Jim Stimson Reports on 10.7.2019

The general trout season will be closing soon, November 15th, to be exact. Make sure you are aware of the local regulations, as some streams stay open year around but others close in a week. In general the fishing has slowed down. Just get yourself into the mindset of grinding away on good runs, being patient, expect less trout, and enjoy your surroundings. 

East Walker

The East Walker is dribbling along at 21 cfs. Until the river flows pick up, I recommend giving this fishery a rest. Some of the browns are stranded by the boney water not to mention their spawning redds are in jeopardy from the low river flows. 

West Walker

The river has dropped considerably thru the canyon and is at 40 cfs. Try patterns like zebra midges and small mayflies. Dry droppers work really well at these flows.

San Joaquin

There is not much more time to catch the San Joaquin…. the river is super boney now, 9 cfs, but if you scout around, you can find fish in the deeper buckets. Personally, I am scratching the San Joaquin off my list of places to go for this season. Come springtime though…..

Hot Creek

The creek is flowing through the canyon at 52 cfs. Target your casts to the feeding lanes between the weeds and rocks, plus the overhanging grasses along the margins. You may not see fish, but they are there. Try a dry-dropper setup with a caddis above and a midge or small mayfly below. Hot Creek is always a fun place to fish especially now that the crowds have gone home. 

Upper Owens River

The flows are 125 cfs but these are readings taken high in the river system. Once Hot Creek dumps into the mid-section the flows are closer to over 175 cfs. More and more trout are pushing up into the river system from the reservoir. There are some really nice fish to be had with balanced leeches and punk perch. Work the deeper buckets relentlessly…. they are in there.

Lower Owens River

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has finally lowered their flushing flows through the Gorge and below Pleasant Valley Reservoir. The river is running steady at roughly 368 cfs, a tad on the high side yet for wading, but doable. I am looking forward to fishing down there again. Stay tuned…..

Captain Steve Santucci Reports on 11.6.2019

We are experiencing some fantastic weather for fly fishing on the Delta.  Chilly mornings with warm afternoons and low wind has been commonplace.  We are catching some quality Stripers . I have some openings in November if you want to give it a try.

Captain Steve Santucci Reports on 11.6.2019

We are experiencing some fantastic weather for fly fishing on the Delta.  Chilly mornings with warm afternoons and low wind has been commonplace.  We are catching some quality Stripers . I have some openings in November if you want to give it a try.

Captain Hogan Brown Reports on 10.31.2019

Jim Stimson Reports on 10.23.2019

Yikes! November is barking at the door…. say it isn’t so! I saw the first hint of Christmas decorations at the local supermarket. The autumn colors are slipping past their prime. Once we get a hard frost and some wind, fall will be over. The temperatures are cold now with morning lows in the 20’s. Fishing, and catching are good, depending on where you go.  The fishing is stellar with large rainbows and browns cruising up the Owens River from the Crowley Reservoir. Stripping leeches and perch fry will get you some major grabs and porkulent trout. Have fun out there!

East Walker

The East Walker is cruising along at 140 cfs and the water temps are dropping with the frigid nights. Game on! There are a potpourri of bugs cruising around but they seem to prefer small mayflies, like sized 22. The river fishes really well at these current flows.

West Walker

The river has dropped considerably thru the canyon and is at 67 cfs. Try patterns like San Juans or Prince Nymphs, big attractors, and fish the margins. Dry droppers work really well at these flows.

San Joaquin

The road is open and the flows are 11 cfs. The shuttle busses are no longer running so you are allowed to drive your own vehicle down into the canyon. You still need to pay an entrance fee for access. I fished down there a couple of weeks ago and the river is really “boney” with crystal clear water. There are lots of nice little browns and rainbows if you scout around.

Hot Creek

The creek is flowing through the canyon at 180 cfs. Target your casts to the feeding lanes between the weeds and rocks, plus the overhanging grasses along the margins. You may not see fish, but they are there. Try a dry-dropper setup with a caddis above and a midge or small mayfly below.

Upper Owens River

The flows are 112 cfs but these are readings taken high in the river system. Once Hot Creek dumps into the mid-section the flows are closer to over 165 cfs. More and more trout are pushing up into the river system from the reservoir. There are some really nice fish to be had with balanced leeches and punk perch.

Lower Owens River

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is doing a flushing / scouring purge of the Gorge and the lower river, mandated by Fish and Wildlife. The Lower Owens flows have been bumped up to almost 703 cfs. I would avoid these sections of the river until normal flows are reestablished. These high flows will be good for the health of the river down the line as it cleans out years of sediment and debris.

Captain Steve Santucci Reports on 10.23.2019

Delta Striper fishing is heating up.  We are catching a good mixture of sizes. You can catch schoolie sized Stripers along with a few bigger fish.  Its a great time to be out fishing with beautiful fall colors along with some moderate weather.

Cory Godell Reports on 10.23.2019

Matt "Gilligan" Koles Reports on 10.22.2019

Rolling through October on the Truckee River.

Not much weather wise going on up here yet. Some days lots of wind, cold at night, nice in the afternoons.

Lower fall flows on the CA side and through Reno. Good out East. 375 here in the Hirsch, lower in Reno, and higher out on the lower river. Good fishing pretty much all over. Would be nice to have some rain and foul weather, but looks like that ain’t happening for awhile.

Your fall bugs are baetis, and lots of baetis. You may see some mahogany duns, and some big fall orange caddis. Sunny days are not good for dry fly fishing, cloudy days be what you’re looking for. Trouts like cloud cover. Both on the dry fly front, and the streamer front. Of course, nymph with the above mentioned patterns.

Captain Bryce Tedford Reports on 

Prime Delta Striper fishing is starting to happen! The leaves are changing colors & the fish are coming in! Oct.-Dec is typically very, very good on the Delta & it’s nice to have such an amazing fishery in our back yard. Fall is my favorite time of year on the Delta as it is the most predictable time of the year weather wise & the fishing is generally pretty good.

As for now, Striper fishing continues to pickup, schools of smaller fish can be found throughout the Delta. These fish are generally feeding on Threadfin Shad 2-4” long. I like to use various crease flies or gurglers on top when I find feeding schools of fish. In addition to Crease flies, smaller Chartreuse/white clouser flies will always get the job done. This time of year is great for boating around the Delta & looking for feeding turns & seagulls. Underneath these birds will be bait balls of Threadfin Shad & under those will be Stripers & Largemouth feeding! These smaller Stripers/Largemouth (12-18”) are super fun on light rods & a great way to get into Striper fishing! In addition, some Large Stripers can be found here & there if you are willing to work for them & go hunt for them. Some days I have got into plenty 3-5lb fish with some larger 5-20lb fish mixed in, other days the larger fish have been tough to locate. For large Striper hunting I like Intermediate, type 3 & type 6 sinking lines with large Steve Adachi rattle style Clouser flies in various colors.