Opening day.

It was opening day at our favorite catch and release trout lake. We had never fished the lake on the opener and were a little concerned it might be crowded. Fortunately for us there wasn't another sole on the lake.

 Randy by himself and enjoying the beauty of having the lake all to one's self.

We were hoping for Barb to catch a Lahonton Cutthroat, as this would be its native water and would certainly count for her Heritage Trout Challenge. We had caught them here in the past, but they were somewhat rare.

Barb's first Heritage Trout. Now the madness begins.

Considering our experiences in the past we were surprised at the catch rate of the Lahontans. Everybody in our group caught plenty. Barb and I caught over a dozen each.

I was surprised how small the Lahontans were, It made us wonder if DFG had done a stocking, or if these were from a healthy spawn.

Christy and Randy spent more time at the dam and caught more of a variety of fish including; browns, rainbows and Christy even caught what I thought was a mountain whitefish.

Christy with a nice little brownie.

Barb also caught a couple of little brownies.

Not sure of the make of this fish, but I think it could be a mountain whitefish.

We expected much bigger fish based on our past experiences, but we had a great time and it has started the quest for Barb's Heritage Trout Challenge.

Sugar Pine Reservoir

This week I got a tip from a friend that Sugar Pine Reservoir was fishing good for smallmouth bass. Everyone knows how fun smallmouth can be on a fly rod, so Christy and I headed out for some smallies.

I am not sure if I misunderstood what I was told or if I was at the wrong Sugar Pine Reservoir. We did not catch or even see a single smallmouth. After about two hours of bobbing around in the float tubes we decided to paddle back to shore and head to a favorite bass pond of ours. On the way in, we did manage to catch a couple of small planters.

 Christy with a small truck trout.

I know there is a fish in there somewhere.

You can't see from the photos, but the trout were covered in worms. YUK!!!!

When we arrived at the bass ponds, we saw fish everywhere.  We knew this would turn out to be a great day after all.

The pond looked especially pretty today.

The bass seemed larger this year and there were plenty caught.

The hot fly was the Hellcraw tied by my buddie Randy. After catching lots and lots of bass we headed to the Placerville Brewery for some tacos and beer.

Old Reliable

Originally this week, the plan was to hit the Napa river and see if we could do a walk and wade trip for small striped bass. That did not work out so we needed a back up plan. The lakes in the Sierras are  too cold and most streams are till closed. We decided to hit old reliable; the lake we have been fishing every winter.

She was good to us as usual. Andy had a great time and felt it was the most enjoyable fishing day so far this year.

We especially like this lake because it has not been on DFG's stocking list for many years. This means all of the fish we catch are wild.

Between the two of us we caught about two dozen fish. Mostly brown trout with a few rainbows.

The fish were not huge by any means, but they are beautiful and plentiful.

Upper Big Chico Creek.

Andy and I were anxious to fish a small creek.  The options are very limited this time of year. There are only a hand full of small creeks that are open for fishing. We noticed in the regs that the upper portion of Big Chico Creek was open so we thought we would give it a try.

We found it very difficult to get in and out of the creek. The terrain was steep and the rocks were slippery.

The fishing was not that great but the creek was very pretty.

Andy with the only catch of the day, A small wild rainbow.

In Search of the World’s Rarest Trout .

Here is a flashback to the story I wrote for Orvis.

Deep in the Sierra Nevada of California lives a trout so rare and unique that it has become almost mystical. The fish I am referring to is the Paiute cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki seleniris).

Considering my desire to find and catch all the native trout of California, catching this trout has been something that has been an obsession of mine for many years now. I have spent countless hours on the internet, studying maps and taking in whatever information I could.

Believed to be the rarest trout in the world, the Paiute cutthroat almost became extinct before it was discovered. The story is that around 1912, a young Basque sheepherder used a coffee can to transplant a bunch of the Paiute trout upstream over a set of falls to provide more fishing opportunities for himself. Around 1925, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) planted the section of the stream below the falls with rainbow trout. The rainbows hybridized (bred) with the Paiute until the Paiute became extinct. Fortunately, the Paiute trout above the falls were protected from the invasive rainbow trout and could become established. The Paiute have a short growing season because of the rugged and stressful environment in which they live; they seldom live past four years old and rarely exceed 12 inches long. DFG transplanted fish into isolated streams in case something happened to the original population above the falls. Of the streams that received the transplants, only a few are legal to fish and all are extremely difficult to access.

To many fly fishermen, the golden trout is referred to as the most beautiful trout, but perhaps this is unfair to say because so few people have ever seen a Paiute trout. The Paiute is one of the only trout in the world with no spots. Its coloration and iridescent sheen provided its Latin name: seleniris, meaning rainbow of the moon. I believe that the Paiute is the prettiest of all trout. Currently DFG allows fishing below the falls, but not above. With so many rainbow trout below the falls hybridization is inevitable, and an angler’s only hope is to catch a Paiute that has washed over the falls. I have made this trip several times without success. I think the odds of winning the lottery are much higher than actually catching a Paiute below the falls.

Careful scouting revealed a few fishable stretches.

Fortunately I have good friends who share my passion for rare trout. One friend, Mike, found a population of these rare beauties in a faraway land that would require hours of driving on a four‐wheel‐drive trail, which punished Mike’s truck severely, and a brutal hike at 9,000 feet elevation. This trip required us to park in Nevada and hike into California to get to a creek so overgrown that casting was not possible. Once I made it to the creek, it really began to sink in: I just worked so hard to get here and my chances of catching one of these rare fish is extremely slim. The chance of catching a Paiute more than eight inches long would be darn near impossible. I just kind of smiled and realized that there was no place in the world I would rather be. Mike noticed a very small opening between the brush of this diminutive creek that would barely offer enough room for my body to squeeze through. I was able to dap my fly into a pool the size of manhole cover. I was instantly rewarded with a small but beautiful Paiute cutthroat trout. After a few photos, we revived the fish and returned it to his home.

We worked our way upstream a few hundred yards and found a few openings in the creek, but were unable to catch any more fish. This is the hardest I have ever worked for such a small fish, but this is also the most rewarding fishing trip I have ever had. I will probably never go back, but this place will always provide me with a happy memory.