march 31, 2026

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Since early March we’ve been fishing the snow free Upper Owens only and will continue doing so until the General Fishing Season Opener (Merry Fishmas) on the last Saturday in April. All of March has seen beautiful Spring conditions out there getting into the 80s at times and now, for the next few days, we’re getting some rain and snow mix and wind but should get back to that Spring weather by the weekend. ​

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Upper owens river above benton crossing:

Barbless flies and lures only, catch and release, open all year. 

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Like mentioned in the previous report, earlier in the month we were getting a good amount of 18” to 20” mostly Rainbows and a few Browns along with some smaller of both species. Gradually, the bigger fish have thinned out heading back to Lake Crowley. There’s actually quite a bit of 4” to 12” Rainbows and Browns about along with a few bigger ones remaining. 

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For those larger fish we’ve been mostly nymphing the deeper bends and cut banks with (or a combination of) Yellow Spot, Flashback Pheasant Tail, and Zebra Midge nymphs along with San Juan Worms and Egg Patterns. At times we’re swinging and stripping streamers like #6 Olive and Black Wooly Buggers. There’s been a good amount of surface feeding by the smaller fish usually peaking about 1:00 or 2:00. Caddis flies, Mayflies, Black Gnats, and Griffiths Gnats are all working well. 

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I’m thinking the weather (after this week) and fishing will continue to be about the same until the May spawning run of big Cutthroats. There’s always something to look forward to at the Upper Owens. 

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​Until next time……

"Keep chuck’n and a grind’n” !!

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march 15, 2026

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Now that ALL the snow has melted at Upper Owens that’s where we’ll be spending our days fishing until Opener the last Saturday in April when we’ll spread our wings to Gull and June Lakes and later to the backcountry. Weather in the Eastern Sierra is gorgeous with Springlike conditions and looks to continue for a while. 

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Upper owens river above benton crossing:

As a reminder this section is barbless flies and lures only, catch and release, open all year. 

 

So far it’s just myself out there until some upcoming guide trips and therefore no fish photos since my goal is to release fish within 10 to 20 seconds while keeping them in shallow water. 

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I was able to access the Longears area via the East side road up from Benton Crossing starting March 3rd and now can use Owens River Road to come in from the West side. Initially I was getting into Rainbows 18” to 20” during their late February/March run up from Lake Crowley along with 8” to 16” Browns and Rainbows. It’s slowly thinning out each trip going from a mix of 4 to 5 of those fish to 2 or 3. Still loads of fun with near perfect weather conditions. Most of those were caught with a Yellow Spot Nymph below an indicator 5’ to 6’ deep. Other good bets include Flashback Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges, San Juan Worms, and Egg Patterns. The few times I’ve tossed Wooly Buggers have also worked. 

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There’s been a consistent bit of surface feeding by 6” to 12” Browns and Rainbows each day starting about 1:00 in some but not all of the slower moving bends so that’s the time to break out Caddis and Mayfly Patterns. I tell ya, it’s such a joy to be fishing the Upper in March with no snow cherishing the memory of it all year long. 

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​“Keep chuck’n and a grind’n” !!

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