice ones are being taken on soft eggs, midges, assassins, and SJ worms, and SD Crawlers. Fish are holding in the softer sections and tailouts of the deeper pools. Make sure you are getting your flies down near the bottom to get into the big ones.  Otter eggs in all colors, #18 Copper Tiger Midges, #14-16 Parallel Perch, #14-16 Level Leeches, and Assassins dark and light both Parallel and normal have been great patterns to hang.