I went camping this week with my wife. We started out at Burmey Falls, and headed over to Fowler's Camp on the Upper McCloud River. Tuesday morning I fished Burney Creek for a couple of hours and only managed to land two fish, both rainbows. That evening I also fished the creek, landing seven, including a 16" brown. I hooked many more fish, but these fish are pretty good at throwing small barbless hooks. I was using a two nymph set up, but the fish only wanted the smaller fly, a #16 and later a #18 tan micro mayfly.
The next evening I fished the Upper McCloud River for a couple of hours. I landed twelve: one brown and eleven rainbows. Only one of these was caught on a dry (#20 Griffith's Gnat), the only brown of the day. I tried a few other dries, but the fish didn't seem to want to come to the surface, so I went deep with a #12 green drake nymph. In the first five casts I hooked five fish. Another producer was a #10 golden stone nymph. Again, the top fly was a #16 tan micro mayfly. The next morning I landed ten: one brown, six brookies, and four rainbows. All were landed on a #12 green drake nymph or the #16 tan micro mayfly. I tried green and tan Fox Poopahs, midges, and other mayfly patterns, but they didn't work well.
I wanted to fish the Pit River but never made it over there. I also wanted to fish the Lower McCloud River, but we ran out of time. The storm that blew through the area put a damper on things. I ended up spending a lot of time with my wife, though, which was a plus. We did some kayaking on Lake Britton, some sight-seeing, and once the rain stopped we did a little hiking. I can't wait to get back out there. That is a beautiful area.
__________________
"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
Glad you had such a great trip JT. I haven't ever got a brownie from BC so that's great to hear. I know they're in there though. That whole area is awesome. No less than five blue ribbon rivers all within an hour from each other. Throw in Baum and Manzanita Lake and you'll need more time off. There's lots of little creeks that have trout that rarely get mentioned too. I am heading to Yosemite for five days from 27-1 at the end of this month. Has anybody fished Merced lake or the smaller creeks around it?
Hey JT, i remebered this post you did on the McCloud and have a question for ya, Can you telll me about how far of a drive it is from the town of dunsmuir to the upper and lower McCloud, And how is access, Looks good on the upper but looks like much less access on the lower section of the river, The lower section is supposed to be the better fishing. I'v also heard of the McCloud being described as bowling balls covered in slim, Would you suggest that a wading staff be used. I'll be heading up to fish the upper sac. and the mcCloud this wendsday for 5 days of fishing, Just trying to plan so I have time to do everything i want to this time. Thanx for any info. you or anyone else can give.
If I remember right, it's about 30 minutes to the Upper McCloud from Dunsmuir. I'm not sure about the Lower McCloud. I'd say it's about the same, though. You just take a different road out of the town of McCloud. Access is decent on the upper river, but access on the lower isn't as good. The fish are way bigger on the lower river, which is expected. It's a tailwater fishery, coming out of Lake McCloud. I've read recently that the water clarity on the McCloud was pretty bad due to a muddy tributary. I'd check with the fly shops in the area before going.
The rocks on the river can be pretty slippery. Some are polished which can be as slick as bowling balls. Wading boots with cleats only make the situation worse. I don't use a staff, but I would have liked to have had one a couple of times. I used the nearby bushes to hold myself up a few times.
__________________
"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
