Fishing Report
Eastern Sierra Fishing photos compiled by our local guide staff and the rest of the information sourced from their crew and our wonderful guests. Thank You!!!
Photo @CarterMurphyPhoto
Bishop Creek
Courtesy of Parchers Resort and South Lake Landing
Don’t sleep on the fall fishing folks, it’s quietly gotten REALLY good. While the fall color hype has taken over the top spot on the outdoor adventure marquis (and rightfully so) – the cooler nights of coupled with above average daytime temps, which seems counterintuitive but it’s very real, the conditions are flat out perfect.
Good news for the fall leaf peepers, there are plenty of spots that are brilliant yellow with spectacular views. Our favorite groves between 7500 and 8500 are still changing, while most of the 9000 ft. and above locations are spent. This is also the best time of year for fishing. The fish are hungry and the bite has been on!
Lake Sabrina boats & pontoons can be booked at www.LakeSabrinaBoats.com
South Lake boats & Parchers cabins can be booked at www.ParchersResort.net
Yes – fall fishing and fall color is freaking awesome.
Hot Creek
Canyon Section:The weed beds make it tough to fly fish in the canyon right now. A dry and dropper is a good rig to fish with in and around the weed beds. The more open water is easier to fly fish with this rig. Working the narrow channels around the weeds will get you trout, but you will hook up lots of weeds too. Fishing with an Adams parachute in size 16, a stimulator in size 14 or a mini Chernobyl ant in size 12 are good highly visible dry flies to have on the surface. Tie on an 18 to 24 inch section of 5X fluorocarbon tippet to the bend of the dry fly with a clinch knot. To the tippet attach a size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph, size 18 olive quilldigon, size 18 Frenchie and size 18 SOS nymph to imitate the hatching mayflies.
Crowley Lake
The bulk of the boats have been targeting the waters off of Layton Springs. With road closures fly fishers do not have access to the east shore of Crowley Lake. If you have oars it’s a do able trip across the lake from the Green Banks launch area. Coming home in a head wind requires a lot of effort if all you are propelling yourself with is a set of fins. Trolling and casting streamers is working for fly fishers using olive, purple and black wooly buggers. Most fly fishers are doing well with midges in 10 feet of water. Albino Barron’s, blood midges, gray midges, zebra midges and tiger midges in sizes 16 and 18 fished three inches to four feet of the lake bottom are producing rainbows, browns and cutthroats to 24 inches.
Upper Owens River
Above Benton Crossing Bridge: Water flows have increased with water flows coming from Mono Basin through the Grant Lake tunnel (East Portal). These increased flows are improving the trout fishery as the trout are not as spooky as they were at the lower flows. Trophy trout are still not in the river in any concentration. Hopefully these increased flows will jump start the trout migration out of Crowley Lake. Nymphing continues to be the most productive method of fly fishing the river. Three to 12 inch rainbow and brown trout are feeding on size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymphs, size 18 olive quilldigons, size 16 hot spot pheasant tail nymphs, size 14 stoner nymphs and size 18 tiger and zebra midges. There is a trico hatch mid-morning that a size 22 trico parachute dun, size 22 female trico parachute dun and size 22 trico spinner will fool the trout feeding on the surface taking the hatching tricos. Mid-afternoon a size 16 elk hair caddis worked on the surface of the river is fooling the trout looking for caddis that get blown off the stream side vegetation and into the river.
>> Complete Fishing Report by Sierra Bright Dot
Bishop Creek Canal
Bishop Creek Canal is a great place to learn how to fish nymphs under an indicator. The key to success is setting the hook on any movement in the indicator. You may think you are just bumping the bottom with your fly, but you will be surprised how many of those subtle movements in the indicator are actually a fish. A size 18 olive quilldigon, size 18 bead head flash back pheasant tail nymph and size 18 tiger or zebra midges fished six feet under an indicator is fooling the stocked rainbow trout and the wild brown trout.
>> Complete Bishop Creek Canal Fishing Report by Sierra Bright Dot
Lower Owens
It’s the beginning!! Just outside of Bishop the fabulous Lower Owens River in the late fall winter season is very wadable for an amazing fly fishing experience. The Lower Owens, the jewel of a river of the Eastern Sierra, will be showing us some amazing trout this season and year.
>> Complete Lower Owens Fishing Report by Sierra Trout Fly Shop
Fishing Reports by top ranked Fishing Guides – Owens River, Hot Creek, Bishop Creek and Eastern Sierra Lakes
- Local Fishing Report by Sierra Trout Magnet
- Weekly Fly Fishing Report by Sierra Bright Dot
- Bishop Creek Fishing Report by Parchers Resort
Fishing Maps
Latest about fishing Bishop
I get asked all the time when is the best time to come to the Eastern Sierra to fly fish. The answer is now! My favorite month of the year in the Eastern Sierra starts on Sunday. The month is Sept-Oct. The 15th of September to the 15th of October. This time of the year offers the opportunity to catch spawning brook trout and trophy brown trout. It’s time for the trees to change from everyday green to brilliant colors of yellow, orange and red. Summers heat is behinds us and winters cold is on the horizon, but not yet here. Hatches of caddis, mayflies and midges are fueling the feeding trout. This is the time to fish meat. Big streamer patterns that big trout just cannot say no to. Before you know it snow will be on the ground making it impossible or very tough to fly fish lots of waters in the Sierra. So if you can get up here, now it’s the time to be fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra.
Year-Round Fishing
