Fishing in the Sierras

imported
#1

I plan to bring my fly rod for my wife and my thru hike this year. I plan to ship it to kennedy meadows? Anybody have any insights or suggestions? Is it worth the weight?

Kevin Donnelly

#2

have you read AYCE’s article on fishing the JMT? here’s the address:

http://www.thru-hiker.com/articles.asp?subcat=1&cid=81

there’s killer fishing along the PCT, and golden trout grilled over a fire are one of the best culinary memories of my life. the only problem i can think of is that fishing does require a little time, so if you’re feeling the pressure to get in super-high mileage you might feel pressed for time.

backpackinglight.com also has some cool lightweight fishing accessories.

tarbubble

#3

You’ll find plenty of small trout in the South Fork of the Kern and Mulky Creek before you get past Chicken Springs. Crabtree is also good. Once you get to Wallace Creek, you can take a one day detour to the “real” Kern above or below Junction Meadow, or hike up to Wallace Lake. I’ve never done the latter, but many of the fishing zealots I’ve met on the trail swear it’s the place.

But has been stated, it takes time. Itdepends on what kind of hike you want to do. Max miles doesn’t permit much time for fishing - but max miles also causes you to miss much of what makes the High Sierra one of the planet’s wonders.

booger

#4

We fished a bunch in the Sierras and caught enough to not have to pack dinners in the high sierra. Just be careful when getting rid of the guts and such. We were not careful, but still had no bear problems. But after reading/hearing about others probs, it makes sense to cook well away from where you cleaned your fish. Plenty of freshly stocked trout in most lakes below 10,500, and great fishing in Toulumne Meadows. I spent almost a day trying to catch the biggest trout Id ever seen in TM without luck. I carried some jiffy pop and used the fry pan to cook…good stuff!!

Have fun,
Munch

munch

#5

Everybody is right. There is good fishin’ thru the Serria’s. It’s kinda tricky. Well not tricky, the high altitude fish are small, and the water is big(fast flowing). Have a plan for fishing rushing rivers. I also caught a nice brown trout(1.5lbs) in a two foot wide ditch at Trail Junction going into Lone Pine. But I did carry a backpacking fly-rod, Courtland 6-peice, 4-weight. Hear is the really bad news I cought most of my fish on mosquitoe patterns. The mosquitoe is the most common life form in the High Serria. There are big fish at Red’s Meadow, in the store there was a picture of Tom Hanks holding a 4lb trout. Ants, Caddis Flys also produced. There are really nice fish in the Twoleme River. I had two great evenings of fishing between Twolome and Echo Lake. Unfortunately that’s where my hike ended. For me I was to distracted taking in the veiws to really fish. Hey, good fishing at VVR. Hell there’s good fishing anywhere North of the DESSERT!!!

Keep on Fishin’ and Keep Smilin’

RT… If you want more info, drop me a line.

Rocky Top

#6

Does anyone have anymore advice about what to do after you’ve cleaned the fish to avoid bear problems? About how far away should you go? Should you burry the guts? Any other tips are welcome.

Sally

#7

I usually throw the guts into river/lake and let them sink. it is good food for other fish and insects. after I am finished cooking the fish, I typcially bury it well away from camp. If I have a campfire, I burn it. I Don’t throw it back into the lake/river as it is covered in butter/oil. most of the time though, I just let the fish go (depending how hungry I am).

Kevin

#8

Real quick - I’ve got just an alcohol stove and am curious what the best way is to cook the trout? Boiling? Carrying a little bit of oil and frying? I’m planning to carry a small spinning setup through the Sierras and all point north.

Dave

#9

Personally, I like to fry fish in a little butter or oil. It can be a pain to clean up. I like the jiffy pop idea. You could also cook it within a foil wrap, this would keep your pans clean.

Kevin

#10

i had a blast fishing in the sierras (with Munch). take your time. there is great fishing right on the trail. i carried a pocket fisherman a light reel and used fly gear and had much success. if you add alcohol its even more fun. as far as cooking goes i liked the jiffy pop idea the best. although you may only get one cooking out of the pan. if you wanted you could put it on top of your meal when you were simmering and it would cook fine just make sure its something that would be good with fish. you should clean them away from where you are camping. although i hardly ever did and never had problems. it was nice and challenging fishing with others but thats how you get fishing stories.

WISE OWL