october 20, 2026

​

The Fall Snap is in the air! The past week has been chilly in the mornings and getting into the 60s during the day……Perfect! This has brought the annual migration of “Leaf Peepers”, a.k.a. Foliage Enthusiasts, here to enjoy the Fall colors.

​

We are nearing the end of the General Fishing Season on November 16th. The only marina still open in the June Lake Loop is Big Rock Resort at June Lake which, weather permitting, will remain open through October 31st. We’ll be out on the lake a couple days between now and then. 

​

Where to fish after closing? Here’s some locations…… 

​

Upper Owens River above Benton Crossing is open all year, barbless flies and lures only, catch and release. Most of the creeks in the area remain open with special regulations. This can be tricky as to which ones and which sections of those that are still open. You’ve got to check online the CDFW Freshwater Sportfish Regulations Booklet Alphabetical Listing of Trout Waters and any Fishing Notices posted at the creeks. 

​

Some closures of note: 

McGee and Convict Creeks below Highway 395 to Lake Crowley closed as of October 1st as well as Rush Creek between Silver and Grant Lakes. It remains open with special regs below Grant Lake to Mono Lake. 

So, there will be plenty of waters that remain open and pay attention to those special regulations!

​

Upper owens river above benton crossing: 

Please see the previous report for a little background. 

​

Brushing the cobwebs aside and digging into our memory banks we remember that last year the fishing for big Rainbows and Browns from mid September through October was the best we’ve seen in at least 12 years. So far this year that has not materialized. So now digging even deeper into those memory banks that great Fall fishing usually didn’t kick in until about this time of October so last year was a welcome early arrival. Yesterday, using the approach described in that previous report, we caught one 19” Brown. But we did see more big fish than we have so far this Fall and are hopeful (“if you ain’t got hope, you ain’t got noth’n”) that this could be the early stages of the “Fall Run”. We’ll be out there today and later this week to see what happens. 

​

​JUNE LAKE: 

During the past few trips on June we’ve done quite well getting a good amount of Rainbows up to 3lbs and some Cutthroats up to 16” using a variety of floating baits. Since about mid-September when the water cooled most have been in water 10’ to 20’ deep. Good spots have been at the North end in front of the beaches and the South end in front of the private docks. A couple of good friends have been get’n ‘em on mini jigs and swimbaits in the same locations. This is also a good time of year to toss out a nightcrawler under a bobber. 

​

fellow anglers,

"Keep chuck’n and a grind’n” !!

​

​

​

​

september 27, 2026

 

Whatever is or is not going on with the CDFW stocking (please see the previous two fish reports) in many of the Eastern Sierra lakes including Gull and June Lakes the results have been fewer fish caught during our trips there than in the past several years.That being said, spending a day on a boat on a lake in our beautiful mountains still makes it a Sierra Moment. 

​

Here’s an interesting tid bit……we use, amongst other baits, while fishing Gull and June Lakes Berkeley’s FLOATING 2” Garlic Pinched Crawlers. They also make an identical non-floating, not garlic version. For us floating is critical as the bait must be above the lake bottom and any weeds. The packaging is almost the same except the floating garlic label has an image of a whole garlic and the word floating on the label or lid. Keep an eye out as they often get mixed together on retailers shelves. 

​

Upper owens river above benton crossing: 

We have seen a few big Rainbows and remain hopeful that more are on the way along with big Browns like last year. The last two trips have yielded two 20” Rainbows each time and both times one on a Yellow Spot Nymph and one on a Black Bugger. Our approach has been working upstream in the morning with the nymph catching one and spotting a few others then about mid-day turn around and fish downstream with the bugger getting one of those we spotted on the way up while covering about a mile of water. We’ll stick with this for now then add some other techniques and fly patterns as more fish arrive.

​

​GULL AND JUNE LAKES: 

Please refer to the previous reports regarding the baits we employ. The State did stock June Lake this week so we’re eager to see how we do during our trips there next week. Last week the “Bunch-O-Nuts” were here for two days of fishing on Gull and June Lakes. We worked together 30 to 50 years ago building residential projects throughout SoCal. 

So, Fall is a wonderful time to be in “The Loop” regardless of how the fishing is.

​

​BACKCOUNTRY: We have not fished our two favorite locations for awhile now but you can expect it to be excellent through October. At Mine Creek, this is the time when many of the Brookies move into the Creek to spawn so we generally focus on that along with the lakes and ponds. 

​

"Keep chuck’n and a grind’n” !!

​

​

september 13, 2026

 

This has been a funkadelic fishing season so far as the fishing has been slower than the past couple years just about everywhere we fish. A few theories…… Going back to March right on through to present day it has been a warm season temperature wise leading to warmer water. At Gull and June Lakes the CDFW trout stocking has been inconsistent and less than usual. According to their fish planting schedule on-line (once again viewed with much skepticism) since before Opener Gull has been stocked 6 times and June 4 times. That’s just not enough to keep up with the fishing pressure at “put and take” lakes. 

​

And how about any residual effect after the 2022/2023 big snow year and ensuing run-off? 

 

Looking forward, Fall is soon upon us bringing cooler temps and less fishing pressure so we’re hopeful things will improve.

​​

​GULL AND JUNE LAKES: The Labor Day Weekend trips on both lakes were tough going due to high winds. Friday on Gull, no fish and bailed after about 3 hours and on Saturday we were able to fish longer getting only 5. At June on Sunday, once we found a spot to keep the boat stable and not drifting in the wind we brought in 7 Rainbows up to 16”. At both lakes we are using the usual suspects bait wise (see previous report) and had some success tossing a red and gold Thomas Buoyant. We’ll be back out on both lakes later this week hoping for less wind and better fishing. 

​

​Upper owens river above benton crossing: 

For most of the Summer the flow here (the flow changes depending on how much water LADWP is sending from Grant Lake) has been in the mid 50cfs range increasing to 66cfs a few days ago. We like the flow in the 80 to 100cfs range. Looking back to last year, which is an iffy proposition but we’re hanging our fishing hat on it, with the coming of Fall and lasting into early November the big (20” and up) Brown and Rainbow fishing was the best in the past 10 to 12 years. As we head there each upcoming trip we’re hopeful for a repeat this year

and an increase in that flow. Flies we have been using and will continue to use include Yellow Spot and Flashback Pheasant Tail nymphs, Midges, Olive and Black Wooly Buggers, E.C. Caddis and Stimulators, and adding Egg Patterns and San Juan Worms to the mix.

​

​BACKCOUNTRY: We have not fished our two favorite spots, Mine Creek in Tioga Pass and Rock Creek in Little Lakes Valley, much lately. This season we’ve seen fewer fish overall but still getting 20 to 30 small Brooks at Mine Creek and about the same at Rock Creek along with a few Browns and Rainbows using primarily Caddis and Black Ant patterns. At Mine Creek many of the Brooks will be migrating from the lakes into the creek to spawn as October approaches. 

​

​Tenaya and Tioga Lakes: Having never fished either lake we jumped in the truck one recent day to check ‘em out…… 

Driving West on the 120 highway towards Yosemite we went past Tioga Lake before the Park entrance and made it to Tenaya going through Tuolumne Meadows on the way. Oops! Upon arrival, along with Mango the dog, we see signs everywhere including a big electric road work type sign flashing “No Paws Off Pavement” warning that no dogs are allowed on trails and beaches so to avoid what could be a federal offense we headed back to Tioga Lake. While shore fishing there we caught a couple Rainbows using Kastmasters and Panther Martins then switched to scented floating baits like we use at Gull and June Lakes also getting Rainbows one after another up to 16” keeping a couple and releasing the rest. We don’t shore fish much but with magnificent scenery it was nice to kick back, relax, and enjoy the day. We’ll surely be back soon.

​

"Keep chuck’n and a grind’n” !!​​​​​​