The Owens River Gorge

The Owens River Gorge is open to year around fishing.  However, like the Lower Owens River, the Gorge fishes best in the fall-winter-spring.  The main reason to fish here during the “off-season” is that it can get pretty hot during the summer months. 

A large part of the Gorge’s brilliance as a trout stream can be attributed to the fact that anglers must be willing to hike in.  There are few access points than the 15 mile long canyon would suggest and anglers visiting the Gorge must be willing to accept its raw nature.  Scrambling over loose rocks and giant boulders are an accepted necessity that add to the charm and character of this place.

As credit to the above mentioned commitments one must make to fish the Gorge, it is indeed probably the best dry fly fishing waters we have for wild brown trout.  Technically a tailwater stream, it fishes more like a freestone stream with eager and aggressive fish that will smack the hackle right off your dry fly throughout the day, hatch or no hatch.  The water hosts extensive populations of caddis flies, stoneflies, midges and mayflies and if that weren’t enough…the hoppers and huge black beetles give the fish plenty of reason to look up to eat.

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