Guided fly fishing trips for Crowley Lake, Grant & Silver Lakes, the San Joaquin, Upper and Middle Owens Rivers, East Walker River, McGee Creek, 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.



Snow storms continue to sweep through the area. A blizzard warning was issued for Mono County bringing high winds and periods of heavy snow. Some sections of highway 395 were shut down and closed due to snow. If you don’t have to be out on the road in these conditions, stay inside until the storm passes. This is the winter that was forecasted for last season. Better late than never, and we welcome all the water we can get. Of course with the massive amounts of snow and rain, the creeks and rivers all along the Eastern Sierra have reached flood levels over the last few days. Storms will continue to roll in through Thursday and we will see a nice clearing by the weekend and into next week. Hot Creek canyon and the Interpretive Site have snow on the access roads. Smaller fish are biting small nymphs and dry flies. Upper Owens flows at 62 cfs above Hot Creek and 120 cfs below. Big fish still holding in the deep slow water. They are moving around with the water level changes and added runoff. The LADWP fixed the flow gauge today and flows currently show 116cfs above Bishop Creek. Dry fly fishing in the afternoons has been good here with streamers still taking the bigger fish. East Walker saw a short increase in flows with the heavy rains but is now back to 27 cfs. Bridgeport Res is definitely going to get its water this year.

It is not always possible to post all of our client pictures on this fish report page. I do my best to put them in our photo gallery. If we have previously posted your pictures on this page; or you have had a recent guide trip with us, you can always find them by going to the photo gallery and searching for your name.



A decent amount of snow has been received here from the latest storms. Most of it got washed out by the recent rain event that took place. Snow is in the forecast for the rest of the week and this should add some more ground cover to the river banks. The flows have increased to 62cfs, which has added a few more holding areas for migratory rainbows. Some areas of the river have stained water, but will clear up with the cold. We’ve experienced a couple of days of heavy rains that liquified the newly fallen snow and have flooded many creeks and rivers. 4 wheel drive vehicles can get in but the real challenge may be getting out. Snow drifts have covered up the ruts and depressions on the access roads which can be deceiving. Exercise extreme caution here. Tow truck bills are not cheap so better to be safe and warm than stuck and cold. Best and safest access is by snowmobile currently, and we have the machines to get you there. The recent storms have brought new fish into the river and the deepest pools have been holding multiples. Not every pool contains fish and knowing the ones that do can save time and maximize your catching. We have expert guides that can put you on these trophies and give you the opportunity to the winter fish of a lifetime. If you haven’t had the chance over the years to experience one of these trips, now it the time. Historically, January marks the start of the migration peak for the fall/winter run rainbows. Drag free drifts are a must here and the slightest amount of micro-drag on your drifting flies my cause a rejection from your target fish. Egg Patterns, San Juan Worms, PT’s #16-18, Assassins #14-18, and Copper Tiger Midges #16-18 have been effective flies and patterns lately.



The gauge has finally gotten a repair from LADWP. Flows have dropped to 116cfs. Water color should start showing some improvement above Bishop Creek. Many creeks in the area have reached flood stage with the abundance of snow combined with rain recently. More rain is in the forecast for the week with the possibility of snow at the tail end of these storms. Roads will become slick with massive puddling in some areas. Care must be taken when navigating by vehicle down here to avoid getting stuck in the mud. Smaller streamers like Loebergs and Punk Perch working well in clear water and larger flies like Spruce A Bu’s are better for off color water. These bigger fish can be pretty wild once they are hooked. There are more exposed structure areas for these fish to head for when they are trying to spit a hook, so using the rod to control the fish is important. Keeping these fish out of the reeds and submerged wood is crucial and a lower rod angle will pull them out of the main current and into the net. Look for some school sized rainbows podded up in the depressions around the transition zones. BWO hatches have been coming off daily, and #18 Mayfly patterns will get the job done. We have seen some bigger fish chasing these down all the way back to the boat, so being ready for a last minute take may tie you into something special.







Both roads to the creek are snow covered, with more to fall this week. Some light truck tracks have been made, but following them in is not recommended, especially going into the canyon section. One slide into the snow banks will leave you stuck. Best option currently is parking and making the short trek up in snow shoes. Smaller bugs like midges #16-18, PT’s #18-20, Copper John’s #18-20 are all working well. They are not selective and size matters more here than pattern. The canyon section is heavily weeded, so locate some slots or openings to get your bugs into. Try mixing it up with some scuds and other small patterns. Click on this link to read what the CDFW is now documenting as to how Hot Creek will be managed. HC has been recently planted with thousands of sub-catchable rainbows and browns.





Thanks to the CDFW, and passionate volunteers for their efforts to get fish planted in Hot Creek. Many 8-10 inch rainbows, & thousands of 4 inch browns have just been put into HC. If we can just get some help from mother nature on the water part…HC will comeback strong next summer. These are very small fish, and will have a long winter to face. Please take it easy on them if you choose to fish HC at all. Several public sections were planted. Here I am taking a moment to watch these young fish adapt to their new home.



Careful on the banks by the river. Freezing mud can be very slippery and cause a cold water dip. Water is clear as gin here. Fish are starting to transition more to winter feeding mode and holding areas. Dry/droppers in the slower sections still accounting for decent numbers. Now is the time to start focusing on the slower deeper water as the temperatures settle in. Copper Tiger, Zebra, Gillies, and Broken-back pattern midges are a solid dropper choice this time of year. Keep them in sizes #16-22. As an upper/dry #18-20 Parachute Adams, BWO’s, and #16-22 Elk Hair Caddis are great choices.





A good option to get away from the crowds. No need to get out early as the mid-day hatches provide plenty of action. Cast 10-15′ above your targeted fish to get your presentation on the water well upstream of them. I like 10-12′ leaders here to avoid spooking the surface feeders with your fly line splashdown. Elk Caddis, Parachute Adams, and midge patterns in #18-22 are best. You can attach a short dropper nymph about 2′ or so to your dry when the fish aren’t feeding on top. Good patterns are #18-20 copper tiger and zebra midges and #20 PT’s with or without flashbacks.





Freezing conditions here and rain too. Flows here are reading 27 cfs as of today. Get those flies right in front of their noses to get bit. Good news for the river and Bridgeport Reservoir. Looks for a flow increase if the winter storms keep moving through. Eggs, SJ worms, Assassins, Serendipities, Copper John’s, and Midges are good searching patterns this time of year. Go with larger sized flies on top and smaller ones on the bottom if you choose to fish a two nymph rig. For example: #14-16 as your top bug and #18-20 as your lower.



***New for 2017! I have limited quantities of some new patterns that will guarantee advantage in your quest for trophy trout. Balanced patterns are the new rage for nymphing, & streamer fishing. We have been guide testing these patterns for several years, & I can honestly say they are the most significant improvement in fly design in over a decade. They are truly superior to conventional fly designs. The flies ride “parallel”; or “level” to the bottom giving them a far more realistic profile. The jig style hook becomes more effective as it seldom gets snagged on the bottom, & sets efficiently in the fishes mouth. These flies are intended to fish as your bottom fly in a multi fly; or tandem rig. They are deadly fished solo as a streamer. Add these patterns to your quiver for all fisheries that you still water nymph; or cast streamers. Some sizes are not available due to back orders on jig hooks, & are only available online at this time. I will add more sizes on some patterns as we get shipments in. Click on “fly sales” on the nav bar above, hit “menu” first from a mobile device to access the nav bar.