Fish Report Oct. 8th, 2026

      Troutfitter Fish Report

October 7, 2026

Well above average temperatures and little chance of precipitation for the next week or two

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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!

Well something normal, with the fall temperatures dropping round two of the algae bloom is here. The perch fry are getting bigger but the main food source is still the midges. As you move around the lake be ready to experiment with different patterns, the fish seem to have their own territorial favorites.

The best fishing is still around the stream mouths in 6-12 feet but as expected the water has cooled to the point where the whole lake has good temperatures and even the bays with little or no inflow are starting to produce. Mcgee has been the main attraction but the crowds have been monumental. Sounds like Crooked has slowed up and I haven’t heard anything from the north end besides Layton has been decent.

I’m leaving this up just because we haven’t seen this before.

 I am not a biologist, I would love to hear from someone/s but in 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. 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. 

Guide tip!

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 schools of perch fry slashing and then turn around to pick up the cripples.

Flies

 

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Upper Owens River

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Fishing Report & Conditions:Fair-Good

Temperature update:

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

  The ranchers are still putting the cows inside the fence but this won’t last much longer, 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 is starting later, around 9:30-10:30.  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 but the water is cooling off.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.

 9-12 is sporadic midge with the Tricos and caddis still dominant, Caddis are mainly migrating and the female Tricos start hatching around 9 and the spinner fall starting around 10:30 but the fishing starts slowing down around noon. With the temperatures cooling down the afternoons come back into play with Caddis and male Trico hatches starting around 4. 10:30-4 is pretty quiet, good time for Scuds and streamers and Terrestrials.  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: 

Water temperatures have remained in the 50’s and 60’s

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! Having said that if you’re looking for trout stay below the bridge although we’re starting to see bigger fish above the bridge. Midges and small Mayflies are the primary hatches.

Flies

 

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Lower Owens River

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Fishing Report & Conditions:  Improving, after the week long flush of the gorge followed by flow disruptions by work in the PVR dam vicinity Things have settled down and the fishing is picking up.

The Tricos are still around, midmorning is the Cranefly hatch and late morning to early afternoon is Baetis, PMD’s and a stronger Tiny BWO hatch. The Tiny BWO used to be considered part of the PMD family but has been reclassified as a BWO, and it lives up to it’s name #22-26.

 

 

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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