Fish Report - May 30th, 2025
Fish Report - 5.30.2025
Weather & General Report for Eastern Sierra
Weather Report:
Warm and clear for the foreseeable forecast.
McGee Creek is opened on last Saturday. My opinion is that the McGee delayed opening is one of the better rule changes I’ve seen in a long time but if you are going to fish it cross as little as possible and only in the deeper spots. Absolutely avoid fishing or crossing the tailouts and only fish the deeper holes. The fish in the deeper areas are not actively spawning. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE TONS OF EGGS IN THE SHALLOW GRAVEL, DO NOT CROSS IF YOU CAN HELP IT.
Mammoth Yosemite Airport: highs in the mid 70’s/upper 60’s and lows in the high 40’s.
Mammoth Lakes Airport Weather Forecast
Bishop: Highs in the mid 80’s to low 90’s and lows in the high 50’s to low 60’s.
Pleasant Valley Campground Weather Forecast
Hot Creek:
Conditions:Good
Report: BWO and Caddis hatches have improved. The Interpretive Site has been doing well but the fishing pressure has been very heavy so the fish are getting more selective. Hatches have been primarily midges but the BWO hatch is picking up and there are caddis mixed in. If you’re not seeing hatches don’t forget the scud, egg and worm patterns, especially with the dirty water.
Down in the canyon it had been mainly midges hatching but BWO’s hatches midday have picked up nicely and are the dominant food source now. Hatches: Midges 9-12, BWO 10:30-12:30 #18-20 (It’s normal for the bugs to get smaller as we go from winter into spring). Also the craneflies are hatching again late morning.
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 be 4 seconds or less followed by a smooth but aggressive backcast - You will be amazed by the number of hookups you didn’t even know were there.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | Brooks CDC Baetis #18-20 | Parachute Extended BWO #18-22 | Caviar Midge #22 |
| Nymphs | HDA Fav #14-16 | Expecting Scud #16-18 | Glass Bead Micro May Olive or Brown #20-22 | Weiss BP Light #18-20 | Zebra Midge #22-24 | T-Midge #22-24 | Real Midge #22-24 | Olive midge patterns #20-24 |
| Streamers | Kesslars H/B/S Olive & Natural (#12) |
Upper Owens:
Conditions: Fair-Good
Upper Owens River Flows Click Here:
Report: Not much hatching besides the ever present midges. Most of the big migratory fish are now up into the private ranches although there are still a few big fish being caught. Most of the Cutthroat are sitting on redds, which should not be fished for or bothered.If you’re going to target them please fish the deeper holes and not the tailouts. Also avoid walking through the shallow gravel tailouts, there are eggs in the gravel that do not like being trampled. If size is not important you can pick up some 6”-8” browns on dry flies. Below the bridge is now open for bait and take fishing. It's always barbless catch and relese above the bridge.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | Para Caddis #16-22 | Adult Midge Patterns #20-24 | Parachute Adams #18-22 |
| Nymphs | Bead Head Flashback Pheasant Tail #14-22 | HDA Fav Variant #12-16 | Chamois Caddis #16-20 | Slush Egg Apricot #14 | EZ Fl. S/Burst #20 | Squirmy Wormy #12-14 | Zebra Midges #16-24 |
| Streamers | Keslars H/B/G Olive | Punk Perch #16 | Crostons MRS Natural #12 | |
Lower Owens:
Conditions: Good And Improving
Lower Owens River Flows Click Here:
Report: Not many reports this week with the high flows
The flows had dropped to 74 cfs but are way back up to 378 cfs. The midge hatches are still strong, 9-12 and the BWO’s have gotten a lot more active, midday the fish seem to be keying on them, 9-12:30 and are smaller BWO’s. We’re also starting to see PMD’s and even a few Trico’s, and you can add some Yellow Sallies also. After the mayfly hatch fishing slows down with a few fish feeding on a sporadic caddis hatch. The really good news is that the nymph population, especially the mayflies, is very strong. Another good sign, the caddis are active again, and the fish are filling up on case caddis. Also the Craneflies are hatching and the bigger Stonefly nymphs are also getting active.
Here’s the condensed list of what’s hatching right now: Midges - BWO’s - PMD’s-Tricos-smaller Caddis - Craneflies - Yellow Sallies. Some nice 10-18” Browns but the main characters are the Rainbows. Most of them are small, up to 8” or so but they are wild, fat, and everywhere - a good sign for the future but we are also seeing some bigger Rainbows in the 12 -16 inch range and an increasing number up to 20”.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | Para Caddis #16-22 | Mimic May Johnson BWO #16-20 | No See Um Baetis Hi-Vis #16 | Parachute Extended BWO #16-20 | Roy’s Special Emerger #20-22 | Caviar Midge #20-24 |
| Nymphs | Tungsten Jig Baetis #14-18 | Tungsten Phase II #14-18 | Zebra Midge #18-22 | Tungstud Olive #16-18 | Smples B/Emerger #18-20 | Buckskin Caddis #14-18 | Dorsey Buckskin Jig #14-18 | Assorted Perdigon Patterns #14-18 |
| Streamers | Try 'em all |
East Walker River:
Conditions: Fair-Good
East Walker River Flows Click Here:
Report: Water is super clear coming out of the dam, but there are very few fish being spotted. One of our guides was up there the last couple of days and said the fishing was poor in the “Miracle Mile”, but better the farther downstream you got from the bridge. Even the best looking holes are probably one and done, and moving after catching a fish or two is probably the way to go. Mainly nymphing is working, but dry-dropper could provide decent success and the streamer fishing is picking up.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | Chernobyl OJ #6-10 | Adult Cranefly | TR’s Double Griffiths #16-20 | Zelon Midge Improved Matthews #20-24 | Z-Wing Real Midge Black #20-26 | Brooks CDC Baetis #18-20 | | Mimic May Johnson BWO #16-20 | No See Um Baetis Hi-Vis #16 | |
| Nymphs | San Juan Worm Red | GB FB Pheasant Tail #14-20 | HDA Fav #12-16 | Tung Stud Black #20-22 | Keslar’s Iggy Olive #14 | Zebra Midge #20-22 | Copper Tiger #S-L | Albino Baron #S-L | Double Bead Zebra #S-L | Monroe Leech | Assorted Perdigons #14-18 |
| Streamers | Try ‘Em All |
Crowley Lake:
Conditions: The lake level is coming up slowly but should accelerate with the rain. Fishing has been good.
Crowley Lake Surface Elevation Click Here:
Report: Midge hatches have been strong for this time of year but the fish are spread out which is normal for early season. Most people are catching fish between 16’-25’, but you can find fish shallower or deeper too. As stated the fish are scattered but there are some more concentrated areas, including McGee Bay, Sandy Point, Big Hilton and the north end.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | N/A |
| Nymphs | Copper Tiger #S-L | Albino Baron #S-L | Double Bead Zebra #S-L | Monroe Leech | Hanging With My Chromies #14-16 | |
| Streamers | Punk Perch Light #16 | Balanced Punk Perch Light or Dark #14 | also olive balanced leeches under an indicator |
San Joaquin River:
Conditions: no access yet
San Joaquin River Flows Click Here:
Report: no access yet
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | N/A |
| Nymphs | N/A |
| Streamers | N/A |