What a great winter! I will remember the 2010/11 snow bow season for a long time to come. The winter strain fish are returning back to the lake and conditions on the Upper Owens are less than perfect as the snow begins melting tainting the water and increasing flows. The thawing roads are an absolute mess and even our snowmobiles can't safely access the roads until they freeze, or thaw and dry out. Hiking in is the only way right now and with the lack of fish present I would say it is NOT worth the effort. Nymphing the deeper pools has been the silver bullet here most of the winter however, If you decide to make the trek up and fish under the current conditions I suggest you use streamers and a moderate sinking tip line. Keep them in the #6-10 range with some red, orange, and flash built in to make the profile stand out against the tannin colored water.

Spring this year in the Crowley tributaries will be challenging due to the low snow line & early run-off. Crowley is thawing and will have an earlier ice out than last year for certain. McGee Bay is already showing clear water near the inlet, as is the Upper Owens inlet area. Just recently I am beginning to see fish moving upstream and stage on the redds here at McGee Creek where I reside. In another month most of these tribs will be washed out and unfishable unless the weather turns cold again for an extended period.