Reservoir · Volcanic · Eastern Sierra

Crowley Lake

Crowley Lake — McKee Creek View, Crowley Lake, Sierra Nevada 9-17

Crowley is the Eastern Sierra's stillwater headliner — a big, wind-swept reservoir in Long Valley that grows fat rainbows and browns on a near-endless chironomid buffet.

Fair · Rainbow
Callibaetis Nymph · 12-16
Fairlive now
Reasonable summer fishing likely at Crowley Lake
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
51% confidence
What moved it
  • WindW 11 km/hLight breeze
Today's fly
CN
Callibaetis Nymph12-16
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
W 11 km/h
N
W
from the west
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp
Air temp18°C
CloudClear
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
Current conditions suit Crowley Lake well for summer tactics. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently.
Where
Start with Callibaetis Nymph (12-16) on a slow figure-of-eight retrieve. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Callibaetis Nymph (12-16) on a slow figure-of-eight retrieve. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.

Plan B

Fish early and late, try deeper during the heat of the day with a fast-sinking line.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Either bank or boat

Good ripple suits both bank and boat. Bank: work inflows, dam walls, and points. Boat: broadside drift covering wind lanes.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

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Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Gray DrakeHatch
2
2
CallibaetisHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Hexagenia (Western)Hatch
2
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • General season opens late April; a catch-and-release special-regulation window applies in late summer/autumn — verify current dates and rules against CDFW
  • Boat inspection/launch (quagga) requirements apply — verify before promoting boat access.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
78%
Cloud25%
Wind100%
Temp100%

A good match for Crowley Lake — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Fishing better nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Crowley Lake — McKee Creek View, Crowley Lake, Sierra Nevada 9-17
    McKee Creek View, Crowley Lake, Sierra Nevada 9-17
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Crowley is the Eastern Sierra's stillwater headliner — a big, wind-swept reservoir in Long Valley that grows fat rainbows and browns on a near-endless chironomid buffet. The classic Crowley method is a static chironomid hung at depth under an indicator from an anchored boat, and the whole game is finding the band the fish are feeding in and getting your bugs to sit in it. It opens busy and bait-friendly, then turns to catch-and-release stillwater fly water in late summer and autumn when the perch-fry and chironomid fishing peaks. Wind is the wild card — it can blow you off the lake, so watch the forecast and pick your morning. A boat or tube lake; the shore game is limited.

  • Reservoir
  • Volcanic
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic lifeImpaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Crowley Lake' (CAL6031009019980806103521), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Oxygen Depletion, Ammonia, Mercury. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · CAL6031009019980806103521

Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • TroutLast Saturday in April31 December
Related guides
Booking & contacts