June Lake sits in the middle of the best concentration of trout water in California, and one of the best in the world. Within an hour of the chalet you can fish a geothermal spring creek with thousands of wild trout per mile, a meadow river that fills with lake-run fish twice a year, a famous stillwater, a tailwater known for browns measured in pounds, freestone pocket water below Devils Postpile, and alpine lakes you can walk to from the back door.
Welcome. You have found the definitive guide to fly fishing June Lake and the Eastern Sierra, written by people who are, by any reasonable measure, extremely good at this. Ask anyone. Ask the fish. Actually, do not ask the fish. They have been telling lies about us for years.
Now, let us get something out of the way. People fly to Patagonia, to New Zealand, to Iceland, to a lodge in Alaska that costs more per week than a used truck, so that they can stand in a river and fail to catch a large trout in a beautiful place. You can do all of that here, and sleep in a log chalet, and be on the deck with a cold one before the trico spinners on Hot Creek have finished dying. Five hours from Los Angeles.
This guide covers every serious water within about sixty miles of the chalet: what lives there, when it fishes, what to tie on, the one thing that matters, and the 2026 rules. It does not cover the places we actually fish. We will come back to that.
Today, on the water
Where to fish today, and with what
Live weather at June Lake, this month’s hatches, and the one thing that matters on each water. Pick a style and your level.
- Air
- –
- Wind
- –
- Cloud
- –
- Pressure
- –
Weather: Open-Meteo. Hatches: our month-by-month notes. Always check current regulations.
Why June Lake belongs on the world list
Most great trout destinations are great at one thing. Montana has rivers. New Zealand has sight fishing to enormous browns. Iceland has char and silence. The Eastern Sierra has all of the types, close together, and a fish nobody else has.
- A spring creek with a ridiculous number of fish. California’s fish and game department has counted as many as 8,000 to 10,000 wild trout per mile in Hot Creek. Most of them have seen your fly before.
- Lake-run trout in a meadow. Twice a year, rainbows and cutthroat run out of Crowley Lake into the Upper Owens, and a narrow meadow stream suddenly holds fish twice the size it has any right to.
- A tailwater with browns measured in pounds. The East Walker below Bridgeport Dam has given up a 13-pound brown.
- The golden trout. California’s state fish, native to two creeks in the southern Sierra and stocked long ago into high lakes up and down the range. Some of those lakes are in this part of the Sierra. That is all we are going to say.
- No lodge required. Everything here is drive-to or walk-to. No floatplane, no guide-only beats, no $900-a-night minimums, and the beer is whatever you put in the cooler.
How it stacks up
Our read, drawn from outfitter seasons and published guides. Travel times are door to water from Los Angeles; costs are for a typical week, relative to each other.
| Season | Species | Water types | Travel from LA | A week costs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June Lake and the Eastern Sierra | All year; prime Apr to Jun, Sep to Oct | Rainbow, brown, brook, Lahontan cutthroat, golden | Spring creek, meadow, tailwater, freestone, stillwater, alpine | About 5 hours, by car | $ |
| Southwest Montana | Best Jun to Oct | Rainbow, brown, cutthroat, brook | Freestone, tailwater, spring creek | 5 to 7 hours | $$ |
| Patagonia, Argentina | Nov to Apr | Brown, rainbow, brook | Freestone, lakes, spring creek | 18 to 24 hours | $$$ |
| South Island, New Zealand | Oct to Apr | Brown, rainbow | Clear freestone, sight fishing | 16 to 20 hours | $$$ |
| Iceland | Jun to Sep | Brown, Arctic char, Atlantic salmon | Spring-fed rivers, lakes | 12 to 15 hours | $$$$ |
| Soča Valley, Slovenia | Apr to Oct | Marble trout, grayling, brown, rainbow | Alpine freestone | 16 to 20 hours | $$ |
| Bristol Bay, Alaska | Jun to Oct | Rainbow, char, grayling, five salmon | Big rivers, fly-out | 12 hours plus a floatplane | $$$$ |
Are the fish bigger in Patagonia? Some of them. Is the light better in New Zealand? Probably. Can you fish a spring creek at dawn, a lake at noon and a high cirque at sunset, then soak in a hot tub under Carson Peak, without getting on a plane? Only here.
The waters
Seven waters, from five minutes away to fifty. Each has its own page with access, flies, technique and the 2026 rules.
| Water | Type | Best for | Open (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Creek | Geothermal spring creek | Tricos, technical dry flies, humility | All year, barbless flies, release |
| Upper Owens River | Meadow spring creek | Lake-run fish in spring and fall | All year above Benton Crossing, release |
| Crowley Lake | Stillwater | Chironomids, damsels, big browns on perch fry | Last Sat. in April to Nov. 15 |
| East Walker River | Tailwater | Trophy browns | Last Sat. in April to Nov. 15, 18-inch minimum |
| Middle Fork San Joaquin | Freestone pocket water | Numbers of wild trout on dries | General season; summer road access |
| June Lake Loop and Rush Creek | Lakes and a creek | Evenings five minutes from the door | Lakes last Sat. in April to Nov. 15 |
| Backcountry lakes | Alpine lakes | Brookies, solitude, the occasional golden | All year, but snowbound until summer |
- June Lake Loop and Rush Creek5 min
- Backcountry lakes5 min
- Upper Owens River25 min
- Hot Creek30 min
- Crowley Lake35 min
- Middle Fork San Joaquin50 min
- East Walker River50 min
When to come
The short version: spring and fall are prime everywhere, summer is about early mornings and high water, and winter belongs to the spring creeks.
| Water | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Creek | Jan: Fair | Feb: Fair | Mar: Good | Apr: Good | May: Good | Jun: Prime | Jul: Prime | Aug: Prime | Sep: Prime | Oct: Prime | Nov: Good | Dec: Fair |
| Upper Owens River | Jan: Good | Feb: Good | Mar: Prime | Apr: Prime | May: Prime | Jun: Good | Jul: Fair | Aug: Fair | Sep: Good | Oct: Prime | Nov: Prime | Dec: Good |
| Crowley Lake | Jan: Closed or out of reach | Feb: Closed or out of reach | Mar: Closed or out of reach | Apr: Good | May: Prime | Jun: Prime | Jul: Prime | Aug: Good | Sep: Good | Oct: Prime | Nov: Good | Dec: Closed or out of reach |
| Middle Fork San Joaquin | Jan: Closed or out of reach | Feb: Closed or out of reach | Mar: Closed or out of reach | Apr: Closed or out of reach | May: Closed or out of reach | Jun: Fair | Jul: Good | Aug: Prime | Sep: Prime | Oct: Good | Nov: Closed or out of reach | Dec: Closed or out of reach |
| East Walker River | Jan: Closed or out of reach | Feb: Closed or out of reach | Mar: Closed or out of reach | Apr: Good | May: Prime | Jun: Prime | Jul: Good | Aug: Good | Sep: Prime | Oct: Prime | Nov: Good | Dec: Closed or out of reach |
| June Lake Loop and Rush Creek | Jan: Closed or out of reach | Feb: Closed or out of reach | Mar: Closed or out of reach | Apr: Prime | May: Prime | Jun: Prime | Jul: Good | Aug: Good | Sep: Good | Oct: Prime | Nov: Good | Dec: Closed or out of reach |
| Backcountry lakes | Jan: Closed or out of reach | Feb: Closed or out of reach | Mar: Closed or out of reach | Apr: Closed or out of reach | May: Closed or out of reach | Jun: Fair | Jul: Prime | Aug: Prime | Sep: Prime | Oct: Good | Nov: Closed or out of reach | Dec: Closed or out of reach |
| Season | What is happening | Bring |
|---|---|---|
| Late April to June | Ice-off on the lakes, the opener on the loop, blue-winged olives and midges on overcast days, lake-run rainbows still in the Upper Owens | BWO parachutes 18 to 20, RS2s, zebra midges, chironomids, woolly buggers |
| July and August | Trico mornings on Hot Creek and the Owens flats, caddis evenings, hoppers on windy banks, the high country opens | Trico spinners 20 to 24, elk hair caddis 14 to 18, hoppers, a thermometer |
| September to mid-October | The best window: cooler water, BWOs back, browns getting aggressive, Crowley fish on perch fry, aspens turning | BWOs, sculpins, perch patterns, eggs on the Owens |
| Mid-October to April | Hot Creek, the Upper Owens and lower Rush Creek, catch and release. Midges, scuds, eggs. Snowshoes sometimes | Zebra midges 20 to 22, scuds 16 to 18, eggs, a thermos |
A rule we take seriously: when the water reaches about 70°F, stop fishing for the day. Catch and release only works if the fish survive the release.
Rods, lines and the stuff people forget
| Spring creeks | Meadow and tailwater | Lakes | Freestone and alpine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rod | 9 ft 4-wt | 9 ft 5-wt | 9 to 10 ft 5- or 6-wt | 8 to 9 ft 3- or 4-wt |
| Line | Floating | Floating, sink tip for streamers | Floating plus intermediate | Floating |
| Tippet | 6X to 7X | 4X to 6X | 4X to 5X fluorocarbon | 5X |
| Do not forget | Polarized glasses, patience | A thermometer, the flow report | An indicator, a float tube | Bug spray, a wilderness permit for overnights |
The air is thin and dry at 7,600 feet. Drink more water than you think, wear a hat, and expect the afternoon wind on the big lakes to arrive exactly when the fish start eating.
Our guide
If you want to skip the first ten years of figuring this out, call Scott, known to everyone as Knot. He runs Sierra Moments Fishing Adventures out of June Lake, has fished the Eastern Sierra for more than fifty years from the Kern to Sonora Pass, and is insured, state licensed and bonded. He fly fishes the Upper Owens, guides the loop lakes after the opener, and runs backcountry day hikes to small lakes and creeks. He is especially good with families and first-timers: kids catching their first trout on a fly rod is, by his own account, the point.
Book him at (760) 577-1247, through his website, or on Facebook. Tell him the chalet sent you. He will pretend to be surprised.
What we are not telling you
Everything on this page is true, and none of it is where we fish on a Tuesday in October. Every water here has a stretch that is a little too far from the car, a lake one ridge past the one everybody hikes to, a run that only fishes for forty minutes at first light. We have gotten you very close. Wake up early, walk farther than everyone else, and fish the places that look like too much work. You will find them. And when you do, you will not tell anyone either.
Common questions
Is June Lake good for fly fishing?
Yes. June Lake is one of the best bases for fly fishing in California. Within about an hour are Hot Creek, the Upper Owens River, Crowley Lake, the East Walker River, the Middle Fork San Joaquin and the June Lake Loop lakes and Rush Creek, plus backcountry lakes reached on foot from the loop.
Where can I fly fish near June Lake in winter?
Hot Creek and the Upper Owens River above Benton Crossing are open all year under 2026 California rules, catch and release with barbless artificial flies or lures. Lower Rush Creek below Grant Lake Dam is also open all year, catch and release. The loop lakes, Crowley and the East Walker open the last Saturday in April.
What is the best month to fly fish the Eastern Sierra?
September and October are the strongest overall, with cooler water, returning blue-winged olives, lake-run fish on the Upper Owens and fewer people. Late April through June is a close second.
What flies should I bring to June Lake?
Small. Size 18 to 24 midges, blue-winged olives and tricos for the spring creeks, scuds, pheasant tails and zebra midges for nymphing, chironomids and damsels for the lakes, and woolly buggers and sculpins for the big browns. Our hatch calendar on this page lists them by month.
Do I need a guide to fly fish June Lake?
No, but a good one shortens the learning curve by years. Our go-to is Scott “Knot” of Sierra Moments Fishing Adventures in June Lake, who has fished the Eastern Sierra for more than fifty years.