Fly Fishing Report 9/1/2025
Welcome to my Eastern Sierra fly fishing report for the beginning of September. I have been incredibly busy with guiding this summer that I fell a little behind on my reports. It’s good to be back! I am excited to write this one as we have had an amazing summer and I’m fired up for this upcoming fall fly fishing season. Fall fly fishing on the Eastern Sierra is one of the best times to enjoy the Owens River as temps cool down, crowds go home, and the Lower Owens comes into play. I hope everyone has had a great summer thus far and got to spend some time on the water! Enjoy the report and I hope it helps you get into some fish. Reach out to line up a guided fly fishing trip. I look forward to chatting with you.
-Luke Kinney (858) 750 9820
2025 Golden Trout Excursion (Recap)
This years week long golden trout trip was a success! We had an awesome group of anglers from all ages and locations, eager to fish for Goldens, learn more about the process, and enjoy being out in the backcountry. We enjoyed long days in the beautiful wilderness with each other, fishing the entire time between our hiking legs. The travel was steady and some of the days were long and challenging getting to our basecamps. I was impressed with how supportive our group was in helping and encourage each other through the harder parts of the trip. We did a total of about 60 miles of hiking throughout the entire week! The fishing was prolific and goldens were eating dry flies all day, we had a blast fishing a variety of flies keying in on what the trout were most excited about. Those Goldens don’t take much to get a rise when the fly is presented which makes fishing for them even more enjoyable as everyone get plenty of opportunities to catch fish. Our personal Chef KK prepared us plenty of delicious backcountry meals from morning frittatas, to steak dinners at sunset, it was incredible. Shout out to our pack crew from Cottonwood Packstation, Tommy and Sam for their expertise and keeping us safe and well cared for during out week out there. Everyone works hard to make this trip possible and it’s truly one of the most unique and fulfilling experiences I get to be apart of.
We already have a waitlist for our 2026 Golden Trout Trip, we are hoping to do multiple weeklong trips this summer due to the high demand and interest. If you would like to get on the waitlist to be the first to hear when dates are announced and early registration, send us your email and contact info!
Join the 2026 Waitlist for Dates and Early Registration
2025 Fall Fly Fishing Clinic (2 Spots Left)
We are gearing up for our 2025 Fall Fly Fishing Trip (October 24th-26th) this year our clinic is all inclusive and will be hosted Elani Lodge and Resort on Mcgee Creek. I am excited that we will be hosting this fall clinic at this amazing location, to meet our group of anglers, and spend quality time on the river learning together. We host two clinics a year one in spring and one in fall with the goal that each angler feels more confident to approach the stream, find success, and carry their foundational skills into all their future endeavors. This years fall clinic will be focused on preparing for the colder season, highlighting nymphing tactics, euro nymphing, rigging for success, reading the stream and fly presentation. Give us a call or email to see if this clinic is a good fit for you!
$1200/Angler
Sign up for 2025 Fall Fly Fishing Clinic
Eastern Sierra Fly Fishing Report
Lower Owens River- We are so very close to the beginning of what I consider one of the best time’s of year to fish the Lower Owens river (late October-December) Right now the flows are still too high (419 CFS) but slowly dropping to fishable levels. Once the flows get below 250 CFS it is game time. The Lower Owens during fall and early winter is an exceptional fishery hosting a healthy population of wild brown trout mixed in with the occasional rainbow. The average fish size is 10-12” with fish up to 20” and they are all healthy, beautiful and fired up trout. The Lower Owens is a large fishery running below pleasant valley reservoir all the way to tenimaha lake. Certain sections of the Lower Owens fish better then others depending on the time of year. I’ve spent years building my knowledge up on the Lower Owens and have an intimate relationship with this particular stretch of the Owens. Fall is a great time to nymph, streamer fish and fish the occasional dry fly. As we head into October I start rigging up my Euro Rods, gets those heavier nymphs tied up, and my 6 weight streamer rods ready for some Lower Owens action. I prefer the Lower Owens over the Upper Owens for many reasons, less crowds, more fish, more browns, and diverse scenery. October/November are two of my busiest months of the year and I will be exclusively booking for the Lower Owens as of now, with my calendar filling up quick. Reach out soon to secure a date on the Lower Owens and get into the action! I provide all the gear we might need including waders and boots.
BOOK THE LOWER OWENS
Perfect browns like this all day on the Lower Owens. It’s almost go time! Jenina with a gem.
Lisa learned how to fly fish and we got into some incredible fish! Top water action this day was great.
Elijah checking out his wild brown trout, pure stoke! Nice one and epic day together.
Central Gorge- Just like the Lower Owens as things cool down the central gorge comes into play in a big way and is a blast to spend the morning chasing after browns and rainbows. I stay out of the gorge until October/November as the stinging nettle starts dying off, hatches of caddis start popping off and the fish get really active. The central gorge is a great place to tight link aka Euro Nymph and learn how to fish pocket water. The gorge is also great for fishing top water during fall, running a dry dropper can be very effective down there. I tend to carry a few rods while fishing and guiding the central gorge, one for nymphing and one for dry flies. As winter creeps in the fish will remain deeper and nymphing becomes the primary way to catch fish down the in the canyon. You can go fish the gorge now but temps are still really warm but will be cooling down throughout the entire month. Navigating the central gorge can be technical and treacherous, use caution while exploring the canyon and go with a friend or even better a guide! My go to flies early fall in the central gorge as far as subsurface/nymphing goes, Flashback Pheasant Tail (16-18), Gold Bead Head Hares Ears (16-18), Purple/Olive Duracell (16-18), Rainbow Warrior (16-18). Early fall there is still plenty of bugs so fish are keying in on buggier flies and as winter rolls in I’ll start switching to those brighter Euro Nymphs. Dark bead heads, or Gold are my favorite over silver down in the gorge. Euro Nymphing with a 10ft 3 Weight is my primary tool for catching fish in the central gorge. Keep in mind the central gorge is MASSIVE 13-16 miles in length, there is much canyon to explore. Some areas are more popular than others, but if your willing you can always find a zone to fish for yourself. I love fishing and guiding the central gorge and will start in October. If you want to have an exploratory day in a unique environment I would be happy to show you around.
Book the Central Gorge for Fall/Starting October
Angler Albert getting low and tightlining some pocket water during winter in the Central Gorge.
About as pretty as they come, the browns in the Central Gorge are exceptional fish.
The Central Gorge is a unique, technical, and beautiful environment to fly fish.
Rock Creek/Bishop Creek- Rock creek and Bishop Creek have been my go-to local river spots to guide while peak summer heat passes through and the Owens River slows down to a crawl. I am one of the few guides who has the permits through the forest service to guide these higher elevation canyons which I strategically acquired to avoid fishing warm water in the front country, and to give our more popular fishing rivers a chance to recover. There are also some amazing lakes to float tube and fly fish up these canyons which have been a blast as well. As far as the creeks the fishing has slowed down substantially as we head into fall for a few reasons. One of the main reasons as the flows are low going into fall/winter as the snow in the backcountry is mostly melted out. The temps in the evening up high also take huge slowing down the summer hatch cycles and prolific feeding which typically occur June-August. Another issue with the productivity of these streams is the lack of fish being stocked and the amount of people fishing and keeping fish during the summer. I hope in the future we can better manage our local tributaries, with better regulations, that will only increase populations and the general health of the river. This all being said the creeks are still totally worth fly fishing but don’t expect banner days with big numbers of fish. Running a dry-dropper right and a thin presentation is the current way to go, or even just a single dry fly. Recommended dry flies for the creeks as of now, Parachute Adams (18-20), Elk Hair Caddis (16-20), Small Stimulator (16), Purple Haze (16-18), Dun Emerger (16-18) are all good options. Fishing thinner line like 5X or 6X is also recommended. As far as a dropper under those dry flies I recommend, Darth Baetis (20), Copper John (18), Mini Prince Nymph (18), WD40 (20). As we head into fall the thinner and the smaller the better. I am pretty much wrapping up my guiding days on BIshop and Rock Creek but it sure has been a beautiful and fun summer guiding up there. Plenty of epic hook ups and memories made.
First time fly angler Alberto learning the art of casting a dry fly on Rock Creek. Working that upstream cast and retrieve while watching the fly is not an easy task!
Angler Steve giving us a big thumbs up!
Angler Roger fishing a small caddis fly off the weed beds for rising brown trout.
Nice brookie caught up high on the spring creeks!
Crowley Lake- Crowley Lake is in prime time right now as we speak, most if not all of my trips for September will be on Crowley Lake. The trout have moved shallow water, feeding on both midges and small streamers. Midges are definitely the primary food source as of now but fishing a small balanced leech or perch fry on the retrieve or under an indicator is worthy. Nice variety of fish being caught right now all in solid sizes from 16-24”, Browns, Rainbows and Cutthroats. Fish are in various locations around the lake so if you go out on your own don’t get stuck in the trap of following around all of the boats, having a fish finder is useful to make fish and see where they are congregating. Fish are feeding between from 6-15 ft deep, which makes getting good hook sets easier. Water temps are holding around 66 degrees and will continue cooling down as we head into fall, which is great for everyone! Still water fly fishing on Crowley Lake this summer has been so much fun and continues to provide. Reach out to grab a last minute date for Crowley Lake. My last day for guiding Crowley Lake will be October 10th.
Book Crowley Lake
Grandma Keller with a tank of a rainbow caught on a size 18 midge!
Angler Adam had a day full of cutthroat trout! Getting around 20 to the net in a half day. Epic.
Angler Scott and I have been out a few times and crowley turned on for him in a big way, he managed a grand slam, all three species in one day!
Hot Creek- Hot Creek is currently 7 CFS and the weed beds are high. This is the roughest time of year for fly fishing Hot Creek at least in the Canyon Section. It’s been pressured all summer and flows are very low. Getting a good drift and navigating between the established weed beds is challenging but can still lead you into some fish. The hatches of PMD have also slowed down, small caddis and BWO are still present. Fishing tiny dry flies in the early morning is a good call for the Canyon Section. I recommend running a longer leader with thinner tippit this time of year to fool trout, 12-16ft down to 6X. I like working the canyon section upstream from the south parking and fishing dries all the way up, sometimes adding a small nymph as my dropper. When the flows are higher you can get away with Euro Nymphing but this time of year its rough. Mornings and evenings are best for Hot Creek, the interpretive site has been fishing well all summer but being such a small zone once there’s a few anglers on the water getting good spot to fish ain’t happening. Not the best report for Hot Creek but I am just being as honest as possible to potentially save you some time. Hot Creek is always beautiful, scenic and fun to fish so knowing where it stands get out there and get into a fish or two!
Upper Owens- The Upper Owens is flowing around 64 CFS above the Hot Creek Confluence and around 71 CFS below. The water temps have stayed relatively cool all summer, and flows are good for fishing. As far as fishing goes the Upper Owens is crickets… There are a few bigger holdover fish in the system if your willing to grind it out or hole hop for the afternoon but there don’t seem to be that many fish in the system right now. I’ve had a couple trips up there last month and they were SLOW. As we move into fall we should start seeing some more fish move into the system, hopefully some bigger browns and rainbows. Plenty of micro juvenile trout to fish on tiny dry flies in the morning or evenings on the Upper Owens. The Upper Owens is by far one of the most beautiful places to fish in our area but by far the slowest and least productive fishing as of late. I tend to not fish the Upper Owens that often anymore as it is usually heavily pressured with very little fish until the right time of year kicks in. I will definitely be spending some time on the Upper in late October and November which is one of my favorite times to fish it, but until then I’ll be fishing elsewhere until things improve. Not the best report for the Upper Owens but again I’m just being honest and keeping it 100 with yall. If you wanna fish the Upper and cover water you can always have the chance of catching a great fish, so if you like a challenge the Upper is your place!
A nice Upper Owens rainbow.
Thanks for stopping by for my Eastern Sierra fly fishing report! It’s been an amazing summer and I’m grateful for every moment. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments on the fly fishing report.
-Luke Kinney, Owner and Guide.
We all struggle and by God’s grace he allows us to find deep and lasting rest. You are not alone, and you are loved. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that it will all be ok and you are perfectly made.
Hebrews 10:22. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
