Against All Odds

Friday's are always the hardest day of the week for me.  I am the most sleep deprived and beat from five days of a third shift work week.  Charles wanted to check out Long Beach Bay, however I knew I just didn't have it in me to battle through the LA traffic.  Instead, I asked him to come over to fish my local bass lakes in my pram.  I knocked back a red bull and loaded the boat with my 6wt and the boat bag, and we were off. 

We headed over to Puddingstone Reservoir not knowing what the expect.  It is a large lake for the pram and we wanted to find a launch point closest to one of the prime bass spots.  It was a nightmare getting my boat on the water to say the least.  A younger version of Lieutenant Ramathorn from Super Troopers

Let me see your boat registration sir. 

  Nearly a hour later we finally got on the water.  But I could sense Ramathorn glassing me from the other side of the lake since I launched my boat from the non-motorized lagoon.  My casting was compromised for at least a few hours due to the stress and tension. 

I fished my size 4 olive mutated olive bugger most of the afternoon.  Several hard takes were on this fly as I was either fixing a knot in my fly line or re-poisoning the boat due to wind gusts. Since the bass were taking this particular fly, I felt no need to change it until sun down. 

The little pram steadily fought clear across the opposite side of the lake, despite the wind chop and wakes caused by speed boaters.  This lagoon was clearly more shallow with much more bass structure.  I lost another bass strike in this lagoon and decided to switch out my spool for floating line.  From the corner of my eye I saw a big splash from either a bass or carp.  It was a big fish and it is common for carp to jump for no apparent reason.  However, a part of me wants to believe it was a large bass inhaling one of the young coots fleeing toward the brushy bank. 

Against all odds, I decided to tie on a frog gurgler popper.  We drifted along the side of a submerged tree.  I cast my popper and let it sit for a moment... gave it a few pops and let it sit... a swell of water formed around the frog and like a giant straw.  I set the hook and the bass wrestled my 6wt and I all the way to the boat. She was a beauty, possibly the best looking bass I've caught.  

My first bass on topwater!

We made multiple drifts around this lagoon but it seemed the bass got tight lipped.  Charles lost a few bass on his topwater baitfish pattern and had to face the skunk...  We initially swore we were never retuning to this lake, however we may just give it another chance.

Getting Back Up

MVL crushed me like the T-101 at the end of Terminator 2.  It simply destroyed me.. The lake seemed to tease me as wind followed me into every cove.  The wind forced me to make blind casts since the water was too choppy for sight casting.  I lost a chunky bass as it followed my fly right out of the water while I was foolishly repositioning my line.  Meanwhile Charles became the MVL trout slayer of the day. 

Today after work, I tied up some size 4 dumbbell eyed woolly bugger variants for Prado Lake tomorrow afternoon.  A few of these have rubber leg skirts and some don't.  I will try shad patterns as well, Since they are abundant in this lake.  With little energy left from a rough week, I have just enough left in me to tie a handful of flies to get back up for another fight.

Charles at MVL.  This is a pretty good beer btw.

 

Time to get Stoned

Pteronarcys californica aka Salmonfly

Lately I've been getting trout to grab big stonefly nymph patterns.  It is a nice change of pace compared to size 18-24 bwo and midge patterns from the early season.  Hopefully I get a chance to fish the salmonfly hatch if time and river flows cooperate. 

Here is some interesting underwater footage.

Big Game Hunting

Caught on size 8 Salmonfly Nymph

With three consecutive break-offs on one particular run, I decided to return with more firepower.  Armed with a 6wt and 8lb Seaguar fluorocarbon I was able to pry one of these southern Sierran brutes out of their deep rocky abyss. We had lost several hard fighting fish in this run due to white water rapids and sharp rocky ledges.  The 6x tippet and 5wt rods wasn't cutting it.  Speculation of monster Pike Minnow dwelling in the depths had our imaginations on edge.  While Wyoming and Montana folk may consider these fish average at best, it is trophy worthy by southern California standards. 

It even had a fly snagged on it's tail fin.. Someone must have been desperate to use a barbed BH san juan!

MVL Awakens

The past few outings on this lake was just plain frustrating. Constant pressure changes throughout the past month seemed to have shut the fishery down until now.  The bass were staging up in the shallows and sight fishing couldn't have been better. The water was crystal clear down to at least 30' deep.  For a moment, it seemed like we were sight fishing for bone fish in a tropical lagoon. 

Overall, the bass were much larger than last spring.  I was on a legitimate bass within 30 minutes and Charles followed up with another one.  A monster bass (estimated 5lb) self released boat side which was a heart breaker.  Otherwise, we nearly completed the MVL slam minus the bluegill and catfish.  My first ever crappie on a flyrod and Charles landed his first Nebraska Tailwalker trout.  It was a fun day.

Trial Run at Prado Lake

I took my new boat out at my local bass lake to test everything out.  The boat is a used spring creek pram that Charles and Ed used for bay fishing nearly a decade ago.  Since then it has been in storage awaiting it's return to the water.  I am now the proud owner of it and it will see time on several lakes and bays throughout southern California.

The trolling motor is a old hand me down Minn Kota from Jesse Pinkerton of Fishing Alliance.  The 27lb thrust was sufficient for small lakes like this and four hours on the water barely dented the battery life.  The pram glided over the lake like a stealth bomber.  The fishing itself was slow and all bumps felt like lazy short strikes on my streamer.  The weather was cold and foggy and I will have to return as temperatures stabilize on this lake.  Otherwise, the scenery was "bassey" and I saw a cooper's hawk kiting a young coot.  I am hoping this lake will produce excellent topwater fishing during summer.

An ugly creation of mine. 

several short strikes occured near the bank.

Snowmelt

I spent four days in the Sierra, fly fishing in some technical big water demanding the superhero within.  Like Icarus, I ignored every warning sign that made me think twice.  Instead of incinerating my wings from the solar flares of the sun, my spirits were crushed from increasing whitewater the further I pushed myself up the mountain.

My motivation lied within the fabled early season skwala stonefly and march brown mayfly hatch.  Evidence of the medium sized stonefly was attached on several boulders along the river bank.  The exoskeletons were roughly about a size 10.  It looked like we were a tad late in the season.  With the unstable weather ranging from arctic cold to summer heat it was difficult to time this adventure.

Over the course of three days we landed roughly one trout per day, not counting the bumps and self releases.  A size 10 stonefly nymph was definitely the fly on the trout's menu as all my trout were taken on tungsten weighted stones.  The snowmelt initiated some murk and white water, making dry fly fishing a mere fantasy.  Although, there was a mysterious blue wing micro hatch on a single run.  Charles managed a handful of rainbows after stripping down his nymph rig to tie on a size 18 comparadun.

Even though the fishing was tough the scenery was about as beautiful as it could be.  California poppies and Lupine were in full bloom, blanketing the mountainside in a orchestra of color.  I was in good company with Erika and Charles and each night was rewarded with a gourmet dinner prepared by a gourmet sportsman.

By day 3 we threw in the towel and moved to a southern Sierra river that we were more accustomed to. Having only a day on the river we focused on the prime cuts.  I managed my first Sacramento sucker fish and lost a ogre strength fish of unknown species early in the morning.  I guided Erika most of the afternoon and managed to get her on the only trout landed on that day.  Charles connected with Hog Johnson yet lost him on a strong upriver battle into the rapids.

It was a beautiful weekend and thanks to everyone that made it happen.  And thanks to the feisty wild rainbow that hit my fly like a trash truck, fought hard and jumped multiple times on my birthday.  I couldn't have been given a better gift.

A Champion Awaits

Someone turn the water back on!

The lack of substantial snow pack in our mountains has created some of the lowest water years that I have witnessed in my local creeks.  While sections of the lower stretch of this creek had sufficient pools for trout survival, the upper section is less than ideal.  Increased angling pressure and lack of special regulations don't benefit the drought seasons we've had either.  Another reason to enforce C&R in a wild trout fishery so close to a high human population density.

A few hundred casts were made before my hypnotic trance was broken by a eager dink.  Regardless of it's size, this barrel chested dink fought like a battle ready dwarf.  This was my one and only rise and release of the day. 

A big beard and battle axe and this trout is ready to rumble.

Hope lies in a champion sized trout that I sighted eagerly feeding just under the surface film. This trout would be a fine catch even on the Kern River. As much as I would have liked to cast a fly at it, the surrounding landscape did a fine job protecting this fine fish from fly lines.  Hopefully it's offspring will restore some hope to this seemingly dead fishery.

Bracken ferns (Pteridium aquilinum) and Tortula californica growing on a rocky seep.

Dinks

It seems like my local fisheries are in trouble.  Particularly those within a skipping stone away from the high density cities along the foothills.  In merely a year, this rather well kept riparian habitat was somewhat pristine compared to what it has become.  Graffiti and broken beer bottles now litter the creekside more than ever.

The rises were scattered and sparse despite a heavy bluewing olive and caddis hatch.   This is the first caddis hatch I have seen this season.  The caddis were roughly a size 18 with a tan body.  I was fishing with a size 14 Skwala stonefly pattern that I have been tying for a upcoming trip.  While there were no Skwala stones present, I did manage to catch a dink with my pattern.

I will be returning to scout the upper section of this creek tomorrow.  Hopefully some of the champion sized trout have survived.

Back for Seconds

I was hungry for a second serving on the Upper Kern River since the previous week's catch left me craving for more.  This time I headed up to Kernville with Charles and his buddy Ed.  We learned where the trout were holding from the previous week and focused on the same habitat and tactics.  Baetis nymphs in size 18 was still my key producer while stonefly nymphs size 10-12 were working as well.  There was only a short window when the trout were rising for BWO emergers and duns.  I managed a solid 14" rainbow on a size 18 parachute bwo on my Sage 3wt while the majority were caught on nymphs on my 5wt.

A handful of healthy and wild KRR were caught and released, and I even had a double on at one point.  Unfortunately my 6x tippet hold up to the challenge!

Caught on size 18 "buggy one" copper john

Caught on size 18 parachute bwo

Charles and Ed