Kern River - Wild Trout Section

A toothy hump backed KRR. 

It's been hardly a month since I last posted a fishing report, yet it feels like years have already passed.  The summer heat has been brutal and has forced me to finally stay put and tie flies.  With my upcoming trip to eastern Oregon just around the corner, my itch to cast a fly to wild fish has become increasingly unbearable.  With my west slope sierra Nevada fly box complete and my steelhead fly box nearly full, I was ready to return to the water. 

This time, I returned to the Kern River's wild trout section with Tuck and Joseph.  The day time temps were still in the low 90's however night time temps dropped drastically into the mid to high 30's.  The river was slightly off color (green), which may have benefited our cause.  We backpacked into the wilderness mid-day and arrived on the water just as the temps were beginning to drop. 

We quickly setup camp, hung our hammocks, pounded a few cold ones and hit the water.  My first run produced a quality KRR as shown above; Tuck helped land this fish for me since I may have died otherwise.  I fished a hoppicator with two nymphs the entire afternoon.  The first rainbow took a size 18 Flashback PT.  The first dropper was a size 12 yellow BH SH Kern Emerger.  Both flies produced many fish to the net, even the hoppicator was hit several times by some large trout.  My eagerness to set the hook on the hoppicator is still problematic... Joseph on the other hand successfully had a 15incher bang the hoppicator in the middle of a fast run.  Fishing was phenomenal for everyone.  I even got my first ever double on two nymphs at one time.  I will let the photos tell the rest of the story.  Tomorrow I leave for Oregon!

Rigging and... unwinding.

Tuck and I lost two LARGE trout in this run!

Joseph's first KRR.

Awesome pocket water. 

My first time sleeping in a hammock.  I kept waking up with my legs hanging out the end.

Tuck and Joseph on at the same time.

The next morning I decided to sling a single dry fly.  This is one of many caught on a yellow sally.

Tuck fighting a big one. 

We stopped at Mcnally's for cheeseburgers and shakes on our drive out.  While driving downstream along the roadside section, we just couldn't help but stop to put in a few last casts... Fishing was terrible, Nevertheless still fuel for the addiction. 

Season of the Hopper

Our first glimpse of the north fork of the Kern river.

I've been studying maps of this wilderness area for well over a year now.  Since it has been nearly a year since I have completed the heritage trout challenge, I was now in search of some truly mighty Kern river rainbows.  Most of the heritage trout that I caught were rather small, with the exception of a Kern river rainbow in the 16" class caught further down the watershed.  It was now time to return for some big fish during the season of the hopper.

As we descended down the steep canyon side of the Kern plateau, the clicking of hopper wings nearly followed us to the waters edge.  Hopper's in size 10-14 were abundant and colors ranged from yellow-orange.  The air was dry and warm and the distinct smell of pine forest welcomed Erika and I to the river.

The first area I stopped to fish.  We setup base camp on the right side of the bank.

We arrived riverside about 10:30am.  It was already getting hot and there was no obvious hatch to match.  Hopper's were everywhere so I started with a size 12 rubber leg stimulator that I tied to match a golden stone or hopper.  I started with no dropper, just a single dry fly. I connected after just a few casts along the edge of the seam.  It was a strong trout in the 14" range that gave several hard runs, while fighting the fish on the reel it leaped out of the water and came undone.  This was a re-occurring theme while fighting these trout.  I had two more takes in this run and failed to connect.  My senses were becoming dull from the heat wave and dehydration.  Erika and I forded the river to setup camp so we could relieve ourselves from our backpacking gear.  I setup the tent and made myself at home.  We had some light snacks and re-hydrated before we trekked upstream with lighter gear.

There was already some stone seats and a fire ring established at our site.

 We headed upstream about a 1/4 mile and found some nice pocket water, I missed at least a half dozen rises in this stretch, connected and lost a few, and landed one.  It seemed that these fish were escape artists.  Erika still seemed to be struggling to connect with a trout, I told her to head upstream from me and fish a section just below a riffle.  Almost immediately she connected although it came undone as it leaped.  I cast my fly in a deep section behind the riffle and I had a explosive take and miss from a large trout.  What the hell, I'll give it another shot.  Again, the rise was aggressive and the fish was on.  The trout pulled my line hard and I was on the reel in no time.  I let the trout run upstream and suddenly the line flung back at me.  Inspecting the line, I noticed it broke off at least a few feet above the knot.  The line must have caught the edge of a rock and severed.  I tied a surgeons knot and re-rigged with the same Stimulator pattern and a size 14 Guides Choice Hares ear dropper.

First trout to find it's way to the net. 

I should have tied more of these.  Barbs were crushed before fishing.

Guide's choice hares ear was the most productive nymph. 

The dry dropper combo was red hot.  I had three trout take back to back in the same run, yet they all came undone during their notorious three foot leap.  It seemed the King's river trout were all diggers, while these upper Kern river trout are jumpers and tail walkers.  Erika and I were both getting tired and we took a break in the river and swam in one of the slow moving pools.  It restored our spirits and re-charged our sore backs and legs.  I re-rigged my line with a giant hoppicator  with two split shot and two nymph's.  As Tuck would say it, "It's time to get weird".  The size 8 hoppicator looked pretty ridiculous with its neon green afro and I thought for sure the trout would just laugh at it.  I dropped a size 18 flashback PT about 8' from the hopper and a size 10 twenty incher about 18" below.  Even with all the foam and antron yarn, the hoppicator was drowning under the weight from all the tungsten. 

I tied the hoppicator with a big wad of antron yarn.  It could have used more to support heavy nymphs.

This run looked at least 6' deep along the wall.

  The first drift down the run, I noticed some enormous trout inspect the nymphs and watched them follow downstream.  I waited for the nymph's to swing and lift, the anticipation of the trout to take fueled me with adrenaline.  Finally as the nymph's lifted to the surface, the trout made the take and we were on for merely a moment.  The trout flashed it's side and disappeared.   I moved upstream a few feet and made another cast. This time, a head the size of my fist emerged and hit my hoppicator. I ripped the hopper out of its mouth and lost yet another big KRR.  Working the run a bit upstream, I landed a few average rainbows on a size 12 golden stone nymph (twenty incher was changed out due to it's heaviness with my rig).  The sun was setting and we were out of steam and returned to camp.

Sun setting on the Kern.  I wanted to return to camp and fish a mouse pattern.

I didn't rest long with the sound of rising trout in the backround. 

We setup camp for dinner and it wasn't long until I got distracted with the sound of rising trout.  I tied on a size 18 PMD emerger and hit the water.  It was going to take 12 min for the pasta to boil after all...  After just a few casts I was on with a trout and again, it escaped.  Worked a section further up and connected with another large fish, and this time it stayed on.  It gave me some hard runs put me on my reel.  Since I left my net at camp, my photo came out blurred due to the low light and squirmy trout.  

16incher getting away.  This is about what my vision looked like from hard fishing and lack of sleep.

Erika found a scorpion while I was in fish mode.

I tied a size 6 hemorrhoidal mouse that I wanted to fish in the early evening, however I fell into deep food coma once I  scarfed down two servings of creamy chicken pasta.  We crawled into the tent and I was out of commission until the morning light.

I crawled out from where I crawled in.  Among the best night of sleep ever.

Fire and morning coffee.  It was surprisingly chilly outside.

We woke up and drank some coffee and ate some oatmeal.  Packed our gear and headed downstream to fish a few hours before leaving.

People come all the way out here to use powerbait?? This section is fly and lure only.

An interesting geothermal area.

A pale morning dun says goodbye to Erika as we leave this beautiful river.

Really cool volcanic post-pile geology is evident throughout the canyon.

Vibrant lichens are growing on the volcanic rocks.

Goodbye Kern canyon.  360 view from trail.

I was craving a bbq tri-tip sandwich big time.  We drove by the sierra smoker on the way up and it as been on my mind ever since.  It made my mouth water as I was pushing myself out of the canyon.  On the way back we even passed up McNalley's burgers which was a big mistake... Upon arrival to the sierra smoker bbq shack, the worker informed me they were all out of bbq! Utter dissapointment! we settled on mexican food at El Jacalito... It did not fit the craving to say the least, just an upset stomach and bad gas which will probably last for days.  

Grind

Went out to MVL with Brett today to check up on our local bass fishery. Since my last outing with Charles, I noticed the juvenile bass have outgrown their "trout" sized shape and into beer belly bass. They are defiantly on the feed and we are not only getting quantity but quality as well.

Even with the onslaught of summer letting up, the bass were still holding in the shade and under structure. Since it has been as windy as the plains of Mongolia, I have returned to gear and
plastics to make my life a little easier.

I've been teaching Brett some basics of bass fishing with spin gear and plastics. His catch rate has been increasing and understanding of rigging and fish handling are improving. Brett had his first quality bass out of MVL today while hook setting, playing and properly landing the bass all on his own. It was a proud moment for both him and I.

I had a few memorable moments of my own. One in particular was sight casting a rather muscle bound large mouth hunkered under a dock. I made a perfect cast that I may never have been able to recreate if I tried a hundred times. The anticipation of the take pumped adrenaline. My senses heightened and reaction time on edge.
I watched the shadow of the hulk suddenly shift, knowing what it was in pursuit of. The take was explosive and my Okuma SST UL bent into a frown.
My reel screamed like cats in heat and I dialed her in to a quite purr. While focused on fighting and landing the beast, I had neglected to watch my surrounding. We were on a collision course with the dock and while sharply turning the boat, the angle of my line became obscure and the bass spit the hook, looked at me eye to eye and plunged back into the deep. The bass was easily pushing 5lbs and skin was dark as night with turquoise patterns that looked like a lightning storm.

A few more great bass were lost on my part, while the juveniles practically jumped into my hands. It was great fishing nonetheless.

Next up... Return to the Golden Trout Wilderness for some Fly Fishing adventure!

Return of the King's

Tuck and the river.

A few caddis were fluttering across the evening glow of the river.  The midge hatch was heavy and the pale morning dun were few and far between.  We arrived on the river barely in time for the evening hatch, and we were frantically looking for a campsite among the city of truck-sized tents that polluted the campgrounds. There was no time to setup camp, we put our headlamps on, rigged our rods and made a bee-line to the river.  It's been awhile since I have been on trout water with Tuck and this is the first time we have fished on a river together.  It was a much needed change from our usual socal creek fly fishing.  We were challenged with matching the hatch and understanding where the trout were holding.  There was a new learning curve and it was fun.

Golden stonefly shucks.  And there were plenty of them.

 The hatch seemed pretty inconsistent both morning and evening.  While the midge activity was heavy, the trout did not seem to key in on them.  The PMD hatch was small and it seemed that the trout were eating the emergers based on their slow slurp off the surface film. Within' moments of entering the river, a lone clumsy stone fly attaches itself onto my face like a face hugger out of Aliens.  I peeled its legs off my cheek and noticed it was a golden stonefly in the size 8-10 range.  This was the first and last adult stonefly that I noticed throughout the weekend.  I spent most of the first evening fishing with a grand trude since the white wings were easy to track on the steadily vanishing light on the river.  A few nice fish were caught and released and we all returned to camp for a filling dinner prepared by Tuck.  Kielbasa sausage and pasta, what a compliment after a long drive and some evening fly fishing.

First fish of the morning.  A nice butter colored brown trout.

We headed upstream in the morning and began fishing below a section that I favored from my last visit.  I started with a size 14 King's River Caddis since I noticed a few out on the water.  With no love from this pattern, I switched to a size 12 rubber legged Stimulator.  Now the fish were responding.  Erika was struggling to entice a fish, so I decided to take her into a tributary that produced well for us last time.

One of the many side creeks.

Erika lands a rainbow on the tributary. 

Erika was into trout in no time and the creek was fishing easier than the main river, she even caught her first ever rattlesnake on a fly!.  I connected with a few hard fighting rainbows and one brown until we caught up with Tuck and called it quits.

Rotting rattlesnake caught on a dry fly.

Another buttery brownie.

We headed over to cedar grove for lunch before heading downstream to fish some deep pools in the afternoon.  Tuck and I rigged our fly rods with a two nymph rig and I fished with my 6wt, while tuck fished with a 5wt.  Erika fished with a big hopper dropper setup on her 5wt.

Erika focused on a deep run.

The lower section was a little more treacherous.

We got trapped in a squall and the rocks became even more deadly.

First trout to take a nymph. 

Tuck nymphing a deep run.

Rainbow on a golden stone.

We fished the pocket water hard throughout the afternoon.  Tuck found a great section where he had multiple takes on his nymphs, with one especially strong take that ran his fly downstream faster than he could react.  Resulting in a lost nymph and a good story.  I fished this section and picked up one of the sleepers in the run on a size 16 red copper john.  I went downstream and found another promising section and got a nice broad shouldered rainbow to take a size 8 golden stone nymph.  After a day of hard work, we returned to camp to recharge with some ice cold beer before ending the day with some evening dry fly fishing.  Could this trip have been any better?  probably not.

Tuck showing some concern over the electric storm. 

The last fight of the day... my favorite evening dry fly fishing!  I had a orange legged stimulator on with a Kern emerger dropper.  This was a dynamic duo for the evening and the trout were keying in on both patterns consistently. A thunder and lightening storm momentarily put us on the sidelines until it cleared.  By the time the storm moved direction, the evening moved in and the darkness was closing the shutters on fishing.  My last great moment here was on a slow deep run with bat's flying around me chasing my fly.  I cast across to the bank and skidded the stimulator across the currant.  A giant trout lunged from the depths and inhaled my fly and belly flopped on the river, leaving me in shock.  The line immediately went tight and pulled like no other.  Within a few blinks my line snapped before my attention did.  It is definitely a memory that will haunt me.

These guys don't look big but they fight like no other trout I've faced.  Every fight is a adrenaline rush.

 We all headed up the trail with headlamps on and limping like war torn soldiers.  The night ended with fish tales around the camp fire and a hearty meal of chili and corn bread, cooked on cast iron right over the fire.  We feasted and slept like king's that night.  Even the big bear a few feet from Tuck's hammock did not interfere from our slumber.  I looked at the bear, and it looked back and we both went our ways.

Good morning.

Our last morning on the river was unforgettable.  The trout were hitting dries and emergers non stop.  My stimulator was ripped to pieces and there was nothing but thread left on my emerger.  We left the river with one rainbow trout that unfortunately received a mortal wound from inhaling my fly.  The hook struck it's bloodline and it would not have been able to survive.  Fortunately, the legal limit here is two per angler and we took it back to camp.  Tuck displayed some awesome filet cutting skills and came up with a genius plan to coat it with the left over corn bread crumbs.  Unforgettable and delicious... the fish died in honor.

Wild rainbow trout and left over cornbread.

Gear packed and ready for the road.

Tuck and I after two days of great fishing. 

 Our next adventure... find the coffee slurpee machine.

After searching four gas stations we finally found one... and it was empty. Mo mocha? more like no mocha.