Last Thursday the bulk of the national forests in California opened up again after being closed state-wide for two and a half weeks, due to high fire danger and ongoing fires. By Friday I had my wilderness permit, took a day off work, and headed up to a westside Sierra trailhead.
I got a bit of a late start and didn't hit the trail until late morning, but mine was the only car at the trailhead. It was smoky in the valley, and there was haze up higher.
A fire was (and still is) burning in a national park to the south, and smoke was blowing north. I hoped the haze would thin out as I gained elevation, and eventually clear out over the weekend. So not much in the way of views. Late season in a dry year meant that most of the creeks around here were reduced to pools, but around 8800' I came to a flowing creek with small brookies.
I hadn't packed a tenkara rod this time, though. I headed up the switchbacks. The haze was not clearing up as much as I'd hoped.
Not as bad as last Labor Day weekend though, where I got rained on by ash overnight and hiked out a day early under eerily-tinted smoky skies.
Around 4pm-ish I came to the first lake at about 9700'. I'd visited a few years ago in late season. It seemed even lower now than then.
I strung up my Echo Big Water Glass 5wt 8'6" and tossed out some foam hopper patterns. One thing I've discovered is that a bit of haze can be good for fishing, sort of like overcast.
The brookies here seemed to be doing well. I should have brought a frying pan.
I caught a few more, then set up camp, and noticed light ash falling. Uh-oh. Still, it wasn't heavy ash fall like last year. Could be worse ...
The evening was still, and the morning was chilly, but not cold. I awoke before dawn and fished a bit.
Watching the sun come up and seeing the alpenglow is part of why I enjoy backpacking.
I packed up and looked out at my next destination, a short distance and a few hundred feet down.
After a bit of cross-country, I walked around the lake, flicking out hoppers.
The smoke seemed to be getting a bit better. After an hour or so I continued on, down the trail, passing the creek, and down to a junction, then up to another lake. I'd passed this one by a few times, and thought I'd see what I was missing.
It probably held brookies, but seemed a bit shallow and not that attractive this time of year. I headed cross-country up to a ridge, crossed the trail, then down cross-country again to a larger lake.
This lake can be popular, and I suspect the fish have become wary. Still, it's a nice lunch spot, and nobody seemed to be around. I generally don't do a lot of spin fishing for trout, but this trip I brought a Graywolf Trout Smith 7' ultralight glass spinning rod built by Shane, with a Tica Cetus SB800 reel loaded with 4# nanofil. A nice brookie took the 1/12 oz red/gold kastmaster (refitted with a single hook and crushed barb).
The wind seemed to be shifting to the west, and the smoke seemed to be clearing out, finally. It was also cooling down, as the forecast predicted.
I had a couple more grabs, but nothing stuck, and after an hour or so I made my way up cross-country to another lake, around 9200'.
I cast a few hoppers out near some submerged logs, and found a taker.
The wind was picking up and the sun was setting. On a whim, I decided to string up the spinning rod again and caught a few more brookies before settling down for the night.
It seemed chillier than last night. The wind picked up, and again I awoke before dawn. Clouds were blowing in, also a predicted. The north state was getting some good rain, but this far south it was just wind and clouds. Time to fish.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed fishing Shane's spinning rod. It wasn't just the action, but the aesthetic experience of fishing a well-crafted and beautiful rod.
After a few more fish I packed up and headed out, down to a trail for a bit, and another lake. The smoke was gone.
This lake is even more popular, and the fish quite wary. I fished the Echo and the spinning rod, with no result. I've seen large fish in here around dusk, but on a bright sunny morning they were no where to be seen
I continued on to the last lake, around 8600'.
The lake was low, but I made my way around to a granite outcropping where a shelf seemed to give way to deeper water, and tossed out a hopper on the Echo. Almost immediately a rainbow smacked it.
The day was warming and I started to notice dragonflies flitting about, so I changed my tactics a bit and tossed out a foam blue darner tied on a #10 hook.
I walked around the lake and tossed out some more hoppers.
By mid-afternoon I decided it was time to start heading back. This time there were views.
The lower elevations in this area were burned in a fire last year (the one that rained ash on me over Labor Day, in fact).
It seemed from the lack of footprints in the ash that I was the only hiker who had ventured out this weekend, and my car was still the only one in the lot when I got back. Can't complain
Posted: 22 Sep 2021, 11:41 • 
