So much for the hatches slowing down - they seem to be getting stronger, not weaker

Hot Creek - Mammoth Lakes, CA (Mono County)


by The Trout Fitter Staff
10-11-2024
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Flows & Water Conditions- Fair (Weed Beds In-Canyon Are Thinning With Cooling Weather)

Clarity- Good

CFS- 7

Click Here For Hot Creek Flow Rates

Fishing Report & Conditions: Good - Very Good (Technical)

So much for the hatches slowing down - they seem to be getting stronger, not weaker.

The Interpretive Site has been doing well but the crowds have followed. If you want to avoid the crowds, wait for the midday wind to clear them out. With the weed beds being thick, hopper-droppers can be a good choice. Caddis are starting their migration around 8 AM, while the female Trico emergence starts around 9 AM. The Trico spinner fall starts around 11 AM, and those Trico spinner patterns will work through midday. Midday we’re seeing the Tiny BWO #18-20. Late afternoons and evenings hold male Trico hatches, Caddis egg-laying, and Caddis emergence. With the dropping of flows, bird predation is getting worse in shallower water, so expect the fish to move under the banks and weed beds.


Two guide tips: 1) When casting, if you’re looking at the weed beds, you will hit them, so look at the clear lanes. 2) Your drifts should be 4 seconds or less followed by a smooth but aggressive backcast - You will be amazed by the number of hookups you didn’t even know were there.

Flies:

  • Dries: Upright Organza Trico #18-22 | Mimic May PMD #16 | Brooks Hot Creek Caddis #18-22 | Spent Wing Caddis #16-20 | Spring Creek Hopper Tan or Yellow #10-16 | Juicy Hopper #10-12 |

  • Nymphs: Tung Stud Black #18-20 | Split Case PMD #14-18 | HDA Fav #14-16 | Expecting Scud #16-18 | Drowned Trico Spinner #20-22 | Nori Caddis Olive or Brown #14-22 | M/Pardi F/B Olive or Brown #18-20 | Weiss BP Light #18-20 | Zebra Midge #22-24 | T-Midge #22-24 | Real Midge #22-24 | 

  • Streamers: Kesslars H/B/S Olive & Natural #12 |




More Reports

Despite all odds, the Tricos are still going strong
Owens River - Section 3 - Upper (above Crowley)

10-11-2024
Flows & Water Conditions- Good, But Increasing - Water Temps Dropped, Sending Migratory Fish Upstream Clarity- Erratic (Water Being Pulled From...... Read More

The Trout Fitter Reports
for Thursday, September 26th

Owens River - Section 3 - Upper (above Crowley): The crowds have gone to the normal fall pattern
Hot Creek: Reports indicate that the hatches are slowing down and the surface activity is slowing down too
East Walker River (CA): East Walker River Report
Owens River - Lower: Flows are just above 600 CFS and reports are fairly nonexistent
San Joaquin River-Middle Fork: Fishing has improved with a good mixture of hatche