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The fly fishing below Mammoth Lakes CA on the Upper Owens river in winter is a special place for any serious fly angler. Mainly because it becomes large trout hunters dream with the stream of over-sized trout swimming up from Crowley lake! Flows are low and water varies between very clear and slightly murky, both presenting different presentation situations. As forecasted the Trout are throughout the Upper Owens system, holding in the deepest pools and darkest runs, corners, and banks. Most part of the mighty Upper O’ are fishing well. It is up to each angler to choose the correct water to fish and take into account how much time to spend in each piece he chooses. All sorts of semi salmon/steelhead reminiscent flies are taking fish. Various midge variations, and Pheasant tails/ soft hackles are other ideas to sink down in the Upper. Streamers patterns fished deep ? of course! Fish these whenever you want in any size. Just get them deep!
STM guide S. Cline helps a client achieve his dream!
Temps have dropped yet a little more on the grassy banks of the Upper Owens River with the addition of more precipitation in the Mammoth Lakes area after some threatening storms. Some runoff flowed down Hot Creek making the water below the confluence cloudy for a couple of days. The water above the confluence area took on a tea stained red hue while remaining clear. This has now subsided and clearer flows have resumed. The river is now in perfect condition with flows as clear as any angler would desire. This, of course give the fish the advantage as they can see us coming a mile away on the treeless banks of the Upper Owens. The BIG Trout are indeed moving in! They have moved up and are peppered throughout the system. A Fly Angler only needs to take some time explore the deeper parts of the Upper O too find these world class Trout. Right now we are seeing mostly Rainbows as normal, but there is are more Brown Trout and we can see some Rainbows with Cutthroat trout genes as well. Fish the normal suggested flies; Large attractor Nymphs, Small Midges , Eggs, Worms ect.. Streamers always will take fish here but need to be fished in a proper manner in this spring creek type stream . Stay tuned for much more to come from the awesome waters of the Upper Owens River while Fly Fishing this winter.
The new news here on the fabulous Lower Owens River is that the flows are now on their way down! As you can see at the top of my website the levels are now down to 400 cfs instead of the whopping 550 cfs it had been maintaining. A little bit more and this place is going to be one of the next amazing fly fishing winter destinations you have to experience this winter of 2017/2018! Stay tuned for much more to come as we are fly fishing the Lower and Upper Owens daily!
STM guide Seth C. doing what he’s best at!
Classic East Walker Brown Trout meets Fly Angler!
Meat Fed Rainbow of the East Walker!
The magnificent Lower Owens River just does not want to let go of its crisp, high flows! At a steady 547 cfs as of now we are happily anticipating the dropping of flow levels any day! That being said for those who know how to fish the river it is in amazing shape. The Trout of the Lower Owens have not seen, if ever, a sustained volume of this magnitude for such a long block of time. This gives the finned creatures of the river a lot of room to move around and take advantage of the food delivery system the river now offers to them. As far as they are concerned after the last five years of edge of drought situations the river is an entire new ecosystem, thriving with food and life on a constant delivery system. This makes for very healthy and happy fish of all sorts! Emerging Mayflies and Midges with some rogue Caddis are seen over the water inconsistently as the day warms. Emerger and Soft Hackle patterns have been very successful in #14-18. As well as various small streamers and seasonal dry fly patterns in slow moving foam lines during the warmer parts of the day.. As amazing as it is its very high and fast in most areas. Extreme caution at all times!
Top Predator of the Lower Owens River
The Upper Owens River can be a bit of a fly fisherman’s paradise; dreamy grass meadow littered with various flowers surrounded by a ridge of majestic mountains. In Autumn these give way to cooler Temps and we see snow start to dot the mountains. This usually means the fishing is starting to change to larger offerings meaning…. BIG FISH. this is just starting to happen. The river is in perfect shape this year after a tremendous healthy water year. Stay tuned for another report very soon!
Upper Owens Brown makes her day!
It’s time!
The Lower is making us wait a little longer for its flows to come down until the entire river is fishable. Currently fluctuating between 400-500 cfs of nutrient rich water with lots of aquatic insects making their appearance. Mayflies, Caddis, and Midges are around for most of the day with mid morning being the heaviest emergence. Fish are larger than we have seen and in fire once hooked!
Lower Owens River Brown – October 2017
Fat and happy Lower Owens River Brown Trout
Crowley Lake Fly Fishing at its Best! STM Fly Shop & Guide service
Crowley Lake Fish are all about the perch fry at the moment!! Fishing from 4-10 ft near weedy patches where perch fry can hide makes complete sense right now. Orange blossoms, gray or shades of green buggers, and perch fry imitations are catching fish right now… Big time!
Solid Crowley Brown – STM Fly Fishing