Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus

While I enjoy exploring new water, there is something about the Lower Stanislaus that keeps drawing me back. It is safe to say that it is my favorite river. Partly because it is so close, partly because the fishing is so good and the river is so accessible.

Yesterday, I went out once again to the Tulloch Dam Rd and Two Mile Bar for another day of fishing. This time, I brought my switch rod and was able to access sections I've never been able to access before because of difficult casting situations. Needless to say, the day was productive. A total of 6 fish caught with hook ups on more than a dozen fish and numerous bites. One thing that I've noticed with my 10' 8" rod, it is harder to land a fish than my 8 or 9 foot fly rods. This explains why I had such a high hook up rate and low landing rate. Those dozen fish should of been caught, but escaped just out of my reach. By the end of the day, I had the problem more or less solved.

I arrived at Tulloch Dam Rd at 6:30am. Gearing up, I headed straight down to the stream and fished right where the gravel meets the river. The water was higher than ideal situations, but lower than I've seen it on other days. It was at a good level. For an hour or two, I worked my way downstream hitting all the good looking areas. The temp was warming and I decided to head back to the car and remove a layer of clothing. After eating and refilling with water, I went upstream to the second pool and worked my way downstream to where I started in the morning. The two fish that I caught were both under 11 inches and one took a size 18 red sparkle attractor nymph, the other took a size 10 hare's ear soft hackle.

Around noon, I decided to travel down to Two Mile Bar. Not a soul in sight. Well, at least not anybody fishing. One of the first things you notice when walking to the river are all the bright red and yellow ribbons hanging from trees and bushes. I had no idea what they were for until someone later told me they marked fish habitats. It seems that they are in the middle of a fish survey and these markers were part of it. Also of interest was something that happened while I was fishing a quiet section of the river minding my own business.

See anything strange?

While casting, I was focusing on the line and out of the corner of my eye saw something moving in the water. It was big, but I couldn't figure out what it was. The mass was moving towards me and eventually it became clear that a guy in snorkel gear was swimming his way upstream along the banks towards me. He and another fellow were counting fish! He stopped to talk with me and I asked him the questions you'd expect me to ask someone who has been floating up and downstream looking for fish. "Where are the fish and how big are they?" And yes, he did answer me. He let me know where the biggest population of fish were hanging out and their size. I reveal a lot on this blog, where I go and where I fish. Sometimes to a point where people get irritated. I believe sharing information is wonderful and I wish more people did it. However, this information will remain with me. I had no idea that they even counted fish in this manner. To top it all off, these guys looked like they were having fun. Floating down river through the riffles/rapids and then swimming back upstream.

After the excitement wore off, I covered both shores and the various islands of Two Mile from the flats near the wooden bridge down to the rapids a mile downstream. Fish were caught on a variety of flies, mostly size 10 soft hackles. The biggest fish of the day was only 15 inches. He was caught on a size 6 bright green marabousteelhead fly. I swung it in the current and gave it some life by yanking on the line. He took it near the end of the swing. This seems to be the way the Lower Stan works for me. Fish caught on the dangle or right at the end of a swing. Nothing new.

At the end of the day as it was getting dark, there was some sort of hatch coming off. Fish were jumping all around me. They were mostly small fish under 10 inches, but I couldn't resist. I put on the smallest (18) soft hackle I could find and played around. I caught several small fish (that I didn't count as 1 of the 6) before realizing that I was catching too many small ones and not any of decent size. No need to stress out the little guys. So I packed up.

All in all, another 14 hours of fishing on my favorite water. I saw one other guy fishing the entire day. I practically had the river to myself. Except for the snorkel guys, of course.