More BC Fishin

The urge to fish the backcountry hit again, so I gathered the troops. With packs geared up, the three of us took off out of Onion Valley. Two passes and several miles later, we were at the spot. Mosquitos were out in force at 10.5k ft, so covering up skin was necessary. After a early dinner, I rigged up my 7 piece 4wt and headed down to the lake. Risers everywhere! After scoping the waters edge, I noticed mosquitos & midges were on the menu. I pulled out a size 22 dry midge and quickly tied it on. WHAM! First cast, a brook trout - a backcountry gem was landed and released. Catching these gems proceeded until the sun set for the night. Day two and three went in this same matter and we hiked to most of the small lakes in the area to stalk brookies. The hike out was glorious, as we headed straight for burgers and beers. Hot springs were also on the list to check off. Sierra thunderstorms ensued on the drive home. Here are some pictures from the adventure.

Ideal

Conditions in Truckee have been quite good lately. Flows are down, the sun is shining, and bugs are hatching! Both AM & PM have been the best times to land some fish, but we were catching them on a consistent basis today. Water temp was 62* in some spots this afternoon, along with rising fish in seams, back eddies, and water slicks. Caddis, PMD's, & little yellow stones have been getting takes throughout the day. Fish a size 16 EC Caddis, put a little float gel on the deer hair and hold on... I'd say the fishing is good to great at the moment, so pack up your gear and head to Tahoe! Here are some pictures of the flows.

Backcountry Fly Fishing

Had a few days off, so I headed into the backcountry to stalk some wild trout. We were at the trailhead at 7 AM for an early start. Once out of society, we rigged up and started to fish the backcountry creeks and streams. Fishing and catching were good. It's great to see and hold these majestic wild trout. The colors were vibrant and pleasing to the eye. Dries and nymphs worked in sizes 18-24. We used a bunch of small midge patterns, mosquitos, ants, gnats, and a few other terrestrials to bring noses to the surface. Snow line was at about 9k feet and the snow run-off provided for some fresh h20 (better than any tap). Lakes were full up and the streams were pumping. Here are some flicks from the trip.

C-A-D-D-I-S

Trout have been keying in on the caddis, that's for sure, as Tim proved that last night. Between 6-8PM we saw risers left and right, taking caddis, PMD's, and little stones off the surface. Flows and temperatures (57*-61*) are great right now on the Truckee. The Little Truckee is starting to catch up, with fishable flows at 270 cubes now. Flows out of Tahoe City have been bumped just a bit and soon they will be letting more water out of Lake Tahoe. Maybe that might trigger the raft hatch above River Ranch, but I heard it was closed for the season. Also, we are seeing plenty of rafters down in the Canyon towards Reno. During the midday, fish riffles for cooler water temps and below any confluence for hungry trout...