Guided fly fishing trips for Crowley Lake, Grant & Silver Lakes, the San Joaquin, Upper and Middle Owens Rivers, Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Hot Creek, & the Gorge located near Mammoth and Bishop Ca. will give you opportunities to catch trophy rainbows and browns while being guided by expert fly fishing pros. Sierra Drifters guides utilize top of the line center console bay boats, drift boats, float tubes, and high quality fly fishing tackle to guide you on these blue ribbon trout waters.

Middle Owens flows are now trending downward & running at 190cfs. We are consistently getting into 3-5lb. rainbows on drift boat trips fishing streamers. Crowley is my choice for fall still water fly fishing. The weather is the key to a big day here. Sandy Pt., Layton Springs/Six Bays, Hilton Bay are the spots. Trophy sized fish staging up in the north end. Hot Creek getting some fish, see specifics below. East Walker flows trending down, water is off color due to Bridgeport Reservoir experiencing fall turnover. Release rates are now 40cfs. Upper Owens still running at 90cfs. or twice the flows we have seen for most of this year. Fishing is slow here. Pleasant Valley Reservoir got some brood fish. Check out the small river section, & inlet area. Level is on the low side currently. Good time to hike into the Gorge if you want to escape crowds. Cooler weather gets the wild browns on the bite here. Alpine Lakes still getting some planted fish. Conditions are good in most popular fisheries with spectacular scenery as the trees change colors. The forecast is calling for cool weather through mid-week, with a nice warming trend for the weekend.

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The bite continues to be on during warmer/calmer weather periods. The fish have moved around the drop-offs near Layton Springs, Six Bays, & Sandy Pt. One can also get into quality browns at Hilton Bay. Fall is the time for tubers to be looking to troll some larger streamers, & perch fry along what remains of the aquatic weed lines, & drop offs. The larger browns, and cutthroats are on the prowl for larger sources of protein to prepare for the lean winter months. Still water nymphing remains the most consistent way to get into big numbers, and quality fish. Hang your flies above a clean mud bottom in close proximity to a hard weed line for consistent action. The fish are primarily hunting the larva close to the bottom. Broken back midges, crystal zebra, or tiger midges (big ones), & leeches are all good calls while fishing below an “sliding” Under-cator. If you see those midges popping, get out those gillies, broken back gillies, & crystal emergers. These imitate chironomid pupa, the stage prior to becoming a winged adult. My go to rig has been an Assassin; or Drifters Punk Perch #14/16 as the upper, with a dark crystal tiger midge (#14), or broken back copper tiger (#16) as the larva pattern. I had some experienced clients score FIFTY fish in a half day using twin light assassins recently. Keep the tigers 6-12 inches off the deck. I have also been using twin Assassins; or a Punk Perch/Crystal Vandeleech with an Assassin dropper along the weeds. Keep them a foot or more above the bottom. The rookies have been planted in numbers, so treat them with care. You may get into lots of sub-catchable rainbows & browns in some areas like Hilton Bay, or Crooked Creek. ***Special angling regulations begin on 8/1/16 and will continue throughout the remainder of the season on Crowley. The entry gate to the marina opens at 7am instead of 6am now.





Flows remain at near 100cfs. Much higher than last year at this time, & more than twice what has been moving for most of this year. The migratory bigs will begin to swim upstream in late October. Conditions are fair downstream from the Benton Bridge due to heavy aquatic weed growth. Upstream from the bridge special regulations apply, & the conditions are better above the confluence of Hot Creek inlets. Fishing has been slow, with mostly smaller planted fish in the calmer pools. Use attractor patterns like crystal eggs, & Drifters Crawlers with plenty of weight. Nymphing below an Under-Cator with Assassins, FB PT’s, & olive crystal caddis will also get you grabs in the pools. The large wildfire that consumed thousands of acres near Big Springs, and the Glass Mountains is now out. Some historic structures at the old Alpers Ranch were destroyed.





Flows are now trending downward and running at 190cfs. The bigs are on the prowl thanks to some brood fish being planted. Drift boat trips are consistently landing some trophy rainbows using the “dip & strip” method of streamer fishing. Great conditions for drifting. Wading & crossing are not difficult at rates below 150cfs. Caddis activity will remain solid through late October, with Trico mayflies showing when it begins to cool down in the Owens Valley. I would not hesitate to book a drift trip this fall as I believe the “catching” will be very good early on. Chub & sucker fry will be the primary target for the bigs, so have a selection of streamers like Loebergs, Spruce-A-Bu’s, and Punk Perch with a moderate sinking tip line. Good nymphs to have are Assassins, flash back pheasant tails, Drifters Crawlers, olive crystal caddis, olive dubbed caddis, and broken back tiger/zebra midges.





Click on this link to read what the CDFW is now documenting as to how Hot Creek will be managed. In short, HC will be receiving some small sub-catchable sized rainbows and browns on 10/6/16. More fish are slated for next spring. This is a significant change in how HC is being managed since the new laws have been implemented several years ago. Hopefully we will get a solid winter to provide much needed flows.







The reservoir level is low, which gives more water to work in the inlet section. Large brood stock rainbows have been planted recently here. The small river section can kick out some good numbers of hold over trout, as well as the big boys using dry/dropper rigs, & streamers. Flows have dropped, & this fertile little river can be really fun if you work the harder to reach brush areas accessible when the powerhouse is not generating. I like dry/dropper combos like Stimulators, hi-vis mayfly, or caddis as the upper. Use smaller Assassins, FB PT’s, or crystal tiger midges as the nymphs.





Prime time now hat it is cooling down some in the Owens Valley.Flows are great at 52cfs. Use caddis adults, Hi-vis caddis, or para hi-vis mayflies as your upper fly. Good dropper nymphs are # 18 Assassin nymphs, or FB PT’s. Cooler temps improving conditions. Good call during weekends, or holidays.





The lake is very green from fall turnover. The Bridgeport Marina & RV Park are now closed until next season.





Flows are dropping now. Currently at 43cfs. There remain issues with aquatic weeds in the slower sections. Focus on the deeper pockets & pools. The slower runs are choked with weed. Attractor patterns like Drifters Crawlers, & SJ worms can get the bigs to move. Strong caddis, midge, mayfly, & damsel fly hatches are going off. Try larger Assassins, FB PT’s. and damsel nymphs. Hi-vis caddis, and hoppers are targets for surface feeders. Lob some Loebergs, Punk Perch, or damsel nymph streamers for a shot at bad LeRoy brown during low light periods.





Water levels are low, with fish holding in the deeper pools and runs. Pikel Meadows, or Chris Flats sections are receiving regular plants. A deadly rig for this area is a dry/dropper using Stimulators, or hi-vis caddis and mayfly imitations as the upper fly. Tie on bead head tiger midges, Assassins, or FB PT’s as your nymph about 2-4 feet below the dry.





Water levels low, with most riffles too shallow to fish. I like to fish hi-vis mayfly; or caddis patterns with a bead head dropper nymph like an Assassin, FB PT, or tiger midge. The deeper riffles are best fished with high riding dries like stimulators, parachute ant patterns, foam beetles, & attractor adults. I suggest you have a stout wading staff even though the flows are down. You can drive in without the shuttle until the snow falls enough to close the NFS gate.







Beautiful Jurassic Pond is a private trophy trout fishery that is exclusively guided by Sierra Drifters pros. It is situated near McGee Creek, and overlooks Crowley Lake. We fish with streamers, nymphs, & dry flies during warmer periods. You will not find larger trout anywhere in the Eastern Sierra. If you want a dance with a twenty pound rainbow, or double digit brown-this is the best private fishery in the region. We will stop guiding here in late October unless the weather remains exceptionally warm.





The trees are glowing, & the scenery is amazing! Fall is prime time to get that huge brown in the upper elevation alpine fisheries. Tubers trolling streamers with full sinking lines can get into some larger fish while targeting drop-offs, inlets, & structure. Agent Orange, Crystal Leeches, Loebergs, Spruce-A-Bu’s, and Punk Perch patterns are good calls to use along drop-offs, structures like submerged stumps, and near inlets. Try dry dropper rigs using hi-vis mayfly patterns as your indicator/dry fly while suspending a small midge, Killa-baetis or Assassin nymph below it 2-3 feet during low light periods. The wild brookies and browns can be fooled using this technique during the warmer summer months.