I took my first adventure trip of the year this week. My usual MO has been to hit little mid-elevation creeks in the Sierra in May, but the USFS has closed access to a number of places I like to go due to the recent wildfires. I decided to switch things up and head down to one of the "big water" rivers that carve deep canyons west of Lake Tahoe on their way to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and out under the Golden Gate.
2021-2022 has been another drought year, so the rivers are not running high. Still, the one I chose was pumping along at over 1000 CFS (it'll be well under 200 later this summer). While many rivers get super cloudy during runoff season, Sierra rivers carve through hard granite or volcanic rock and the lack of fine silt leaves them quite clear. The high water spreads out the fish, however, and turns nice pocket water sections into fast-flowing chutes that aren't hospitable to holding trout. So my expectations weren't terribly high. This is a really good time to hike, however, since the air temperatures are still reasonable.
The trail I chose drops nearly 2000 vertical feet down the canyon in a very short distance, crosses the river at a foot bridge, then travels along the river for several miles. Actual access is limited to spots in between cliff sections. So it's definitely adventure fishing. Likely looking high-water spots include soft water on the inside of bends, some channels accessible by going deep with nymphs, and a few flat areas with cobblestone beds.
I decided this would be a good shakedown cruise for the western river "big glass gun" I assembled over the winter. I managed to score one of the last of the first-generation Orvis Superfine Glass 6wt rods and set it up with a Hardy Marquis 7 holding a Scientific Anglers Mastery Infinity WF6 line. This is my current best answer to the question of how to push out big bushy dry-dropper rigs, high-stick with multi-fly indicator nymphing setups, or turn over mid-sized weighted streamers.
The fly rod verdict: mission accomplished. The rod and reel balance is just a little tip-heavy at the grip. I switched back and forth between a beadhead prince nymph under a chubby chernobyl and a 2-fly indicator nymph rig. The balance feels good for high-sticking the nymph rig through channels and the rod has plenty of power to lift the nymphs at the end of a drift in preparation for the next cast. Pushing the dry dropper rig through a breeze was similarly a snap. I even put a little yellow sally on at one point and was able to make a good facsimile of a dry fly cast without slapping the water (too hard, anyway). The rod largely disappeared and I just fished, which makes it perfect.
The fishing verdict: As expected. Not a lot of action, but I wasn't skunked. I managed to convince one very young rainbow to grab the dropper. This may be a smallest-fish-on-largest-rod record for me.
Hiking verdict: Gorgeous and strenuous, as expected. The cool air temperatures blunted the physicality of the hike. Plenty of wildflowers were still out all along the trail, and there were a few critters to liven things up including a big centipede and a couple of energetic frogs. I treated the hike up the canyon at the end of the day as a "leg day" workout session and was not disappointed. My quads are shredded today.
Now that I have some good fishing sections scoped out, I definitely want to go back in the fall when the water level is down. I expect that it will fish like a completely different river. I just have to stay in shape for the hike out!
Pics follow:
This image does NOT do justice to the steepness of the trail.
River section with no practical access. I bet it goes off with rises during evening hatches.
Spring wildflowers give the trail a splash of color.
More wildflowers.
Less-welcome flora on the trailside.
Looking downriver from one of the accessible spots.
My "big glass gun" rig for the day.
"But he was a hard fighter!"
The footbridge.
Looking back down the canyon after grinding out the hike back up.
Posted: 07 May 2022, 19:25 • 
