EAST WALKER RIVER
1/9/26: The river can be a tough proposition in January. Night time lows have been in the single digits and the water is very cold. Compounding the trouble is the fact that the slow deep water where fish tend to hang out is often covered in a layer of ice making it difficult to present your flies to the trout. If we get into a warming trend the fishing should pick up with midges being just about the only active insect you'll see hatching. If you decide to give the river a shot don't forget to try some eggs, stones, caddis and BWO's as well as the midges. Fishing typically picks up later next month.
RECOMMENDED FLIES: Thread Frenchie 16-20, Perdigons 16-20, Duracell 14-18, WD's 18-22, Deep Blue Poison Tung 18-22, Blindside Midge 18-22, Black Beauty 18-22, Disco Midge 18-20, JuJu Midge 18-24, Mercer's Midgeling 18-20, Slush Egg 12-14, Peeking Caddis 16-20, Pearl Caddis 16-18, Jedi Master Baetis 20-22, Slim Shady 20-22, Micro Mayfly 18-20, Juju Baetis 20-22, P.T.'s 14-18, Poxyback Stone 8-10, Rubberlegs 8-12, Griffith's Gnat 16-120, Sprout Midge 18-22, SITS Midge 18-22, Para Adams 20-22, Sparkle Dun 20-22, BWO Thorax Dun 20-22, Baby Gonga, Sculpzilla, Zuddler, Baby Fat Minnow.
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HOT CREEK
1/9/26: The road is now snow covered starting at Hot Creek Ranch. You can sled, ski or snowshoe your way into the canyon or take a shorter hike into the Interpretive Site. Spring creeks like Hot Creek are great winter fisheries thanks to the relatively warm water. It's a midge game right now and the best fishing will be during the middle of the day when its the warmest. Most of our fish have been coming to subsurface presentations but there are usually a few fish feeding up top in the creek. As always, please avoid wading in this unique and fragile stream environment.
RECOMMENDED FLIES: Thread Frenchie 16-20, Perdigons 16-20, BP Weiss Nymph 18-20, Jigged Poison Blue Tung 18-22, Blindside Midge 18-22, Zebra Midge 18-22, JuJu Midge 18-24, Disco Midge 18-22, Black Beauty 18-22, Slim Shady 20-22, Barr's BWO Emerger 20-22, Jedi Master Baetis 20-22, Slim Shady 20-22, Shop Vac 16-18, WD's 20-22, Brassie 18-22, Mole Fly 18-22, Timmy 18-22, Para Adams 20-22, BWO Sparkle Dun 20-22, CDC Comparadun 20-22, Almost There BWO 20-22, Brooks Sprout Midge 20-24, Griffiths Gnat 18-20, Stuck In The Shuck Midge 20-24.
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SAN JOAQUIN RIVER
1/9/26: The road is closed until this spring.
RECOMMENDED FLIES: Gold Ribbed Hares Ear 16-20, Prince Nymph 16-20, Pheasant Tail 16-20, Copper John 16-20, Micro Mayfly 16-20, Stimulator 14-18, Elk Hair Caddis 16-18, Yellow Humpy 16-20, Royal Wulff 16-20, Stubby Chubby 14-16, Para Hopper 10-14, Para Adams 12-16.
UPPER OWENS
1/9/26: If you decide to try the upper river, be very careful if you venture off the main access road. The road is snow covered and can get extremely slick if the snow starts to melt. The river has been fishing well for lake run fish and the smaller resident trout. There is some surface activity with fish coming up for midges but if you want to have a shot at hooking into some of the big boys you need to fish subsurface. You still want to cover lots of water to show your flies to as many fish as possible. Sometimes the lake run fish are podded up so if you hook one in a spot make a few more casts just in case. Usually, a good presentation will get bit if they're in there so don't make the mistake of camping out on good looking water if you're not getting fish. Stick and move is the way to go.
RECOMMENDED FLIES: Zebra Midge 18-20, Disco Midge 18-20, Deep Blue Poison Tung 18-22, Blindside Midge 18-22, Shopt Vac 16-18, Micro Mayfly 18-20, Juju Baetis 18-20, Pheasant Tail 18-20, Darth Baetis 18-20, Mop 10-12, Slush Egg 12-16, Glo Bug 14-18, San Juan Worm 10-12, Squirmy Wormy 10-12, Para Adams 18-22, Sparkle Dun 18-22, Missing Link 18-20, Sprout Midge 18-22, Mole Fly 18-22, SITS Midge 18-22, Griffith's Gnat 16-20, Zuddler 6-8, Home Invader 6-8, Gonga 6-8, Mini Dungeon 8.
LOWER OWENS
1/9/26: The lower river has come up a bit and is now running about 115 cfs. This is an ideal flow for the river and it's fishing well. The BWO hatch is pretty much done until this spring so midges are just about the only active insect this time of year. The fish tend to pod up in the deep pools during the winter so don't make the mistake of fishing those juicy looking riffles. The trout simply don't want to fight the current and work that hard when the water is cold. If we get into an extended warming trend the fishing could really get hot!
RECOMMENDED FLIES: Perdigons 16-20, Frenchie 16-20, Duracell 14-18, Sexy Walt 14-18, G.T.I. Caddis 12-16, Slush Egg 12-14, Mop 10-12, Zebra Midge 18-22, Blindside Midge 18-22, JuJu Midge 18-24, Deep Blue Poison Tung 18-22, Rainbow Warrior 18-22, Disco Midge 18-22, Micro Mayfly 18-20, Juju Baetis 18-20, Jedi Master Baetis 18-22, Slim Shady 18-20, Sprout Midge 18-22, Mole Fly 18-22, Griffith's Gnat 16-22, Para Adams 18-24.
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