Troutfitter Fish Report

July 23, 2026

I don’t usually put this up but if you don’t own a good thermometer GET ONE!!!! Water temperatures are climbing rapidly and if you want to have a quality fishery for the future now’s the time to save it. I will try to keep up to date on each body of water so keep an eye out. One thing you may have heard is the rule of “hoot owl”. This means fish early and late while avoiding the middle of the day. The problem with this is that water changes temperature VERY slowly so be extra careful to check temps.

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Crowley Lake

 

 

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Fishing Report & Conditions: 

UPDATE 7/22

With the surface temperatures getting up into the mid to upper 70’s most of the algae has died and sunk leaving the lake much cleaner. The other good news, the perch fry are here, maybe too small still to be a major player but not far off.

Now for the bad news. I am not a biologist, I would love to hear from someone that is, but in over 36 years of guiding the lake this is the strangest I’ve seen yet. Outside of the enormous numbers of size 32 midges (take a pencil and press the tip against a piece of paper, that’s about the size of them), we are seeing almost no other midges and stomach samples bear that out. DF&G has said that the Daphnia is what makes for the growth of the trout but the midges are the foundation and we’re not seeing them. There are still lot’s of Calibaetis and Damsels coming off but that’s only a couple of hours a day that they are available. One of the weirdest things we’re seeing in the stomach samples is clumps of dead algae laced with leeches, anywhere from an eighth of an inch to two inches. All we can figure is the trout are ingesting the algae to collect the leeches and whatever else is in there.

BUT, the perch fry are here! Not big enough to be keyed on but they will be soon enough.

Attention, if you haven’t noticed, access to the western parts of the lake have been blocked off at the Whitmore road, what we’re hearing is that will stay that way. This is a decision by DWP to protect these areas during the high water levels and the Sage Grouse breeding.

I don’t want to jinx it, but we may be getting back to a more normal summer pattern. The algae bloom seems to be cleaning up but there’s still some around. Crooked creek as well as the Hilton bay area are picking up with Crooked having the cleanest water. We’re finally seeing the fish move up into the stream channels in 6’-20’. We are also seeing a big upswing in Callibaetis 9-10 and Damselfly emergence 11-1 so they are becoming an important mid to late morning choice. One of the big problems is that the Daphnia population is exploding and it’s very hard to figure out where they are at. Also if you can find an area where there are larger midges #14-18 instead of the millions of #32-36.

Flies

 

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Upper Owens River

 

 

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Fishing Report & Conditions:Fair-Good

UPDATE: IRRIGATION HAS BEGUN SO ANYTHING UPSTREAM OF THE FIRST DRIVE THROUGH GATE COULD BE HAZARDOUS. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE MAIN ROAD!

Temperature update: down by the bridge the water is hitting 68 by midmorning but at the upper confluence it’s mid 60’s midday. A little scary trivia, up until a few years back USGS had a temperature gauge on Hot Creek down below the geothermal area. Hard to believe but the temps this time of year would range between 90-115. Obviously it wasn’t that warm when it reached the Owens but you get a good idea of why it’s best to fish upstream.

  The ranchers have started putting the cows inside the fence so be aware and try to stay above them, although with the dirtier water the fish will be less spooky. Putting the cows inside is a necessary move for the health of the ecosystem, the grazing used to be done by the deer and the Antelope but now they’ll rotate the cows into sections for 2 weeks at a time  July it usually picks up fast with fish moving up from Crowley due to water conditions in the lake deteriorating. Fish and Game used to call it the 4th of July run as the smaller Browns, 13”-20” will move in and then stay until the fall spawn. Not a lot of hatches going on outside of the ever present midges and Caddis, the PMD hatches are inconsistent. The Trico hatch has gotten stronger early to mid morning with the males hatching in the evening. With the browns moving up the usual egg and worm patterns are still working and the lake fish aren’t real savvy on the food sources yet. It’s still important to avoid wading and stay in water waist deep if possible, so as to avoid trampling the eggs. If size is not important you can pick up some 6”-8” browns on dry flies. 

 

Flies

 

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Hot Creek

 

 

Click Here For Hot Creek Flow Rates 

 

 

Fishing Report & Conditions: Good

The flows are dropping, the weeds are growing and the water is getting warm..

 7-10 is sporadic midge with the Tricos and caddis becoming dominant, Caddis are mainly migrating and the female Tricos start hatching around 7 and the spinner fall starting around 9 but the fishing starts slowing down between 10 and 11.  6-8pm is caddis action which can be heavy, along with the male Tricos. Another good lesson here, if you see splashy rises it’s probably Caddis and the sippy rises are Tricos. This is because the caddis emerge much faster than mayflies. If you’re not seeing hatches try some terrestrials (hoppers, ants and beetles) don’t forget the scuds or throw some streamer patterns

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 average 4 seconds or less followed by a smooth but aggressive backcast around your downstream shoulder - You will be amazed by the number of hookups you didn’t even know were there.

Flies

 

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East Walker River

 

 

Click Here For East Walker Flow Rates 

 

 

Fishing Report & Conditions: 

! BRING A THERMOMETER !

Having said that, Ken’s up in Bridgeport says temperatures have been staying in the 60’s so keep an eye on it and remember, the cooler the night the farther down you want to go.

Not sure how to start so here I go. The big one is water temp AND a thermometer, always carry one here!  An old wive's tale: stay up by the dam the water is colder. Especially as the lake drops the water coming out of the dam will be 70+ 24 hours a day, BUT if nighttime temperatures get below 60 or even better 40-50 the water will cool down as it flows downstream. Having said that, check temps constantly, especially down below the bridge. I’ve seen temps go from mid 60’s to low 70’s in less than an hour.

Flies

 

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Lower Owens River

 

 

Click Here For Lower Owens Flow Rates 

 

 

Fishing Report & Conditions:  Improving

 Nothing to report right now I’ll have something next week.

Flies

 

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San Joaquin River (Middle-Fork)

 

 

Click Here For San Joaquin Flow Rates  

 

 

Fishing Report & Conditions:

Now is the time to get down there, we got the rain and it was a big help but the flows are going to drop fast.  

Dry fly fishing has slowed.  Dry-Dropper rigs have become more productive in the faster water.

Fishing has been excellent with no massive hatches but as normal a big variety of bugs

 

Local Small Streams

Fishing Report & Conditions: 

The smaller streams are getting a little dirty and the flows are up but fishing is decent including some surface activity of #14-16 mayfly patterns.

The smaller streams still have fishable flows, especially Bishop, Rock and Lee Vining creek. Don’t forget Mammoth Creek if you need a quick fix. It’s been fishing well, dry/dropper with a stimulator and small buggy bead head nymphs should bring plenty of action.  

 My opinion is that the McGee delayed opening is one of the better rule changes I’ve seen in a long time. 

Flies

 

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