With big bugs (and bigger trout) elevating blood pressures all over the Upper Sacramento, McCloud and Upper Rogue, walking seven miles to catch nine-inch brookies isn’t necessarily an act of sanity.
Then again, most fly fishermen fail The Sanity Test at some point ("you mean you let them go?!"), and there’s no denying the beauty of alpine brook trout — or the places you find them.
An alpine brook trout. Bad picture, gorgeous fish.
The view from the trail. (Don’t walk and look at the same time.)
My brother Scott hiking in. Note the similar but less handsome features.
The landscape dwarfs us (which is part of the attraction)
Today on Oprah: Wildflowers and the bees who love them.
With my older brother in town, we headed up into the mountains to find what a travel agent might call a Quality Solitary Fly Fishing Experience.
A backpacker (they’re almost as weird as fly fishermen), he’s recently taken up high country fishing and wanted a few hints.
Typically, I caught fish, but had little idea why, and explaining to a novice why brook trout would eat an Adams dry when there weren’t any bugs on the surface isn’t easy (you try it).
The WonderTroutDog.
The biggest brookie was probably 10 inches in length, but clearly, the true length of any fish involves a complex equation, the variables of which include the setting, your mood, the weather, and the amount of effort you put into catching it.
By that measure, our biggest brookie was probably closer to 15 inches, but of course they weren’t — which is why this week will find me fishing the rivers mentioned above for bigger trout.
No trip is complete with the antics of Wally the Wonderdog, who ranged all over the landscape, and once we were on the road home, conked.
Wally the Wonderdog crashes.
Then again, I conked too - a reminder I’ve got more hikes ahead of me before I’m in any kind of backcountry shape.
Just before we left, our somewhat pristine environment was fouled by the arrival of a couple ATVs, one of the drivers of which really, really liked the word "f*ck," being as he used it as a noun, verb, adjective, and yes — a comma.
It was a jarring reminder that civilization still existed outside of our little alpine bubble, for better or worse.
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
I’m not going to pass along every rumor and story as if they were the truth, but it’s possible Chris Raine was fishing the Upper Sac and saw his backing while Dave Roberts was fishing the Upper Rogue and apparently saw god.
Others report mixed results; big bugs and fish one night, and nothing the next.
Naturally — with the fly fishing picking up all around me — it’s my cue to come down with a cold, which seems to be making the rounds up here.
Still, I’ll be out there, and I expect more than a few of you will too.
See you on the river, Tom Chandler.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Great report, I love the scenery. Those photos remind me of my favorite mountain lake in Utah. Someday I hope the stars all align and I can make another trip out there!
Nine miles roud trip? 4 1/2 in, and 4 1/2 out? Long trip for a guy like me, but it seems to have been worth it. I’ve caught some of those beautiful little alpine brookies (a long time ago), and their markings are incredible.
Wally made the whole trip? You didn’t have to carry him? You owe him after his valient rescue effort saved you several months back. He’s a fine hound dog.
9 inch brookies? - those would be more than worth any amount of hiking in the Smokies - I routinely drive 700 miles for the privilege of catching 7 inchers.
oatka:
Jim: 7 miles, and Wally made the whole trip, swam across the lake, never stopped moving, etc…
ij: Last year I got a couple in the 11″-12″ range up there, and I hope to again this year.
Great pictures Tom. My husband and I have many times failed the Sanity Test. If I had a dollar for very time I have heard “you mean you let them go?!” then I would be able to buy that swanky Chanel fly rod!!
Beauty Day Tom!
Nice photos, a lovely place for sure and there’s a special place in my heart for a man who will take a dog fishing. I had a beagle cross I fished with who constantly dove in and tried to swim across rivers to rising cutties. He put down quite a few before I even had time to cast to them, but was good company otherwise.
My brother had a “Wonder Dog” as well: Linus the Wonder Dog was named for the constant refrain of “I wonder where the hell that dog is gone now”, and “I wonder if he’ll be back before we have to leave”, etc.
Keep up the good writing. Thanks.
Ahem. What’s all this about “less handsome features”? Everyone knows I’m both smarter AND better looking.
But the part about backpackers being about as weird as fly fishermen? Probably true. I bought my rod and reel based upon how light they are. A millgram here, a millagram there, pretty soon you’re talking about some real weight. Why Tom even told me that if I buy some of that 2X tippet stuff and tie it together and use it instead of the 6lb line I have in my reel now I would save a bunch of weight.
Thanks for the advice good buddy, I’m going to go down to KMart tonight and buy some.
THE Brother
I love to fish small brookie trouts (know in Argentina as fontinalis) with an light equipment like a # 2 or #3 rod and dry flies.
Regards.
Bro: Now everyone knows you’re delusional.
Eduardo: I fished a 6wt on these alpine lakes; it’s often wind and long casts (often long roll casts) are called for.
A little too much is better than a little too little.
The brook trout is carnivorous and feed upon a wide range of organisms. They have been known to eat their own eggs at spawning time and even their own young :)
backgammon: For defiling the image of the graceful, elegant, family values Brookie, you’re going to hell.
Sorry - we’d stop it if we could - but there it is.
Some fantastic pictures. These are some fantastic scenic pictures. i would think being there is almost as much fun as fishing.
“the true length of any fish involves a complex equation, the variables of which include the setting, your mood, the weather, and the amount of effort you put into catching it.”
Isn’t that the root of all fish stories.
Too bad about the ATVs. Your pictures make it look as if you were way out in the back country. It is too bad that some people do not respect nature enough to leave them at the door.