FISHING REPORT >>
A Guides point of view on Eastern Sierras Hot Spots
November 21st Fishing Report
Pyramid lake is open and my guide permits have been approved! The opening weeks have provided some very quality fish for clients and myself! The weather at the lake has been great as of late and looks like the weather pattern is staying this way. With the increase in permit fees and no seasonal passes as of yet, the crowds have been way down which is very nice. This is a great year to come check out the lake and learn the ways to be successful.
I highly recommend putting this on your list! Fishing the lake from the comfort of a boat opens up 70% more of the lake and gives you a chance to fish for the World's largest Cutthroat Trout in solitude!! Let's get out and search for the trout of a lifetime together!
Both the Lower and Upper Owens have been providing some great action!
The Lower has been showing us some fun match the hatch style fishing with great action and rewarding fishing. The Upper is giving anglers shots at larger migratory fish moving up from Crowley for the winter months. These fish are sub-surface feeders besides during the early spring hatches. So the name of the game here for the winter will be nymphing, both with and without an indicator and streamer fishing. Our guides have been on both of these fisheries consistently and are ready to show you a great day!
We have open dates in the coming weeks and would love to have you out on the water!
Pyramid Lake, Nevada
Currently closed
Flies: Balanced Leeches , Midges, Mahalo Nymph, Booby Flies, Beetles, Buggers, Game-Changer
The lake has been fishing well for the first few weeks of the season with many large fish coming to hand. The water Temps have really began to drop this month from 61-62 degrees in early November to 50-51 degrees now! This is great news as this triggers the fish to begin to move in to the shallower water ledges of the lake, were us as fly-fisherman have our best chance to connect with a leviathan. The Clients that have made it out this season have been rewarded with some very good days! The consistency of the fishing has really picked up in the past week and should continue well into December. We have had many days in the past week with each angler landing multiple fish over 10+lbs in a day with one client landing 6 over 10+lbs in a day! The fish are at their optimum fighting ability right now and it feels like you will never be able to turn them or lift their head. Many of our latest battles have brought laughter and awe about how hard these fish pull! Keeping your flies in the water is always the #1 game at pyramid, your never know when the big one is going to bite. Low light periods have provided great action but we have also found many of our larger specimens mid-day. So try to stay focused and keep fishing hard, the next cast could be the one of dreams. Indicator fishing has resulted in more of our large fish this season due to the shear fact that your flies are in the water longer during the day. Casting and retrieving has also been getting some great quality and good numbers, it just depends on each individual angler and their casting abilities. If you would like to work on double-haul casting and want to have a shot at the fish of your dreams, there is no better place to do it then Pyramid lake. I have spent many days casting in very windy conditions at the lake and it has made me a much better caster. I would love to share with you what I have learned. Lets get out on this world class fishery and make some memories!
Lower Owens River
Flows: 85 cfs
Dries: Iwan-E dun,Hackle stacker Bwo , Grifiths gnat, Parachute adams
Nymphs: Hogans S&M Nymph, Caddis Pupa, Rainbow Warrior, Caddis Larva, Cdc Pheasent Tail
Streamers: Pheasant Rump buggers, Rj Special, Zoo Cougar, Matuka, Gray/Silver Buggers
The Lower Owens flows have came down to 85 and this should be about as low as we see them for the winter hopefully. These are still great flow rates and allow access to many areas in the wild-trout section that are very tough to access during higher flows and fish effectively. Take this time as an angler to walk areas of the river that you frequently fish and make a visual map of key holding areas, and any structure. This will make you a much better angler when the water levels do increase. This is a great fishery to learn or hone your techniques on, with many different types of water to challenge an angler. Fishing the Lower o is the perfect place to enjoy a day pursuing wild trout with a fly rod!
Upper Owens River
Flows: 109 CFS Above HC Confluence
116 CFS Below HC Confluence
Dries: x-2 caddis, Mercers Missing Link, Extended body pmd, Griffiths gnat
Nymphs: Poxyback Pmd , Solitude Jig Pmd, Rainbow Warrior , Zebra Midge
Streamers: Muddler Minnow, Seal Buggers, Olive Zonker, Simi-Seal leeches
The migratory crowley lake trout have began to fill the upper owens river for the winter months. We have seen a great push of fish this season due to ladwp bringing additional water into the owens via the east portal. This has brought an influx of cold water into the owens and triggered a big push of Browns and Bows into the river. The majority of the river above the benton crossing bridge is holding larger specimens of fish, and knowing what areas they like to hold in are key to success. The migratory fish are primarily
sub-surfaces feeders and nymphing with or without and indicator tends to be most productive. Dead drifting, swinging and stripping streamers will also provide some arm wrenching grabs. Attractor patterns tend to fish best during the winter months, making dead drifts and having correct leader length and weight is key to success on the owens. There is still no snow around yet but that could change as we move into the winter months.
Hot Creek
Special Regulations: Barbless Artificial, Catch and Release Only. PLEASE DO NOT WADE!
Flows: 7 cfs
Dries: Hackle stacker BWO, Mercers Missing Link, Hot Creek Caddis
Nymphs: Iron Lotus, Walts Worm, Mercers Micro May, Hot Spot Scud, BTS, Zebra midge
Streamers: Muddler Minnow, Matuka, Balanced Leeches
Fishing on the creek was great this summer, now as we move into the winter flow rate. Its time to start downsizing tippet and fishing small bugs size 18-24. There are still some decent midge hatches in the morning that have been bringing the smaller residents to the surface. One small emerger trailed by a small nymph pattern on a euro-nymping rig has brought the best success for us as of lately. The trail into the canyon is still clear of snow, but this could change any week now as we move into more of a winter pattern. Over all Hot Creek has been fishing great. It’s definitely worth the stop.
East Walker River
Flows: 20 CFS
Dries: Mercers Missing Link, Yellow Sally, Fat Albert, Sparkle PMD, Chubby Chernobyl
Nymphs: Barr's Pmd emerger, Radiation baetis, Mercers Poxyback Pmd , GTI Caddis, Fox poppah, Split Case PMD, Solitude Stone, Pats Rubber Leg, Cdc pheasant tail, rainbow warrior, tung poison midge
Streamers: Sculpzilla, Cravens Double Gonga, Slumpbuster, Meat Whistle
We have hung up the towel for the winter months on the East walker due to low flows. The flows will most likely stay this way until March-April. Great news for the EW is that Bridgeport Fish enchantment foundation stocked 2000 brown trout in the east walker yesterday 11/21. These fish should be fattened up and in great shape by next spring.
Crowley Lake
Closed for the 2020 Season.
Midges: Crowley Pupa, 007 Pupa, Fillmore Midge, Albino Pupa, Red Hot
Streamers: Yellow Hornberg, Pheasent Rump Bugger, Black Leeches
Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed a day or a few on the lake it was a great summer and we appreciate you coming and fishing with us! We are looking forward to next summer on the lake!
