June 29, 2007

Like my fascination with bamboo rods, my interest in the Heritage Trout Challenge started with reading some articles by Andrew Harris in California Fly Fisher. However, unlike bamboo rods, photographing six of our eleven California native trout isn't expensive, unless you consider the $$$ you put in your gas tank in order to travel around the state.

The Heritage Trout Challenge is a product of the California DFG. The DFG is hopeful that this program will promote habitat restoration and preservation, as well as maintenance of genetic integrity of native California trout. There exist eleven native forms of trout in California. At least one additional recent trout, the Bull Trout, is extinct. Some of these forms of trout are listed as threatened. A fine certificate with six Tomelleri reproductions can be obtained by submitting evidence of catching six of these forms. You can read more about it on the DFG website.

Given what I thought was a relative lack of time to accomplish this task, I targeted locations which didn't require long hikes. In fact, all six fish are catchable within a short walking distance from a vehicle. I had five days devoted to my task, and decided to devote two days to the Northeast corner of California, and two days to the Kern Canyon area.  I would need one day just to travel the 500+ miles between the two areas. In fact, as the reader will find, I did do several long hikes, as I did ultimately have a good deal of extra time to devote to these waters. I found some isolated, off the beaten track, places, which is my want in life.

Much research on the internet, mainly about what exactly constituted a "native water," as well as Robert Behnke's trout book proved to be valuable, as some spur of the moment changes in plans took place. There are certain areas which intuitively seem to belong in a native historic drainage, but in actuality, do not. Conversely, one of the forms of trout I caught is no longer in the present day drainage, but occasionally did in the past, which allows it to qualify.

I decided to base my travels in Alturas and Kernville, since I targeted the three Redbands in the north and the three Kern trout. Actually, all six have redbands across their lateral lines, and they all share a common ancestry. The six trout are:

McCloud River Redband
Goose Lake Redband
Warner Lakes Redband

Kern River Rainbow
California Golden
Little Kern Golden

Since these fish (and the locations) are precious, I am deliberately changing the stream names. Astute readers may see some humor in the substituted names that I used. It is actually quite easy to find potential locations of these fish, and the hunt/pursuit is almost as fun as the actual catch. I encourage all to search the internet and get Behnke's book!

Unusual for me, I used only two rods this trip. I was able to christen my new Harry Boyd Hollowbuilt 8' 3/2 3 wt. A beauty! Casts like a charm. Quite fast and light in the hand, built from a Leonard Tournament taper. I got it for my 50th birthday, and the butt is engraved from my two daughters. I also used my Scott G2 9' 4/1 4 wt. for those many situations which would require a rod with an unconditional guarantee!! I tend to be tough on my equipment. Light, actually airy, and tracks like a dream. If bamboo didn't exist, this could be my only rod.

I left at 3:30 AM on a Saturday from the Bay Area in order to get a full day of fishing in, and my first stop was in pursuit of the McCloud Redband. I was originally going to try to fish Thomas Creek, just south of Mayflower Road. However, my topo's and the Forest Service maps left much to be desired. I had some waypoints plugged into my GPS, but no matter, I missed the right hand turn, for some reason. Dry Creek was another McCloud Redband Creek which didn't seem to have easy access according to my map review, so I decided to just go the easy route, rather than backtrack to find Thomas Creek. I think this was a correct decision.

So, my first stop turned out to be the Salmon Creek Campground just off Mayflower Road, which is an easy place to fish for the McCloud Redband. The water was already low for late June, but there were no crowds, as I'm sure there would be, later in the Summer. In fact, there were no campers at all, and just a solitary angler besides me, whom I only saw from a distance for an instant. I parked, walked about 100 feet, and found prime, though low, water, and getting the first fish was easy.

I could have looked for the other streams which hold the McCloud Redband, but I wanted to get to my home base for the next couple of days, Alturas, so after about half an hour of solitude in the campground, I took off. I only caught and released a few fish, and they were all small, but that's ok.

I really didn't need a net for this monster, you know. Of course, my net is ten feet in diameter. This is my Boyd bamboo rod.

I made good time and arrived in Alturas in the early afternoon, so I decided to attack the Goose Lake Redband. I drove to the Park Creek campground, and found it crowded with a large group of families, a church retreat, I believe. Kids were everywhere, screaming. I thought, this isn't good, but decided that the drive required at least wetting my line. So, out I go into the water, and I caught two small fish. Unfortunately, they release themselves from my grip and photos are not obtained. No more fish were caught there... I was more than mildly perturbed. It was getting late, so I decided to call it a day, especially since I'd been awake since 2:30 AM. I would check in to my motel, and plan the next day's excursion. On the four-mile-or-so drive out from the campground, a small trail on my topo caught my eye. I never stop multitasking. This was downstream from the campground, possibly indicating bigger water, but I had already passed the access on the drive out. Nonetheless, I decided to pull a U and check it out. This 4WD trail was rugged, on the order of the road to Pretty Creek that I would drive the following day. But it took me within about 50 yards (and 100 feet elevation) of Park Creek. The stream looked good, and I decided to return the next day.

The next morning, Sunday, I start early, at 5:45 AM, and drive to Pretty Creek. This is one of only two California streams which contain the Warner Lakes Redband. The other is Dozen Creek, which is a short dirt road away from Pretty Creek. However, I have heard that the Dozen Creek Road is worse than the road to Pretty Creek, so I was hoping not to find out how bad it was. The road to Pretty Creek turned out to be rugged, and it took a couple of hours to get there, if I recall correctly. I passed a number of turnouts for Cedar Creek access that I put into my memory on the way back. Upon arrival at Pretty Creek, I remember wondering how this place got its name. It was gorgeous!

The small run below the riffles in the picture above had several redbands. I had to let the stream rest for 5 minutes before trying again after catching a fish. Here, as with the McCloud Redbands, the fish were small, but they didn't lack in beauty.

Driving back west, I stopped at the turnouts along Cedar Creek, looking for Goose Lake Redbands, but I began to get frustrated after about four fruitless and fishless stops, and then after a couple of more similar stops, I proceeded to get angry at myself for not gripping the fish better the previous afternoon. Finally, at a large meadow, which separated the road and stream, I caught one.

At this point, I figure, let's check out that Park Creek access I noted the day earlier. I arrived, scampered down the steep hillside a short ways, and see a beautiful stream.

Too bad there were no fish. Every great lie had no fish. Except one. I didn't have any nymphs or shot with me, and maybe I could have scared up a strike by changing flies, but I was too lazy to remove my heretofore successful Adams. My understanding is that the Alfalfa and Hay farmers have diverted much of the water of the Goose Lake tributaries so that the fish cannot survive drought years. Goose Lake occasionally dries completely late in the season, so propagation of the species depends on survival in tributary streams. I worry about the health of those fish that are there this year, one of the lowest water years in recent memory.

I decide to leave Park Creek, safe with the knowledge that I have my three redbands. But it is only 1PM, and I am not driving south until the next morning. In the back of my mind, I remember an article from 1999, by Bob Madgic, about his search for Redbands. I dig out the article, which I've Xeroxed and brought in my Heritage Trout Research Library, and read about Wilderness Creek while parked on the roadside. Wilderness Creek is a tributary of the Pit River system, but historically, during wet years, when Goose Lake would overflow, fish from the Goose Lake basin migrated into the Pit River. Hence, the upper parts of the South Fork of the Pit River qualify for the Heritage Trout Challenge. Looking at my maps, I decide it is worth the time to check it out, and most of the drive there is headed toward Alturas anyway. The part of the stream I will fish is located just outside the South Warner Wilderness.

I see no vehicles on the long drive to the Wilderness area. After I reached Wilderness Creek, literally ten feet from the road, I caught my first of several Goose Lake Redbands. I could well have gotten more, but I decided to give ‘em a break. There is a small, very pleasant meadow just downstream of the road at which one can rest or picnic. I suggest that if someone really needs a Goose Lake Redband, to come here.

I treated myself to a steak that night at the Big Bear Diner in Alturas. They didn't have their liquor license though, so no cold one that night to celebrate three down, three to go.

The next day was a long one, all the way down 395 to Inyokern, then across to 178. I think I-5 would have been quicker, but I wanted to enjoy my drive. The scenery still didn't make it really enjoyable, given the duration, about 10 hours. Upon arrival, I reviewed my plans to get the California Golden on one day and the Little Kern Golden and Kern River Rainbow on another day. If time permitted, I might explore Kennedy Meadows, but I had heard that, already in late June, water levels in the South Fork of the Kern were extremely low. I had even considered Monache Meadows, but the flow was already down to 3 CFS, according to the Kern bulletin board.

Tuesday, my first day of exploring the Kern area, started with an early departure to go across Sherman Pass. My destination was Bird Creek at Horse Meadows for the California Golden Trout. I had heard this road was slow going, so I had not planned to necessarily catch either of the two other Kern trout that day. However, the road wasn't bad, and there was no traffic, so I made good time. I found a meadow just upstream of the Horse Meadows campground, and within minutes of arrival, I had my first real Golden.

This fish was caught in the most stagnant of creeks. There was barely a flow.

It was only 8:15 AM, and I had fished only about 15 minutes, but I had my goal, so I decide to forego any more East Side angling, and go back to the main Kern. I had targeted Valuable Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Kern, much upriver than where most of the anglers and tourists go (except for the white water rafters during runoff). This stream enters the Kern above Witch Creek, so it does have true Kern River Rainbows. The drive back along Sherman Pass was similarly quick, though I saw several horse trailers struggling to negotiate the switchbacks.

Looking at my topo's and GPS, I find where the road crosses Valuable Creek, right at another turnoff. I park, rig up, and walk about 100 yards, and get a few bites. Mosquito bites, that is. Pretty bad. I had not used bug juice to that point in time this trip. The water looked so good though, that I couldn't resist. I was too lazy to return to the truck to get my repellent. So I did my crazy dance to shoo away the bugs while fishing. Some beautiful Kern River Rainbows.

Note that it appears that Valuable Creek might be accessible from the main road that accesses the Little Kern drainage, the Western Divide Highway. There is a Valuable Creek Trail, which starts near the trailheads for most of the Little Kern trails. The maps I have show a faint blue line, indicating the creek, very close to the road, so technically, you might be able to avoid going on Long Road completely to get the three Kern fish. Maybe in my next lifetime I'll check this out, but future readers may want to consider this for their first effort.

After enough bites of both kinds, I decide to move on. Here is where I had a minor lapse of concentration. I knew that there were falls on the Little Kern upstream of the confluence (Fork of the Kerns) with the Kern River (or North Fork), which served as an upstream migration barrier. Forgetting this bit of knowledge, I figured I could hike to the Fork, and get a Little Kern Golden and have all six fish under my belt. So I hike the moderately easy two mile trail and fish the Little Kern and catch, to my amazement, a Kern River Rainbow. At first, I am looking at the fish and wondering how this is a Little Kern Golden. Then, DOH! The very lower part of the Little Kern is Kern River Rainbow drainage.

I try to fish the big Kern, but I had no nymphs on me. This was big water, and I didn't try too long to bring any fish up to the surface with my dries. It looked wadeable, but I've read a lot about people who've drowned there, so forget it.

At this point, I notice that there is clearly variation in the appearance of these fish, compared to my Valuable Creek fish, no doubt the result of hybridization.

So, a bit disappointed, I hike back up and rest. Since I was alone, at least no one else had to hike this long way just for a few Kern River Rainbows due to my mental error.

The next AM, my last fishing day, I started out early again, to the Mouse Creek trailhead. I planned to fish Mouse Creek right at the trailhead, and hike all the way down to Black Meadow and then to the Little Kern. My Tom Harrison map of the Golden Trout Wilderness had an error though. It mislabeled a distance on the trail at 2.2 miles when it should have been 4.1 miles (which I later found out about according to my Golden Trout Wilderness hiking book). In retrospect, the discrepancy was likely due to the extensive switchbacks. It sure seemed a long way, but no matter, I thought. The map distances had to be correct. My first cast to a swampy piece of water led to an immediate strike.

Little Kern Goldens are everywhere there is creek access, and they're easy to catch. I get to Black Meadow and then lose the trail, since the whole meadow is fenced off with barbed wire. I figure this is a meadow restoration project to keep the cattle off. I thought I probably shouldn't amble through the meadow either. So I decide to cross-country along the barbed wire fence to the Little Kern only to arrive at the river just as the real trail meets it. Somehow my topo's didn't show the proper trail location. It was hard trudging. This day isn't starting too well. I tried to catch some Little Kern Goldens on Black Meadow Creek, but they were too small to mouth my flies! I should have put on a small gnat pattern.

On the Little Kern, I fished some promising lies, but not much fish. Not any actually.

But then I finally caught one, along with a waterdrop on the lens.

The walk out is long and hot. I ended up hiking 12 miles round trip, with an elevation loss/gain of 2000 feet. Way more than I intended. It was pretty, though! Fortunately, I remained relatively alert despite my fatigue, and then I hear a funny noise, and then I see a strange creature with a cute white tail.

I gave it the right of way. The rattle looked pretty cute, all white. It took about two minutes to slither across the trail before I could be on my way. This is why I have a snake bite kit, along with a scalpel and syringes, with me wherever I know these critters can live.

That night, before getting back to the motel, I had another big steak at McNally's in Fairview, a big 24 oz Porterhouse, with a cold one. I made a comment, upon entering the restaurant, that they shouldn't accept a patron that looked like me, after what I had been through! I probably didn't smell too good either. Most everyone else was dressed nicely. I definitely looked odd, but that's ok. My money is as good as most others.

All in all, a superb trip. I could do it in three days if I had to. But that would be rushing it too much, huh? I found the amount of time I spent allowed me to leisurely ensure capturing all six trout. And it would have been quite easy for me to do so even without the hikes.

The application to the DFG is now in the mail.