Long leaders are a must for most of the season, especially on the Alpers' Owens River Ranch section, while the lower river can be effectively fished with a 9-foot leader due to an abundance of deeper fish holding in pools, long runs and the river flowing at a much higher volume. The leader of choice for Alpers wild trout waters would be a 12-footer for dry-fly fishing or nymphing with a strike indicator. A leader can be shortened to less than 9 feet when working streamer flies along fish-holding banks, under overhanging limbs and stacked up debris. Even though anglers who cast nymphs and big streamers prefer fluorocarbon leader, it is not the choice of most dry flyfishermen. Water clarity and conditions demand the angler to drop their tippet size to 7X to entice a feeding rainbow with a No. 18 yellow Elk Hair Caddis or an even smaller terrestrial.

Some flyfishermen prefer to stalk trout on the Owens with 3-weight fly rods, while others prefer the action of 5- or 6-weight tackle to battle the winds that come up often in Long Valley. Carry a release net with you when fishing any section of the river, avoid getting into the river and stay back from the water in order to protect the fragile banks and keep from spooking a trout that has moved out into a feeding lane.

UPPER OWENS BUG HATCHES Upper Owens River insect hatches are dependent upon water flow and temperature, says Kevin Peterson, owner of Trout Fitters in Mammoth Lakes. Here's a guide to the bugs you'll find there.   Midges hatch all during trout season, and trout aggressively feed on them.   Opening week usually produces big trout on egg patterns, San Juan Worms, Prince Nymphs and Pheasant Tails, as holdover spawning rainbows are still in the river system.   The mid-May to early June period finds pale morning duns (mayflies) and little yellow stoneflies on the water. It's a good time to drift small flies on a long leader with light tippet.   June through July see good dry-fly fishing, with hatches coming off middays and evenings. Pale Morning Duns and Spirit River Elk Hair Caddis (with a yellow or olive body) top the list of flies. Harrop's Surface Emergers and Flash Back Pheasant Tail Nymphs are effective once the water clears.   July into September is grasshopper time. Most any 'hopper pattern or Stimulator could entice a big rainbow or brown trout to rise to the surface. Ants are also a proven pattern for late summer and early fall.   The best caddis hatches begin in late July and continue well into September. Look for big caddis hatches early in the morning and at sunset. When trout start looking up for caddis, the entire upper river can be good.   Fall brings Baetis hatches that can last well into early winter. The best imitation would be a Blue-Winged Olive.   By the season's final weekend, flyfishermen usually return to an early spring pattern -- big bugs, nymphs and egg patterns -- as brown trout and fall-spawning rainbows move upriver out of Crowley Lake. -- Jim Niemiec

To protect spawning trout, the section of this river from the Benton Bridge road crossing downstream to the Upper Owens River fishing monument doesn't open until the Saturday preceding Memorial Day and runs through Sept. 30. There is a bag limit of five fish per day with no minimum size for this portion of river.

The stretch from the monument (about 1/4-mile upstream from maximum lake level) to Crowley Lake does not open until Aug. 1 and remains open until Nov. 15. The minimum size limit is 18 inches in length, and only barbless flies and lures can be fished. The daily limit is two fish.

Hilton Creek winds down out of the mountains behind the resort town of Crowley Lake and flattens out as it hits the valley. Downstream from Crowley Lake Drive, Hilton Creek is fishable from opening day through the Friday preceding Memorial Day and then reopens on Oct. 1, closing Nov. 15. There is a size limit on Hilton of 18 inches below Highway 395; standard statewide regs, including a five-fish limit, apply to the upper creek area above Crowley Lake Drive.

McGee Creek flows through a big grass meadow running into Convict Creek just above Crowley Lake and has regulations similar to Hilton Creek; barbless hooks are mandatory. When fly-fishing McGee Creek be cautious of mud holes and swampy ground in the area known as The Pasture.

Convict Creek is one of the most fun creeks to fish along Highway 395, but it's often passed over by anglers Eastern Sierra anglers. Except for the short portion in the posted University of California study area, this small creek is very fishable as it meanders through meadows of sagebrush on its way to meeting up with McGee Creek. The same fishing restrictions as on McGee and Hilton. Convict is also open to public fishing above the UC study area but offers only limited fly-fishing as it drops down into the valley over large boulders after leaving Convict Lake.

Hot Creek is a feeder creek to the upper Owens River. It begins just below the state fish hatchery, a short distance north of Mammoth Airport. The upper section of Hot Creek is under the ownership of Hot Creek Ranch, which limits access to this fly-fishing creek to guests staying at the ranch. A pretty good section of Hot Creek flows gently through lava rock just above the hot springs that can produce decent rainbow trout fishing for those who have the talent of fishing a beadhead nymph through little runs between weed patches.

There are some huge trout in Hot Creek, including some trophy-class brown trout, but the average fish in this creek falls in the 12- to 18-inch class. Fishing is limited to no-kill fly-fishing with barbless hooks. High water temperatures leave the lower section of Hot Creek fairly well unfishable.

Access to the upper section of river is about 15 miles north of the Mammoth Lakes turnoff. Head east on the paved Owens River Road until it passes the Arcularius Ranch.

Camping - There's a public campground at Big Springs, the headwaters of the Owens River. Camping is also available at Pleasant Valley Reservoir, and pay-per-day camping in and around Mammoth Lakes and Crowley Lake.

Lodging - Alpers' Owens River Ranch, 760-648-7334; Hot Creek Ranch, 760-924-5637; Mammoth Accommodations Center, 760-934-6262.

Numbers to know - Trout Fly, 760-934-2517; Trout Fitter, 760-934-2517; Rick's Sports Center, 760-934-3416; Kittredge Sports, 760-934-7566; Wilderness Outfitters, 760-924-7335; and Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau, 800-367-6572.