feather river

underdogyaz · Veteran Member

feather river

Out for Trout · Member

The feather river is a wonderful place to fish. There are numerous place through the canyon that hold BIG Trout. The middle fork is a wild and senic stretch that is awesome. Usually the end of April can mean HIGH Water but if you catch it right it can be great. You will want to start at Nelson Creek and go down stream for miles. You wont run into many fisherman your more likely to run into miners up there. In the early spring ( May ) you can catch lots of trout on dries, it is a blast. Enjoy.

shon42073 · Senior Member

With the snow we have in the sierras right now I'm thinking most of our sierra freestones will not be fishable until late may or possibly first week of june. so I'd get good info before heading out for a sierra fishing trip. I made the mistake once, Went to early and just sat around drinkin beer and looking at a chocolate milk river for 3 days.

SK60 · Senior Member

I "grew up" fishing the wild and scenic river section some 40 years ago-Stag Point, Cleghorn Bar, Hartmann Bar. Many of those miles below Nelson Creek are in a rugged canyon that is crawling with rattle snakes once it warms up. You young guys can handle it, but some rock climbing skills won't hurt and be ready to swim around some obstacles. The canyon gets very hot- the river is �only about 3500' elevation-so take water. A book you might want to acquire is Plumas National Forest Trout Fishing Guide by Andrew Harris. It covers access points, trails, even mileage and turn points on the Forest Service Roads for Middle Fork, North Fork, and a bunch of others.

In my limited experience, spring fishing in the canyon is pretty iffy and flows can be dangerous, although the dry year may change that. In May, I used to fish higher up near Greyeagle.

Hiway 70 parallels the North Fork, it's open year around�and you can fish along the road. I've caught small native rainbows and planters in this stretch in the riffles on dries during the summer. Part of the NF problem is the wild fluctuation in flows from all the hydroelectric plant holding reservoirs. During the summer, several interdam stretches have high flows especially on the weekends for rafters and kayakers to use for their sport.

-- Edited by SK60 at 13:37, 2009-02-28

robdogj · Veteran Member

underdogyaz wrote:

a buddy of mine and i are headed to the feather river at the end of april. middle fork i believe it is...ive driven up hwy 70 numorous times...theres miles and miles of what looks to be prime trout water�but i rarely see fishermen there...why is that?...has anybody ever fished the upper or middle fork before...if so how was the fishing?

First off, it's rugged. You probably will have to hike down & up a canyon. Secondly, there are a lot of miners, which don't like anyone showing up on their claim. Thirdly, it's a secret. People don't know about it & is off to beaten trail, unlike the West Fork of the Carson, which is like your local Walmart.....Everyone & their mother is out there. However, if you like solitude & hikin', then the Middle Fork of the Feather is a treat.

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underdogyaz · Veteran Member

thank you guys...i appretiate your replies and have answered my question...i cant freakin wait for the trip up there

Packrat · Senior Member

If you end up going, park at the bridge at Nelson Creek and hike upstream. You might be surprised at the size of fish in this smaller water. I love that small creek! Might be too high in April though.