Freestone · Mixed · Eastern Sierra

McGee Creek

McGee Creek venue image

McGee Creek is a small, pretty Eastern Sierra freestone dropping out of a glacial canyon into the Long Valley flats near Crowley — more a hike-and-explore creek than a destination river, and all the better for it.

Marginal · Brown Trout
Parachute Adams · 12-18
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelDry recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp18.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Parachute Adams
Parachute Adams12-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp18.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather20°C
WindNE 5 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead14.8 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
18°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 18.2°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
ModelledModerate confidence

Modelled from regional ecology — no survey or occurrence data for this water yet.

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
1
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2
American March BrownHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • General-season trout water (~late April–mid-November); verify reach rules and dates against current CDFW.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 2
Water here around 18°C — probably warm enough to stress Brown Trout . These are likely cooler.
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

McGee Creek is a small, pretty Eastern Sierra freestone dropping out of a glacial canyon into the Long Valley flats near Crowley — more a hike-and-explore creek than a destination river, and all the better for it. It holds wild and stocked browns and rainbows in plunge pools and pocket water, with the canyon reach giving the kind of small-stream fishing where a short cast and a bushy dry are all you need, and the lower meadow water meandering quietly toward the reservoir. It's snowmelt-fed and modest, so it comes good after the peak runoff drops and stays fishable through summer into autumn, and it's a fine option when the bigger Crowley-area waters are crowded or blown out. Nothing technical here — attractors, a dropper, light feet, and a willingness to walk.

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

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'McGee Creek (Mono County)' (CAR6031007020170721050667), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Nutrients. 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) · CAR6031007020170721050667

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 39 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature53 × 28%14.8
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 69
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • TroutLast Saturday in April15 November
Related guides
Booking & contacts