Trout Bums on the Web

I’m thinking that this last outing will be my last one on the North Fork American River until next spring.  The water has dropped so much, that the trout have moved in search for colder water.

I fished the NF today from 4:00 PM until 8:00PM.  From the looks of it, I knew that I would have to dredge the pools.  I rigged up with a #14 Pheasant Tail and a #16 Mercer’s BWO Trigger Nymph.  Within five minutes, I hooked up an eight inch Rainbow Trout.  It was a feisty little bugger that jumped around.  I worked my way downstream to the next pool.  No fish were to be had.  I walked back up to the first pool and hooked up immediately with another eight inch Rainbow Trout.

For the next two hours, I decided to work the downstream pools.  There were lots of baby Smallmouth Bass swimming everywhere!  There were not fly shy either.  I would drift my flies through the slots and yank ‘em in.  I saw a few 18″+ smallies.  They wouldn’t even look at a fly.  I wish that I had my streamers with me.

I walked back up to the first pool since it was getting late.  Immediately, I hooked up.  A ten inch Rainbow Trout took my Trigger Nymph.

Before calling it a day, I decided to look down from the footbridge.  I saw a slot that could potentially hold fish.  I walked down and fished it.  I first dead drifted my nymphs.  Nada.  I changed to a #16 Pheasant Tail soft hackle.  I got a grab, then it went limp.

From there, I called it quits.

Another day, another early morning romp in the water.  I decided to hit the gauging station as this will probably be one of the last times I hit this section for about a month.  With the broken dam section in great shape, and closer to the house, I will now be able to bore everyone with endless posts about that section.  At least it will be different.

Upon arrival, I note that it is finally warm enough AND light to no winds.  Wet wading is definitely in the cards today.  I toss on the boots and head out to the river.  Another indication that it is warming up is that there are bugs everywhere and it is only 6:30am….yahoo!  I see some smaller PMD’s, some stones, and another (as yet unidentified) bug that resembles a March Brown (don’t think any of those are still around).

I tie on an #18 Elk Hair Caddis and wade into position mid-river to fish “the pool”.  I get a refusal on the first drift and that is all it took to spook the entire hole.  I move up to the next hole and since I am hiding behind a rock and some fast water, I know that I am not seen.  I was able to pull two smaller fish out the the faster water and then this hole was spooked.  This is what happens when the water levels come down and there is more pressure on the fish, dries become harder, the fish become warier, and you just have to sneak around a bit more.

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This is going to be a seriously short post because it was a seriously short fishing session.  Bailey and I were on our way back from Barton Hospital (visiting a friend in need) when we decided to stop and check out the river…it was right there, so might as well.  Bailey seemed pretty excited to go to the water, so I was excited about grabbing my rod and checking out the fishing.  Since gauging station is super convenient, the decision was to stop there.  We jam down to the water and I let Bailey pick out the fly.  A size #12 EH Caddis…not a bad choice, but a wee bit on the big side.  You ever have a 3 year old pick your fly out of the box for you?  It does not always work.  Being the dedicated father that I am, I dutifully tie it on and start casting.  About 5 casts into the outing, she starts telling me she wants to go.  I do my quick 10 cast countdown and on my last cast, a fish pounds my fly.  A nice 5″ Rainbow Parr is landed and Bailey is stoked.  But that was the end of the fishing for the night.

I noticed some Little Yellow Stones, some Caddis and that is about it.  One of these days I am going to pull the kitchen pass and get in an evening outing.

Sunday morning outings are becoming a tradition this season.  I really enjoy getting up and out early and then getting back to house before anyone is even moving.  So this in another one of those up at 5:30am and driving by 5:45am mornings.

So it is back up to the West Carson.  A new section is in order.  I figure that I will head upstream from my usual starting point at the gauging station, into the canyon and end the morning at the bottom of hope valley.  As I drive up the road, I wave to my trusty spot and head towards the more pressured waters to try my luck.

I arrive at my starting point, and again, it is windy and just a hair too cold for wet wading.  Back into the waders and out to the water I head.  Again, despite the best efforts of the wind to blow all the bugs off the water, there is good bug activity and I can see some fish rising in the soft water near the far banks.  I start by tying on a #18 E/C Caddis (out of general principles) and begin the morning.  The thing that I love about being the first to fish a spot is that you can usually raise a fish on the first couple of drifts.  This is no exception.  A nice 10″ Rainbow takes my fly and starts off the morning on a positive note.

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Independence Day!  My favorite holiday of the year.  And of course, a tradition for me is to fish on the 4th.  Funny thing is…the rivers are never crowded on the 4th.  If I had to guess, I would assume that people would be more interested in beers, beaches, and partying with crowds versus fishing on empty rivers.

So the plan goes as follows - up at 5:30AM and out of the door by 5:45AM heading to the West Carson.  I decided that I was going to hit the gaging station, get setup there, take some pictures for this blog and then head to one of my secret spots.

I arrive at the gaging station and am disappointed as it is windy and too cold (relatively speaking) to wet wade at that early hour.  So I get suited up and head to the usual starting spots.  Before I string up, I take a bunch of photos, but as it the case with me, I get too impatient to do a good job.  Time to fish.

I wade into position in my first hole and see little to no bug activity…probably because it is blowing pretty hard.  Not wanting to fish a nymph, I tie on a #12 Elk Hair Caddis and a #18 Flashback PT as the dropper.  Third drift and I hook into a nice 7″ Rainbow.  A quck move into the next hole upstream and the same rig gets me another small fish.  But I did not plan to spend the day here, so I head back to the truck to head on to the next spot.

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