Fish Report - April 21 2026
Fish Report - 4.21.2026
General Report for Eastern Sierra
Mammoth Yosemite Airport:
Mammoth Lakes Airport Weather Forecast
Bishop:
Pleasant Valley Campground Weather Forecast
Hot Creek:
Conditions:Good
Report: The snow on the dirt road to the canyon is fully melted and there is easy access to the canyon section.
Flows are at slightly higher than the base spring flow due to some snow melt, but not enough to really affect the fishing. Scud patterns are always a good idea here, especially when the flows bump and the water is a little off colored.
As far as hatches go its mostly BWO and midges right now, with some caddis making a showing on the warmer days.
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 | Caviar Midge #22 | Spent Partridge #16-22 | Missing Link #16-22 |
| 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 | Chamois Caddis #14-18 (Cranefly imitation) |
| Streamers | Kesslars H/B/S Olive & Natural (#12) |
Upper Owens:
Conditions: Good
Upper Owens River Flows Click Here:
Report: The main dirt road above the bridge is mostly dry at this point, but there still might be some pockets of mud out there on the side roads, especially after this small storm cycle mid week.
The flows coming out of Grant Lake have come back up to 73 cfs. The hatches have down with the bump in flows and drop in water temp, however the midges and the BWO’s hatches are still hanging around. Caddis may show up on the warmer afternoons as well. The Rainbows are pretty much done and heading back to the lake. There are still a few in the system, but they are going to be pretty beat up. Midge or small mayfly patterns are a good choice, otherwise attractor patterns like eggs and worms are always a good idea this time of the year. And now it’s time for the broken record part of the report. The winter spawning Rainbows are the Coleman strain and they are no longer stocked so what we have is entirely by natural reproduction. Everytime you wade through the tailouts, lay them in the grass or hold them out of the water for more than a few seconds you are affecting the future of this winter fishery. If size is not important you can pick up some 6”-8” browns on dry flies.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | Para Caddis #16-22 | Adult Midge Patterns #20-24 | Parachute Adams #18-22 | Rubber Leg Stimulator #12-16 | Juicy Hopper #10-14 | Missing Link #18-22 | |
| Nymphs | Bead Head Flashback Pheasant Tail #14-22 | HDA Fav Variant #12-16 | Chamois Caddis #16-20 | Slush Egg Apricot #14 | Squirmy Wormy #12-14 | Zebra Midges #16-24 | Flying Circus Caddis Orange #12-14 | Tung Stud Black #18-22 |
| Streamers | Keslars H/B/G Olive | Punk Perch #16 | Crostons MRS Natural #12 | |
Lower Owens:
Conditions: ok
Lower Owens River Flows Click Here:
Report:Flows our of PVR are at about 175, which is on the upper end of the safe wading spectrum. BWO and caddis are the main ticket, but dont be afraid to run larger golden stone nymphs.
| 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 | Assorted Perdigon Patterns #14-18 |
| Streamers | Try 'em all |
East Walker River:
Conditions: .
East Walker River Flows Click Here:
Report: Closed for the season
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | |
| Nymphs | |
| Streamers |
Crowley Lake:
Conditions: Lake is clear and cold.
Crowley Lake Surface Elevation Click Here:
Report: The lake is completely full and looks good for opening day on Saturday! The lake has been ice free since mid February, and with the warm weather in March it seems like there the midges should be hatching and the fish should be hungry on Saturday.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | n/a |
| Nymphs | n/a |
| Streamers | Punk Perch Light #10 | Balanced Punk Perch Light or Dark #16 | Baby Fat Minnow| Dark Leeches (Black, Brown, Wine) #10 |
San Joaquin River:
Conditions: not great, low flows
San Joaquin River Flows Click Here:
Report: Road closed for season.
| Fly Type | Flies |
|---|---|
| Dries | n/a |
| Nymphs | n/a |
| Streamers | n/a |