The Epic 2010 Native Road Trip Part 2 - The Southern Sierras

After going 2 for 2 in New Mexico and Arizona, it was off to California with hopes of completing the California Heritage Trout Challenge.

We left the Apache stream at 11:00 AM and when we crossed into California later in the afternoon, the car thermometer read 115 degrees...but they say it's a "dry heat".

We pulled into the KOA at Lake Isabella just after dark. I didn't have a reservation because I wanted our schedule to be flexible. They were out of tent sites so they gave us an RV site, which meant no tent pad. I wasn't going to bend my tent spikes trying to drive them into "concrete" so I decided to sleep in the vehicle. Before I called it a night, there were more important items to take care of - like the first shower in over three days!

The next day we were up before the sun with the goal of collecting the first two species of our CHTC - the Kern River rainbow and the Little Kern Golden. We had to then make it back to Lone Pine to get our backcountry permit prior to the USFS office closing.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the back roads were paved, which made for making good time.

We made it to our first location in right at an hour of driving and within minute we both had our first species in the CHTC, the Kern River rainbow (Onchorhynchus mykiss gilberti).

Not the biggest specimens, but they count:

A short drive on up the road and we were on the stream of our next species, the Little Kern Golden trout. I took the first hole, a culvert hole just below the road and I had me next species, the Little Kern Golden (Onchorhynchus mykiss whitei):

My partner caught two very nice specimens in "pot holes" in the meadow section above the road. After briefly exploring above the meadow, we decided to head back downstream. We both picked up several more fish before calling it a day on the west side.

I think it was only about 9:30 AM when we finished our first two species of the challenge - and 4 for 4 total on the trip.

This is where I actually realized the great size of California. We were just going from above the Johnsondale Bridge to Lone Pine, not that far on the map, but a 3-hour drive.

We made it to the USFS visitor's station in plenty of time, then the big question: did they have any of the 16/day walk-in permits for Cottonwood Pass remaining? They did, and they also informed us we had to have a bear canister - we didn't but, luckily, they also rented them.

Permit in hand; we stopped at a pizza joint in Lone Pine to carbo load in preparation for our hike into Big Whitney Meadows. I also had to mentally prepare myself for the drive into Cottonwood Meadow. What an insane road that turned out to be and no guard rails!

I survived the white-knuckle ride into Cottonwood Meadow campground - just don't look down. Once at the campground, we quickly set up camp and headed for Cottonwood Creek for the first "true" California golden trout of my life.

This little guy did not count toward the CHTC, as Cottonwood Creek is not in the California golden's native range. He didn't count but he sure was pretty!

Being a few yards from the campground, these guys obviously see some pressure, as they were very skittish. I did manage to pick up five or six of these little guys, though.

Nathan caught a couple too and he met his first marmet, who called the Cottonwood Meadow home.

We didn't fish long, we had work ahead of us tomorrow and we were in our tents for the night by 6:30 PM.

We were up and packing our gear by 5:00 AM. A cup of coffee, a granola bar and we were on the trail shortly after 6:00 AM.

This trip has been one of my life bucket list items for quite some time; I couldn't believe I was actually going to check this one off!

The hike to Cottonwood Pass (11,000 feet) was tough, but not as bad the hike into gila trout water. Once you reach the pass, you still have over four miles of downhill and flat hiking remaining.

After 3.5 hours of hiking, we set up camp just inside a grove of trees on the north end of Big Whitney Meadow, with a great view overlooking Golden Trout Creek.

Once camp was set up, it was time to hit the creek in search of species number three of the CHTC. It didn't take long to add the California Golden trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita) as the third species in the challenge - first pool.

I could have taken photos of every fish I caught (nearly every cast), as these fish are the most beautiful trout I have ever seen!

The photos do not do these fish justice, the golden hues were nothing compared to the neon orange bellies!

Another amazing feature of Golden Trout Creek is the number of fish in this stream. Watch this video of four or five drifts, with strikes on every drift.

I also had to take a photo with my Vandalia bamboo. This rod has landed several native salmonids!

After catching goldens on nearly every cast, it was time for lunch and a nap. On the way back to the creek, after our break, we started checking out the small trickles that feed Golden Trout Creek - there are goldens in there too!

This guy came from a trickle not much wider than my hand.

Another example of how many fish were in this valley: check out the video of Nathan catching a golden from one of these trickles on the first drift.

As we fished through the afternoon we noticed heavy smoke filling the valley and a heavy smell of smoke. By mid-afternoon we could not see the peaks at either end of the valley. Had my legs not been "rubber" from the hike in we would have packed up and made this a day trip.

We were signed it at the ranger station, we figured if the fire was close we would have been asked to head out by any of the rangers that had vehicles parked at the trailhead. We talked about moving camp to the base of the vertical, in case we had to make a fast exit, but we stayed put. It was a late evening for us this day; we turned in about 7:30 PM.

The next morning we woke to the sound of coyotes yipping at each other across the meadow. We also woke to crystal clear skies - the smoke had moved out.

As much as I hated to leave this location, it was time to pack up and head out. We were on the trail before 7:00 AM again and the climb to Cottonwood Pass was again tough. I was still recovering from the hike in. I motored along pretty good on the flat sections of the trail but struggled a bit on the uphill, particularly once we reached the 11,000 pass.

I did survive though!

From here it was all downhill back to Cottonwood Meadows.

The hike out was just a bit longer (time) than the hike in, which I was pleased with. After relaxing for a few minutes, it was back down the white-knuckle road to Lone Pine.

I survived this drive again - Nathan videotaped the entire ride down.

We dropped the bear canister off at the USFS office, then headed north on Rt 395 to Bishop. We had another great pizza in Bishop! We toss'em, they're awesome!

At this point we were 5 for 5 and from Bishop it was on north toward the central Sierras and the next couple of legs on our trip, including a day of rest in Yosemite National Park.

Chris

The Epic 2010 Native Road Trip Part 1 - The Southern Swing

I have to begin this series of entries by thanking a few people for making this trip of a lifetime possible. First, I have the best wife in the entire world! After all we've been through in the last year, with the transfer and all of the headaches that go with it, she told me I needed this vacation!

Second I would like to thank a few of my native angler brethren: Dave Balducci of The Native Trout Angler, Gary Marsten of Native Trout Fly Fishing, and Ned Morris whom I met on the Native Trout website: The Angler's Life List. All three provided detailed information on where to obtain 15 different species/sub-species in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Nevada. Dave even made the trip from the San Francisco bay area to help us search for paiute cutthroat.

Now to the road trip of a lifetime...After 28 hours of driving, we left West Virginia at 8:30 PM on July 22, we found ourselves at the trailhead for the first adventure: New Mexico's Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae gilae). New Mexico has done an outstanding job restoring these fish from the Endangered Species List and in 2007 they opened a few streams to angling.

This particular stream is 7 1/2 miles from the trailhead, across some of the most rugged terrain I have hiked across.

From the trailhead sign, there is a high peak immediately to the right. We passed through the saddle to the right of the peak and two more ridges beyond.

The photo above was taken from the top of the first ridge. There are four ridges in this photo; our stream would be beyond the second ridge and straight down from there.

We finally made it to the final ridge, where the downhill would begin. It is also the location where the West Fork canyon drops in - the West Fork is also the lower end of the open, fishable water.

Once we hit water, it didn't take long to land my first Gila trout.

They are a beautiful little fish in a very rugged landscape. However, they are thriving in this rugged area! My partner and I probably caught 50 fish each in the three hours we fished, including a Gila double.

It's hard to explain the appearance of the gila: maybe a cross between a brown, a rainbow, and a Snake River cutt.

The lower end of the open water was a series of waterfalls and crystal clear plunge pools.

It was hard not to tie on a woolybugger and dredge it through the pools. This method produced my largest gila of the day.

As I said, the gila trout are doing quite well in this stream!

With the long hike out still ahead of us, we fished only for three hours. The hike up and out was brutal, and I ran out of water about a mile from the trailhead in the afternoon New Mexico sun. Between the cobble-filled trails and the heat, it was one of the toughest hikes I have ever completed. Six hours of hiking and three hours of fishing, and I'd do it all again in a second.

After re-hydrating and briefly recovering at the trailhead, it was off to Arizona's Apache Sitgreaves National Forest - about 100 miles to the northwest.

This National Forest was unusually crowded. I had never been in the area before and I didn't expect this type of crowding in the Arizona backcountry. We finally found an empty campsite and set up camp in a light rain. After a long first day, it was a quick dinner of a bowl "college" noodles and an early turn in.

We awoke to the sound of a pack of coyotes yipping as the raced across the nearby fields. Dave had recommended we fish the Apache stream early to avoid the thunderstorms. With that in mind, we were on the stream before 8:00 AM. We prospected up the meadow until we reached the first feeder stream, where I picked up my first Apache trout (Oncorhynchus gilae apache) - just as Dave had predicted.

I didn't pick up any Apache trout of size but I did catch this little guy that appeared to have eaten something his own size - his stomach was quite large.

Unlike me, my partner for the trip, Nathan landed a decent Apache at the entrance to the tree line.

We had only fished for a couple of hours when the rumble of thunder ran us off the stream. I would liked to have had more time to try to land something a little bigger than six inches, but this storm was serious.

From this stream it was north to I-40, then west into California and the southern Sierras, where we would attempt to complete the California Heritage Trout Challenge.

Chris

WVAngler Campout - 2010

The last weekend in June was the 5th annual WVAngler campout. In my opinion, WVAngler is the best thing to happen to trout fishing in West Virginia in recent memory. The site is a great source of information, great for coordinating/communicating conservation activities, and general all-around good people. Through this site, I have met and fished with folks who I don't only simply consider friends, I consider them life-long friends.

Each year we pick a location and gather for a weekend of fishing and camaraderie. This weekend we were located in Elkins - West Virginia trout central.

On Friday I finally met up with a fellow board member who has invited me multiple times to fish one of his "jewel" brookie streams. This isn't your typical dry fly fishing stream. This is a weighted woolybugger, dredging the bottom, monster-hunting stream. I've heard reports of native brookies pushing 16" caught out of this stream...but don't ask, because, out of respect of my "guide", I'm not telling!

I've caught my fair share of native brookies, but I may have caught my biggest to date out of this stream. From fingertip to watch band, my hand measure 8". This may have been my first 12"-class native brook trout.

My fishing partner (aptly, he goes by the handle of brookie on WVAngler) caught the fish of the day, a true two-hander.


I didn't land any of the monster brookies, but some of the fish I saw take a swipe at my woolybuggers would have been 14" easy. A truly amazing stream! Did I mention there is an old limestone quarry near the head of it?

That evening it was an incredible time with friends around a nice campfire.

The next day it was to one of my favorite West Virginia brookie streams to show a couple of good friends the canyon section. One had never fished this section and the other had never fished the stream at all.

The new guy to the stream was fellow native angler and my partner for my 2007 Native Salmonid Roadtrip. He is as passionate about the natives as me and this stream has been on his list for a couple of years, we simply couldn't coordinate it.

I did manage to pick up a few fish, but this wasn't about catching fish. This day was about spending time on an incredible stream with great friends.

It's always a good sign to pick up the little guys, particularly considering about 15 years ago this stream was dead.

I hung back, took photos, played hide-and-seek, and (on a dare) took a dive into one of the deeper pools.

Here is the pair splitting a section of small pocket water.

Everyone I take in here, I try to get a photo of him under this stream landmark.

Just above the "cave" hole are the falls.

Recently I've found that as much as I enjoy exploring new water, I enjoy sharing these waters with friends just as much, if not more.

I don't know that I have ever had a better time on the water!

On the hike out we made another friend!

I always watch the trail when I hike, but I nearly stepped on this guy. He was stretched out straight and with his dark colors; I thought it was a tree limb in the trail. We guessed him to be about 4' and he was as big around as my arm - the biggest timber rattler I have ever encountered. Turn up your speakers!

Following a successful journey into on one of my favorite streams I took them to another stream that I fished for the first time in 2009. I actually fished a little harder on this stream - it was slow going and I had to prove to them there actually were fish in there. At one point I may have jokingly offered to provide lessons.

Finally, back at the trailhead at the end of a long day.

That evening it was another round of good times, exchanging the day's fishing tales. I thought our adventure would have been the story of the day....I was wrong! There was one story that topped them all and it will be discussed at all future WVAngler campouts.

I did stop to fish one stream before heading back to Kentucky. The stream was brutally low and the fish were pooled up. One thing about the fish pooling in low water conditions, you can see what is really in the stream. Note to self: you must fish this stream during normal flows!

This is probably all of my West Virginia posts for a few months. My next entries will most likely be from my massive road trip in search of 11 new native salmonid species. Wish me luck!

Chris

Middle Fork Bucket Brigade - 2010

Following a nine-hour drive from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina I unpacked, repacked, and thirty minutes later I was on the road for the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. It was the weekend for the third annual Middle Fork of the Williams limestone fines bucket brigade.

Four hours later, I had camp set up and had just enough light left to add another new brookie stream to my personal list. First drift...

The next morning I was up at daylight, made myself a nice cup of coffee, and picked up on the stream I had fished briefly the evening before.

While at Myrtle Beach I picked up a new wading shoe, the Vibram FiveFingers. It was really nice to feel like you were wading barefoot, but the jury is still out on the traction they provide.

Following a brief, successful outing on this new stream it was off to the Cranberry Visitor's Center. I will not go into the details of how the bucket brigade works, you can find them in the 2009 Bucket Brigade entry.

The details I will provide:

• In 2008 there were 32 volunteers who moved about 4.5 tons of limestone fines.
• In 2009 there were over 50 volunteers (seven different TU chapters) who moved 7 tons.
• In 2010 we had over 110 volunteers who moved 9 tons.

Among the volunteers were representatives of six different TU chapters, over 60 Walmart volunteers (12-15 different stores across WV and VA), WVDNR volunteers, American Electric Power volunteers, Morris Creek watershed association volunteers, and volunteers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

We also received $5,000 in grant money from American Electric Power and another $1,000 from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The shirts worn by the Walmart volunteers:

We were rained on and the thunder rumbled, but the spirits and the energy remained high during the entire event.

I had to crop the photo to get the large number of volunteers in the frame.

I spoke with the event coordinator and one of the "founding fathers" of TU in West Virginia and, to the best of his knowledge, this is the largest gathering of volunteers in the history of WVCTU...a feat I hope we can repeat or better in 2011.

Following a fine lunch, for which the rain stopped, it was off to the water again. This would be a special outing, as I would be partnered with the driving force behind the bucket brigade and head of the WV DNR limestone fines program. Our destination would be the Middle Fork itself!

As we strung up our rods at the trailhead the skies opened up again. We tried to wait it out but it wasn't going to let up. As we entered the trail we passed what appeared to be three generations of spin fisherman - not a good sign when the locals know the brookies are back.

I'm not one to stereotype and they didn't appear to have a creel of fish but they did say all of the holes had boot prints around them. I assumed they were fishing close to the trailhead, but that's not where we were headed. We were going in at least a mile before we started fishing.

The driving rain made fishing my typical dry/dropper difficult, but I did manage one on top.

My first Middle Fork of the Williams brookie. I can't describe the feeling I had knowing I did my part to restore this stream that was "dead" for many years!

With fishing on top a little slow, I turned to my "go to" pattern - a size 12 olive woolybugger.

I started picking up brookies more frequently going subsurface, including this brookie, the largest of the day.

With the relentless rain I left the DSLR in the vehicle and took only my waterproof video camera. The downside to this camera is the lack of filters, the upside is underwater photography.

The fishing wasn't anything spectacular, but up until a couple of years ago this stream was devoid of our only native salmonid.

These guys make you wonder what the future holds for this stream.

We fished to almost the three-mile mark where there were still brookies present.

An hour hike out and it was time to dry off - even in my raingear I was nearly soaked through. I had planned to stay another night and venture into the headwaters of a stream I fished during this outing in 2009. One remaining set of dry clothes, threat of more rain, and high possibility of high water caused me to cut my weekend short.

There are a couple of TU events I look forward to every year and this one has to be at the top of the list!

Chris