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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Sep 22, 2007
Sep 14, 2007
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
.
.
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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Sep 10, 2007
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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.
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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