South Creek Falls
Upper Kern River
August, 2003
Passing the
many filled developed and dispersed camping grounds, we drove further up
the canyon and arrived near Limestone campground on a Saturday
morning.
Being a brief
visit to the Kern and wanting to visit the South Creek Falls, we got setup
and on the water in a flash.
The action of
the past June had all but faded. My familiar spots produced two
healthy 11-12" stockers, roughly 45 minutes apart.
We hoofed it up
river, testing the waters all the way to Limestone. On a 1-10 scale,
the fishing was earning a 3. I had expected as much, this late in
the game. Still, the Kern has been known to produce year
round. Regardless of the pressure put upon her.
My
fishing partner claimed a spot in the shade, fishing the slow and wide
waters from Limestone. From patience or stubbornness, he's one of
those guys who'll sit on a spot and wait endless hours. I'm pretty
sure the trout find him, more than he finds them.
Nevertheless,
his drawn out technique is somewhat productive. After sitting on a
spot for 5-6hrs, he'll come back to camp with 3 nice sized trout.
Often more, than not, by the end of the day he's done as well as I.
Only I'm exhausted and he's not. But that doesn't stop me from
hopping rocks and wondering from pool to pool.
The bite was slow the entire
day. Roving trout seekers would stop their vehicle and test the
waters., then leave. Often staying less than an hour, vehicle after
vehicle would arrive and depart. Meanwhile, the 'diehard' waited for
the fish to find him, while I took up photography.
The
next day, with similar results, we played the waters briefly before
heading to the falls. The South Creek Falls are located just a few miles
up the road (Hwy 99). We passed the Johnsondale bridge and arrived
at the falls just before noon, hoping to get some pictures before heading
home.
As this shot illustrates, the
falls are rather tall. We parked the RV at the top of the falls to
put the picture in perspective. The RV being 10' tall, I'd estimate
the falls to be roughly 100'.
Given the time of year, a
considerable about water was still flowing. The flow over the falls
in May, during the period of snowmelt runoff, would be spectacular.
Making a mental note to revisit
the falls in May of some future year, we departed for home feeling none
the less satisfied with this visit to the Kern.
We'll
be back
