E. Sierra Backcountry

Summer is here and that means backcountry fly fishing!! Many places are ice free and accessible such as Mosquito Flats and the Little Lakes Valley. The Cottonwood road is open to the gate 3/4 of a mile below Horseshoe Meadows. There is still a lot of snow out there, major drifts still cover the trail in many places where the sun doesn’t reach. Take extreme care as it is easy to lose the trail and take a nasty fall down an icy slope.

The fishing has been pretty good considering how low water temps are, cool temps hung on into late spring this year, we have just seen the summer heat arrive. Some lakes still seem cold, dormant and asleep and others are getting active. We’re seeing fish near shore taking dries on the flats and off the ledges. Rainbows are still spawning and are concentrated in the inlet and outlet streams, take care not to wade through their redds!

The Eastern Sierra Backcountry is an incredible place with a lifetime of fishing, just make sure to be smart, be safe and pack it out!!

Flies- Missing Link Caddis #16-18, E/C Caddis #16-18, Adams #14-18, Sierra Bright Dot #16-18, Royal Wulff #12-16

CDC Flashback P.T. #16-18, Midge Larva #16-22, Egg Patterns, Micro May #16-18, Scuds #14-18, Telico Nymphs #12-18

Wooley Buggers #10-4, Balance Leeches #12-16, Micro Dungeons #6-4