Tuesday - January 6, 2026
5:30-6:45pm: Pre-meeting mini-class
7:00pm: Meeting & Speaker
Chris Leonard
Wintertime Techniques and Tactics for
flyfishing the Lower Owens River in Bishop
PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION
The Lower Owens is familiar to us as the closest native brown trout fishery near the town of Bishop in the Eastern Sierra. But familiarity does not mean consistent success on this picturesque stream often surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Pleasant Valley Reservoir supplies water to the river, and cautious anglers closely monitor the dam's flow rates, measured in cubic feet per second (cfs).
These can range from slow (60 cfs) to torrential, above 600. It is a delight to fish the “Lower O” in the winter months but catching can be challenging. The multi fish days of Spring and Fall prompt us to wonder where those fish hide when there is snow on the banks. To answer these and other questions we welcome back a local guide and expert who will take us through technique, fly choice and other tips to brighten up those winter outings. Even seasoned Owens veterans will learn something new from this exciting and thorough presentation.
Chris Leonard is a career history-social science teacher at Mammoth High School. His greatest passions are education and fly fishing, making him a choice fly fishing instructor and on-water guide. He guides through Kittredge Sports during the summer, also weekends and holidays during the school year. Rivers and lakes. Tenkara and Western rods. He has lived in the Eastern Sierra fulltime since 2004. His favorite waters to fish and guide include the Owens River, Hot Creek, Rush Creek, Rock Creek, San Joaquin River, and Crowley Lake.
A seasoned traveler, he has chased trout as close as the Western USA, as far away as the Midwest, Eastern USA, Central America and South America. He has hooked steelhead in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, redfish in New Orleans and Texas, and bonefish, permit, and tarpon in Belize. His passion for fly fishing began in 2005 when he started the Mammoth High School Fly Fishing Club. Chris is also a founding board member of the Crowley Fish Foundation.
His program is a story of how the creation of the Mammoth High School Fly Fishing Club led him on a journey of fly fishing and guiding throughout the Eastern Sierra. He did not know how to fly fish when he started the club in 2005. Now, twenty years later, he is a seasoned angler. He will share stories, techniques, and tactics for fly fishing the majestic Eastern Sierra range. The Eastern Sierra is a jewel of a region for fly fishing - filled with creeks, rivers, and lakes, both on and off the beaten path. It’s a beautiful part of the country, and a great place to wet a line. Here is a link to the Crowley Fish Foundation:
https://crowleyfishfoundation.org/