It was a great season on Crowley Lake this year and we were saw a record amount of guide trips for 2020. The fishing started out great with the late opening at the end of May and we had one of the best Junes for fishing Crowley on record. We thank all of you that fished with us this year during the general trout season and look forward to fishing with you this fall and winter on some of our trophy trout rivers and creeks.

We have had a minimal amount of smoke in the area this past week and the weather looks to be making a change from mild fall weather to cold winter weather this weekend. We have a slight chance of snow for the weekend in the forecast and some high winds to hit the region by Friday. Until then, we are still enjoying some great warm and sunny days. For the following week, we can expect to see some more unsettled November weather.

We are now fishing the East Walker River, the Upper Owens River, the Lower Owens River, and Hot Creek from now and through the winter months. These are great opportunities to get into some really nice fall trout in the coming months. We will also continue to fish Crowley Lake from shore or float tube until it closes to fishing on November 15th. This a great time to plan that early ski trip and include some fishing days in your vacation too.

Some nicer fish have moved into the Upper Owens River recently and are beginning to spread out along the river. We have been connecting with some nice rainbow trout from Crowley Lake that entered the river recently and in the last few weeks. The population of fall and winter rainbows will continue to increase here as we move deeper into fall and closer to winter. We will continue to drive in to access the river until we get some snow here. Then we use our snowmobiles to gain access to areas that no longer allow for drive in access. Egg patterns, Pheasant Tails, San Juan Worms, and Leeches have been connecting with most of the larger fish, and if you fancy dry fly fishing, there are some good opportunities for some of the smaller fish taking Blue Wing Olive mayflies in the later morning and early afternoons.

The East Walker River has been fun in the deepest areas, but keep in mind there is not a lot of river to fish at these lower winter flows. Egg patterns, midges, pheasant tails, and small and large streamers are good flies for getting into some nice browns and rainbows currently. Nights have been very cold here, so fishing after the frost comes off in the mornings has been best allowing for some bug activity and fish to become more active as the temperatures warm.

The Lower Owens River flows have really plunged to low levels now so it is the perfect level for wading and fishing the Wild Trout Section. We are continuing to run drift boat trips down here on the boating runs and will be fishing with our streamers and sink tip line setups. There has been some afternoon hatches taking place which can be fun with lighter weight rods in the 3 and 4 weight class.

Hot Creek, is also settling in as the fall weather triggers these fish into fall spawn mode. Look for some of the nicer browns to start tailing in the shallow water as they prepare for the spawn. The deeper pools are still holding the usual bunches of creek fish, and smaller bugs on top and underneath the indicator can get you into these fish.

Flies working on the Upper and Lower Owens River:

Otter Eggs (Flamingo, Tangerine Opaque, Dead Egg, Kiwi Silver Flash, Tangerine Silver Flash) SD Chironomidge #16, Bead San Juan Worm #16, San Juan Worm #16, Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge #16, 18; Assassin Light #14, 16; Assassin Dark #14, 16; Parallel Assassin Light #16, Parallel Assassin Dark #16, Crystal Copper Zebra Midge #16, 18; Crystal Tiger Midge Long #18, 20; Crystal Midge Pupa Copper #18, 20; Gillie Chironomid Pupa Dark and Light #18, 20, 22;Punk Perch Light and Dark #16, Elk Hair Caddis #18,20; Blue Wing Olive #20, Para Midge #20, 22

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Flies working on Hot Creek:

SD Chironomidge #16, Para Midge #20, 22, Puff O’ Smoke #16, Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge #18, 20; Assassin Light #18; Assassin Dark #18; Crystal Hi-Vis Parachute Blue Wing Olive #18; Crystal Tiger Midge Long #18, 20; Crystal Midge Pupa Copper #18, 20; Gillie Chironomid Pupa Dark and Light #18, 20, 22,Otter Eggs (Flamingo, Tangerine Opaque, Dead Egg, Kiwi Silver Flash, Tangerine Silver Flash)

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Flies working on East Walker River:

SD Chironomidge #16, Para Midge #20, 22, Puff O’ Smoke #16, Broken Back Copper Tiger Midge #18, 20; Assassin Light #18; Assassin Dark #18; Crystal Hi-Vis Parachute Blue Wing Olive #18; Crystal Tiger Midge Long #18, 20; Crystal Midge Pupa Copper #18, 20; Gillie Chironomid Pupa Dark and Light #18, 20, 22,Otter Eggs (Flamingo, Tangerine Opaque, Dead Egg, Kiwi Silver Flash, Tangerine Silver Flash), Bead Head San Juan Worm Red And Brown #14, 16; Parallel Assassin Light #16, Parallel Assassin Dark #16; Loeberg Mallard Silver Badger; Spuce a Bu Dark and Light

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