Fly of the Week #12

Since I'm running behind with my weekly fly postings, let's put another on to try and catch up. This was tied a few weeks ago, but I've just now taken a picture of it.

Size 12
(click for larger picture)

This beaded soft hackle was tied with black thread on a size 12 hook. Brown stretch tubing was wrapped around the hook/thread before tying in the hackle.

Fly of the Week #11

After a few weeks of searching, the camera manual has been found! A quick read revealed the elusive focus distance in macro mode, I've finally been able to take some decent pictures!

The background is a little dark on this one, so you'll probably want to click on the image to see it in high res in order to get a better look.

"Hare's Ear Soft Hackle" - Size 12
(click for larger picture)

Not much to say other than this is my first attempt at using tinsel. It came out okay. Nothing fancy. It looks nice and buggy, I'm counting on it to catch a few. This messy soft hackle was tied with silver tinsel around the golden stone dubbing and looks close to some of the hare's ear that I've purchased over the years.

Fly of the Week #10

I'm really behind with my weekly fly posts. Sorry about that! New babies are time consuming!! Since I haven't had time to tie, I dug a photo out from one I've already done.

"Glossy Brown Soft Hackle" - Size 12

(click for larger picture)

This little guy was tied with brown thread and brown floss. Black thread was wrapped sparingly around to break up the pattern. Before adding the hackle, I covered the body with Sally's "Hard as Nails" polish to give it a shiny appearance. After dried, the hackle was tied in with brown unwaxed thread.

Early Christmas

My inlaws came to visit a week or two ago and we exchanged gifts early. I never know what to ask for when this time of year comes around, but this time, I made a wish list on a certain outdoors website that has fly tying material.

That turned out to be a good thing, I ended up with a bunch of assorted hooks (much needed), some tinsel, partridge for hackle, a knot tier that I can't seem to figure out how to use, and some tippet material.

Can't wait to try em out. Speaking of fly tying, I realize I'm behind with my Fly of the Week. Sorry about that. I plan to get back on it soon. Between work and the new baby, it has been a little difficult to find time to do much tying!

Pattern Searching

Since I began tying flies not too long ago, the point has been to fill my box with as many combinations of wet and soft hackle flies as possible. When I get out to the river, I simply see what works and what doesn't from that supply. By taking pictures of each fly and keeping good notes on river, I can easily reproduce the ones that work and forget about the ones that don't. Of course it isn't always that easy since a certain pattern may work one day and not another.

Part of the reason for this blog is to be an extension of my on-river-note-taking. I'm making more of an effort to write about each trip I take, so that I can easily go back and remind myself of what happened on a past day.

I've tied a few patterns that I've seen from other people. But for the most part, I just make it up as I go. My theory, whether wrong or right, is that buggy looking flies will catch fish. I don't really feel a need to tie a particular pattern that someone else finds successful or that is really popular. Don't get me wrong, I think that size and color are very important. It should come close to what fish are eating or what they are familiar with. I just don't think it needs to be an exact science.

Fly of the Week #9

Unless I'm reproducing a successful fly that I've tied in the past, I generally don't have a pattern in mind before beginning a new one. The idea is to fill my fly box with a variety of sizes and patterns to see what works or not. Here is another one of those made up patterns.

"Golden Stone Soft Hackle" - Size 12
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Using brown thread, brown partridge hackle, and golden stone dubbing, this fly was thrown onto a size 12 hook.

Fly of the Week #8

My fly photos are slowly getting better. I still have a ways to go until I'm happy with how they come out, but at least I'm making progress.

"Blue Bead Dry / Soft Hackle" - Size 12
(click for larger picture)

Here is another fly where I combined dry fly and wet fly hackle together. The dry stiffer hackle behind the blue glass bead and the partridge hackle in front. The whole thing is tied with unwaxed brown thread. Although untested at this point, I'd imagine it would do pretty well given the buggy look of it. Similar flies have done well on the Lower Stan.

Fly of the Week #7

This has been a rather busy week and as a result, I did not have time to tie anything new. So, it was a trip to the computer to find a previously photographed fly to post here. This one was used on the North Fork of the Stanislaus last week and did well. It produced a few bites and one trout that stayed on for only a minute while trying to bring him to hand. At least we know that they were interested in it.

Golden Stone Soft Hackle - Size 12
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This guy was tied on a size 12 hook with creme colored unwaxed thread. Very light golden stone dubbing and Hungarian partridge hackle. Since I had no tinsel laying around, I used some copper wire for ribbing. Two wires were braided together before tied around the body for something a little different.

I've got about a half dozen flies lying around that haven't been photographed yet. I hope to get on the ball and do that shortly. The plan is to spend more time figuring out how to get those crystal clear photographs that some people are capable of. Hopefully I'll be successful and we no longer have to look at blurry images.

Trip Report: North Fork - Stanislaus

I was able to sneak out for some fishing on Saturday. This time around, I visited the North Fork of the Stanislaus. Initially, I tried to find a road called “Ramsey” that, according to Google maps, looked to move down right next to the river. Unfortunately, I never found it and ended up going back to my standby: the Sourgrass Recreational Area.

I was out of the car and in the river by 9am. The weather was overcast and a brisk 40 degrees. I wrapped up complete with fingerless gloves and took off upstream of the parking lot. It was my goal to get a little bit away from where the crowds normally fish. So, I stopped only briefly until I got about ¼ or ½ mile up river. The water level was lower than my previous trip, so it made it easier to move along. There were still some really tough spots that caused a few close calls as I scrambled on some very slippery boulders. Felt sole wader boots can be treacherous. Luckily nothing happened except for a few scares.

The setup started out as a three rig system consisting of a size 12 Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle as the anchor, my “brown mess” soft hackle size 14 as the middle, and a blue wing olive wet size 14 as the top fly.

The river was crystal clear and I could see a few fish. However, there weren’t nearly as many as I expected. The number of bites reflected this observation. I was able to catch a small 10 inch rainbow on the Hare’s Ear within about an hour of tries. The river level was perfect for wading or simply casting from shore. Plenty of room for back casts. The low level also made for less flow. My first experience with this river was that it was a very fast and almost dangerous current. Not so much this time.

Incredibly enough, I was the only one fishing this Saturday, I’m not sure if it was because of the cold weather or the coming rain/snow storm. Whatever the case, I was all alone.

As the day wore on and the bites were few, flies were swapped often. I went through many of the ones I’ve tied and many that I bought. At the end of the day, one was caught on that Hare’s Ear; the other three were caught on the ones I tied (the successful flies that I tied and caught fish with are pictured in this post).

All in all, I traveled probably ¾ of a mile upstream and caught a total of 4 wild rainbows. All of them were less than 10 inches. It was incredibly beautiful out with the falling leaves and peace and quiet. The river was clear and accessible. The chilly weather made the experience much different than the hot Summer days that I’ve become accustomed too. Unfortunately, the number of fish was a bit of a disappointment.

Even with only four caught, this was a great day. Stunningly beautiful as the leaves were falling on me throughout the day and the smell of a coming storm filled the air. As the rain started to fall and the sun was setting, I packed up and headed back to reality.

Fish Count: 4 Rainbows

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Fly of the Week #6

This one is made from unwaxed green thread, a glass bead for the thorax, and partridge feathers for the hackle. The whole thing is tied on size 12 hook.

"Green Thread / Glass Bead Soft Hackle" - size 12
(click for larger picture)

Note: I had a chance to fish this fly a few days ago (report coming soon) and it attracted quite a bit of attention. Unfortunately, it didn't lead to a trout up to my hand.

Three Rig Wet Fly System

Want to increase your chance of catching trout? Try multiple flies at once. I will often fish three at a time to quickly see what they are interested on that day. By mixing different sizes and patterns, you'll know really fast what will work. The method I use is a three fly rig.

There are no real rules to this method, except for maybe one. Put the heaviest fly as the anchor fly, the fly that is furthest from the fly line. As suggested by someone else, this may also be the place to put an attractor pattern. When I'm searching, I'll often put a larger size 10 winged wet as the anchor that may have some brighter colors, a soft hackle size 12 or smaller as the middle fly, and another soft hackle or perhaps a winged wet size 12 or smaller as the top.

Building the rig can't be easier. Cut three pieces of two foot long tippet material (you pick the size), take two of those pieces and overlap the two ends by 7 or so inches, place your thumb at this spot and knot them with a double overhand. Refer to the diagram for a little better explanation. After the two are knotted, then add the third in the same overlapping fashion. The end of the rig is tied to a leader or you can simply use longer tippet material and tie it directly to the fly line. Having an actual tapered leader is not necessary. The basic idea is to have each fly approximately separated by the same amount of space when in the water. The top and middle position hanging off about 6-7 inches of line.

You would fish the three rig the same way you fish a single fly. Dead drift, up and across, across, down and across, or directly down. It doesn't really matter. The idea is to get the flies in the feeding lane and keep it there as long as possible. Dead drift is my favorite, but swinging it is fine. If you do swing it, try and slow it down a little with line mends. Before casting back upstream, be sure to let it dangle below you for a while and maybe go as far as dancing it around. You'll catch fish here as it rises and falls.

If you see one fly is getting most of the attention, you can swap your other flies for the similar working patterns.

Fly of the Week #5

This week, I've decided to upload a few images. I'm still playing around with the camera settings to get the best image quality possible. Unfortunately, I haven't quite got it figured out yet.

As always, you can click on the images to get a higher resolution version.

"Brown Mess #1 Soft Hackle" - Size 14

Golden stone dubbing with Hungarian Partridge (died brown) for the hackle. Brown thread holding it all together.

"Blue and Yellow Soft Hackle" - Size 14

Creme colored thread on the head ties down the partridge hackle. Yellow thread on the body holds both yellow and blue embroidery floss. The body has a light coating of "Hard as Nails" to give it some shine.

"Blue Soft Hackle" - Size 12

This one is simply thread and hackle. The unwaxed thread was not taken back very far to keep it minimal. Next time, I'd like to use even less hackle.

A slow down in fly fishing trips.

I had hope that I would get a chance to fish the Lower Stanislaus before the closure on October 31st. It just wasn't in the cards. Work has been busier than expected and my usual weekday trips aren't possible and weekends are currently too busy with everything I couldn't do during the week.

Cherry Creek - August 14th, 2007

When this current project ends, my wife and I are expecting a baby, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out to a river. Needless to say, actual fly fishing will be temporarily set aside. I'll still continue with posts as I can always find time to tie flies or write about something other than river trips.

Basically, it comes down to the near future being more fly tying and technique posts rather than actual trip reports.

Why soft hackle wet flies?

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a big fan of Soft Hackles and to a lesser degree, regular winged wets. They're so easy to fish and are very productive at any time of day, in any weather, and at all depths from just under the surface to down deep.

If you read around the net, these flies can be called any number of things. Spiders, flymphs, soft hackles, and more. I'm not sure I always know the distinction, although some literature say that spiders are tied more sparsely. Whatever the case, they are all soft hackles to me.

For those of you new to SHs, you can just cast these out across the stream and let them "swing" in the current. You don't have to be perfect with a dead drift (although dead drifting a soft hackle upstream is a killer) and you'll still catch a ton of trout. Not to mention, when swinging, there is no mistaking when a fish is on!

Main Tuolumne - August 14th, 2007

Another trick I like to use is that in tight situations, I'll let the fly "swim" below me, directly downstream. I'll use the rod to put it beside boulders, under trees, along seams. Wherever you know fish are hanging out. Alternate lifts with short drifts. I've even caught fish while my fly was just dangling downstream as I was doing something else (digging out a camera, getting a drink of water, etc), not even trying to catch anything. In a small creek, this is a great way to go since trees make it hard to get a good cast in.

Soft hackles can be fished directly upstream, up and across, across, down and across, downstream, or all of the above. Dead drift, swing, or even pulled through the water, I don't think there is a wrong way to fish them. I've caught plenty of trout during the hottest part of the day deep down, or just below the surface when you may be tempted to put a dry on.

Lastly, I'd just like to say that I often rig together 3 flies at once. This gives you a great way to see what is working for that particular day. The heaviest fly goes on the tail, a medium sized soft hackle in the middle, and the front gets either a winged wet or another soft. If you don't know what fish are interested in, this gives you an excellent way to find out - quick!

I really think that the hackle, no matter how sparse it may be, gives extra life to any fly. I occasionally still fish nymphs or even tie one here or there, but I really think that putting the hackle on just makes it more interesting to the fish. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. As soon as someone interviews a trout to find out for sure, let me know!

Here are some great links to some sites with soft hackle/wet fly/spider/flymph info:

http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/flymphs/
http://www.jackgartside.com/step_soft_hackle_flies.htm
http://tinyurl.com/35jqrp
http://flyfisherman.com/softhackles/

Summer / Fall Wrap Up

This has been a great summer of fly fishing. I became a little lazy and skipped the reports on quite a few outings. I tried to go at least three times a month, sometimes I'd go to the same place two or three times and it didn't warrant a new report, or I just plain skipped it entirely.

In a nutshell, my favorite spot has to be Tulloch Dam Rd and Two-Mile Bar of the lower Stan. You just can't beat the huge numbers of wild trout and limited crowds. Next Spring, I'd like to try Beaver Creek through Big Trees Park (enjoyed Beaver Creek but access was difficult where I went) and possibly the North Fork of the Stan while I'm there. The Merced river had good fishing spots and would be a nice place to visit again. Or perhaps Cherry Creek just for the fact that it was a 20+ fish day and there was plenty of river I didn't explore. Can't forget the main fork of the Tuolumne. Although I was skunked there, I want to try again.

However, I have a feeling that I'd like to try some new spots altogether next Spring. Not to say my fishing is done for the year. This winter, I'll try to shove in a few days at Putah Creek to see what it is like.

Fly of the Week #4

In honor of Halloween, I tied this orange themed soft hackle.. Unfortunately, the picture quality doesn't really reflect the coloring of the fly.

"Trick or Treat Soft Hackle" - Size 12

This guy is tied on a size 12 long hook. The three orange beads were bought at a craft store (bead making supplies). They are pretty light and won't add much weight. Orange thread keeps it all together.

Fly of the Week #3

I really like this one. It definitely has a buggy look. This guy actually has two sections of soft hackle making it look really messy. The first is in front of the thorax, the second behind.

"Rats Nest Soft Hackle"- Size 14

I'm using brown thread with golden stone dubbing at the thorax. If you haven't figured it out by now, soft hackles are my favorite flies to fish (and tie).

Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus #3 and #4

This has been a great place to fish. The proximity from where I live, combined with a large population of wild trout is hard to pass up. During these two trips, I've explored more at both Tulloch and Two-Mile bar while investigating new spots along the road.

After studying the Google satellite maps, I tried some different access points to the river along Tulloch Dam Rd. The problem is, there is a canal that runs the length of the river between the road and the river. Although there is a foot bridge at Tulloch access, I'm unaware of any others. If you live on the edge, I guess you could scale some cliffs where the canal goes underground, but otherwise it is not possible to pass. I'm still trying to find an access point that doesn't cross private property. I really want to get to the river between Tulloch and Two-Mile.

Since I cannot cross the canal, except at the footbridge. I walked along side the river side of the canal - both directions as far as you can go. The upstream side dead ends at the dam, the downstream side dead ends when the canal goes underground. Between those stretches, I've pretty much been there except at the steepest sections that would require a rope to get down.

The last time I went, the water level was much higher. So high in fact, that I could no longer cross the river safely at Tulloch access. I was looking at the sat maps, and there is a possibility if I can cross the river and follow the canal on that side, I may be able to access further downstream. I'm still not sure and won't be sure until next spring when the water level lowers again.

Speaking of high water, the river looked completely different the last time I went. All the good spots that worked so well last time were either unaccessible or there just weren't fish in there because the river was moving so fast. They all moved to slower spots. I found one area off Tulloch that had 25+ inch rainbows, but I was only able to catch the 15-17 inchers that were in there with them.

Trip #3 was my best chance to explore (#4 had the high water level) and I found some really good ones that I somehow missed the other times. One of them at Two-Mile was very productive and perfect holding water. I was looking forward to fishing it again on trip #4, but it was impossible to access during the high water. Funny thing was, I missed this area on trip #1 and #2. There are so many hidden little sections as the river splits and goes around several islands.

Two-Mile Bar is also filled with Salmon now (both #3 and #4 trips). These huge fish are amazing to watch. They rocket through the water so fast. It is quite a sight to behold. Below the spawning areas, I tried some egg patterns with no luck. Soft hackles, particularly hare's ears, march browns, or pheasant tails were very productive in sizes 12-16.

Fish count: More than 20
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Fly of the Week #2

This one is a little messy looking with the stray fibers on the head. You'll probably see that a lot in my flies. I actually think these strands help give them a more buggy look and probably more attractive to fish. Of course, we'll never really know.

"Yellow Canary Soft Hackle" - Size 14

The thread is yellow with yellow embroidery floss making up the body. Hungarian partridge makes the soft hackle.

Fly of the Week #1

I'm going to start a weekly post called "Fly of the Week". Simply put, a photo of a fly I tied and maybe something about it.

I just recently started tying flies. I played around with a few here and there over the years, but never took it seriously. There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to buy the proper equipment and start. First, I was tired of losing my flies after a snag and going through the trouble of buying online or paying three plus dollars at the shop. Second reason was that as I fished longer here in California, I started seeing what was working and wanted to mix and match some of those flies with my own ideas. And I guess thirdly, it is pretty cool to fish the flies that you make.

I'm still learning, but I'm getting better with each one. Hopefully you'll see an improvement as time goes on.

"Dry Hackled Soft Hackle (Bead Head)" - Size 14

It is weighted with a bead head to get it deeper and tied on a size 14 hook. If you look carefully, you can see dry fly hackle tied right behind the bead, and soft hackle partridge feathers (died brown) in front. Creme thread for the body and black for the head.

Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus #2

I enjoyed Two Mile bar and Tulloch access so much last time, I wanted to do it again. My experience was similar to last time. I just spent more time exploring and finding more nooks and crannies. This time, I went upstream of Tulloch access, which I didn't do last time. More good spots. You can't go wrong anywhere around here. Two-mile bar was productive as well.

Fish count: around 10
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Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus

I pass Knight's Ferry on the way to most of my fishing spots in the Sierras. Little did I know how good the fishing was in this area. I'm glad that I gave it a try. Cutting about 1/3rd of my drive time down and discovering a great trout river in the process was certainly worth it.

This part of the Stanislaus is barbless hooks and catch/release only. The river is wild trout/steelhead and as far as I know, it is never stocked. Don't worry, this river is FILLED with big fish.

My day started at sun up off Tulloch Dam Rd. After a quick trip to the water, I soon realized that the river temp is much colder than most of the higher altitude streams I was familiar with. This is due to river being fed from deep within the lake above. A pleasant surprise. Cold water means happy fish.

After only a few minutes of being in the water I caught a 14 inch rainbow off of a size 12 Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear Soft Hackle in about 3 feet of fast water. He was followed by several smaller fish in the same spot. I moved downstream to some deeper water where I could plainly see some pretty large fish about 12 feet down. Some of them looked to be well over 25 inches. However, I was not able to fool any of them. I tied on various weighted nymphs to get the food down to their level, they were just too smart.

After trying that deeper water, I kept going downstream. There is a shallow section with lots of riffles that held dozens of 10 inch rainbows. I didn't stick around for long because I was interested in exploring. Not far down from that point the river goes around a larger boulder section in the middle of the river. I sent flies over the fast dropoff to see if any fish were waiting for tasty morsels to come over the edge. I caught a couple of rainbows here as well. They were in the 12 inch area.

As you go further downstream from this point, it gets harder to be in the river. It gets deep and fast with steep rock/cliffs on both sides of the river. You need to exit the water and follow a trail on the south side of the river. Before you know it, you are 20-50 feet above the river and must find an access point down. In these deep pools, there are big fish as well. Again, some looked to be over 25 inches. I had no luck here. I tried to go even further downstream afterwards but couldn't find an easy way. It was very rugged.

By this time, it was 1:30pm and I was interested in trying two-mile bar, a few miles down the highway.


Two-Mile Bar
After parking the car and walking the 1/2 mile or so down an easy to follow trail to the river, I walked upstream another 1/2 mile or so. I found what I thought was a human trail to the river, but found out it must of been made by animals or else a human just hadn't been there in a while (very narrow and overgrown with thick sticker bushes). I found the river anyway and walked out into chest deep swift water. I managed to cross the river and walk back downstream.

This whole are is great fishing. I found some narrow slots and stopped for a while to try various soft hackles. There was a nice seam of fast water next very slow water that looked like a good holding spot. After dancing the fly directly downstream for about 30 seconds, I hooked a large and strong rainbow. Because of the positioning and his strength/current, I couldn't pull him upstream to me without breaking the line. So, I jumped into deeper water and crossed the river. I'm surprised I didn't get swept away. I guess the adrenaline kept my feet planted. I found an eddie in the middle of the stream and was able to bring the fish to hand. He was 23 or 24 inches. One of the bigger rainbows I've ever caught. Beautiful markings. I gently removed the hook and let him go.

I walked a good mile downstream on the north side of the river stopping anywhere that looked fishy. They were more than happy to take various soft hackles. Around 5:30pm, I decided to head back to the car and try Knight's Ferry. This is another 5 or so mile car ride downstream.


Knight's Ferry
After parking in the recreation area lot, I asked some locals where the covered bridge was. I had heard that upstream of the bridge is a good place to try. If I had just looked a little harder, I would of seen the bridge. I guess I somehow missed it. After walking past it and upstream another 1/4 or 1/2 mile is a fishing spot with lots of boulders and some water funneling through. Most of this area is flat water, but this was one of the few fast sections. Personally, I thought it was a waste of time. Not exactly a good spot to fly fish. At least, not my idea of a good spot. The water was deep, and I imagine there were some big fish down there. Clamoring to rocks to try and roll a cast out into this water wasn't something I was into. I decided to pack up and go home.

Fish count: More than 14
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Trip Report: Meramac River (Missouri)

Went home to visit my folks back in St. Louis. While there, I decided to take my flyrod to the Meramec River, a place that I used to frequent while living there.

This water is a "red ribbon" trout stream that is just full of big fat browns. Unfortunately, the only day I could go, there happened to be a pounding storm. Not only was the rain intense, there was a pretty good electrical storm too. It probably wasn't wise to stand in the middle of a river with a 9 foot stick in my hand while lightning was flashing all over the place. However, I felt somewhat comfortable that the strikes were a few miles off.

Those of you familiar with the area, I parked in the area known as "Suicide Hill" and walked down to the river. It was a very steep and slippery slope that was somewhat treacherous in retrospect. Next time, I'll definitely take "Cardiac Hill" instead. Although, it may not be so bad while raining. It was literally a river on its own. Very slippery.

The fishing was good. At least at first. After only a few minutes I hooked a 24+ inch brown that charged down river after realizing his food fought back. After palming the reel, I slowed him down and eventually got him to my feet. He spun like a tornado and broke the fly off. I was disappointed I didn't get him to my hand, but still excited about the "almost". He was very strong and healthy.

I caught another 20-22 inch brown and a few smaller rainbows not long after. The rain stopped by noon and so did the bites. And unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch the 30+ inch trophies that are all over these waters. I can remember living here and practically never catching anything but brown trout. Quite the opposite here in California.

Despite the scary weather, it was a good time. Something I enjoy about this area is that the rivers are generally much easier to wade then back here in California. The floor is generally crushed gravel that is easy to walk on and not just a bunch of hard to navigate boulders. Also, since the water is always so cold (spring fed), you can find large fish in 1-3 feet of water.

I fished wet flies of various sizes and colors. The best was a soft hackled pheasant tail size 14. I wasn't patient enough to experiment too much, it was hard to tie them on during the rain.

Fish count: Under 5
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Trip Report: South Fork Tuolumne

I arrived at the Rainbow Pools rec area around 6:30am. The fishing was nice for a few hours until the crowds showed up. It was a hot day and there were a lot of people swimming in the area. Made fishing a little difficult.

I wandered as far upstream as I could safely go. This was the only way to get away from the people. There were some decent sized rainbows, probably 18 inch or slightly larger in the deeper pools. One pool was around 12 feet deep and you could see more than a dozen trout actively eating. Sorry I can't be more specific. I simply don't know how to accurately describe it. It was no more than 1/2 mile upstream from the parking lot.

I was able to catch a half dozen or so fish, the largest was around 15 inches. Again, it was an assortment of wet flies that got the most interest. Soft hackle hare's ear are always good producers.

Fish count: Under 10
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Trip Report: Tuolumne and Cherry Creek

Yesterday was another 12 hour fly fishing marathon, this time it started out on the Main Fork of the Tuolumne and ended up on Cherry Creek.

After arriving at the Tuolumne around 7:15am, I suited up and walked the path for approximately 3/4 mile to find a spot that looked good to enter the river. I strongly urge everyone to use barbless hooks whenever you go fishing, however here, it is mandatory. This is a wild trout section of the river and you must also release all fish, which is something else I urge everyone to do wherever you go.

After wading out into the river, my first thought was, "Where are all the fish?" I didn't see any. Normally, I can spot them pretty quickly, but I didn't see a one. I'm sure they were there, it was just odd not seeing anything. To make it worse, I got absolutely ZERO bites, let alone a fish caught. I stayed for approximately three hours trying every fishy spot I could find. I wandered approximately 1/2 to 3/4 miles upstream in my attempt. Wet flies, nymphs, streamers, you named it, were tried with no results. I fished deep pools, shallow riffles, every fishy pocket I came across. Nothing.


Cherry Creek
I wandered back to my car feeling defeated. After a sandwich, I decided it was time to move on. After going further down Cherry Lake Road I came upon Cherry Creek. I had never been here before, so I first checked out the section downstream of the power station. The water was CRANKING! I don't know what the flow was, but it was deep and fast. Not something I felt like getting into since I enjoy wading. I was really surprised by the volume of water and wasn't about to get in.

Back in my car, I drove upstream to the Cherry Creek Rd bridge over Cherry Creek. I got out and looked. Didn't see any fish, but what can you expect, the bridge is probably 100 feet over the water. I snaked my way down the dirt trail that was rather steep and unstable -- eventually finding the water with a decent but very manageable flow. Again, I didn't see any fish. I knew they had to be in there, so I walked upstream and started fishing anything that looked like it could hold trout.

I found this area with rushing water dumping into a deep pool with large boulders underneath. There were fish in here, I could finally see them. They had no interest in anything I presented. I tried all sorts of sizes and colors of wet flies. Finally, in desperation, I threw a black wolly bugger and suddenly they were on the chase. This ended up being key and I realized that the color of the day was BLACK!

The bugger was too big, so I downsized to a size 12 Black Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear that had a gold bead head. I dead drifted the thing to about a depth of 3-4 feet. I scrambled around and used a combination of high sticking or just short up and across casts without any indicators. I caught a few 10 inchers in that pool. I wiggled my way around and stood at the head of the pool right over the plunging water and high sticked that nymph down there. After some drifting, I played it in and out of boulders and fishy areas. A few were caught that way too.





After the fishing slowed down, I moved on and did a variety of casts in different places. Shallow water, deep pools, whatever looked good. My black hares ear was getting gnarled from the fish taking it so often. I only had one, so I looked for other black flies. Next was a darkish Prince Nymph size 14. I caught 1 or 2 on that. But it seemed slow, I'm convinced it was because there was too much white on it.

I moved to a dark (almost black) Adams Wet Fly and used dead drifting and swinging methods to catch more fish. It produced well. Finally, after a pit stop at the car to refuel on liquid and food, I made one last trip to the downstream side of the bridge. I decided to put together a 3 fly rig together. The anchor was that beat up black hares ear (I dont normally use a nymph in a 3-rig, but since it was working earlier I thought it was a good idea), the middle fly was that dark Adams wet fly. The top fly was a light cahill dry (it was late in the day and some surface activity was starting up). All 3 flies were getting bites. However, the middle fly (adams) caught all the fish.

All in all, this was one of my most productive days of fishing -- ever. Even with that stinker of a morning on the Tuolumne, I did nicely on Cherry Creek. These fish were hungry. The largest fish were 15-17 inches. Besides those two, most of them were in the 9-11 inch area. With a few really small (5 inch) guys thrown in.

Fish count: More than 22 (lost count)
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Trip Report: Stanislaus (Beardsley)

I met up with someone to fish downstream of the Beardsley Afterbay on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus. I caught a few small fish, but couldn't get the bigger fish interest. They were certainly there and they were eating. Unfortunately, they were eating a midge hatch and I didn't have flies small enough to take advantage.

All in all, it is a nice place to throw a line. The river is plenty wide in areas and although I didn't venture too far downriver, there are a lot of pockets holding decent sized trout. I wouldn't call it my favorite or definitely most productive place I've fished, but I'll probably go back someday.


South Fork of the Stanislaus
After being somewhat frustrated by the lack of caught fish downriver of the Afterbay, I stopped in Strawberry to try this fork of the Stanislaus. I ventured upstream of the bridge and ended up catching a bunch of smaller trout (9-12 inches). What little size they were, they made up for it in numbers. The ego booster was needed!

It was getting dark and I made the mistake of staying out too long without a flashlight. At around 9pm, I was struggling to get through the brush, stream, and trees to my car. I'm really lucky I made it without getting hurt. I did slip off a boulder and had that split second of terror wondering what was going to happen. Luckily, I only landed on my back end and was able to get up without anything being broken. It was pitch black by the time I reached my vehicle.

Learned my lesson, I now carry a flashlight whenever I fish.

Fish count: More than 14
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Trip Report: Stanislaus / Clark's and South Forks

After arriving around 7am, I quickly noticed that CF was more like a creek than a river. At times it was probably a good 40 feet wide, but mostly it was more 10 to 20 feet with thick growth on both banks. There was occasionally room to do more than a roll cast, but you had to be careful not to snag a tree.

Access to this river consisted of driving to the end of the road that parallels it for more than a few miles. I tried upstream of the dead end, but it was pretty tight and decided to wade downstream. Eventually I made my way down a mile or so without resorting to the bank. Either by wading or climbing rocks in the stream.

The weather was hot and the water was warm enough that fish were sitting in deeper pools. I did hook a few rainbows on the way, but didn't actually catch anything until finding a deep slow moving pool about a mile downstream from where I parked.

Fish were biting my size 14 Blue Dunn Wet and size 12 Adams Wet. They seemed small and just wouldn't stay hooked. I'd imagine they were no larger than 9 inches. The fish were hooked while dancing the wet fly downstream of my position. Casting was tight, so this was an effective way to get to fish that I couldn't reach otherwise. I worked the fly into fishy areas between boulders and under brush. Alternating lifts with drifts.

When I found a deeper and slower moving pool, there were many large fish visible. I stayed around for a while and ended up catching/releasing a few. Most notably was a 16 or 17 inch rainbow that was caught on a size 12 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail as the fly started swinging in the current after a dead drift of about 4 feet to get the fly down to fish level (4 or 5 feet deep).

Another was a 8 or 9 inch brown trout that had beautiful markings. He grabbed that SH Ph Tail just as it hit the water. He darted out from beneath some rocks grabbed it literally within a second of it hitting surface. It never even had time to sink. I tried a black woolly bugger (swing and strip) and had a few follow and nip at the tail, but they didn't stay on. Gave up as someone came in to poach my spot.

I walked the road back to my car and drove downstream -- just upstream from the bridge that crosses Clark's Fork. The river was wider here and allowed for room to cast. I got in and walked approx 3/4 mile upstream stopping at fishy spots. Again, a few hooks in smaller fish. The only one I landed was a small rainbow that went after my size 12 Light Cahill Dry. He was one of maybe 3 fish I saw rising to dry flies in the whole river. I decided to try to nab him and sure enough, he grabbed after only a couple casts directly over his position. My feet and back were starting to hurt after crawling over rocks and wading for so long. Went back to the car and headed back towards Strawberry.


Middle Fork / Stan
I stopped at the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus and decided it might be a little difficult to access the water. The bridge was well above the water and the access was steep and access was limited due to steep rock bordering the river. Maybe I'll try this another time. I wasn't in the mood.


South Fork / Stan
After getting to Strawberry, I went to the old bridge and decided to give it a try for an hour or two (approaching 7pm). Even fewer fish here than on Clark's, however some decent sized trout were hanging out in the pools immediately below the bridge. They didn't want anything I offered. I wasn't in the mood to experiment very much because of the long day. A couple appeared to be at least 12-15 inches. Got a couple of bites, but nothing stayed on for more than a second.


Fish count: Less than 5
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Trip Report: Beaver Creek / Angels Creek

My trip to Beaver Creek was an interesting one. The roads were really rough. Even in a SUV, we were close to hitting bottom as we navigated these really horribly rutted logging roads. Just going a few miles took what seemed hours.

Eventually, we found the creek and a place to park. A short hike up and down made me realize the best place to fish was right where the car was. There were plenty in there and some of them appeared to be decent size (more than 16-18 inches). I was able to catch only a few even though this was a river that was stocked with rainbows. After trying for a few hours, it was time to move on.

Hopping in the car, we drove an enormous loop around these log roads and ended up at another section of the creek. We drove for more than two hours to get, ahh, perhaps 6 miles upstream. It was much more scenic in this area and the river was much wider. Although, it was rather shallow and the fish were very small. I happened upon an area that was filled with 7-10 inch rainbows. There were literally 100's of them, but they were not interested in eating. I caught a few small ones before departing.

I did not fish on the North Fork of the Stan on the way out, but I did look. It is an area I'd like to try someday.

On the way out, I stopped in Angels Camp to give the creek a try. This was a very narrow water with little room to cast. Rolling was in order. I got a few bites, but nothing to hand. The fishing may be better elsewhere, but the inaccessibility combined with a lot of trash (bait buckets, beer bottles, soda) made it very unappealing. I probably won't be going back here and I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. For goodness sake people, haul your trash out with you.

Beaver creek is probably worth revisiting in Spring when the water is colder and higher. Perhaps going through Big Trees Park is a better access point since there are paved roads the whole way. I'll be back.

Fish count: Less than 5
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