October 12th Fishing Report for Mammoth Lakes
By Guide Sam Vasily with The Sierra Troutdoorsman
Crowley Lake
Midges: White Tiger, Grey/Red – Zebra Midge, Copper Tiger, Shaft Emerger,
Strip: Rickards Seal bugger, Simi Seal leech, Blood leech, Matuka
It is definitely Fall conditions on Crowley, Chilly on the boat ride across the lake in the morning. However the temps have been reaching into the mid 70’s on the lake around 10:00AM. So Layer up and dress warm for the mornings. There have been some very good chironomid hatches starting at around 8:00AM and carrying on throughout the day. With the water temps cooling the fish are congregating and feeding in areas that have good drop-off’s or some structure. Most productive areas have been Alligator Point, Sandy Point, Hilton Bay, and Six bays. Anchor up in the shallower water at the top of the drop-off’s in about 9-11 ft and fish in to 12-13ft of water for your most productivity. Start with White or Copper Tigers close to the mud bottom and slowly move them up as you start getting less grabs. Once there is an abundance of midges coming off cut off the tiger and suspend a gray chironomid pattern 1-1/12 ft of the bottom for best results. Make sure to keep those indicators moving once the boat traffic stops coming in for the morning and the water glasses off. I have been seeing some good size fish this fall with many Rainbows in the 20-22in range and Cutthroats in the 20-24in range! Good luck and Tight lines! I have some dates available for October, If you are interested contact me via message or by calling my cell.
Upper Owens River
Flows: 97 CFS
Dries: Stimulator, X-2 Caddis, Royal Wulf , Madame X, Griffiths Gnat
Nymphs: CDC Pheasant Tail, Hot Spot Jig Nymph, Prince nymphs, Midges
Streamers: Bunny Leech, Seal Buggers, Olive Zonker
The Upper Owens is Receiving the highest flows it has seen in the past several years. This is great news for this river system. The water conditions are great above the bridge, and fairly weedy but still fairly clear below the monument. With the increased flows this fall we Should see a good run of Migratory Brown trout and a few rainbows mixed in. I have seen some migratory fish already in the system and expect the numbers to increase as the weather cools this month. The fishing has been decent on the Upper lately for the 10-14in rainbows and occasionally a decent brown trout in the 16-18in range. With the raised flows most of the fish are holding in the deeper buckets and along the undercut banks in the tailouts. Make sure you are using plenty of weight to get your flies down the flows are 2x what they have been in previous years. Also make sure that the distance between your indicator and bottom fly is approximately 1.5 times the depth of the water you are fishing, Some of the deep holes are 6-8 ft deep in areas and will require you to adjust to get your flies down to the fish. Also, Streamer fishing will be a great option this Fall. Use a 7 or 12ft sinking versi-leader with 5-6ft of 3 or 4x tippet off the end. cast at a 45 degree angle across the river and let your fly swing underneath the undercut bank near you. Then let it hang down for a second so it sinks near the bottom and retrieve it with fast small strips. Olive and white tends to be the best colors to fish in the Fall. It should be a great fall on the Upper Owens, If you are interested in learning the techniques required to fool the migratory fish. I have dates available and will be taking trips on the Upper all Fall and Winter!
Lower Owens River
Flows: 156 CFS Outflow from Pleasent Valley Resivoir
Dries: Olive RS-2 ,Pearl-Butt Trico Spinner, Drowned Spinner, Griffiths Gnat, Parachute Midge,
Nymphs: Zebra Midge, Miracle midge, WD-40, Micro Emerger, Hares-Ear
Streamers: Slumpbusters, Rj Special , Hornbergs
The Temps are starting to cool and the fishing is beginning to pick up. There have been some Midges and Trico Dun’s hatching in the morning. Hatch density depends on the weather, seeing more midges on the warmer days and more Trico’s on the cooler days. Male sure to have Midge and Trico Nypmhs, Adults & Spinners in sizes 20-22, for the best productivity. There has also been some Caddis activity in the afternoon/evenings and you will do well with your traditional caddis pupa and larva patterns. Also carry some tan and brown adults in size 18.
East Walker River
Flows: 48 CFS Outflow from Bridgeport Resivoir
Dries: Elk Hair Caddis, Black Stimulator, Adult Stonefly
Nymphs: Micro May, Rainbow Warrior, Shuckin Midge, Olive Hares Ear, Caddis Larva, San Juan Worm
Streamers: Kyrstal buggers, Matukas
Not Much Changing hear the flows are hovering between 25-50cfs. Water temps are cooling however, the Aquatic Weeds are still taking over the bottom of the River. This chokes the feeding lanes for the fish and causes them to move down in search of better water. There are still fish around in most areas on the California side, it just requires more work to find them and get a take. Best Section of river for me has been the area above the crossing bridge a few miles above the Nevada border. There is great pocket water there, with less to no weeds on the bottom to cause issues.
Hot Creek
Special Regulations: Barbless Artifical, Catch and Release Only. PLEASE DO NOT WADE!
Flows: 5 CFS
Dries: Hot Creek Caddis, Madame X, Barrs Hopper, RS-2
Nymphs: Hares Ear, Caddis Poopah, Caddis Larva, Olive soft hackle, Midges
Great news for Hot Creek, A Stocking program has been put together to help restore the creek back to the 12,000 trout per mile stream that it once was. On October 6th the first stocking took place. The plans are to stock 12,000 trout per year 8,000 Rainbow trout in the Spring and 4,000 Brown trout each Fall for the next 2 years. Know lets hope that we have a few good winters in a row and Hot Creek should be fishing excellent again. If you are going to fish HC this Fall or winter please be careful and respect these small Trout, these are the future of our Fishery.