At the beginning of July, I returned to the Eastern Sierras for some hiking and fishing. With the high flows from snow still in the mountains, I knew fishing would be tough but was looking forward to a bit of exploration and challenge. Over three days, I tried my luck on a few small creeks, but spent most of my time focusing on a fishery known to produce larger fish. The conditions were challenging, and while I didn’t bring many fish to the net during my trip, I did learn quite a bit from fishing the waters out there.
Day 1
On the first day we were there we hit a small creek in the afternoon. There was plenty of water and overhanging tree branches. Lush greenery lined the banks, making for some challenging casting into the strong currents. There was one pool where I was able to hook into and land a little brown trout, but wasn’t able to snap a photo.
Later in the evening we hit a popular fishing spot in search of some larger trout. Again, we were met with high flows, but there was activity in the spots where trout could gain refuge from the swift current. Casting into a small pocket behind a rock I hooked into a brown trout that I only caught a glimpse of. As I worked it downstream and out of the flows, I reached out to put it in the net and lost it as it thrashed around, snapping the tippet near the hook.
Day 2
The day started with some hiking, followed by a little exploration of creeks in the area. There weren’t many options for access, or water that wasn’t rushing through the small creeks. Knowing the area a little better, I would definitely like to return to fish those creeks another time.
In the evening we did a little more exploring and hit the small creek from the first day again and I was able to put another brown trout in the net. The other little creeks we checked out were hard to fish. With the higher flows and overhanging foliage, there wasn’t much room to cast or sneak a fly into the water.
Day 3
With it being apparent that the creeks in the mountains weren’t going to be as productive, we committed to exploring more of the river where I had hooked into the larger brown on the first day. In the morning we explored a bit more of that waterway, heading upstream with no bites. However, we got to witness a mayfly molt from subimago to imago , which is something I had not seen before.
At another access point we did find some actively feeding fish. Some larger trout were feeding downstream and sporadically hitting the surface, but were a bit reluctant to take any of our flies or presentations. A little further upstream I was able to put a small brown in the net.
In the evening we returned for one last session on the same tributary. The flows seemed to increase from what they were earlier in the day. That in combination with a strong wind made fishing extremely challenging. With only a few bites but no fish to the net, we made our way back to the car, ending our fishing for this trip.
The conditions on this trip were tough, but the challenge was fun. It forced me to be a little more creative in my tactics and to pick and choose the water I fished a bit more. I’m definitely looking forward to the next time I get to visit the Eastern Sierras in search of trout!
