East Walker, Hot, Owens....First Time

[BobVP]

Having never been without lots of great places to fish in northern California I have not ventured to these three rivers before. Crossed them a few times in the past but I was on other ventures (Boating the Colorado) at the time. Now I am headed to Albuquerque and thought it best I take some time to fish these places.

I have read everything from O'Brien and Norman and even looked up some old posts here but there is nothing better than "word of mouth" for me.

I will have two/three days starting October 15 to fish. What should I not miss? What can I "take a pass" on? Good places to "Free Camp" in the area? (I have gotten very good at cold camping when fishing)

Any insights are welcome and greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Lew Riffle]

Please keep in mind that the waters south over Conway Summit especially Hot Creek have NZ mud snails. Try and fish the East Walker first and the infected waters last. And clean your gear well anyhow!
Give this link a try...

http://www.thetroutfly.com/fishreport.html

[Woodman]

A hike into the Owens Gorge is well worth it. Not really like anything else in CA that I can think of.

[cdevine]

Keep close watch on Flows on the EW. Its been around 150-160 right now which is great fall level. it will only go lower from here though. When it gets boney in the winter I let it rest but mid October I would think you will be ok. I know I will be out there if the flows stay above 75.

Bridgeport gets really cold in AM. So expect 20's and you don't need to be on the water at 7am.

The gorge is great "IF" you are physically in shape. If not don't try it. It will kick your arse.

Depends what your goal is... .For a trophy type fish the EW is the place. #'s I would go to Hot Creek. Owen River I don't fish much so can't comment. Lots of good guides down that neck though. PM me if you want to know more.
Thx

[BobVP]

A hike into the Owens Gorge is well worth it. Not really like anything else in CA that I can think of.

From any particular spot/area?

[BobVP]

Thank you all for the information.
Having watched a few videos of hiking into the gorge it seems/looks well within my abilities. (I generally figure walking a few miles for a wild trout is the least I can do for them...and I still prefer to canoe the Fall)

Having never been a "trophy type" guy maybe this is the one trip I will challenge that self image and hit the EW for a while.

Thanks again.

[Digger]

I fished HC back in June, and in two days I literally quit counting the number I caught/released.
All less than 14 inches though. Now the flows are very low and you'll have difficulty not snagging the weeds.

E Walker 'miracle mile' might be worth it, but Bridgeport is running low so outflows may be reducing very soon.

The Owens has the Upper, Lower, and the Gorge which really is warm, bring water, watch for reptiles.
The upper will have migrating Browns from Crowley very soon.
The Lower is easy access but flows are really high for this time of year.

McGee creek is another possibility

[BobVP]

Thanks Digger.
McGee.....Fish the east side or west side of 395?

[Digger]

E. trek down towards Crowley

[JasonB]

Noticed that flows on the EW just dropped a bit to 87cfs. Still worth fishing if you’ve not yet been, but kind of right on the edge for my tastes. 100-200cfs has more good water, and more interesting fishing; again, in my humble opinion. I wouldn’t normally make a point of concern for the current flow except that it looks possible that we might have a few more adjustments coming soon. Nothing sucks worse for the east Walker fishing than a sudden drop in flows. It can really shut down the fishing! Given the flow being a tad on the low side at this time, I would watch flows carefully and be prepared for a plan B option just in case.

Have a great trip,
JB

[BobVP]

Thanks Jason.
Plan B would be to move on to The Owens.

[BobVP]

Thanks again for all the input.

I fished the E. Walker but other than a strike or two came away with appreciation only.
I understand better how tough this place can be to fish. Talked to three other folks that had exactly the same as me...nada.
While catching did not work out the place is beautiful. Saw a bear one morning....medium sized and only sixty yards away. Lots of deer crossing the river.

I had to wait for my return trip from Albuquerque to fish Hot Creek but I am very glad I did return that way.
Did not catch many but was thrilled with the fish I did catch. My best guess is the largest was 14-15" and the smallest was still at least 12".
What a beautiful place to fish!
Water was pretty low so I kept the fish in the water. Got a handful of nettles while reaching for the first fish! Ouch. Quite a few more people fishing on Hot than on EW.

I ended up coming home via 50 so I thought to try the Silver Fork American. Not a fish to be seen or touched in three hours. It "looked fishy" but I could not figure it out.

Great Fall colors from the Silver Fork all the way to Bishop! Sorry, I rarely take photos any more.

[cdevine]

Thx Bob. Glad you had a good trip. The EW is getting really fickle. Was hoping to see at least 100 CFS for awhile but down to 60 now. EW in my experience is pretty tranquil and remote. If you fish down from mile you rarely see people. As for AR- Silver my experience has been best to just drive by. I live pretty close and have hiked back into some of the creeks which can be fun in summer on dries but mainly 8-10 inch fish.