Perfect Weekend !
Upper Kern River
June, 2004
Eager to get
some quality Kern fishing, before the July 4th madness, we raced to the
upper Kern on Saturday 6/26. Driving up river from Kernville, it was
soon obvious that many others had a similar urge to fish the upper
Kern. Though the campgrounds appeared at 1/2 capacity, many anglers
were parked along the highway and had beat us to the river.
On arriving at
one of our favorite spots (above Goldledge), we found the water level had
dropped some since our visit last April., but not alarmingly so.
Even at 9am, we were beat to the spot by a group of 3 anglers. Soon
thereafter, they tired of the spot and moved on., after catching and
releasing five average rainbows. I managed to catch one healthy
12" rainbow before we decided to venture elsewhere. As we left,
a family of four arrived at the spot.
I
decided, based on the apparent fishing pressure, to drive to Limestone and
work our way back down river from there. I tested my favorite spots,
in the area, and was immediately into Kern Trout Fishing Nirvana.
Judging from
the condition of the stockers I caught, I would venture to guess that they
were stocked within the past couple of weeks. Their colors were
brilliant.
Using salmon
eggs and two pound line, on a light spinning rod, made for an exciting
day. I was soon reminded of the difficulties involved with landing a
12-13" bow when you have to surf him through the current and back up
river (over small falls) to you. After loosing three on the rugged
retrieve, I adjusted the drag and let the next one run wildly., until he
was content to relax a little and ride my hook back up river. I
don't know why it is, but the water on the other side always looks better
to me ... so, I generally toss out 30-40' and fish along the opposite
bank. This has always worked for me., but, always means reeling like
a crazed banshee with or without a fighting trout on the end of the line.
My
disappointment at loosing trout in the rapids was subdued by the shear joy
and excitement preceding it. Who can explain the feeling of reeling
in 40+ feet of line and watching a beautiful rainbow trout dash and leap
every which way? I can't. But I was truly thankful for being
graced with the experience, once more. It is this, that brings me
back to the river.
I don't believe
that a trout, having thrown your hook, stays in the general area for
another go at it. That being the case, given the number of trout
that got away, I'd have to say the river is fully stocked. That
said, by early afternoon, I had hooked up with 10 healthy fighters.
Some made the journey to my net, while the others didn't. Either
way, it's all good.
As dusk
approached, once again I found myself in wonderment of the Kern. She
seldom lets me down regardless of time and season. Sometimes, you
have to look a little harder, but can always bank on her hiding away a few
rainbows to be found. And on this visit, they were in my usual favorite
spots ... as if awaiting my return.
We'll
be back
In closing
this article, I would like to remind everyone to be Thankful to the
people of the Kern River Valley community and the Friends
of the Hatchery (FOH) who maintain the Kern River from Johnsondale
to Bakersfield. Without which, the Kern would be nothing more than
a place to float the rapids. A lot of care and hard work go into
keeping the Kern the treasure that she is. Disappointingly, I
doubt that many who visit her truly appreciate the effort., or the river
itself for that matter. Be that as it may, I'm more than happy to
offer my humble donations to the Kernville hatchery FOH program. I
consider it one of my better investments along this journey that is my
life.
|
Mountain
Lion Warning
During
this visit, a women hiking near the Johnsondale Bridge was
mauled by a small mountain lion. It happened late
afternoon on Saturday 06/26/04 . See LA
Times article. We'll be more mindful of the mountain
lion population on future visits. Others are cautioned to
do likely. |
