It's been a tough year to be a freshwater fisherman in California. We prayed for snow, and our prayers were answered 240% - - and for now, the challenge is to find flows low enough to not kill you.
In seeking out new waters, I've had to redefine how far I'm willing to drive for a "local" daytrip. If I leave home at 5-6am, I can be on alpine creeks by mid- to late-morning, fish until 6pm, and be home hopefully before midnight.
This particular place has my favorite kind of small-stream fishing: small, deep pockets and plunges, spectacular scenery, and tiny yet hungry 'bows that are willing to take a chance on anything impressionistic. This particular afternoon, they were ravenous for terrestrials. I actually saw one trout leap out of the water about 10" and slam itself against the side of a boulder to knock off an ant into the water! The #8 hoppers I happened to have with me were getting stuck halfway inside the mouths of some of the smaller fish, so I switched to a #16 royal Wulff, and by the end of the day that waterlogged fly was getting takes every 2-3 casts.
Above all, this was an excuse to just get out and enjoy a beautiful day on a place that I had pretty much to myself. I think back to when I used to do week-long backpacking trips in this area, and how I would plan it out a half-year in advance. Though my back can't support those kind of trips anymore, I am so happy to just hit the road at dawn and be relaxing and fishing in idyllic scenery without over-thinking / over planning it.
https://youtu.be/aC0Mrhc3WQM
In seeking out new waters, I've had to redefine how far I'm willing to drive for a "local" daytrip. If I leave home at 5-6am, I can be on alpine creeks by mid- to late-morning, fish until 6pm, and be home hopefully before midnight.
This particular place has my favorite kind of small-stream fishing: small, deep pockets and plunges, spectacular scenery, and tiny yet hungry 'bows that are willing to take a chance on anything impressionistic. This particular afternoon, they were ravenous for terrestrials. I actually saw one trout leap out of the water about 10" and slam itself against the side of a boulder to knock off an ant into the water! The #8 hoppers I happened to have with me were getting stuck halfway inside the mouths of some of the smaller fish, so I switched to a #16 royal Wulff, and by the end of the day that waterlogged fly was getting takes every 2-3 casts.
Above all, this was an excuse to just get out and enjoy a beautiful day on a place that I had pretty much to myself. I think back to when I used to do week-long backpacking trips in this area, and how I would plan it out a half-year in advance. Though my back can't support those kind of trips anymore, I am so happy to just hit the road at dawn and be relaxing and fishing in idyllic scenery without over-thinking / over planning it.
https://youtu.be/aC0Mrhc3WQM
