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View Full Version : lower or upper owens river?????????



striperstud
08-07-2007, 11:59 AM
i am going ur to fish the sierra's on the 15-18 and was planning on fishing the owens river but didnt really kno whether to fish upper or lower or wat the difference was???? i had heard that the upper area is catch and release only is this true????

i will also be fishing lake crowley and virginia lakes so any info on those would be great too...

Thanks,
Striperstud

aboos
08-07-2007, 12:29 PM
i am going ur to fish the sierra's on the 15-18 and was planning on fishing the owens river but didnt really kno whether to fish upper or lower or wat the difference was???? i had heard that the upper area is catch and release only is this true????

i will also be fishing lake crowley and virginia lakes so any info on those would be great too...

Thanks,
Striperstud

i dont know too much about owens but most parts are barbless and artificial only as well as crowley. from the monument down to crowley is barbless and artificial and from the monument up to the campground bait is ok. from the campground up pass benton crossing im not too sure. for crowley its a 2 fish limit over 18 inches. i fished there last week and was catching pretty much everywhere we went. mcgee produced bigger fish altho we were catching in hilton and alligator (fly fishing tho). if youre going to rent a boat, id suggest mcgee. theres not too many places to fish from shore but hilton is easiest. alligator is shoreable but tougher. thats the only places i fished and did decent. hope that helps some what.

rusty6
08-07-2007, 01:21 PM
the upper is producing much better now as the lower owens is still running high water flows. check out sierradrifters.com, vry detailed and helpful reports

FickMoney
08-07-2007, 01:22 PM
the last virginia lake has always produced better. walk along the north shore where the creek enters the lake. the fish stack up there. ive limited out in 5-10 minutes there previously

aboos
08-07-2007, 01:39 PM
the upper is producing much better now as the lower owens is still running high water flows.

wow..the water is running high? i thought there was a lack of water since crowley is super low. and while i was there, there was an announcement saying that if you could only use excess water on certain days (water lawn, washing cars, etc.) and if you got caught using water youd get a ticket. i thought it was kinda funny.

gwjones00
08-07-2007, 08:32 PM
The flows are high becuase the City of Los Angeles owns the water....

In general, the Upper Owens is above Crowley while the Lower Owens is below Crowley/Pleasant Valley Resevoir.

The Upper Owens from the Monument north to Benton Crossing is bait. North of Benton Crossing is artificial flies, single barbless hooks.

The Lower Owens from PVR south for a couple of miles is also artificial flies with single barbless hooks. Both also have limit restrictions - make sure you check the regulations.

I usually fish the Lower Owens in the winter becuase the weather is great. This time of year canb be pretty HOT on the lower Owens....

striperstud
08-09-2007, 09:26 AM
thanks guys... one last question wat lures should i use at crowley?????

Mike274
08-10-2007, 07:16 PM
Don't forget that Crowley is also a "no bait zone", artificials only as of August 1st.

Below Pleasant Valley you can keep fish between PVR and the first walking bridge at the campground just down river. After that to 5 bridges is a no keep zone period and don't forget gotta be barbless. Flows are high though,as previously stated, about 450cfs. In other terms about 1.5-2 feet below the top of the bank and quick as of last week. Flows are high because they cannot hold the water there like they can at other places. Flash floods or heavy snows in the coming months would lead to catastrophy as they can only let out so much water at a time without flooding the valley.

By the way you can use almost anything, but Floating worms around the bends and under banks, where allowed, is always good.

Good Luck

retired96
08-11-2007, 06:46 AM
I came back Tuesday after fishing the Upper Owens south of Benton Crossing. The fishing was utterly fantastic, one of my best trips in 49 years of fishing the river. No matter what I used I caught fish. In 7 days of fishing I caught over 200 fish and released all but one for dinner one night.