If you browse the most accessible information about fishing the eastern Sierra, articles, advertisements, guide reports, Web sites, and the like, you get the impression that there are only a dozen or so places that make up the fishery. You know the names: The upper and lower Owens River, Hot Creek, the East Walker and West Walker Rivers, Crowley Lake, Twin Lakes, and so on. In fact, however, California’s eastern Sierra offers hundreds of opportunities to experience excellent fly fishing in settings of unparalleled beauty, and the lesser-known waters accessed from the east side deserve a closer look from anyone seeking to spend some time in the area.
There are two basic components to the landscape of trout on the Sierra’s east side. At the lower elevations are broad valleys and basins in which the waters of several watersheds combine to form larger rivers These locations are tied together from north to south by Highway 395, contain the famous trout waters, and attract thousands of anglers every year. Upslope, west of the highway, more than thirty major creeks carry water eastward from the Sierra crest into the basins. There are nearly fifty trailheads strung along Highway 395 from the summit of Sonora Pass south to Horseshoe Meadows, southwest of the town of Lone Pine. All of these afford access to watersheds that drain into the East and West Walker Rivers, Mono Lake, or the Owens River. With the exception of an early opener at a few low-altitude stretches of streams between the towns of Independence and Lone Pine, these waters are subject to the general trout season (open from the last Saturday in April though the second Tuesday in November). The trailheads lie at the end of roads that wind up the slope of the Sierra and provide access to those fly fishers who want less pressured angling. You do not need to be a hiker to fish these waters. Each of the roads follows a stream and affords jumping offpoints to the many miles of productive water along the way to the start of the trails.
The Structure of the Landscape
The principal dimension of the eastern Sierra is vertical. The massifs of the crest rise up to more than 10,000 feet above the Owens Valley floor in the south and more than 6,000 feet above the valleys and basins in the north. In most places, the width from the crest to the lowest elevations is 10 miles or less in a straight line. This makes for steep gradients for both water and hikers. The dramatic landscape, which seems so grandiose and imposing, actually consists of a multitude of small pieces: tiny streams, quick-cascading drops, and canyons interspersed with pocket meadows and small hanging valleys.
Rivulets of snowmelt begin to gather in high basins just below the crest, flowing through the alpine tundra until gaining enough volume to constitute the beginning of a stream. Surprisingly, these tiny flows, no larger than a foot or two in width, often contain thriving populations of trout. They drain into small tarns or alpine lake basins, which are connected by outflows of ever-increasing volume. These tributaries drop from basin to basin until reaching an altitude of 9,500 to 10,000 feet. At that point, the eastern Sierra gradient kicks in, and the stream straightens and begins a higher-velocity fall through canyons until emerging onto the broader valleys below.
Because the watersheds are steep, the drainage areas of the east-side creeks are not nearly as large as those on the gentler western slope. This makes for smaller streams, and fishing occurs in more intimate settings. The streams are seldom wider than a city street and often only half that size. The freestone sections tumble through a succession of small pockets, which are frequently no larger than the kitchen sink. The creeks are often surrounded by dense vegetation: stands of aspen and conifer in the canyons and dense willows in the meadow areas. These factors put a premium on the ability to cast accurately and to control and manipulate short lengths of line and leader, which rarely exceed 25 feet in total length.
In the fast-water sections, fish will be found in the riffles at the head of pools, in the soft water behind rocks and other structure, in eddies, and in the soft water along the banks. Often, you’ll find all of these locations in a hundred yards of stream channel.
It is easy to underestimate the degree of difficulty involved in fishing these streams. You cannot simply walk up and drop in any old fly. Line management and manipulation are crucial and are a constant necessity. Because of their small size, the east-side streams can present a maze of conflicting currents, as well as structure such as boulders, all of which interfere with drifts. Target zones can be really small and isolated, without a flow of water that can lead the fly to the fish. Many times, little more than the leader constitutes a cast, and this arrangement is very hard to control. After “casting” little more than the leader, it is necessary to mend line immediately without causing drag and without losing contact with the fly in case of a strike. The fishing requires constant attention and a measure of creativity. Add the need to employ stealth in approach, and you have a situation that calls for active involvement at all times. The reward is found in the beautiful, often wild trout in iconic settings.
The more meadowlike sections hold fish in the riffles that connect the pools or bends, in the tails of those pools, in eddies and beneath undercut banks, and in cut curves. The fish are spooky, and there is a need for longer leaders and drag-free drifts. Meadow fish have a richer environment in terms of food and can run a bit larger in size. All the fish in these streams have a short feeding and growing season, often living beneath snow or ice for more than half the year. They need to be opportunistic feeders and can be quite aggressive in taking the fly.
Tracking the Season
Many streams on the east side have water-storage facilities that are used for water export or power generation. Generally speaking, these facilities are located at or below the 9,000-foot level. Thus, the streams are divided into a section above the dams and another section or sections below. In any case, the season for these streams is short, both in terms of flows and in terms of the seasons.
Stream flows are uncontrolled for some portion of all of the streams and for the entirety of some. Early May can be a time of high runoff, cold water, and angling among the remnants of the winter snowpack. The fish are lethargic and stay close to the bottom of the stream or move out into the riffles to look for food. A this time, I fish dry flies in the riffles and other shallow sections and drift small nymphs as close to the streambed as possible. However, the sections of stream below lakes that are managed for water supply and/or power generation can yield dry-fly action during the first few weeks of the season, until higher flows are allowed into the systems, because these lakes are often drawn down at the end of the previous fall to ease ice pressure on dam structures, for dam maintenance, and to make room for hoped-for snowmelt. This means that the runoff from the high snowpack is being captured in the lakes, while the streams below are running at late-summer levels.
As summer begins and the trees leaf out, the flows drop a bit, and the trout move to their more traditional feeding locations. I keep my eye on the skunk cabbage plants, looking for the point that they reach a height of about two feet. This marks the start of dry-fly time.
There is no hard-and-fast formula to figure out what water flows will be like through the summer on streams that are managed for water or power. These flows are almost completely dependent on utility demands and legal agreements relating to the downstream use of the water. The best advice is to take a look at historical flow data to get an idea of general patterns (visit, for example, http://wsoweb.ladwp.com/Aqueduct/realtime/realtimeindex.htm). The longer, warmer days bring increased insect activity, and the fishing will remain pretty steady until the volume of water begins to decline. On a stream such as the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River, the waning of the flows at the beginning of fall can produce a precipitous change in the character of the river. Low flows mean higher water temperatures, which stress the fish. It can be a good idea to check with local shops to get a read on current conditions.
The fall is my favorite time to fish the eastern Sierra. The crisp autumn air, the quality of the light, and the changing vegetation create an ideal time to be outside. I am not at all sure that the fishing itself is actually any better. I do sense that the fish know their window for feeding and growth is beginning to close and are more aggressive, but that is purely anecdotal. I keep casting dry flies into October, especially in the riffles, but as the days grow shorter and colder, fish and insect activity slow, and the trout drop down into the deeper water. Any angling after the middle of October is a bonus. By that point, there has probably been at least one significant snowfall, and there is no question that winter is on the way.
What’s For Dinner
Although the little streams of the eastern Sierra do not experience the prolific hatches for which some waters are famous, there are still predictable rhythms to the appearance of trout food. A basic list shows the major insect presence for each month of the season. Note that this does not mean that something not listed is not around. (For example, there are caddis present in August and September.) Rather, it just indicates this is not the month in which a hatch is most prolific. Note, too, that this list is not at all site specific. Most locations can be successfully fished using a general selection of flies. Only a few eastern Sierra locations have their special patterns. (The Owens River, the East Walker, and Hot Creek come to mind.)
May: Blue-Winged Olives, Pale Morning Duns, and chironomids
June: Pale Morning Duns, Little Yellow Stoneflies, caddisflies, and chironomids
July: Pale Morning Duns, Little Yellow Stoneflies, caddisflies, Callibaetis mayflies, Chironomids
August: Pale Morning Duns, Tricos
September: Callibaetis mayflies
October: Blue-Wing Olives, chironomids, and caddisflies
Terrestrials, mostly ants, beetles, and grasshoppers are present throughout the season, particularly from mid-June until the first hard freezes.
The mountain streams of the eastern Sierra lend themselves to fishing dry flies, and they predominate in my boxes. I carry Parachute Adamses and Parachute Blue-Winged Olives, mayfly emergers, caddis emergers, Elk Hair Caddises, E/C Caddises, Shroeder’s Parachute Caddises, Sparkle Pupa Emergers, Yellow Sallies, Stimulators, and a selection of midge imitations, including Griffith’s Gnats. These are generally in sizes 16 and 18, with Stimulators to size 10 and midges to size 20. I also include Royal Wulffs, Sierra Bright Dots, and Humpies in sizes 16 and 18 as attractor patterns. Terrestrials are imitated by size 16 and 18 Cutter’s Perfect Ants and foam ants, foam beetles, and several grasshopper patterns, size 10 through 14. I pull out the emerger patterns on those days when the water is dotted with exciting bulges and splashes, but the fish are not actually feeding on surface adults and therefore are ignoring my dry patterns.
I have found that there are not a lot of instances when I use subsurface patterns, but I have an assortment of Zebra, WD-40, Bird’s Nest, Pheasant Tail, and Prince Nymphs, size 14 through 18, and a few olive-and-black Woolly Buggers and Matukas. I would tell you that these are enough for any excursion, but I am a fly fisher, and so the basics are always augmented by a few “fly of the day” selections and other patterns I could not resist.
Gearing Up
You are not going to run into a lot of big fish in most of these east-side waters. Anything over a foot in length is a worthy accomplishment. A 4-weight rod is all you will usually need, and a 3-weight will also work well. The rods I fish are between 8 and 9 feet in length. I can see an argument for a shorter rod, given the close quarters involved in most of this fishing and as a means for avoiding trouble with vegetation. On the other hand, I often extend the rod out over the water and wiggle line and leader into a downstream drift using little flips of the tip, and a longer rod is better at doing that.
I fish with a light tippet, mostly 6X, but shifting to 7X if I am paranoid about water depth or clarity. This light tippet is adequate for most of the fish you will run into, although it probably costs me in terms of flies broken off in bushes and trees. I start out with a 7-1/2 foot 5X leader and trim off about a foot. I then tie on a length of 5X tippet and build out from there. Try to strike a balance between the need for leader length to avoid spooking the fish and the hassles involved with long leaders in tight spaces. Use a leader a foot or so shorter in pocket-water sections and lengthen it for slow water and meadow fishing.
I spend a lot of my fishing time in the water, even though these are small streams. This is not wading out chest-deep in the river, but rather maneuvering about in the shallows or crossing the creek in order to get to the most advantageous points from which to make a short, pinpoint cast. Early in the season, most of my fishing is done close to the car, and I can wear waders without having to expend too much effort. As the trails open up with warmer temperatures, I am hiking more, and I shift to wet wading in either shorts or lightweight nylon pants. If I am doing some hiking, I throw my gear into a small day pack, which also holds water, a first-aid and emergency kit, rain gear, a layer for warmth, and food.
A Few Words to the Wise
On the east side, you are continually at altitude. The lowest points are still at 4,000 feet, and as you work your way into the mountains, you are very quickly at 7,000 feet or more. Many trailheads and access points lie above the 8,000-foot level. You need to be aware of and alert for the signs of an adverse reaction to the elevation. Shortness of breath, headache, and loss of appetite can signal the need at least to slow down and very possibly to retreat to a lower elevation.
You can protect yourself by taking a couple of simple steps to acclimatize. Do not drive up from sea level, then jump out of the car to begin immediate vigorous physical activity. Take it easy for the first half day or so. Hydration is an important way to avoid altitude issues. Drink water early and often, even if you do not believe you are thirsty. Carry water with you if you are hiking or fishing away from the car for more than an hour. Remember that alcohol is not a hydrating fluid. The altitude also exacerbates the effects of the sun. Be mindful of the possibility of sunstroke and heat exhaustion, pace yourself, and, again, hydrate.
Use sunscreen, even on cloudy day, protect your lips using some kind of balm, and wear a brimmed hat.
The weather is unpredictable and can change quickly. Temperature swings of 50 degrees or more are common during the day. I have fished in the midst of falling snow in every month of the year here. Bring rain gear, as well as a layer or layers for warmth, and keep them with you.
Given the verticality of the eastern Sierra, there is a lot of uphill walking. Any walk away from a trailhead is likely to require going up, and most trails have one or more steep sections. Combined with the altitude, these trails can be debilitating. Take it easy — there is no need to be gung-ho. Be prepared with footwear that is adequate for hiking in rough terrain. Even if you are planning to wet wade as you fish, your shoes should be selected to meet the demands of the walk, as opposed to the water. I fish using a pair of waterproof Merrill boots that protect my feet from the rocks, have a hiking sole, and provide support to my ankles. If your plan includes a significant walk from the car to the water, give some thought to using hiking poles, which you can attach to your day pack while on the stream.
There is a lot of ground to cover in the eastern Sierra. I have lived here for the last 12 years, and the list of places I would like to visit is still longer than the list of locations I have visited. The mountain streams offer a great alternative to the summer heat and crowds of the valleys. Take a look at a map or two, and you will find something to pique your curiosity and provide a memorable day’s angling.
