Has anyone fished the Clavey River (Tributary of the Tuolomne)? I pulled this one off of the list of DFG wild trout waters and it looked interesting. It's remote with poor access and no developed campsites. Any info would be appreciated, I'm thinking of making a trip up there sometime this summer or fall but wanted to find out what I could before going up there.
I have found info on the clavey very hard to come by. As you stated access looks diffucult. Been on my to do list for a few years now. Please provide a report if you go.
No dams along its 40 plus mile stretch, a good portion of it through a narrow gorge. Flows just scream down the canyon during spring, class IV - V. Not much of a flow later after that. There are a few roads that cross the upper section. Coastal rainbows-tons of little guys! Very few fish it. Yes, you are correct--poor access. I inquired about it a few years back at the local shop. Better fishing elsewhere unless you're bent on fishing one of the original six Heritage waters.
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I've been there, very tough access hiking down into a steep canyon. I dod alright there. Another little talked about river that can be tricky to access but fishes well is the Rubicon River.
I agree Rich. I had a chance to fish the Rubicon last year. You can hike in on the Lawyer Trail, which we did, or further up the road, a bridge crosses it and you can access it there as well. The Lawyer Trail was a pretty good hump out, about 1 1/2 miles, with a 1200 foot vertical. We caught a ton of small rainbows and a few brownies. Supposedly there are some big fish in there, but we never saw or caught them. A very, very pretty river though. A couple of pictures of the river below showing the scenery, a typical dinker from that day and a rattler we ran into just off of the river!!
Thanks guys! I'm still on the fence about the Clavey, I see I'd go right over the north fork of the Tuolumne after turning off Route 108 so that might be an option. Fall back plan is the barbless artificial section of Middle Stan below the afterbay, that wouldn't be so bad . I do get a kick out of checking out the wild waters though especially when there's a lot of rock scrambling required. I just have to be careful who I bring along on those trips though.
I'll be up in Tahoe mid August, the Rubicon is definitely a possibility, those pics are motivating. I'm also thinking about trying some of the small creeks on the West Shore like Ward, General, Meeks, etc. I'll have some slower newbies in tow, otherwise I'd plan on hiking all the way up to some of the small lakes up in the high country. Also thinking about hiking to some of the small lakes off of route 80 between Donner and Cisco Grove. We'll be staying at Alpine Meadows so some trips to the Glenshire section of the Truckee are also on the menu, that's always a humbling experience but each year I get a little better. It's tough, I hear about the evening hatches and how everything can go crazy but family obligations pretty much limit me to the middle of the day. I guess you just have to take what you can get.
I went up the Rubicon from where it dumps into Oxbow Res. out of Foresthill. Access was tough with lots of scrambling over big boulders. When we were above the river on some of the bigger rocks we saw HUGE fish cruising the deep pools. We couldn't make the slightest move without spooking them. I'm talking 24+ inches and fat.
One of the best spots i'vs fished has been about a mile below the afterbay dam on the middle stan, it opens up into some large slow moving spots, Its geat fishing for browns, some around 20 inches.
. I do get a kick out of checking out the wild waters though especially when there's a lot of rock scrambling required. I just have to be careful who I bring along on those trips though.