Fish Report -Sept. 7, 2026

   Troutfitter Fish Report

     

September 7, 2026

Next two weeks Looking a bit wetter.

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 if you want to fish be extra careful to check temps.

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Crowley Lake

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Fishing Report & Conditions: 

UPDATE 8/23

Good news for float tubers, the Whitmore road that provides access from McGee bay all the way to Green Banks is now open!!

The latest latest

The latest good news: Fishing is definitely picking up and the perch fry are now big enough for the trout to start keying on them, especially mid day. The midge hatches are improving but the Callbaetis hatches are fading with the Damsel hatches nearing their end. Don’t get stuck in a rut, try lots of different bugs until you find the hot one and when it slows down start experimenting again. Not only with the patterns but don’t be afraid to try them at different levels.

AND WE’RE SEEING BIGGER MIDGES AGAIN!

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 but we’re probably going to see another algae bloom in the near future. The other good news, the perch fry are here and they’re getting big enough for the fish to start keying on them. 

The best fishing is still around the stream mouths in 6-12 feet but with the water temperatures coming down I would expect the fish will start spreading out.

I’m leaving

 I am not a biologist, I would love to hear from someone/s 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. It appears that the fish are grabbing chunks of dead algae off the bottom and then filtering through it to collect the leeches and snails. To go along with this we’re getting good reports from people using small Marabou Leech patterns both stripped and under an indicator. If you are stripping it, be aware almost all of the grabs will be on the drop and will feel like a rubbing sensation on your finger. .BUT, the perch fry are here! And they’re big enough to be keyed on. Well, they’re starting to key on the perch so if you’re stripping a perch on top- leech on the bottom isn’t a bad idea. Also, if you get a “piano” strike ( somebody dropping a piano on the end of your line) but you don’t hook them, stop your retrieve, give it a little slack and if the line tightens SET! The fish will go through the fish slashing and then turn around to pick up the cripples.

One of the big problems is that the Daphnia population is exploding and it’s very hard to figure out where they are at.  One of the hints is if you see a lot of the fish suspended there’s a good chance they’re eating Daphnia. 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:

With the days getting shorter and cooler the fishing has improved downstream of the Hot Creek junctions.

  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. Fish and Game used to call it the 4th of July run as the smaller Browns, 13”-20” will move in to escape the poor water conditions and then stay until the fall spawn. This also includes some bigger Rainbows looking for clean cool water but the Browns are scattered, mainly up into the private ranches. We are starting to see the fall spawning Coleman strain of Rainbows moving up as well. These fish are not very selective yet but they are VERY spooky, especially in the super clear water above the Hot Creek confluences. Not a lot of hatches going on outside of the ever present midges and Caddis, the Trico hatches are inconsistent, the Trico spinner fall starts around 9-9:30.  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. 

ONE BIG CHANGE

The fish moving in have been keying on perch in the lake so if you’re fishing below the bridge try dead drifting perch patterns right on the bottom!

 

Flies

 

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Hot Creek

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Fishing Report & Conditions: Good

The flows have dropped, the weeds are growing and the water is getting warm..and the Interpretive Site has been a zoo.

Most of the guides have been staying away because of the warm water, thick weeds and heavy fishing pressure. Now that the crowds have thinned and the water is cooling off I’ll see if I can get some newer reports.

 7-10:30 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. With the temperatures cooling down the afternoons come back into play with Caddis and male Trico hatches starting around 4. !0:30-4 is pretty quiet, good time for Scuds and streamers.  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.

Whether you like it or not, an addendum to the guide tips. By this time of the year the fish are getting REALLY QUICK at eating and spitting so you might want to shorten that 4 second rule.

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

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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.

Temperatures are staying in the 60’s until mid afternoon so the mornings are safe. If species don’t matter as much as a good fight try Perch patterns dead drifted up towards the dam, the big Carp are voracious!

Not sure how to start so here I go. The big one is water temp AND a thermometer always carry one here! 1) old wives 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 down to 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

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Fishing Report & Conditions:  Improving

 Nothing to report right now.

Flies

 

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San Joaquin River (Middle-Fork)

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Fishing Report & Conditions:

Unless we get a fair amount of rain or you want to hike down to Fish Creek I’d head elsewhere.

It’s getting real skinny, best to head down to Minaret and below, hopefully the rain will pick up the flows and lower the water temperatures.

It seems that the further down you go the bigger the water gets. Sounds pretty basic but the streams coming in Minaret Creek and lower seem to have colder water as well. No matter what get down there as early as possible, the bite slows down mid to late morning.

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

Fishing is still good but without rain it won’t last much longer. Also the water temperatures are getting up around 70 by middle of the day so get down there early. There are  no massive hatches but as normal a big variety of bugs

Local Small Streams

Fishing Report & Conditions: 

The smaller streams are getting a little skinny but fishing is decent just keep an eye on water temperatures.

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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