carpanglerdude
11-27-2016, 07:52 PM
Made the long drive up to the Kern River this past weekend. I've fished the Eastern Sierras several times but never went to the Kern River area. Saw a few slow reports from earlier in the week and wasn't expecting much, but excited to make the trip regardless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y0orA9Al98
Really beautiful fall colors throughout the South Fork of the Kern River on the drive in. The smoke from prior wildfires, including a recent one, seems to have mostly cleared out. We passed many fly anglers and a few conventional anglers along the drive up the north fork, including an army of them below the spillway.
Hiked in a ways up the river, talking with many fly fishermen on the way. They all reported the same thing-no fish, cold water. This did not get my hopes up. However, after fishing many skinny creeks, it was astounding to see the size of the Kern, even with it's low levels. There was a lot of water to explore, more than plenty for the short trip we had.
We tossed flys and barbless lures, to no avail. Worked a few deep pools, slow stretches, and a couple of rapids. Talked with a nice fly angler who recounted catching 25 fish+/day in the summer further up the canyon, but was fishless today.
Still, it was great to get to see this watershed and get a tiny taste of the hiking and fishing opportunities back here. I hope you enjoy the video from our trip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y0orA9Al98
Really beautiful fall colors throughout the South Fork of the Kern River on the drive in. The smoke from prior wildfires, including a recent one, seems to have mostly cleared out. We passed many fly anglers and a few conventional anglers along the drive up the north fork, including an army of them below the spillway.
Hiked in a ways up the river, talking with many fly fishermen on the way. They all reported the same thing-no fish, cold water. This did not get my hopes up. However, after fishing many skinny creeks, it was astounding to see the size of the Kern, even with it's low levels. There was a lot of water to explore, more than plenty for the short trip we had.
We tossed flys and barbless lures, to no avail. Worked a few deep pools, slow stretches, and a couple of rapids. Talked with a nice fly angler who recounted catching 25 fish+/day in the summer further up the canyon, but was fishless today.
Still, it was great to get to see this watershed and get a tiny taste of the hiking and fishing opportunities back here. I hope you enjoy the video from our trip: