Day two on the Truckee started off at 5:30am. From the Hirschdale exit, I drove downstream to the old one lane bridge. After crossing it and the railroad tracks, I went further to a dirt road that leads off to the right.
This wasn't the Rubicon, but it was a steep rock filled road that should be avoided if you only have two wheel drive and not very much ground clearance. The parking area at the bottom was right up next to the railroad tracks for convinient access. After gearing up, a train passed by and honked a good morning to me. What a way to wake you up.
Going down the river I found some great water. This is not pocket water, but mostly an unobstructed wide river. There were boulders down there and the water became shallow enough in sections to cause seams to form. After casting various soft hackles and wet flies, I finally put on a size 10 march brown SH with wire ribbing. Swinging this fly across the 70 foot wide river was easy with my switch, I angled myself and my casts so that the swing went through the seam edges. I added line in to get as much drift as possible and slow the swing at the same time. Add a few twitches and tugs on the line and the fly comes alive and gets the trouts attention. Normally, I make sure that the end of the swing and the dangle end up in a current seam. Leave it hang for a while and add some tugs and lifts and drops of the rod. This normally works and within 30 minutes of fishing, I had a 14 inch brown on.
He gave up a decent fight. Like last nights catch, this guy was fat. After disloding the fly, I moved downstream. Swing and step, swing and step. You know the drill. I cast to all the fishy looking spots, including the far bank. Another hour went by and I caught a couple of other 10 inch rainbows.
I made my way upstream and realized that I didn't have any food with me and since the morning chill was now gone, my sweatshirt needed to come off. Back to the car to eat and disrobe. Walking the railroad tracks down stream, I found a new section to try. It was very deep. No doubt there were big fish in here. I put on a 7 ips sinking tip on and went at it with various streamers. No takers. I kept moving upstream until I got to where I started this morning. After a debate with myself, I decided to work my way back to where I caught the fish earlier, but this time, no luck.
Back up the steep hill and over the railroad tracks to my car. Jumped in and drove back up the rocky road. Drove upstream through Hirschdale and under the 80 overpass. Now that I'm on the road to Stampede, I found a parking spot near the water and went for a walk. This section had much more pocket water. The heat of the day was pounding me down. I stuck it out and came up empty in this section. Back to the car again!
I decided to go back towards the section where I was this morning. This time, I stopped after crossing the one lane bridge and parked. Went upstream a little ways and worked this rather slow section down to the bridge. Received several bites, but no hook ups. The rubber raft hatch was in full swing. I had to stop constantly to let boaters go by. This was sometimes entertaining. I don't know what class river this is, but I saw more than one come down in an inner tube bouncing off the rocks as they went. No dunkings, but some close calls.
I worked this section for a while. Hitting any area that looked fishy. My patience can only go so far. So, I went under the bridge and worked downstream of that. While climbing along the boulder lined steep bank, I scared a rattlesnake that was sunning himself on a rock. I didn't see him until he scooted away. He coiled up about 3 feet away from me when he came to a dead end in his escape route. I carefully stepped around him, gazing into his eyes, putting him in a trance so that he wouldn't strike.
Now that my blood was pumping, I worked the section from downstream of the bridge all the way to where I was early this morning. Along the way, I caught a couple of 10-12 inch rainbows that found my size 10 soft hackle irrestible. Again, caught them in a seam while swinging the fly in and up and across presentation.
After chatting with a couple of sun bathers and swimmers making noise in the water, I decided it was time to go somewhere else. Walked back to the car and headed up west on Glenshire drive until I got to the river again. I pulled into a parking area and looked out. There were so many people swimming and floating, I decided to pass. Later in the evening, I was told that it was a good area, maybe I rushed to judgement.
Whatever the case, it was now getting close to 6pm. I drove west on Glenshire and got off on one of the parking areas along the railroad tracks. The walk to the river was much further than it looked. After arriving, I was welcomed by two rather large dogs that were barking and growling at me. They both ran from their owner and right up to me within a foot. I froze, preparing to be bitten. Luckily the owner came and got them under control. Sort of. After passing by and walking down river a hundred yards, I started wading out. Here come the dogs again.
I quickened my pace out into the water. If they were going to get me, they better have their water wings on, cause I was half way across. Luckily they thought better of it. But now, being in the middle of the river wasn't the best place in the world. I've now alerted every fish in the area that I'm here. Ignoring that fact, I started casting to river right, along the cut banks and overhanging bushes. There were also some nice boulders in the area to disturb the flow. A few bites, but no hook ups.
I worked my way downstream. Still in the middle of the river, I was casting to both edges and letting the fly swing to center. This was actually a good system. I could hit both edges and the swing always stopped in the center channel. I could quietly move down and cover the water pretty thoroughly. Hooked up with two or three fish, but lost them just out of arms length. These guys were fiesty. One of the fish leaped a good two or three feet out of the water on two occasions. That was exciting and illicited a "yehaaw" or two. Something I don't do very often.
Not long after it started to rain. It felt good and I enjoyed getting wet from the waist up for a change. The wind was another matter. Spey casting river right was starting to become dangerous. I got nailed with the fly on two occasions and decided it was time to stop with the circle cast and go to a double spey (cack handed). My casts aren't as accurate off this shoulder, but I didn't have much choice. Now with the line downwind of me, getting hit by a rogue fly was not likely.
I've gone as far downstream as I wanted to go. Now, I've got to move against the current in waist deep water with a strong wind in my face to get to shallow enough water to exit the river (the edges were deeper than the center channel at this particular point). It never fails, but I again caught a fish when I wasn't trying to. My fly was dangling below me as I noisily pushed my way through the water. The fly was no doubt jerking all over the place, but that didn't stop another 15 inch rainbow from hooking himself. I got him to hand and let him rest behind my leg after removing the hook. He took advantage of the break from the current and gathered enough energy to disappear.
Now that I caught a fish on accident, I decided to swing more flies in this same area. Down and across since the wind was at my back. The next cast landed another rainbow. This guy was only 10 inches, but since he was chubby, he put on a pretty good fight. That same spot delivered several more hook ups. The fish were everywhere and happy to try and eat my offerings.
I trudged upstream and finally could exit the water. I decided to walk upstream on the bank to where I originally found the dogs earlier. Now that it was late, the dogs and their owner were gone. Got into the water and casted to the far bank which had trees/bushes overhanging the water. It looked like a prime trouty area. Not only were there bushes, but the water was deeper here with plenty of rocks to break the current. Once again, I hooked some decent 10-15 sized fish. These guys were very acrobatic. Coming out of the water a couple times. The downside to their flip flopping was that they all were able to dislodge themselves within the last few feet of trying to grab them. If I had a net, no problem. But, trying to scoop them wasn't easy. I hate carrying nets with me, but maybe I need to re-consider it. The number of fish that I lost trying to scoop them out of the water was unusually high today.
I've now been on the water more than 14 hours. My back was starting to hurt and I was exhausted. The sunlight was almost gone and the wind was howling. Time to call it a day and a weekend. All in all, I caught more than 6 fish today and 2 fish the night before. Numerous hookups and an exciting battle with a big fat fish on Saturday.
The Truckee delivered!
This wasn't the Rubicon, but it was a steep rock filled road that should be avoided if you only have two wheel drive and not very much ground clearance. The parking area at the bottom was right up next to the railroad tracks for convinient access. After gearing up, a train passed by and honked a good morning to me. What a way to wake you up.
Going down the river I found some great water. This is not pocket water, but mostly an unobstructed wide river. There were boulders down there and the water became shallow enough in sections to cause seams to form. After casting various soft hackles and wet flies, I finally put on a size 10 march brown SH with wire ribbing. Swinging this fly across the 70 foot wide river was easy with my switch, I angled myself and my casts so that the swing went through the seam edges. I added line in to get as much drift as possible and slow the swing at the same time. Add a few twitches and tugs on the line and the fly comes alive and gets the trouts attention. Normally, I make sure that the end of the swing and the dangle end up in a current seam. Leave it hang for a while and add some tugs and lifts and drops of the rod. This normally works and within 30 minutes of fishing, I had a 14 inch brown on.
He gave up a decent fight. Like last nights catch, this guy was fat. After disloding the fly, I moved downstream. Swing and step, swing and step. You know the drill. I cast to all the fishy looking spots, including the far bank. Another hour went by and I caught a couple of other 10 inch rainbows.
I made my way upstream and realized that I didn't have any food with me and since the morning chill was now gone, my sweatshirt needed to come off. Back to the car to eat and disrobe. Walking the railroad tracks down stream, I found a new section to try. It was very deep. No doubt there were big fish in here. I put on a 7 ips sinking tip on and went at it with various streamers. No takers. I kept moving upstream until I got to where I started this morning. After a debate with myself, I decided to work my way back to where I caught the fish earlier, but this time, no luck.
Back up the steep hill and over the railroad tracks to my car. Jumped in and drove back up the rocky road. Drove upstream through Hirschdale and under the 80 overpass. Now that I'm on the road to Stampede, I found a parking spot near the water and went for a walk. This section had much more pocket water. The heat of the day was pounding me down. I stuck it out and came up empty in this section. Back to the car again!
I decided to go back towards the section where I was this morning. This time, I stopped after crossing the one lane bridge and parked. Went upstream a little ways and worked this rather slow section down to the bridge. Received several bites, but no hook ups. The rubber raft hatch was in full swing. I had to stop constantly to let boaters go by. This was sometimes entertaining. I don't know what class river this is, but I saw more than one come down in an inner tube bouncing off the rocks as they went. No dunkings, but some close calls.
I worked this section for a while. Hitting any area that looked fishy. My patience can only go so far. So, I went under the bridge and worked downstream of that. While climbing along the boulder lined steep bank, I scared a rattlesnake that was sunning himself on a rock. I didn't see him until he scooted away. He coiled up about 3 feet away from me when he came to a dead end in his escape route. I carefully stepped around him, gazing into his eyes, putting him in a trance so that he wouldn't strike.
Now that my blood was pumping, I worked the section from downstream of the bridge all the way to where I was early this morning. Along the way, I caught a couple of 10-12 inch rainbows that found my size 10 soft hackle irrestible. Again, caught them in a seam while swinging the fly in and up and across presentation.
After chatting with a couple of sun bathers and swimmers making noise in the water, I decided it was time to go somewhere else. Walked back to the car and headed up west on Glenshire drive until I got to the river again. I pulled into a parking area and looked out. There were so many people swimming and floating, I decided to pass. Later in the evening, I was told that it was a good area, maybe I rushed to judgement.
Whatever the case, it was now getting close to 6pm. I drove west on Glenshire and got off on one of the parking areas along the railroad tracks. The walk to the river was much further than it looked. After arriving, I was welcomed by two rather large dogs that were barking and growling at me. They both ran from their owner and right up to me within a foot. I froze, preparing to be bitten. Luckily the owner came and got them under control. Sort of. After passing by and walking down river a hundred yards, I started wading out. Here come the dogs again.
I quickened my pace out into the water. If they were going to get me, they better have their water wings on, cause I was half way across. Luckily they thought better of it. But now, being in the middle of the river wasn't the best place in the world. I've now alerted every fish in the area that I'm here. Ignoring that fact, I started casting to river right, along the cut banks and overhanging bushes. There were also some nice boulders in the area to disturb the flow. A few bites, but no hook ups.
I worked my way downstream. Still in the middle of the river, I was casting to both edges and letting the fly swing to center. This was actually a good system. I could hit both edges and the swing always stopped in the center channel. I could quietly move down and cover the water pretty thoroughly. Hooked up with two or three fish, but lost them just out of arms length. These guys were fiesty. One of the fish leaped a good two or three feet out of the water on two occasions. That was exciting and illicited a "yehaaw" or two. Something I don't do very often.
Not long after it started to rain. It felt good and I enjoyed getting wet from the waist up for a change. The wind was another matter. Spey casting river right was starting to become dangerous. I got nailed with the fly on two occasions and decided it was time to stop with the circle cast and go to a double spey (cack handed). My casts aren't as accurate off this shoulder, but I didn't have much choice. Now with the line downwind of me, getting hit by a rogue fly was not likely.
I've gone as far downstream as I wanted to go. Now, I've got to move against the current in waist deep water with a strong wind in my face to get to shallow enough water to exit the river (the edges were deeper than the center channel at this particular point). It never fails, but I again caught a fish when I wasn't trying to. My fly was dangling below me as I noisily pushed my way through the water. The fly was no doubt jerking all over the place, but that didn't stop another 15 inch rainbow from hooking himself. I got him to hand and let him rest behind my leg after removing the hook. He took advantage of the break from the current and gathered enough energy to disappear.
Now that I caught a fish on accident, I decided to swing more flies in this same area. Down and across since the wind was at my back. The next cast landed another rainbow. This guy was only 10 inches, but since he was chubby, he put on a pretty good fight. That same spot delivered several more hook ups. The fish were everywhere and happy to try and eat my offerings.
I trudged upstream and finally could exit the water. I decided to walk upstream on the bank to where I originally found the dogs earlier. Now that it was late, the dogs and their owner were gone. Got into the water and casted to the far bank which had trees/bushes overhanging the water. It looked like a prime trouty area. Not only were there bushes, but the water was deeper here with plenty of rocks to break the current. Once again, I hooked some decent 10-15 sized fish. These guys were very acrobatic. Coming out of the water a couple times. The downside to their flip flopping was that they all were able to dislodge themselves within the last few feet of trying to grab them. If I had a net, no problem. But, trying to scoop them wasn't easy. I hate carrying nets with me, but maybe I need to re-consider it. The number of fish that I lost trying to scoop them out of the water was unusually high today.
I've now been on the water more than 14 hours. My back was starting to hurt and I was exhausted. The sunlight was almost gone and the wind was howling. Time to call it a day and a weekend. All in all, I caught more than 6 fish today and 2 fish the night before. Numerous hookups and an exciting battle with a big fat fish on Saturday.
The Truckee delivered!
1 comment:
Nice story, I am a soft hackel fan on the Trukee as well. A nice way to carry a net is to attach a net magnet to the handel and the back of your vest, make sure you replace the metal ring with a plastic D ring or plastic of the like and remove the tether cord (it makes it a pain). I have found this makes carrying a net much easier and much better than the french snaps. When you pull the net hard enough to pull the magnets apart, you land the fish, release the fish; just grab the loop of you net and sling it over your shoulder and the other end of the magnet will find it snap together and just drop your net, and you are fishing again. I have not lost or dropped a net without knowing it or somthing pulling it off since I started using the orvis net magnet 15 years or so ago. Once again I enjoyed you stories about some very familar waters and fishing techniques, maybe I see you there sometime.
Regards,
Matt
Post a Comment