The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

I got a pass to go fishing today and struck out early to hit the East Fork Carson. I figured I had a few things going against me on this trip... it is July 5th, so there crowds were an issue and secondly, I had only fished this river once before and it had been just full of anglers. Got to the river about 8:00 or so and hiked downstream from the bridge there just out of Markleeville. Three other cars in the parking lot, not too bad.

Got down to the water and didn't see another angler. There had been a few folks near the bridge. Caught an 8-9"er quickly. This fish was missing half of one of it's gill plates... I saw another fish like that. Not a good look. I don't know if those are hatchery fish that have made their way down, but they didn't look great.

After a few minutes I moved down a little bit to a spot I remembered from the first time I had fished there. For some reason I reached into my fly box and pulled out a fly that I think someone from the board gave me. It's kind of like a Fox Pupah, but it has some cdc and flashaboo in it and a clear bead. I've never fished it before and I can't say why I went for that fly when I had plenty of my own BHPT's that are my go-to flies, but that is what I did. It was a good decision. The water looked very good, big fish water, but I wasn't getting anything. I had talked to an angler on Thursday who had said "the difference between a good California fisherman and a great California fisherman is a splitshot". That was tumbling around the back of my head and I put on another split shot. A couple of casts later I hooked into a moster of a rainbow. The big fish seemed to be inspired by our olympian gymnists as it jumped three times, once getting about FOUR feet out of the water. Seriously, I've never seen a fish jump that high. Got it to hand, about 21-22" and a serious weight probelm... just fat as could be. Glad I got it some exercise. The jumping was nice, but it didn't pull any line off my 4 wt and it was in and released very quickly and in good shape.

With that fish in the books the rest of the day was a stroll. I ended up with 15 to hand, one brown, the rest bows... most pretty small, but a few around 12"-14". Only saw one other guy down river and we gave each other plenty of space. After about 3.5 hours I was getting close to the bridge. That's when the felt fell off one of my wading shoes, so I figured I'd just head straight to the car. My wife was surprised to hear from me after only about 4.5 hours, since she gave me the whole day off. I just figured I couldn't improve on the day and decided not to try.

There were lots of bugs on/near the water, even saw a couple of risers, but nothing that would convince someone to tie one on.

This was my first really productive day of trout fishing in a long time. It was nice to start feeling like I knew what I was doing again.

And that is my fishing report.

B-

Nice report, Bjorn. I am gonna HAVE to get over to the East Side sometime soon.

I hit the e. carson on the 4th and id say there was about the standard sunday size crowd there, about 8 or so people frequenting some good holes down by the gauge station. Got about 5 to hand (all small though) off drys. I rarely have to nymph there, and there are some toads to be had. Still a bit off colour though, but flows are optimal. Left half day to meet up with people in tahoe for fireworks but regretted leaving the stream... stupid ass crowds of stupid ass people...

We were in State Line, but with the baby going down at about 8 we just stayed home... probably the right decision.

The EFC is a cool river... I could see that it could get way too much pressure, but I'll go back...

Glad you had good day on the river. A friend from mine came down from Bend, Oregon about a week and a half ago and I took him out there since it is so close to home. Us and two others were the only ones on the river. We fished up and downstream of the bridge. Seems the biggest ones were upstream that day. We also hit Blue Lakes and Indian Creek Reservoir with the kayaks. All in all, a good day of fishing. Man, were we tired at the end of the day!

Beerfly

Nice!
I wish I had a fishing report that didn't involve worm guts and my kid's tangled spinning reel!
I always have fun on that river; high water or low water, I always seem to get a couple of fish to the net.
Unfortunately, I only get over there after a morning of jostling for position with the flock of tubers over on Heenan. This used to be an annual ritual. I always tried to get in an East side trip in September. Since the arrival of son #2 I haven't gotten further east than Carson Pass. Really not complaing but... I sure would like to get back over there! I miss those days; dusk fishing on the East Walker, chicken fried steak at the Sportsmen's Inn in Bridgeport. Blackjack at Topaz "casino", the mad dash down to Crowley before the wind starts howling, even the 6 hour drive home.

Stretch

It was a really good morning on the water. I'm looking forward to getting over that way some more to do some more exploring. There were A LOT of cars along the West Carson... is that fishery worth all the attention it seemed to be getting?

B-

Almost Bjornian numbers Bjorn! Nice report. Thanks for sharing.

I've never had much success on the West Carson, but I have friends who swear by it. I suspect the lure of fishing in the beautiful meadow section across from Sorenson's is too much for people to resist. Downstream from there, I've found more people dredging for gold than fish in the water. Personally, if I must fish a West Fork, it's the West Walker. Shorter drive to Bridgeport and the close proximity of lots of Marines makes me feel at home.

Stretch

I pretty much agree with Stretch. I live only 30 minutes from Hope Valley and in all the times I tried the West Carson, I have NEVER caught one fish. For just a few more minutes away I can head up to Blue Lakes where I have yet to be skunked, Indian Creek Reservoir near Markleeville or East Fork Carson, Hangman's bridge. I don't even look at the West Carson as I drive by it anymore. Since Bridgeport is about 1-1/2 hours from home, I would rather fish the West Walker or Twin Lakes area. If you don't mind the drive (not that much farther south), my favorite holes are in the June Lake loop area and the surroundings are spectacular.

Don't mind giving out these places since the whole world knows about them anyway. I just have a few places that I like to call "my own" that you can only find out about if you're fishing with me or someone else who has fished the east side alot. Though I have noticed the crowds starting to thin out, maybe because of gas prices?

Beerfly

I saw all those cars and assumed they were anglers, but maybe they were going for gold instead... good to know. Thanks.

B-

PS, man is Hope Valley pretty...

I can't vouch for the fact that they were all prospectors; as you said, Hope Valley is a beautiful place. Maybe they were all photographers! The last time I fished there, the wife and I bushwhacked for a while to escape the crowd. We found a great little pool that even had some room to cast. Within minutes, the water turned to mud as 2 guys dropped down with their dreging rig. A slightly heated discussion ensued, both sides presenting their points on who had first dibs on the pool. Thankfully cool heads prevailed, but I haven't gone back.

Stretch