Hit the Silver Fork yesterday for some quality small stream action. I had a blast! I caught a ton of fish and despite the small size (8" average) they were exceptionally beautiful The rainbows there have an irridescent purple sheen on the sides instead of the usual silver/pink coloration. I also caught one 12" brown, the bruiser of the bunch! All fish came high sticking and indicator nymphing with a small rubber legged hare's ear or a #18 black rubber leg copper john. I used the Hare's ear to imitate a stonefly nymph and the copper john as a BWO which were hatching in the cloudy weather. Overall awesome time, beautiful scenery, and small, pretty trout. If you have time and like small stream fishing get up there now before the season ends. It is a tailwater so while all the other small streams are unfishable, the Silver Fork and a select few others are full of water and fish! chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
I camped and fished up there for a few days this past summer. It's a pretty cool small river. Fast action fisherie for rainbows and browns around 6 to 12 inches. What area did you fish chuck, I fished upstream of the bridge just above silver fork campground on one day and worked a spot a few miles downstream the next. Bueatiful river with some really nice pools. Some spots run thourgh deep canyon thats hard to access, I bet theres some nice fish in those spots. I remeber seeing a big hatch of these HUGE mayflys one evening, They must have been a few inches long, They had really long tails. Was pretty cool. Might be worth one more day trip before winter comes.
I fished that same area above the bridge by the campground. I caught my first five fish in a little cut just upstream from the bridge within twenty minutes of being there! I bet there are a few nice fish swimming in some of the deeper holes there. I missed a brown around 14" and spooked a fish that could've gone 17". Stealth is definitely key out there. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
I love that river. I have camped at three campgrounds along the river: two on the lower end and one near the lake. The last one was actually the Silver Lake West Campground. Our campground was right on the river, though. I have done most of my fishing on the upper part of the river. My biggest fish out of the river was a 20" brown. I caught it a little over ten years ago. My last trip up there I caught mostly browns. I actually don't remember any rainbows on my last trip.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
Ya I think it depends where you are on the river. I read something that said there are more browns in some parts and more bows in others. I can't remember exactly. Where I was it seemed to be mostly bows with a couple browns here and there. Wow 20" that is a hog in such a small creek but I can definitely imagine a few spots that might have harbored a fish that size! That is a once in a lifetime fish right there, from that river at least! I'll for sure be making quite a few trips up there in the future. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
Did you fish any dries Chuck? I almost never use nymphs on the Silver Fork, which is probably I have found late fall slow there for me. Back in the summer the dry fly fishing was excellent. There are some good spots off of the beaten path, and you are right Captain, some of those canyons are tough to access.
I used a dry/dropper rig with a big #10 stimulator for a while just to see if any fish would take it. I didn't have many dries w/ me so that was my only choice. I had one nice fish that came up really slow and slurped it in but I pulled the fly right from its mouth. I also caught one that was like 6" on the dry but those were the only two. All the rest were on nymphs. I figured since it is fall and all that is really around are some small mayflies and caddis that nymphing would pay off more. I also really enjoy high sticking with no indicator on small waters because you can really reach all the good pockets and you get a chance to practice feeling the take rather than watching an indicator. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
I love high stickin small sierra streams its alot of fun. I think I caught one brown when I was up there and a bunch of small wild rainbows. Hey chuck hit me up if ya ever need a fishin partner for a trip up there. Won't be long now until we start getting snow in them there mountains, Won't be doin much fishin then . But we always got good ol putah all winter long. Anyone ever try the south fork american in that area ?
For sure man I'll hit you up. I am hoping on making at least one more trip to the sierras before the november deadline. I have my eye on a small tailwater near the silver fork that is managed by the dfg for its population of wild browns. According to my sources the creek is like 80% browns and there are some pigs there too. Given that it is a tailwater there should still be fishable flows in there. I don't know much other than that info and how to get there, but it sounds pretty cool to me. One more chance to get that big brown before the season ends! chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
Chuck whats the name of the river, I'll find out info on it. I have quit a collection of maps and books on sierra trout fishing, and rivers. You know dfg opened up some rivers for year round fishing this past spring, I do beleive the truckee is one of them. But since I dont enjoy putting on or driving with chains I'm not sure I'll be making any winter sierra trips. If its browns you want, Hmmmm, ever heard of the middle fork stanislaus below beardsly resavoir ? Check it out, its managed specifically for wild trout, Everytime i go up there I catch a nice brown 16 to 18 inches, but theres bigger ones.
I'll PM the creek name to you. I found out about it from a book I use called Fly Fishing the Tahoe Region. I can't remember the author but it is a great guide. So far every spot from that book I have visited has been awesome. Let me know if you find any good info on it. Either way I think it may be worth exploring. I also have heard the Truckee and Little Truckee are open all winter. I don't know if either is worth fishing in dead winter when I could be snowboarding instead, but I might be willing to sacrifice a few spring slush days to catch some early season hawgs! chuck
-- Edited by ChucktheDuck at 18:28, 2007-10-22
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
hey dont forget about lil ol brian when it comes to hittin up something new, you all know i am so freaking down its not even funny. so what are we all thinkin, maybe some american river steelies, some yuba river trout / steelies, feather steelies, carson trout, silver fork trout and browns, i would really love to get on a river or stream and get into some nice browns, never caught one and even if its 12 inches i dont care
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Hey brian, Your more then welcome to fish with me anytime, anyplace. Dude we need to get you your first brown. Ceck out these pics. of a few I kept for dinner when I was camping at the middle fork stanislaus river, I know, I shouldnt keep wild trout but eating out of a can for three days ain't gonna cut it, Oh and they were tasty. Anyways that river is loaded with fish. The larger fish was sitting under a tree eating ladygugs that fell into the water, its stomach was full of em, along with a few other morsels. I'v been blessed to be able to fish all the spots i have this year, I'v gotten browns, bow, cuttbows, cutthroats, and brookies, all I need is a golden now.
you name the time and i would say name the place but i think you have that covered with the pic. i am so down to get down on some brownedge, and not in my pants either.
when is good to fish that river. and is it one that cant be fished in the winter time do to snowy season
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Time is now, Fall is killer for browns. One problem, Its a 15 mile dirt road to that spot, Takes about an hour in my car, And if it rains or snows I'd be in trouble, It is a 4,000 foot drop in elevation in 15 miles, very steep road. We need a truck. It is my all time favorite spot to fish, Its freakin awesome baby. I was up there last novemeber and it was so god damn cold ! Also landed a 17 inch brown that trip. We just might be able to pull it off though. Also a cool place to do some shooting, You like to shoot some guns brian ? A spot like this would require an overnight stay its a far drive.
i love to shoot ****, i have a 12 g shotty the i need to put a new stock on but other than this its ready to go. i would definitly be down to do that. i might even be able to borrow an older explorer from my work. but that is not a definite yes i would have to talk it over with my boss. but i would be down. so guessing that we would camp outside in the cold. huh. man gonna need a few blankies then. we will talk more about it sooner than later. i know eric would be down and i bet chuck the duck too. we might have to do a 4some on this one.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Lets do it. It is accesible with a car but it just vtakes a long time and we have to watch the weather closely. I have a nice 0 degree sleepin bag someone can borrow, my tent will accomidate 3 people max. Were only gonna have a few more weeks to get up there, So we need to figure this out quickly. It's as good or better then the carson, There are no planters here, managed specifiaclly for wild trout.
Yeah, I'm always down for everything... I thought you were gonna forget about me for a while there. I was also thinking, if no one can get a truck, we can rent one if everyone is willing to do that, split it 4 ways would make it much cheaper. That's if no one can get a truck.
I also have a 3 person tent... max 3
-- Edited by LilWhippersnapper at 19:49, 2007-10-22
money flow is the key right now. i would think in about 2-3 weeks or so
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
i am free any weekend, I can't do any weekday trips for now, All vacation is used up. But i could call in sick on a friday . Head up on a friday or saturday and spend the night. You guys decide and let me know. I think you said you dont get many weekends off brian so whatever works for you guys, works for me.
yo yo those browns look pretty sexy all laid out on the table like that I would be down to do some stanislausin' before the season ends. I have never been out there before. You know I was just thinking about how I didn't get a chance to fish for any brookies or cutthroats this year. Oh well I'll make it a priority next season. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
I can do any day except wednsdays and thursdays. Money's tight right now, but I can get some extra cash if I can get my customers to pay up front cash.
Brookies you want, Its the clark fork of the stanislaus river baby. Caught em all day long this past summer, all small 6 to 10 inchers, occasional 12 incher but not many, bueatiful fish and once ya find em you get lots of em. I assume your being sarcastic about the browns lookin sexy, all dead and everything, But dude I was hungry Sorry, Out of hundreds of fish released this year i kept 2 wild fish
I was just jokin' man those look like some nice fishies. I kept a 20" bow I caught out of Lake Tahoe in May without any hesitation. That fish was ooohhh so good!!! I wouldn't keep a wild fish from Putah or any other small fishery but one fish a year out of one of the largest lakes in California isn't gonna hurt anything. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
i am back at the fulton store, looks like ill be having tuesdays and fridays off one week and then thursdays and fridays off next. we could always leave here on a thursday night tent the night fish all day then shoot back that night or next morning. but i just dont know when it will happen, might have to wait a lil longer which isnt good due to the weather. we shall see.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
. But we always got good ol putah all winter long. Anyone ever try the south fork american in that area ?
. Head up on a friday or saturday and spend the night. You guys decide and let me know. I think you said you dont get many weekends off brian so whatever works for you guys, works for me.
I would be down to do some stanislausin' before the season ends. I have never been out there before. You know I was just thinking about how I didn't get a chance to fish for any brookies or cutthroats this year. Oh well I'll make it a priority next season.
Sorry, Out of hundreds of fish released this year i kept 2 wild fish 
