Hobo Campground
Lower Kern River
December, 2003
While waiting
for the upper Kern water clarity to improve, we decided to give the lower
Kern try.
We pulled into
Hobo Campground on a Friday night. The outside temperature was
cold, but not freezing. Somewhere in the 40s.
Before long we
heard something scratching and tearing at the bark of a tree.
Grabbing the flood light, we caught a glimpse of a rather large busy
beaver.
Early the next
morning, we were greeted by fog. Which, made for some rather eerie
scenery. As the sun rose, so did the fog ... giving way to clear
sunny skies and a promising day of fishing.
I hit the river
and worked our way towards the hot springs (located just down river from
Hobo). The further down we went, the better the action was.
Although, early risers seemed to be having pretty action their in
camp. But we didn't want to crowd in with them., so down river we
went.
Just on the
outskirts of Hobo Campground, I spotted a what looked like a promising
run. After a few drifts, I landed a nice healthy rainbow of
11". I continued there for a little while longer, see if the
11" had any friends. As luck would have it, he didn't. I
watched, what seemed like, far too many anglers above and below me.
The ones down river seemed to be getting hung up., more than anything
else. When they moved on, I followed behind them.
The action was
slow, to say the least. Even though Hobo had been stocked the day
before. My guess is that the plants mostly stayed where they were
put., and at least six anglers had camped on the spot. I managed to
land another 10" rainbow before continuing down river.
Before long a
group of Kayaks can floating down river. Not that they were
interrupting much., I hauled in my line till they passed. And
continued to hike down river towards the Hot Springs.
In the past,
the fishing generally improved as you neared the Hot Springs. That
wasn't the case today. Though I did see trout breaking the surface
to snatch flies ... I just could do a thing with Salmon Eggs.
Wishing I had my fly gear, I headed back to camp just before noon.
My partner
fished at Hobo and a little up river with similar results. After
lunch, we decided to hike up river along the 'Hobo Fishing Trail'.
The slow moving river was somewhat of a disappointment, I more accustomed
to whitewater and pools.
We hiked for
about a 1/2 mile, concluding we wouldn't find any better spots up
river. Before turning back, we fished the deep slow waters. A
nibble here, a nibble there, but nothing managed to get on.
As the
afternoon started to cast shadows. You could see fish snatching
flies. Again, I should have brought the fly gear. I really need the
practice.
Back
a camp, I took advantage of the last couple of hours of daylight to
practice my fly casting. With the open area, I figured I'd catch
fewer trees and maybe even a fish. Well, I didn't catch any
trees. But I didn't seem to attract any fish either. Oh well,
I needed the practice. A couple came down the river., and from the
looks of things, they didn't much luck fly fishing either. It was a
lazy summer afternoon in December.
Next time, I'll
devote most of my time fly fishing Hobo. Judging from what we saw,
that's probably the way to go. Hobo seems like a nice place to relax
in the winter. Interesting scenery, friendly critters, a little
whitewater and promising spot for fly fishing. We'll have to give it
another try sometime.
We'll
be back
