I was anticipating a epic day of fly fishing after talking with local guide Mike Tuttle. The trout were staging up in the coves getting ready for the spawn up the creeks. However, the water clarity was only visible to about 1' deep. The recent rain and wind must have stirred up the water since I had last spoke with Mike. Without sight casting or using a depth finder, I was reduced to making blind shots into the dark.
Erika and I explored and fished most of the cove without a single take. Trout were only sighted in the creek where we had launched my pram. The creek was extremely low and spawning habitat for the trout is going to be really limited this year. Signs are posted to protect the spawning trout and Wardens were out enforcing the regulations.
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| The bare soil is typically underwater by this time of year. |
Hopefully the water clarity has improved when I return when the smallmouth bass season begins. This day trip was actually a scout mission to figure out launch sites and smallmouth habitat for my next trip up. While I love fly fishing for trout, I prefer their river and creek environment versus stillwater. Since most rivers and creeks in my area are running high and dark, my target has shifted towards bass during the downtime.
The highlight of our day was sighting a mating pair of Bald Eagles. We actually saw them mate. It was incredible...
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| My first sighting of Bald Eagles in southern California. |
