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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