The bigs are MIA on the Upeer Owens but there are plenty of catchable sized trout to be had

Owens River - CA


by Tom Loe
11-14-2012
Website

Flows have come down a tad but remain on the high side making nymphing the deeper, more productive pools a bitch to get your imitations down too. Look for a significant drop after Thanksgiving, (I like 80- 100 cfs). It has been cold in the mornings recently, and you will not see a decent hatch until 2 pm most days. Small mayfly patterns #18-22 work well on the rising afternoon browns and rainbows. Numbers continue to be good here for catchable sized trout. The bigs are still MIA with only a few nice fish staging up on the gravel. The extremely low lake level on Crowley & low flows of the Upper Owens in October made it very difficult for the larger fish to migrate up the shallow inlet section. This is why McGee Bay does not have a great fall migration most years. I am still optimistic we will get a good jag of bigs moving soon and we are keeping a close watch on this area for our "snow bow" trips this winter. SJ worms and imitation egg patterns are good for colder periods, use Assassin's birds nest or FB PT's, broken back & tiger midges for nymphing. You need lots of weight to get those bugs down in the deeper pools-two AB shot is not out of the equation in some holes.

After Nov.15th you may only fish upstream from the Benton Bridge, ZERO limit-barbless artificial lures or flies only.
Pictured Above:Kip Hearron with a chunky UO brown he caught while nymphing