Screw it...

Sorry, but I don't think I'm going to get around to an official report for the Lower Stan or Klamath rivers. I've been swamped with stuff around the house and work.

Basically, on the Klamath, I caught a bunch of fish. :) Yeah, they weren't huge, but they were in there. And I caught them on skaters. Seems the North Umpqua isn't the only river where the steelhead like these flies. It is also worth noting that I had very little luck with swinging wet flies. But, as soon as I put the skaters on, fish were slashing left and right.

On the Lower Stan, I caught 20+ fish. And while they were trout (technically, California claims them to be steelhead, but I would disagree in this instance), they love skaters too. My theory about showing fish something they don't normally see is paying off dividends. Whether it be pulsing a wet fly on the swing or even pulsing a skater. These are curious animals and they've seen people dead drift flies over and over and over again. Never mind the fact that doing so is B.O.R.I.N.G!!

This whole idea of fishing in unusual ways has worked in the past. Putah Creek comes to mind. While everyone else is dead drifting size 22 and smaller flies. Just cause "that's what the trout eat over there." Pffft. You can do pretty well, even on Putah, with big flowing size 4 spey flies. You just gotta try it. Match the hatch my ass. :)

Lower Stan Report

The week before last, I made a trip to the Lower Stan. I'm sure you already figured that out if you read my other recent posts. So, here I am, late as usual with the official trip report.

Got to the dam before sunrise. So early in fact, I took a little snooze in the car. Luckily, I awoke before it got too light out. After suiting up, I went straight down to the river and started casting.

The river was up slightly from the last time I was here. Water temp was in the upper 50's. No sign of fish feeding on the top, but I knew they were down there. Just had to find someone willing to take a chance.

As reported in a previous post, I didn't see any salmon. Not that I was fishing for them, but I would like to see a better return. Unfortunately, it didn't look very good.

Had a three fly rig on with various soft hackles up front and a small hair wing steelhead fly as the anchor. Other than a couple of 10 inchers, it was quiet. I wandered down to where the water spills through a tight space and dumped into a slower section. If you are familiar with this area, you know what I'm referring to. For me, this is strictly a hang-down presentation. Let out some line and the current pulls it out the required distance. After letting it fish for a few moments, I'd start stripping it in. At one point, I had a really strong grab. The fish felt very solid and may of been a biggie. Unfortunately, he wouldn't commit and I couldn't get him to come back.

After a couple hours, I headed to the dam. Caught a few 15 inchers right near the dam. It was a little chilly with the water spraying down on me, so I worked myself downstream to find a bunch of fish feeding. A size 20 fly probably would of matched, but I wasn't in the mood to tie one on. Instead I found similar colors in a size 14, 12, and an attractor 10 for the anchor.

I could feel the line being hit as fish were on their way to the surface for the real deal. They completely ignored my offerings! After nearly slipping and falling into a deep slot, I carefully positioned myself for a down and across cast approx 20 feet over the feeding fish. The idea was that bigger fish were positioned a little bit further downstream where the current was slightly slower. After a few casts, I caught a nice 18 inch trout full of anger. Not more than 5 minutes later, I caught another. This went on for a while. These bigger fish were taking my fly after the hang down, while I was teasing the fly or slowly stripping it back. These fish ignored the fact that my flies were much bigger than the real bugs. In fact, the size 10 with a green color body, that in no way looked like the actual hatching bug, was getting the most attention. Matching the hatch is so overrated. :)

At some point I left the dam for two-mile. If my memory serves correctly, it was around 2pm. I caught some really small dinks and one 15 incher, but it was mostly quiet. Walking far down river till the canyon, I decided enough was enough. The water was just high and fast enough I couldn't find good holding water. I headed back and messed around a little in a few areas before closing up shop.

It was a pretty productive day. Caught around a dozen decent sized fish and a whole bunch under 12". A couple of them were bright with virtually no color. Almost certainly from the ocean. While I may not fish the Lower Stan that much anymore, it almost always makes for a productive day.

My Un-Scientific Salmon Count

While fishing the Lower Stan last week, I noticed a huge difference in the number of Salmon from this time last year. Unfortunately, I did not see a single one. Not to say there weren't there. I could of just simply missed them. However, last year at this time, I saw so many up and down the river, they seemed eerily absent. I can't help but wonder if there was a connection between the lack of fish and that I saw the DFG looking hard for poachers.

Hopefully they are just moving in late and will be here soon.

Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus

Finally, back to my favorite haunt, the Lower Stanislaus. It was to be another hot day, at or near 100.

The day started off rather slow. In the morning, I was swinging various soft hackles in groups of two. I caught a couple of fish somewhere around 12 inches as I scurried the rocks in the deep pools. As the fish seemed to have lock jaw, I moved downstream to some areas I had never been. I actually didn't think access was possible, and never attempted to go down that far. However, it ended up being pretty easy at these flows and I found a spot with some fish that were actively feeding. I hooked a few, but they were able to rid the hook in short order.

I decided to move back upstream towards the dam and perched myself on a rock to cast all the way across stream for the biggest swing possible. At the time, I had a soft hackle in front, and a larger steelhead fly in back. I decided to do something I don't normally do, and it turned out to be an almost revelation.

Generally, the idea when swinging flies is to get them to swing as slow as possible. Potentially start with a dead drift so they can get some depth, then lower the rod tip through the swing to slow it down as it makes the trip back across the current to your side. For some odd reason, I decided to actually do short little strips. My theory was, that I'd fish that steelhead fly like a streamer through the deeper water. It had long spey hackles on it, and I figured the pulsating of those hackles would get a fish to bite.

Not long after doing this, to my surprise, I hooked a fish. He bit clear across the river, and I brought the 15 incher to hand. The whole time, I was thinking, I can't believe he went after that stripped size 4 stealhead fly.

However, when I picked him up, I noticed that he actually ate the size 12 soft hackle! Since when do fish go after a stripped soft hackle? I've been fishing soft hackles for years and years, and this is something that I rarely did! (Mainly because, the times I did it, it just didn't seem to work.) This proved key later in the day.

Another hour or two went by, and I had moved to another spot downstream. Which will remain nameless. By now, it was the hottest part of the day. Fish are supposed to be hunkered down. However, they weren't. They were keying in on a hatch and fish heads were exploding out of the water left and right. I mean, they were everywhere! I didn't know there were this many fish in the river, let alone in this one little spot. In any one instant, I could see two dozen fish breaking the surface. It was amazing. I have never seen anything like this on the Stanislaus. Come to think of it, I may of never seen this before, period! To make it even more incredible, were the size of these fish. These weren't dinks. They were decent sized of 15-20+ inch. At one point, I actually climbed up about 15 feet to get a good look and the water was filled with trout of all sizes. Hovering at various depths. Munching bugs on the surface and below. Incredible!

Needless to say, I was excited. I hurried to rig up some small soft hackles that somewhat matched size and color of what they were eating. Nothing! Not a single bite! I could actually feel fish hitting my fly line as they busted their way to the surface. However, no one was going after my flies.

Okay, okay, I had the wrong flies on. I changed it up. Same thing! I changed again and again. This went on until I had gone through literally, 15-20 different flies. I was deflated. They were so keyed in on the hatch, that they ignored everything else. And I couldn't get close enough to that food source.

I sat there staring at the fish exploding through the surface. Teasing me, and surely laughing at me. I actually walked away from this incredible hatch and went elsewhere. I caught a couple of fish in another area, but I couldn't get over that sight back in the last pool. So, I went back and tried again. Nothing, nothing and more nothing. It was hours later and these fish were still absolutely everywhere. They were gorging like there was no tomorrow (the hatch literally went on for hours during the middle and hottest part of the day!)

I started reflecting on the day and remembered that time I caught the fish by stripping a soft hackle. Since nothing else was working, I decided to try it again. I cast out into the hordes of fish and started doing quick short strips. WHAM! I caught a fish! What the??!

He was 15 inches and fought hard. When I took the fly out of his mouth, I realized he ate a size 10 soft hackle. Very much larger than the bugs that they were eating. Huh, whatever! I finally caught one of these guys.

I let the guy go and cast/strip again. WHAM! Even bigger guy. Two casts and two fish. Is this coincidence? After releasing him and casting a third time, I didn't make it 3 for 3. However, in the next hour, I caught at least 20 fish. All of them were around 15 inches, wild, and full of fight.

What is the moral of the story? When you think you know something, you really don't. I would of never tried stripping those soft hackles if it weren't for that steelhead fly I tied on earlier in the day. Now, I have a new trick up my sleeve. And you can be sure I'll do it again.

This turned out to be one of those epic days of fishing. Not only did I catch a boat load, but learned something in the process. This happened a couple of years ago on Cherry Creek, and I know how seldom these days actually come along. It won't soon be forgotten.

Trip Report: Lower Stan

Tuesday was another day on the Lower Stan. If you recall, I put out an open invitation to see if anyone would show up. It was a shot in the dark. However, surprisingly enough, someone took the challenge. I had a great time with Tim and hopefully we'll meet up again sometime.

If you read my previous post about spey casting a single-hander, you already know that I spent some time messing around. The reason I was able to do so much of that, is that the fishing stunk. Plain and simple. On Monday afternoon, someone decided to open the flood gates and the river rose quite a bit. As you all know, that can make for some poor fishing. I saw two risers the entire day! That's it.

I caught a few smaller fish, all under 12". But otherwise, the day was eerily silent. No bites, no grabs, no nothing. And I'd say I covered the water from a few inches below the surface to deep down in the pools. I must of tried 50 of the flies I had with me. Tim and I weren't alone, the other people we talked with had nothing.

It was still a beautiful day. In the mid 60's and plenty of sunshine. I showed Tim some of my secret spots that seem to get overlooked by everyone else. In return, he promised to take me to his favorite river to show me around. Can't beat that!

Next time Lower Stan! Next time...

Open Invitation

Thought I'd put a friendly invite out there to whoever is reading this. I'll be fishing the Lower Stan tomorrow the 24th. Starting up near the dam early in the morning as the sun gets up. I'll slowly work myself downstream as the morning wears on. I expect to move to Two Mile bar around noon or a little after. I'll be there until the sun goes down.

edit: While I'm at Two Mile, I tend to skip around. However, when I first arrive I'll be up at the top where the frog water starts to speed up. Then work downstream on the far bank. I can sometimes walk VERY far downstream. So, if you want to find me, it may be easier at Tulloch.

Report: Lower Stanislaus

The night before leaving on another Lower Stanislaus trip, I looked over sat maps to see if there was some new water to fish. As much as I love this river, it can get tiresome going to the same runs every time.

Arrived to the Tulloch access prior to daylight. After gearing up I wanted to warm up at the dam. However, upon getting there, I found out that they turned off the spigot on the road side. That pretty much screwed up my plan to fish this area. It might as well of been a lake, the water was still as could be. Since I don't dead drift under an indicator, there just wasn't enough current to suit my style. No matter how many fish may be lurking under the surface.

The water was flowing out of the far side, so I decided to have a look. This would be my first time over there, so I wanted to check it out. I crossed river and walked up to the side stream that flows out of that side of the dam. There wasn't a lot of access, so I decided to skip it. Opting instead to walk down river along side the empty canals that parallel.

I walked a long ways and was high above river. The drop down to the water was too steep. Here we are, a couple hours into the day and my line has yet to get wet! The view was beautiful and that was enough to keep hiking.


I'm not sure how far I went. But it was a ways. I was deep into the canyon that stretches between Tulloch and Two-Mile. There looked to be some good water below me, but it just was too hairy to attempt getting down there. So, I didn't bother. All in all, I probably spent 2 or 3 hours walking and enjoying the pleasant weather.

Eventually, I decided to turn around and head back. I'm pretty sure I could of walked all the way to Two-Mile, but never did. I bet it wasn't that much further from where I stopped.

Before getting all the way back to where I originally crossed the river, I scrambled down some rocks and found a spot to fish. I've been here before. But the water was so low, it looked quite a bit different. If there were fish around, they weren't biting.


Fishing was slow throughout the day. I saw a handful of other fly fisherman and none of them were catching anything. They seemed surprised when I told them that I caught a few small ones under 12 inches, and to me, on this river, that is a really slow day. This was quite the contrast from my previous trip. On that outing, fish were rising all over the place. I could see them just about everywhere I looked. Today, there were no risers and I didn't see any swimming around.

Eventually I found myself at Two Mile. I took the usual circuit. No luck whatsoever. I didn't see any fish either. Which is odd. I normally see them here and there. A couple of hours later, I was downstream quite a ways and finally saw some fish. They were all hiding 4 or 5 feet down in large rocky cover. They were eating. That was a good sign. I tried for them, but had no luck. I decided to move on after about 15 minutes of swapping flies and techniques.

Instead of giving you a play by play of each run I went to, I'll just say I covered the river pretty thoroughly. I tried quite the number of fly patterns. Soft hackles, wet flies, nymphs. Sizes ranged from 10-18. These were not working. After throwing on the bigger flies, I started to get more takers. I caught a few fish in the 15 inch range on size 6-10 marabou flies. These have worked in the past on difficult days and again, they produced a few fish. The largest was approximately 18 inches long and took a black marabou with a purple guinea collar. It was swung on a 3.9 ips sink tip and the takes were almost all on the beginning of the swing.

It was a slow, but enjoyable day. I gave up as the sun was setting and I could no longer see the fly line easily. Spey casting in the dark is not a good idea as far as I'm concerned, so that was reason enough to call it quits.

As I was stepping out of the water, I saw a large steelhead that someone had gutted right there at the river. Keep in mind this is a catch and release area. Poachers! They really tick me off. I measured the wild fish at 32 inches. The largest steelhead I've seen on the Stanislaus. Too bad his life was taken by someone who has no regard for the regulations.

Report: Lower Stanislaus

It has been a little while since I'd been to the Lower Stanislaus. Figured it to be as good of time as any to give it another look-see.

After waking up and leaving earlier than I should have, I arrived at Tulloch Road about 45 minutes before sunrise. This gave me time to get a little more sleep in while I waited for enough light to walk down to the river.

My first destination was under the dam. I immediately noticed the water was low clear. Because of the low light, I couldn't see in the water, but knew fish must be around because they were already rising to BWOs. The ones coming to the surface were rather small. A splash here and there, I swung some wet flies without much results. I had a few dries with me, but since I rarely fish them, I didn't have the right size or color, so I tried to match something close with soft hackles and winged wets. The idea was to fish them right under the surface film.

I tied a size 16 soft hackle in front and a size 10 or 12 winged wet trailing behind. That got some attention. The fish that were attacking them were rather small. And after catching a few, I realized catching bigger fish would not be possible in this location because of the little guys.

I didn't need much convincing to move on. It was cold and the mist coming off the falls wasn't all that pleasant as it pounded me in the face. I moved slightly downstream.

The water seemed less riffly than usual, I'm assuming because of the lower flows. I wouldn't be able to go as far downstream as usual without running into very slow water. Since I don't fish with indicators and I wasn't doing the dry fly thing, it made little sense to stay in this area. Not enough current to keep the swing going. So, with that in mind, I went back upstream a little bit and flopped my line around where a dam side channel meets the river.

After hiking back up the steep path, I went further downstream and found more riffles. I swung various soft hackles and winged wets. I don't remember getting any bites at all. No matter how many flies I tried or what depth of the water column I was in, nothing seemed to be working. Even the rising fish seemed to lessen while the hatch continued. I found myself tying on some of my larger flies and just watching how the patterns swam in the current. If that gives you any indication how slow the fishing was, I don't know what would. I continued fishing the usual spots for another few hours with nothing to show for it.

The original plan was to cross the river and go downstream for some exploration. For whatever reason, I just wasn't in the mood. Instead, I fished the same places I always fish and by 12:30 or 1pm, it was time to pack up for Two-Mile.

I did notice a lot of dead salmon parts laying in the stream bed. Skin, chunks of meat, skeletons, you name it. Later that evening as I left, I spoke with a Park Ranger who told me that the salmon count was up this year quite a bit. That was good to hear. I'm hopeful that it will continue to climb. Fingers crossed.

Like Tulloch, the lot at Two-Mile was empty and I had the river to myself. I saw absolutely no one the entire day. Well, I take that back, I saw a couple of drunk guys on an ATV. They were flying around their property wearing cammos. I'm not sure if they were hunting or not, but it was an interesting experience. From a distance, one of the guys yells to me, “Hey boy, where's your fishing license? [slight pause] Get off my property,, I hope you can swim fast! Cause we're coming for you!” I knew they were kidding around, but it was a little strange. Then a few minutes later after one of them takes a leak, the other says loud enough to make sure I could hear “Get a head shot, make sure he doesn't get away!”. Again, I realized they were kidding, but it wasn't something I like to hear in the middle of no where with no one else around. As they drove off, they slowed down and waved to me. Whew.

I covered Two Mile very thoroughly and experimented with all kinds of flies. By the time I gave up for the day, I caught three or four 10-15inch fish and lost as many. Like upstream, it was slow. The larger fish seemed to be hunkered down, even while a ferocious hatch was going off around 2pm. Only the dinks were coming to the surface.

I kept waiting for it to get better. I convinced myself to stay until dark because the bite would surely turn on! As the sun went down, the action didn't change. It was complete dead. I can't recall the last, or if ever, I've seen the Lower Stan this unproductive. Still, it was a nice cool day on the water.

Report: Lower Stanislaus

A couple of weeks ago, I made another trip to the Lower Stanislaus. I decided to delay this report until after the river closed. Reason being, considering the stuff I saw on the American, you never know who out there may read this and decide it was time to go target some very large salmon.

I arrived at the Tulloch access while it was still dark. I had already rigged my rod before leaving the house, so I only had to throw on my waders and get to the water. For the first time, I started up underneath the dam and worked myself down. I threw a 2-fly rig consisting of a size 14 wet fly and a size 12 soft hackle. I had a few bites here and there, but didn't catch anything for a while. I could see the trout swimming around about 6-10 feet under the surface, more or less out of reach since I was swinging just under the surface.

As I scrambled along the rocks to get myself downstream, I was able to open up my cast a little bit. There were less overhanging tree branches and I could get in a good double spey cast across to the far bank. Fish were starting to come to the surface for a few bugs that filled the air. At this time, I caught a few around 10” in length.

Working yourself along the river in this section is not easy. Wading is limited. You are more or less pinned on a rock and doing whatever you can to get the fly out. As I was clumsily moving around, I heard a big splash. A few moments later, I saw a large salmon come out of the water. He was fresh and lively. This was the first time I had seen salmon off of Tulloch. That shouldn't be a surprise since I don't normally spend a lot of time in this section. Nice to know they're out there. Although I was tempted by the big fish, I moved on and let him and his friends be.

Scrambling up the rocks to the path, I went downriver and waded out again. Caught another swarm of 10-15 inch fish. As usual, I kept moving, looking for “players”. Instead of pounding the same section over and over, I like to keep moving and look for those that are active.

I stayed at the Tulloch area until 1 or 2 pm. The fishing was that good. Normally I'm gone before noon. I'm not going to say where, but in a deep hole, I was able to see a few very large salmon. And a bunch of "small" salmon over 30 inches that paled in comparison. In fact, those big guys were the biggest salmon I've ever seen period. I didn't know that fish this big were in the Lower Stan. I can't say for sure, but at least two of them looked to be around four feet and built like a missle. They were absolutely huge. The first time I saw the larger of the two, I really thought I was seeing things. He made the 30” fish look tiny by comparison. By the looks of things, he was fresh from the ocean. He was moving around like a mad man chasing others that were getting too close. Totally unexpected and awe inspiring.

Not long after this discovery, and my 10 minutes of just sitting on a rock just watching, I went back to the car for a quick trip down to Two Mile.

After arriving at the new location, I went down and fished right where the path meets the water. Normally I head upriver to begin, but for some reason, I decided to start here. On the second cast, I landed a 15 inch trout. Keep in mind, this was around 2pm. Fishing was great, all day long. Afterwards, I traveled downstream and caught another before heading upriver.

I won't go into details, but I fished the usual spots and a few new ones. I was catching fish almost everywhere. There were salmon all over the place around here. There was a good mix of spawners that have been there a while and look to be in bad shape, and then there were some fresh guys that were happily leaping out of the water with the trout.

As reported in another post, I had caught three fish at one time. This happened pretty far downstream in an eddy. It was an exciting moment that I soon won't forget. Between that and seeing the huge salmon, it was quite a day. After it was all said and done, I caught more than 20 fish more than 10 inches. The largest was around 18 and full of fight.

Thanks Lower Stanislaus, I'll be back when you open up next year.

Triple Catch

While on the Lower Stan yesterday, I was working a 3-fly rig. In an eddy, I caught a rainbow and after reeling him in, all of a sudden, he really started fighting hard. I was thinking that I had a really big one.

When he got within 10 feet of me, I noticed that there were two fish. Each of them had latched on the lower two flies. Right as I was trying to corral them, a 3rd, and pretty small (7 inch) rainbow popped up from no where and onto the last fly!!

I was laughing so hard I almost fell in the water. All 3 fish to hand. The first two were around 12 inches, the last was 7.

It will probably never happen again. It was pretty darn amusing seeing these guys trying to escape in different directions.

I'll have a Lower Stan report soon. It was a doozy of a day and I saw some incredible stuff.

Trip Report: Lower Stan

Arriving at Tulloch access before sunrise, it was raining quite hard. I suited up while still in the car to keep from getting drenched and quickly headed to the water. I started nearest where I parked and went down river. Caught a few 10-12 inch rainbows in the very low and clear water. Used very sparse soft hackles in size 10.

Before too long, I went upriver a ways and then came back down to where I started. Caught more fish of the same size on a variety of soft hackles and winged wets. Anywhere from size 10-12 worked just fine. It was still pretty early morning and the rain was coming down lighter, but still putting a chill in the air.

I quickly became bored and decided it was best to get in the car and go down to Two Mile Bar. After getting to the river, I covered the usual water for a few smaller fish. Eventually I went further downstream than I normally go and found a beautiful stretch. Because the water was so low, I was able to cross the river here. Something I've not been able to do in the past.

I put on one of those hair wing steelhead flies that I recently tied and started swinging it. The first cast out, I hooked a nice 16 inch "steelhead". I put that in quotes because I doubt he's been to the ocean, but by DFG definition, he is a steelhead. This was the last fish I caught in this stretch. I had a few hard grabs, but nothing hooked.

This size 10 hair wing received plenty of interest.

After going back upstream and fishing some of the same water I covered earlier, it was getting late. Because of the experience I had last time at Two-Mile, I decided not to push my luck. I made more of an effort to be back at the car before dark. However, before leaving, I made one last stop with a size 12 wet fly in the riffles. I caught a 10 inch or so fish on almost every cast for the last few minutes of light. The fish were really biting.

Overall, I brought to hand around 20 fish. Not only was it raining for a good portion of the morning, my waders formed a leak in the crotch! Needless to say, it was a very wet day. Despite the soaking, it was a good time on the Stan.

Trip Report: Lower Stan

Last Sunday, I was able to take a rare weekend day off to fish. This was part two of the exchange program between Mr. X and I. He had already shown me Putah Creek on a float tube and now it was my turn to show him Two Mile Bar on the Lower Stan.

We met at 6am in the parking lot. After putting our stuff together, we walked down and found the river at a very good wading level. It was clear and cold. And interestingly enough, for a Sunday, it was pretty much empty. All day long.

This was my first time starting out at Two Mile. Normally, I begin the morning at Tulloch and switch locations in early afternoon. It was a nice change of pace. Upon arriving, we started at the top of the first riffle below the long slow pool coming down the canyon. Even though a hatch was on, it started out slow. I did my usual swing and step down the river while Mr. X stayed a bit in the slower water above the riffle. After making it to the island, I still hadn't caught anything. I covered a good portion of both channels until I started catching a few 10 inch rainbows on a small white soft hackle.

Traveling on the far side of the river from the parking area, we headed down river. I think I spent more time changing flies and swapping sink tips than I did fishing. At one point I even tied on a big old grasshopper as an indicator and a small nymph trailing down from that. That probably doesn't sound unusual. But for me, someone who rarely puts on a surface fly, and even more rarely uses an indicator, it was quite unusual. It should be no surprise that I didn't catch anything. I don't think I could of felt more out of my element. However, I'd like to broaden my horizons and try new techniques. Afterward, I switched to some of those big streamer flies on a sinking tip and swam them in the current below me as the water churned through some boulders. I may of gotten a bite or two, but that was about it.

We decided to head back up river to revisit some spots from early in the morning before making a move up the road to Tulloch. Once making the drive, Mr. X suggested we fish near the dam. A place I had never been before, at least not that close to the falls. Boy did that mist feel good on this hot day.

Fish were everywhere, but they didn't want anything I presented to them. And I tried a whole lot of flies. We gave it quite a while and then headed down river. After a little while longer, Mr. X decided to call it a day. At that point, I went back up river and caught a few more fish about a quarter way to the dam. Again in the 10 inch range.

I was getting bored with Tulloch, so I went back down the road to Two Mile. Fishing started out slow, but as the sun began to lower, it started picking up. For a while, I was catching a fish every 5 or 10 minutes. As you can guess, they were all in the 10-12 inch area.

This was a big day for experimentation. Soft hackles, nymphs, streamers, steelhead flies, dries, terrestrials, I tried them all. Only the soft hackles were producing for me. Mostly on the downward leg of the swing with a few coming during the dead drift on an upriver cast.

It was getting dark and I was about to throw in the towel when I hooked what felt like a large fish. I was quite surprised because of the constant supply of small fish. At first he didn't seem very big, but then he really pulled hard as he got within 15 feet of me. The fight when on for a little while, but the guy started to get tired and I could scoop him up pretty easy with my hand. I was actually surprised to see he was only about 15 inches. Considering the fight he gave me, I expected him to be a little bigger. Like some of the others during the minutes prior to dark, he was caught on a small size 16 wet fly. This one was a black winged wet. After letting him rest behind my leg, he sped off, full of energy.

As I was standing in the river, trying to catch a few more as it became almost pitch black out, I heard a siren blare in the distance. I didn't know what it was initially since it was echoing off the canyon walls. About five minutes later, it happened again. For a paranoid moment, I thought it might have been some kind of warning that the river was about to rise, so I quickly exited the water. Then reality set in and I remembered that I was supposed to be out of the parking lot by sunset. It must have been someone trying to hurry me up.

I got out of the river, dug out my flashlight and headed back to the car. Sure enough, the Sheriff was waiting for me. Woops!

All in all, it was a great day. I didn't accurately keep track of how many fish I caught, but it was somewhere north of 15. All of them except the one were in the 9-12 inch range (I'm not counting the few dinks that somehow opened their mouths wide enough to get hooked). The Lower Stan continues to be an ego booster.

Fly #26: Flies for the Lower Stan

In preparation for a trip to the Lower Stan, I've been tying a few flies. Some of those are pictured below. As always, click on the picture for a larger version.

This one is tied on a size 12 hook and has a red guinea feather for a tail, a partridge hackle up front and a feather palmered up the shank. I've used a similar fly on this river before with great success. This relatively light fly combined with the palmered hackle will keep him right under the surface.

This is a size 14 with partridge hackle up front and a dubbed body with wire ribbing giving it some weight. This basic soft hackle always gets attention on just about every river. The Lower Stan is no exception. This guy will sink at a good rate and will be fished a few feet down.

Another red size 10 fly. This is practically the same as the first except with a red guinea hackle up front.

Watch for a report in the coming days to see how they worked out.

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.

Trip Report: Lower Stanislaus

You know those days when you catch so many fish you almost get bored? Throw the line in, fish gets hooked, reel him in, carefully release him, rinse, and then repeat? Well, this certainly wasn't one of those days!

This was probably the slowest day I've ever had on the Lower Stan, and possibly the slowest day I've had on any of the streams here in the Sierras. Here is how it happened.

I arrived at the Tulloch Damn Rd access at 8:30am. After gearing up, I made my way down to the water, traveling slightly upstream from the gravel path that leads directly to the river. Air temp was approximately 39 degrees and although the sun hadn't made itself into the canyon yet, it was clear skies. Water temp was around 49 degrees and 4-5 feet visibility in the murky water.

I'm sure the water temp and milky water didn't help the situation. Although I knew the fish were in there, I didn't see a one. They were likely hunkered down not moving more than a few inches to grab food that happened to bounce off their nose. You knew it was going to be one of those days.

After trying for a little while, I went upstream, casting at spots that are usually productive. Nothing. Because the water was pretty low, I decided to try something I've always wanted to do. I carefully crossed the river and climbed up the steep bank to the canal on the other side. I've been trying to access some water downstream every time I'm here, but have been unable because of water levels and access is extremely dangerous on the Tulloch Rd side of the river. Not to say it was easy on the far side of the bank, there were a few spots to get to the river as the cliffs got higher and more treacherous. A good walk downstream and carefully negotiating some slick boulders, I found myself in a very nice place. Excellent wading and fishy looking area. Unfortunately, it didn't even produce a bite. On a normal Lower Stan day, I think this would of been excellent. The downside is that in order to move up or downstream you either had to swim or get out of the river and go around the cliffs to the next access point. Very difficult terrain. But may be worth a try on a better day.

It was starting to warm up and I decided to head back upstream to where I crossed the river. After a slip down a wet grassy slope wearing my felt sole boots, I made it back to the car side of the river. I walked back downstream and tried the usual spots that I've always caught fish at. I did manage to catch a couple under 10" rainbows. I talked to a few other fly fisherman and they seem to be having the same problem. Whew. Good to know it just wasn't me.

At 11:30, I decided to get in the car and head to Two-Mile Bar. Same water conditions of course. But, I wanted to give it a try anyway. Again, I threw a line into the usual spots without much luck. I think I got one bite. Normally, I would have caught at least 5-10 fish by now. It just wasn't happening today.

While at one area with swift current and overhanging brush, I was just dangling the soft hackle downstream. Up and down, left and right. Lifts and drifts. You get the point. It was a great looking spot. Nothing was happening. I knew fish were in there. Just couldn't get anyones attention. As I was slowly bringing my line in to go somewhere else, a fish decided to grab my size 12 silver tinsel soft hackle. He fought strongly and I brought him to hand. He wasn't big, but I'll give him an A for effort. The wild rainbow measured a little over 13 inches.

I don't have a picture (yet) of the fly that caught the 13 incher. Basically it was a size 12, black thread holding the partridge hackle and a green glass bead. The body is simply silver tinsel wrapped around the shank. It sits just below the surface and reflects sunlight like you wouldn't believe. My thought process is that it would be helpful with the water being so cloudy.

All in all, I'm still glad I made it out. Even if it was really slow. The conditions were not ideal, but I got a chance to be on the river. And with a newborn baby in the house, those times have been few.

Just a side note. The Lower Stan is usually pretty quiet on weekdays. However, this was the most crowded I've ever seen it. Tulloch Rd had about 8 cars parked and Two-Mile had another 6. Now that isn't a lot. But more than I've seen (I don't go on the weekends). I guess people were taking their three-day vacation to four. One of the nice gentlemen that I ran into gave me the location of a river I'm going to try next. Keep your fingers crossed it is soon!

First day out this year

If all goes as planned, this week, perhaps Thursday or Friday I'll get my first chance on the river this year. Of course, my choice will be the Lower Stanislaus. The weather is supposed to be in the upper 50's with sunny skies.

I've gotten all my gear together and will tie a few extra size 16 in various patterns to make sure I'm covered. I don't know what to expect of the river conditions, but I do know that it will be a good time no matter.

A trip report will follow!

The Lower Stan Opens

As much as I'd like to hit the lower Stanislaus this opening week, it just won't be happening. Real life gets in the way once again. Not to mention a big winter storm is coming into the area.

Friday through Sunday should see anywhere from 5 to 10 feet of snow in the upper elevations. You can only imagine what this rain/snow will do to the trout streams including this river. If you do go, be careful! Speaking as someone who has seen a flash flood happen right before him, you don't want to be there if it happens.

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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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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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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