Conditions Improving
Upper Kern River
April, 2004
Having heard
that the water clarity and flow was improving, we arrived at Hospital
Flats around noon on Friday. Being one of our favorite spots during
the off-season, when the campground is closed, we normally stop there
first. And then decide to go up or down river from there.
As most of you
already know, the Upper Kern River (North of Kernville on Hwy SM99) has
been struggling with run-off issues since the McNally
Fire of 2002. After the winter/spring rains have stopped and
spring/summer sierra snow melts taper off, the Kern returns to her clear a
majestic beauty. Albeit, with a little less greenery to line her
shores, as you near the McNally area.
In anticipation
of the clearing conditions, we raced to great our deeply missed
mistress. Only to find that she needed a little more time to achieve
a decent degree of water clarity. Still, she seemed fishable and we
were eager to give her go.
Between the two
of us, Dan managed to catch one skinny and weak 10" stocker. I
tried my familiar spots and couldn't buy a nibble. Feeling that
sinking feeling, we decided to scoot down river.
We pulled into
one of the primitive campgrounds and setup camp before heading to the
river. The water seemed clearer in spots, but still no action.
Hiking a little further down river, we across some crazy whitewater where
I spotted a far off pool. This one would require that I float my
salmon eggs a good 40-50'.
Feeling up to
the challenge, I wound up and threw my cast to the moon to clear the falls
before the float. If not for the bright orange 'strike indicator', I
wouldn't have had a clue where my eggs were. After slowly letting
out what seemed like a mile of line, I let the indicator rest above a pool
to the right of the current.
Within a
minute, or so, I thought I felt a strike. One can never know for
sure, when you're indicator is riding the rapids. I decided to reel
in a little., and sure enough, fish on! It took some time to reel in
40-50' of line. I thought I'd loose him for sure when I dragged him
up the falls and through the rapids., and was pleasantly surprised when I
actually landed him. For all that work and effort, a weak and skinny
10" stocker. By then, the sun was setting., so we called it a
day.
Saturday
morning we drove up river and found a spot between Gold Ledge and Fairview
(as seen in the picture above). The pool, at the base of the >6' fall,
was wide, deep and promising. Within a few minutes, the first
10" stocker was caught., fat and healthier than the two from the
previous day.
By noon we had
caught a total of 5 healthy rainbows (between us) ranging
10-12". The water clarity could have been better, but with some
patience a trout would eventually get a glimpse of your offering.
About this time, we were joined by a 4 anglers (Grandfather, Father,
Brother and Son). I was happy to see their 3 generations fishing
together and didn't mind the company.
Following
the outflow from the pool, a long (30') slow moving sandy bottom was
perfect for drifting salmon eggs. So I decided to give it a
try. Visibility was somewhat reduced in the slower moving
water, which led to my decision to try some smelly bright orange
powerbait. BINGO! Within the course of 2hrs I had managed to a
few nice rainbows and several Kern River Carp as well. Watching the
others, they seemed to be doing equally well. The Grandfather
positioned himself at the base of the falls and was pulling nice sized
bows at a rate of 1 every 20mins.
I calculated
that between the 6 of us, we had pulled around 15 good sized trout from
the single pool and its outflow. Personally, I can't recall pulling
so many from one pool. Equally as many Carp were hauled in and
released.
Satisfied, we
gathered and talked for awhile before they headed out and we sat down to
dinner. After dinner, we fished the spot a little more (for the heck
of it) with no more takers. Trout could be seen catching flies in
the slow moving outflow. With half a mind to get out the fly gear,
we decided to take a stroll and enjoy the canyon as the sun was
setting. Next time, I'll have the fly gear 'at the ready' in
anticipation of the late afternoons. I can only imagine the shear
delight of C&R fly fishing the spot.
Sunday
morning Dan fished the pool again for a couple hours, hoping to get one
more trout before we left. As for myself, I was satisfied and
spent the morning taking in the sights and sounds taking pictures.
Dan caught his final fish, the largest of the trip at 14", and we
once again said our farewells to the mighty Kern.
We'll
be back
