Return to Brownlining. Still hate it.

 April 15, 2023

When I got back from Taiwan I had a conversation about the crazy winter we had in California.  I missed almost all of it being in Asia at the time but Joel told me it sucked.  He was stuck home all winter and couldn't do anything.  Then for one brief period it cleared up and was sunny.  His entire street was outside in their front yards and enjoying the sun.  He told me, it was just like his days growing up in Pennsylvania, when once the weather broke the entire town would get outside.     I sympathize with those who live in areas that are snowed in all winter.  It must be so boring. Cabin fever is a thing.  That said we wanted to fish but with snow melt and cold condition fisheries were simply not productive. 

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. We decided to check out some local brown water for carp.  I've done my fair share of this and if you've read the early posts of this blog you'll know I've spent a lot of time urban carpin'.  Quite frankly I grew out of that stage and really came to dislike this style of fishing.  I haven't done in in over a decade.Given this was really the only option we decided to check out how the local urban river was doing.  We spotted a few but not as many as we'd hoped.  We only made a few casts and realized it was not worth anymore effort.  There simply was too much material in the water for a decent drift and without waders we couldn't get a proper angle or drift on them  Water visibility also made it near impossible so we gave up rather quickly.  The outing only proved once again why I stopped doing this type of fishing.

Scouting the Alpines

April 7, 2023

Fishing options are extremely limited due to the crazy winter.  Trout is out of the question so we decided to take a look at a high elevation lake for some bass.  With snow still on the mountains, we hiked to the lake.  The lake is quite full.  In fact I never seen it with this much water.  Bass were sunning themselves.  None were on beds though.  Still too cold for that.

Dead juvenile bass were everywhere.  I saw at least five or six.  Alive ones were lethargic and unwilling to eat.  We didn't spend too much time here as this was more exploratory than anything else.  Casted a few flies but these fish were unmotivated to do anything.

Long Time No See

April 4, 2023

All summer my buddy Luc would text me if I wanted to stop by the lake and fish.  I couldn't and after a while and multiple declines I told him I hate declining so much and it would be best and wait for me to ask.  Unfortunately I never had the chance and soon the year passed.  After my return from Taiwan I was getting cabin fever and wanted to fish.  I texted Luc and we made plans.  Still with the haze of jetlag I didn't realize the date we chose a family member's birthday so I had to cancel.  With rain in the forecast and a full calendar I couldn't get back to the lake until much later.

Once the weather stabilized we set the date.  By 7am I was at Luc's home and we set off to launch the boat.  Popper season has yet to commence.  We needed the water temps to increase a few more degrees.  Probably a couple more weeks.  So that meant full sinking lines until then.  I've had a few experimental flies I wanted to try out and this was the time to give them a shot.  Unfortunately none seemed to produce.  So I switched to one of Luc's EP shad flies after he managed a few.  All in all he ended the day with at least nine.  I did manage one at the end of the day.  Takes were super subtle.  As Luc described it it feels as if you finger flick your line.  Barely fishing last year, I'm completely out of practice and have lost the "feel."  Reaction times are slow and my casts are poor; I'm completely out of my groove.  Need to change that.

 

Taiwanese Mahseer Part II: Trophy Hunting

March 11, 2023

When I arrived in Taiwan in January, I contacted my friend Danny to see if he was available to fish.  He was preparing for a trip to New Zealand and wouldn't be available until the later part of my trip in Taiwan.  When he came back we set up a time to fish.  With my last trip with Cash a bust due to the cold weather, I was hoping for better weather and a better outing.  Days prior to our planned trip, we checked the weather and the forecasts called for rain but luckily as the date approached the front seemed to move and it looked as if we may get an ideal day.

On March 11, the plan was to meet Danny and his friend Jarro at the Haishan Station at 6:30am and from there we would drive the two hours east on the Pacific side of the island.   I woke up at 5am and got out of the house to make the 6:03am train.  I arrived at the Haishan by 6:27am and met Danny at Exit One.  After some pleasantries we walked to met Jarro at his car parked just outside the station.  Whenever I go abroad to fish with someone I bring a small gift.  For the Donny, Cash and Danny I gave them each a mini game changer kit and body wrap.  I didn't have anymore since I didn't intend on fishing with anyone else.  Luckily I brought a Simms hat (still with tags) with me and decided to give that to Jarro.  It seemed to work out as he was stoked about it since he was going to buy a new cap anyways.  

One the long drive we'd talk fishing of course and about Danny's NZ trip.  And when we reached Nan'ao we'd stop for breakfast at a local stand for the local take on the danbing which is an egg omelette pancake.  The difference here is its made with rice flour that gives a chewy texture to the batter.  To wash it down sweetened soymilk.  These are staple Taiwanese breakfast items.  After the meal we headed off back to car but not before Jarro picked up some fantuan (Taiwanese rice balls) to pack for lunch.  

We drove into the mountains.  We'd fish the same location I fished with Cash but this time we'd head further up the mountain.  The plan was for Jarro to drop us off a kilometer ahead of where he planned to park.  From there Danny and I will fish together while Jarro would be behind us and far enough that any fish we disturbed would have plenty of time to reset when he finally reach them.  And eventually since he could move faster as a solo angler he'd eventually meet up with us.  Once we hooked back up at the predetermined destination we'd get off the trail and onto the road and hike the hour or so back to the car.

Weather was warm and sunny, much better on this day than when I came with Cash.  In fact it was consistently warm and sunny for the few days prior.  So I hope high hopes things should be good.  When Danny and I reached the water I only made a few casts before I got my first rise.  Unfortunately I was unable to connect.  Despite missing the fish, the early rise gave us hope and Danny said it should be a good day if we are already getting a response.  Water temps were 20°C (60°F) in the morning.  According to Danny it needed to be warmer than that for lights out fishing.  I was fishing a black beetle size 12 that Jarro gave me on a 3x leader.  This combo is the most productive for mahseer in Taiwan.  I would eventually connect early with a fish in the 12 inch range.  I didn't even bother taking a picture as I've caught several of those before in past trips.  Danny's goal was to guide me on a fish in 50cm range (20 inch).  Throughout the morning I would miss several more fish including ones in the 40 and 50cm range.  I was getting frustrated.  I was having a hard time seeing my fly and so I was slow whenever the fish took.   Danny would call it out and even then I was slow to set the hook.  Most Taiwanese fly tyers I've notice do not add any indicator on their beetle flies.  Jarro's was the same.  Personally I don't know why they don't.  The fish is unlikely to see it and it makes the fly so much more visible.  I tie mine with a white calf tail wing for that purpose.  I didn't bring too many as I thought most of any fishing I'd be doing would most likely be subsurface as I was there late winter, early spring.  Not that it mattered anyways as I fished Jarro's fly the whole time.

Fishing wasn't as red hot as Danny had anticipated but it was good.  Danny is known for 100 fish days but on this day it was only a fraction of that.  According to both Cash and Danny water levels are extremely low compared to previous years.  This obviously had an effect on the fishing.  As the day got warmer so did the fishing.  We'd catch fish here and there.  Danny was waiting for it to really turn on but unfortunately it never really did.  There were enough fish here and there to make things interesting though.  We took a break around noon for a stream side lunch of fan tuan (a Taiwanese rice ball)  in the hopes the sun would warm up the water a bit more.

After lunch we came across a pair of conventional anglers, a father and son duo that were fishing for another species.  We hiked past them and starting fishing.  When they came across us again they warned us that above on the cliff of the far bank in the trees was a nest of Asian Giant Hornets.  As it was late winter early spring the colony was dormant.  These little rascals are not to be reckoning with.  I commented to Danny that I've never seen one.  His response was " YOU NEVER WANT TO MEET ONE!"  These vicious little things with mark you with a pheromone and colony will attack you and chase you for miles.  Once disturbed thy will indiscriminately attack anyone in their way.  Given the boulders and the tough terrain you wouldn't be able to out run them here.  Danny told me he was chased once and had to dive in the water and hide head to toe swimming away from them.

Eventually we would reach a spot where Danny usually starts his fishing adventures.  There was a big hole that he told me to take and told me there should be some big fish in there.  I casted into a pool were I thought they'd be and sure enough I managed a fish under 40cm. 

Fishing for Taiwan Mahseer is quite different than for fishing for trout.  Your mentality needs to change.  Spots that you are inclined to fish as a trout hunter is completely opposite when trying to catch a mahseer.  Slow dead water are your target particularly behind rocks or boulders.  Unlike fishing for rainbows swift currents or foam lines rarely produce.  It's best to take the mentality as if your fishing for cutthroats or big browns. These fish tend to like the lazier areas. 

Eventually Jarro caught up with us and let us know how he did.  Jarro, like Danny, is capable of 100 fish days but that would not be the case on this day.  Although he did do better than us.  Danny hypothesized that when he reached the early waters we fished the water temps were beginning to increase getting the fish more active.

Danny was still on the quest of getting me on a 50cm mahseer.  I had a few opportunites up until now but had failed to connect on those occasions.  It was getting late in the day and in a big slow pool on the far bank over a rather swift rapid, I launched my fly in that directions.  An explosion erupted almost immediately and I was on.  Danny screaming 50! 50! He finally guided me on the trophy.  In a rather precarious spot with little room to room and rapid at our feet I fought the fish trying to get him to avoid the rapids as best I could.  Danny grabbed the net off my pack and we waited for the fish to tire so that Danny could land the thing.

After landing the fish we fished a few more holes before it was time to start our hour long hike back to the car.  First we needed to get out of the canyon, bushwhacking through the jungle up the steep side of the mountain.  We'd get onto the road above an make the long walk back. 

Since my first fishing outing this trip I knew my boots were on borrowed time.  I've kept a pair of Korkers in a family residence since 2018.  I knew I would not want to lug wading boots every time I came here to visit. But since 2019 due to the worldwide lockdowns I was unable to return during those four years my boots have been in a closet in a home that is uninhabited and so it had degraded in the humid conditions.  From day on arriving I knew the glue keeping theses boots together was starting to delaminate.  It had always been on my mind every outing.  By this my third outing I knew I may be pushing my luck.  I keep a roll of gorilla tape on my pack and before fishing I taped the boot together.  This was only a stop gap but I hoped it would hold enough for the day.  As expected after constantly being in the water it began to fail.  I would redress the tape every so often until I ran out.  Keeping elastic shock cord in my pack as well, I wrapped that around my feet too.  This in combination with the tape seemed to work out well enough.  I had to made some readjustments every so often but it got me off the mountain that day. 

We logged about seven tough miles for the day and when we got into town we headed to a local seafood restaurant for various dishes.  Most interesting was something I never had, pufferfish fried then spiced.  Its a tasty fish but a very boney which probably wouldn't please too many westerners.  With the boot now done for, this would be my last fishing outing on this Taiwan trip.  My desire to catch a snakehead and an Indo-Pacific tarpon went unrealized.  I guess that will have to wait until next time to try cross those species off my list.

Taiwanese Masheer Part I: Not Today

March 3, 2023

I was supposed to meet my friend Cash to fish the eastern part of Taiwan on February 9th but I got a text that morning saying not to forget my waders and rain jacket.  After a few texts it was concluded that it would be best to postpone the trip until the weather improves.

We wouldn't be able to get together until a month later and we fished March 3rd.  While conditions were slightly better it still was not ideal.  At least there was no rain but it was cloudy and cold.  I took the Express bus out of Taipei and met Cash in his hometown of Luodong.  We would fish for mahseer in the mountains and on the way back we'd head into the city to try for tarpon.

Fishing was poor and Cash managed two mahseer and while I got a couple rises I missed all my opportunities.  We tried dry flies the whole time but in retrospect conditions really called for fishing subsurface.  After a couple hours of surface fishing I decided that was the proper course of action was to go deep, I dug through my backpack only to realize left my streamer box in Cash's car.  After fishing most of the day we left and returned back to the city to attempt to land a Indo-Pacific Tarpon.  We'd fish a river located within the city for about an hour but my heart wasn't really into it as I felt rushed as I got a phone call earlier that day stating I needed to be home by 6pm for my father's doctor's appointment.  While we timed our fishing adventure to coincide with bus schedule to allow me to make that appointment. It made me feel pressured and I simply couldn't get in the zone.  We left after about an hour and I was on the bus home to make it on time.

To Be Continued...

Barbel Steed In Taiwan

February 13, 2023

After a month in Taiwan I was able to finally go out and fish with my friend Donny Wang.   Donny was one of the first fly anglers I befriended in Taiwan and he's been kind enough to take out several times.  On this trip I wanted cross off a couple new species off my list.  For a long time, after discovering them  I wanted to catch a barbel. In Japan they are referred to as nigoi.  When I learned about them I emailed my friend Koji to ask about fishing for them.  He responded in Japan you can't really target them and catches are more of a chance encounter.  So when I learned that Taiwan had a healthy population of them and were regularly caught and targeted on a the fly I asked Donny if he could take me out.  He gladly responded in the affirmative and we set a time and date.  From there he'd take me on his scooter down the road to fish.

The date was set for February 13 and I would met him in the southern part of Taipei.  He couldn't pick me up since his car was being used by his son.  That meant that I would need to get a taxi to get down there.  The problem was hailing a taxi at 5:40am would not be easy.  So the night before I tried contacting the taxi company to schedule an early pick up.  After three attempts and being put on hold and then disconnected I gave up.  I then downloaded the taxi companies app and would try to use it the next morning.  When morning came the first attempt at the app was fail as the hailed cab ended up having engine problems and told me to rehail another cab.  That one worked fine and in no time a cab was in front of the building.  After a 20 minute drive I met Donny at 7-11.  The cab fare was a $240NTD roughly $8USD.

Donny took me on his scooter down the road and we parked and off loaded our gear to make our walk down to the river.  Once there we wadered up, rigged our lines with dry flies and made our way down to his favorite fishing point.  Once there we began fishing.  I was told to fish the slow edges and not to bother with the faster current.  We stood far from the banks made our casts into the water.  Donny was the first to be on with a Barbel.

The night before Donny recommended a three or four weight for these fish.  I had both rods with me in Taiwan,  a nine foot four weight that I keep in country and 7'9" three weight I brought in case I was able to fly over to Japan and fish for yamame.  But since he mentioned that we could possibly run into carp I opted to fish my 5 weight. Tilapia and barbels would be most of the fish we'd run into.  While I've only tried for Tilapia once here stateside at Mission Viejo Lake, it was a half-hearted attempt and I failed to get one.  My first fish of the day was a tilapia, a fish smuggled into the country from Singapore back in 1946.   This was my first tilapia I've ever landed but not the first I caught.  On one of my previous trips to Taiwan I managed to catch a large fat platter sized tilapia and got it to my feet before it popped off.  This time I'd actually land a few but none as big as the one I lost.

I would manage several more before I could actually get a barbel to bite.  Initially I'd either lost or broke off on every barbel I'd hook.  It took several attempts to finally land my first but not before adding new tippet to my leader.   I'm not quite sure why I kept breaking off.  I think the leader I was using was past due.  I was about to change the leader completely when Donny  told me not to and he just added some new tippet.  It seemed to hold from then on out and didn't have a break off from then on out.   Barbel  typically were slightly further from shore than the tilapia.  So you'd have to cast past the tilapia to reach our desired target.  We stood far off the banks and the drifting angle would often times drift into the tilapia zones.  After some adjusting I'd start landing some barbels.

These are a weird fish.  First they're spooky but not at the same time.  Donny said not to let them see you as they wouldn't bite if they did but at the same time you could line them and they wouldn't care.  On several occasions the fly would stab the body and they didn't seem to care.  Of course I wasn't doing this intentionally but they were podded up so densely it was almost impossible not to.    These barbels look like a freshwater bonefish but they are far from bonefish at least from a gamefish standpoint.  They have very little fight in them  They will give a very weak initial run and then quit.  They just become dead weight afterwards.  I landed my first and after taking pics I let him go.  It swam two feet from me and just stood still.  Perplexed I tried to scare him off but he wasn't moving.  I'd never seen such a thing.  I soon realized that the fish was still hooked as I didn't remove the fly and I was standing on the the leader.  I dragged him back and released him properly.  After a while fishing the slow edges of the current I  started seeing fish rise in the swifter parts of the river.  As my fly would drift into the zone barbels would rise and cloop like  a carp but would miss almost every time.  Even after missing the fish would chase the fly down the river clooping along the way trying to slurp the fly.  It looked like pac-man eating dots trying to get to the power pellets.  I never did get get one of these fish to actually eat my fly this way.  I think they just gave up after a foot or so.  This behavior I hypothesized is because the fish can't actually see the fly.  These barbels are bottom feeders and their mouths are located on the bottom of their heads.  When they rise for a fly I don't believe they actually see it and they probably use some judgement and other senses to estimate the location.  If they fail they just continue gulping until they reach the intended target.  At least that's the story I'm going with.

I'd get a mix bag of both species after landing my first few barbels.  Donny would get frustrated when hooking onto tilapia but I didn't mind as they were actually more fun to fish and fought harder.  Barbels, at least in this water, would pod up in large groups maybe 20 or more and stay in the same location.  They didn't move much from there even when spooked or when fish were caught.  They're an oddball fish.  Now that I've crossed them off the list of species I doubt I'd ever return to fishing them or I should say they won't be a priority species for me anytime soon.  If one wants to target this fish in Taipei, Donny tells me the "season" is December to March.  After that the fish don't take flies.  Donny isn't sure why but that's been his experience.  We fish all dry flies from size 20-10 with colors ranging from white, yellow to dark.  I don't think they are very picky.  My leader was a nine foot 5x.

To Be Continued...

Christmas Eve Outing

December 24, 2022

Plans are ever evolving and after deciding to hit the Kern I get a text that due to back pain my fishing partner cancelled.  That was fine and let him know if he wakes up in the morning feeling better we ought to try a local instead.  By 6am I receive a text and we made plans to head out later in the morning.  Initially we were to fish an easy to access river that I fished on my last outing but decided to go further into the San Gabes to an area we tried to fish last year only to be stopped by a road closure.

The last time we fished this place was in 2012 and it was loaded with fish.  Although just about every place you thought they'd be fish it yielded a fish.  Fish ranged in the smaller range for that time with fish up to 10 inches with Chul spotting a 14 in an impossible to fish crisscrossed fallen branches.  Now with the drought hitting us hard those days are long over.  We'd manage a few fish here and there.  I'd be more rises and swipes at my fly than actual hook ups.  Most fish were in the dink to micro-dink range with one or two fish in the 6-7 range.   

We started at the parking lot and fish were there.  I landed one, a dink, on the first few casts.  Chul called me up and told me to fish a pool he spotted a nice fish. I missed that fish as the sun's glare off the water was blinding me.  We'd moved upstream into the canyon and while on the trail found the wreckage of a small plane.  I could only find the wing and nothing else.  We did find some holiday appropriate mistletoe as well.

Testing is the Priority

 December 15

Fished with Luc at Canyon.  I have a tripped planned soon and I have some new equipment I wanted to test before using it "for real."  The equipment I needed tested are a new 10 weight, line, flies, camera and gopros.  They all needed some field time; I didn't want to test this stuff when it counts.  So I asked Luc if I could test them out on his boat.  He obliged.  Fishing was slow and Luc managed two 3lbers and one just under 5.  I got the skunk but since I was trying new stuff I wasn't too bent out of shape.

Pisspoor

 December 9

During the lockdowns this local water fished amazingly.  It was dead for a decade or more and it came back strong when the lockdowns were announced.  After that it steadily declined.  I returned on this day to check it out and boy was it a disappointment.  Small fish remain and water is beyond low.   I must have had at least 50 fish take a swipe at my fly but only hooked maybe a tenth of that and landed only a handful.  The fish were simply too small to put the size 10 hook in their mouths.  It's quite pathetic.   I met a few miners and while nice they weren't helping the situation. 

Risen from the Dead

 November 18

Over ten years ago one of our favorite little creeks suffered greatly from the drought and we thought it all but dead.  We gave up on it and hadn't been back since.  During the spring my fishing partner was working in the area and noticed fish in the water.  He came back to fish it and sure enough he caught a few very respectable fish.  I was unable to to go with him and was finally able to head out with him.  We managed more than a few fish to hand with some lost or missed.  We spoke with a hiker who came up to us and asked us how we were doing.  Our programmed response is always say there's no fish (almost always this is a complete lie).  The hiker was shocked but after speaking with him, he told us that he bucketed a few fish from below up to this creek and that is why there is a return of fish.  After speaking with him we realized this guy wasn't some clown but a real angler and we finally admitted we got some.  All in all it was a good day.  Other than my buddy finding out a week later that he fractured a rib climbing up a fallen log.

Autumn Colors

October 14-16

Looking for fall colors and we hit the sierra mountains.  The first day we'd try the upper for migrating lakers.  When we arrived le we rigged our gear I debated whether to wear waders or not.  The ambient temps were warm but I knew the water would be cold.  In addition other than the pair of pants I was wearing I did not bring another pair of quick drying lightweight pants.  So I was reluctant to get that one dirty.  So I put on the waders.  Next debate was whether to rig our dry fly rods and we opted to leave them in the truck.  Once we made our way half way to the river we saw fish rising.  At that moment we decided to head back to the truck and rerig.  I would also take the chance to shed the waders as it was hot as hell.

As soon as we hit the water we saw a dead cow lying stream side.  The scent of the decaying carcass would drift our way as we fished.  We managed a few resident fish on BWOs.  I was fishing a No Hackle I started to learn to tie months prior.  No fly was given me more frustration than that one and it took me more attempts than I care to admit to finally get the pattern down right.  Since it is a favorite of Mike Lawson for the Ranch section of the Henry's Fork I wanted several in my box for whenever I returned.  This day was my test day for the fly and like expected it performed.  The rest of the day it was rather slow once the dry fly action ceased and we switched to subsurface.  We'd see some lake-run fish in the system but while a couple were hooked none were landed.  We heading north to camp among the Autumn leaves to wake up early in the morning to fish with Shinto.

October 16

The morning was cold as expected and we got up before sunrise to meet Shinto on the water at the Toilet Bowl.  As expected that Animal was already on the water casting to fish before we arrived.  He only returned to his car to meet us as he broke his Euro rig.  We teased him it served him right and must be a sign.  We fished here to sunrise casting streamers.  We missed several and landed a couple.  We made breakfast at the parking lot to leave for the Nevada side.  Fishing was good there with fish caught on mostly streamers.

The next day we packed up and wanted to fish some easier options as we were tried from the beating we received the past two days.  We'd end up driving around looking for water but none of them proved worthwhile.  In retrospect we should have just drove around sightseeing the autumn colors.  On the way home we decided to check out the restaurant at the Tioga Gas Station.  Years ago my neighbor told me about this restaurant that served quality food out of a Mobil station and he said it was a bit over priced but worth checking out when your there.  I've always passed by it and all the times I wanted to try it it was closed for the winter.  On this day we decided to try it and it was good.  Pricing is a bit high but considering it's just outside a National Park and in the middle no where I'm not too upset about it.  Though the slice of $13 carrot cake was a bit excessive.  I ordered not knowing the price as it wasn't posted.  All in all the trip was decent.  Wasn't great but it was nice to get out.

I Hate Surf Fishing

September 23, 2022

 

 

Koji was in town briefly for a layover and asked if I could take him out fishing.  Unfortunately given the timing and timeframe no real good options were available.  So I could only take him out surf fishing.  Although I'll admit catching corbina is fun, I am not a fan of fly fishing the surf.  I took part of the early 2000s surf fishing craze and often would fish before work with some local "big" names.  That craze has since died and only rarely do I return to the beach to fish.

Not knowing the beaches around LAX I asked some South Bay friends for guidance.  After being directed towards the Strands area I decided to try there for the morning.  Crowds were already gathered.  I knew fishing was going to be tough and it was.  Koji and I both suffered the skunk and quit early than planned.  Fishing conditions simply were not in our favor.  Sets between waves were to close and the water was too murky to sight cast for corbina.  So we resorted to blind casting into anything we deemed as structure.  There were barely any troughs to exploit.  I did see some baitfish jumping out of the water at one point but once I casted in the direction the waves would sweep my line away from the intended target.  

Instead of prolonging our misery we cut short the fishing and I treated Koji to breakfast before driving him to LAX.   Another US trip with Koji and it was a bust.  Sorry man.

Time with Dad

Took my dad out fishing once again.  Options are dwindling in our local mountains.  I need to take him to places that don't require strenuous hikes or places that have uneven terrain as his balance is now compromised.  My first thought was to take him to a local watershed that is alongside a gated paved road but once I parked in the lot the area was closed until December of 2023.  I then drove to another area along the road.  I've never really fished this area as its always crowded with clowns that make a mess of it but I decided to fish it today since it was easy access.  We managed a handful of fish in couple hours.  Fishing wasn't great but it was quality time with dad nonetheless which was the point anyways. 

Shadow of it's Former Self

Time to Hang It Up

Decided to check out our favorite local creek one last time before the summer heat plays havoc to the place.  All I can say is the place is done.  The jewel of SoCal local fishing is no longer.  Foolishly the Forest Service has graded the road to allow easy access into this area.  I don't understand the logic.  The roadside is littered with weekend idiots who trash the place.  Graffiti is on every rock.  This area, for the most part, was pristine.  Soon the knuckleheads that trash the lower section will migrate toward this area and in no time it'll be a shitpit like much of the LA mountains.  It's already started as I've seen more tagging than before.  The fishing has also declined considerably.  Not one fish over 7 inches today.  All were 5-7 inch range.  What a sorry state.  It's sad to see.  It's not going to get any better either.  Water levels are low and summer is just around the corner.  This place is fucked.

Fishing in Alpines for Bass

 April 4, 2022

Took my dad to an alpine lake after my initial plan creek fishing was scraped after hearing a report that the river is blown out.  All the holes are buried in silt.  Fishing wasn't great and we only fished a few hours before heading home.

April Fool's Day Fishing. Fishing with a New Glass Rod.

April 1, 2022

Not long before this outing I received a new old stock TFO FSG 3/4 glass rod and I wanted to take it out.  Initially the intention was to fish the local mountains on a section of river that has been recently opened.  When we arrived at the base of the hill though we were disappointed to learn that the only road into the area was closed for construction.  We had come up with Plan B and only two real options existed.  One Double back the way we came and fish another recently opened river or continue north and fish the area I scouted just weeks ago.  I decided on the later as I planned on taking my dad to the former in a few days.  So with another hour drive we headed northbound.

I really wanted to check to see if the bass I saw three years ago was still there.  When we arrived there were two or three cars already parked at the trailhead.  I saw two spin anglers fishing downstream and making their way back up.  Once we finally prepped and started to head out they were ahead of us.  This wasn't good as there are only a few good access and fishing points in the whole system.  It's largely overgrown so this maybe problematic.  Fortunately for us they verged into the first easy access point and we never saw them again.  Having only been here twice before I'm not too familiar with the best spots so I entered in a few areas I had normally bypassed.  Well I bypassed them for a reason they simply are a pain to get into.  After a couple attempts and drawing a blank on the creek we decided to just hightail it to the pools that we've fished in the past.  Starting with the bass hole, it proved devoid of fish.  Fished a few areas and I managed only two fish, missed one.  My buddy with one a a couple misses.  The water was low, silty and had a green color filled with moss.  I won't be returning any time soon.  An absolute disappointment.

Wild Trout and Wildflowers Part II

 March 19, 2022

Rain was forecasted for the evening but clouds were coming in by the time we woke up.  I woke pretty early and waited for the boys to wake up keeping myself occupied by staring out of the tailgate of the rover onto the river.  In the morning we were seeing fish rise sporadically right in front of our campsite.  We didn't bother to cast to them as it wasn't a steady hatch.  After breakfast we headed out to the trail.  We bypassed the area we started the previous day and decided to hike deep.  We basically started where Chul missed all his fish the night before.

The day previous we saw very little sign of skwalas.  On this day we did see some old shucks on boulders but very little were noticed in flight or on the water.  We did see some March Browns but mostly we saw various sizes of BWOs both rather large to micro. 

Given the cloudy conditions we figured there may be more dry fly activity than the day before so we left the nymph rods behind and only carried our dry fly sticks.  We arrived at the first location and began fishing.  Not much was happening and by this time it was close to noon so I stopped and had my lunch.  After lunch some fish were starting to come up on emergers.  Looked as though they were taking small flies so I decided to tie a dropper and keep my March Brown on the leader.  Not sure whether it was BWOs or midges I tied a fly that could represent either.  The fly was a size 20 Reaper midge.  It's sparkly enough to look like an emerger or an adult.  It wouldn't be long before my downstream drift was taken.  I managed to land it and then release it.  Chul took the next shot after he tied his fly. After he was done I tried again and had another rise with a fish coming from the depths but since elevated on a boulder I saw him the whole time and pulled the fly out of his mouth early.

We decided to leave the area in search of more willing fish.  Hiked as far as we could before the trail would veer us away from the river.  We didn't fish at all as any entry point was choked full of poison oak preventing us from getting to the water.  Besides the water that we could see from above on the trail didn't look too promising for dry flies.  So we weren't too keen on looking for a path through.  So we decided to hike back to the area we caught fish earlier. 

When we arrived to our spot clouds became more ominous despite forecasts of midnight rainfall.  We explored upstream somewhat but it produced nothing and access was limited by rapids and boulders.  So we headed back to the prime fishing lane.  I tried without any success.  After awhile the rain began to fall and it was time to take out the rain gear.  Despite wanting to stay for the evening hatch we decided it was best to head back to camp in case it got ugly. 

When we arrived at camp the rain let up some and fish began to rise on the opposite bank.  This area was a long stretch of flat but swift water.  I knew for the best drift I'd have to get to the other side and cast upstream to them.  While it wasn't deep it was deep enough to make things interesting.  As to not spook the fish I'd have to cross at the shallower but more rapid end of the run.  I put on my wading pants thinking it wasn't as deep to need full waders.  I was being somewhat lazy but also I wanted to wear my new pants.  In retrospect I should have just gotten wet and wet waded across or wore a full wader.  Why?  Because while crossing I lost my footing and took a spill getting me wet from chest down.  I did make it across and started noticing the rising pattern.  Still armed with both a march brown and reaper midge dropper I began casting.  In no time I was on  with the midge with a very nice fish in the 17-18 range.  I did net it with my new net.  So the fishpond did get it's first legitimate fish.   The fish were feeding on blue wing olive adults and I managed to get one in a vial for my collection.  This would be the only fish I'd be able to hook though as the feeding seemed to cease right after landing this one.  Now I had to cross back.  I would take another path though.  It seemed to be going smoothly until I reached a section that was just a hair deeper than my wading pants.  No other option but I had to step into it and get wet again. 

Once I crossed safely I changed into some dry clothes and started the coals for the grill.  Waiting for those to ignite I began to make the butter garlic rice that would accompany the Vietnamese grilled pork.  A constant downfall then began.  Cooking in the rain was a pain.  Luckily the rain while constant was light. 

While I was prepping the my meal Chul and Tim were making dutch oven upside down pineapple cake.  Chul wanted to redeem himself from a few years ago where the cake ended up burnt and basically inedible.  This was caused by his girlfriend stoking the coals like a child and causing inconsistent hot spots in the oven.  Now that she is out of the picture we didn't need to worry about her screwing things up.

The cake came out nicely.  Pretty impressive considering controlling the heat is more art than science.  Chul was a bit concerned since he had forgotten parchment paper and I suggested using tin foil to cover the edges instead.  It seemed to work.

The evening was spent near the fire.  We managed to collect enough dead California Oak to produce a blazing hot campfire.  I used the heat to help dry my wet clothes from my swimming incident earlier.  Campfires are quite nice especially when using nice hardwoods that burn long and hot unlike the garbage wood available on the eastern side of the sierra.

March 20, 2022

The following morning I woke up early as I usually do when camping.  Much earlier than the rest of the crew.  I opened the tailgate I simply sat up from my make shift bed in the rover and watched the morning develop.  I watched the river for any sign of feeding activity but it was still early.  Really early.  Eventually we packed up camp and fished a few roadside spots before heading out.  On one section I was fishing a prime nymphing lane.  Although I knew there was in a fish in there I gave up the hole and told Chul to fish it as he moved up toward me.  My mind was simply distracted on the Rover which was giving me suspension faults while driving the dirt road.  I knew exactly what was going on and it was either going to ignore the issue or the Rover was going to shit out on me and force me to limp back to a mechanic.  Chul took the run and began fishing it I on the other hand started picking up rocks looking for a March Brown nymph for my collection.  I have begun collecting collecting insects something I wish I did the last time I was here when the salmonflies were present or the time I fished the cicada hatch at the Green River.

I never did collect my march brown nymph although I did get an adult dun.  In addition I managed adult skwala, blue wing olive and a black caddis.  All these were basically collected by chance.  The skwala landed on my foot while I getting ready to hike back to the trip when it began raining the day before.  The BWO landed on my finger just after catching the 18 incher.  As for the march brown that guy was in my hat in the morning when I woke up.  I had nearly caught one on the river the day before as one landed on the netting of my Fishpond and when I was reaching for a collection vial the wind blew it away. 

On the drive out we'd have one last chance at seeing the wildflowers.  While not a super bloom as we've seen in the past it definitely was worth seeing it.  It wasn't nearly at its peak either.  Perhaps in the next couple weeks it'll be at its prime. 

The last time we came here we stopped by a taco stand on the way home and we wanted to eat it for lunch again.  It took some time to find it but we finally did only to discover we got there just as they were closing.  Disappointed we headed down the street to a burger stand for some slightly above average burgers.

After lunch we went our separate ways.  Wanting to avoid any LA traffic I decided to stop and fish an LA mountain spot.  But once I arrived I only had less than an hour of light.  Besides that it was howling.  Wind so hard it forces you to lean into it just to keep from tipping over.  So I left the fly rod behind and started scouting it.  Three years ago I fished this area and did well enough for me to consider a return on certain circumstances.  At that time I saw a rather large bass surrounded by multiple bluegill.  Since I was targeting creek trout I wasn't armed appropriately to fish for them  but of course didn't stop me from trying though.  Never got those fish but did catch several decent trout.  I swore to return.  I didn't get far enough this day to see if that bass survived.  I debated on spending the night here to fish it in the morning but decided against it.  While the fishing wasn't lights out on this trip I didn't want to taint it with a possible crummy end.  So I headed home bypassing most of the weekend traffic.