jburge
09-28-2008, 08:22 AM
I promised a report, so here it is. Apologies ahead of time for the length.
I left my Sacto Starbucks Fri morning at 7, was at the trailhead at 9, and 6 miles later had camp setup. All before lunch. Feeling pretty good about the day, I headed over to the lake and was blown away--literally. The afternoon gusts were brutal and trying to cast was impossible. I kid you not, no matter where I went the wind would shift into my face. I decided it'd be better if I had some lunch.
Heading back to the lake after lunch I had the kind of experience that causes you to think, "What's the status of my life insurance?" As I was walking along the trail parallel to the lake, I look up and see a black bear bearing down at full speed gallop at a 90 degree angle to the trail, about 30 yards in front of me. He hits the trail, stops, and looks at me. I remember three thoughts: he can close that gap in a hurry, I wonder if he'd chase me if I jumped in the lake, and should I hold on to my fly rod? Hmmm... Fortunately, my frozen face and body didn't appear to be a threat, so he continued his gallop in the same direction. Of course, at that moment I realize that not everything at my campsite had been safely stowed in the bear canister, and seeing that's the general direction he's heading, I thought I'd better get back to camp to put everything away. As I approach camp, fortunately no bear, but lurking about 20 yards away is a coyote who appears to be stalking some chipmunks. I packed anything with an odor into the bear canister, stowed it waaaaay far away from my campsite and went back to fishing.
The winds were brutal all afternoon, so between untangling wind knots and peeling my line out of the bushes, I decided to wait for those brief pauses in the gusts to cast. It paid off, because I landed my first brown (oops, er, uh cutt). I was stoked. I just learned how to cast and picked up my first fly rod last month, so this was huge. The good news was the brown (oops, er, uh cutt), the bad news was not another fish. Lots of swirls around the dries, but no takers. I quit around 6 but didn't care about quantity. Already the whole trip was worthwhile.
I tried the lake again on Saturday morning, but had no luck. It was frustrating to see them swim up to the fly, take a look and turn around. Again, with a few swirls but no takers. My plan all along had been to bushwhack along the Upper Truckee looking for likely spots, so I broke camp, hoisted the backpack, and kept my rod out so I could fish on the go.
The river was almost gone. I was in the same area in June of this year when there was still snow on the trail and tons of water. Every spot that I had previously used for water supply was completely dried up. I decided I'd fish wherever I could find any water that looked clear, had a little bit of flow, and might be deeper than 6 inches. I also learned the hard way that these river fish spook in a hurry. Several missed opportunities. Fortunately as I approached a small pool, I saw them before they saw me. I made a couple of casts from my knees on a gravel bar in the middle of the river bed and score--a little cutt (I don't have any pix because my camera was packed away in the backpack). I continued to work my way along the river (finding a lot of beaver dam activity) until I found one more pool holding several fish. Hiding behind a bush, I dropped the fly in and waited. It took a while, and few fly changes, but I finally coaxed out a little brookie.
So, roughly 12 miles of backpacking, a bear, a coyote, beavers, and lots of wind over 2 days, but for me it was perfect. Hard to believe it's all so close. BTW, it was really weird to see Caples without the water.
Meiss Lake is gorgeous even if you can't fish here.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3036_1.jpg
Water surface gives you an idea of the winds.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3043_1.jpg
The view near where I was camped.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3047_1.jpg
Another one of the small lakes in the area, but I was not about to mountain goat my way down.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3049_1.jpg
My first brown (16 incher)... oops, er, uh, cutt...
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3051_1.jpg
I found lots of beaver dams while bushwhacking.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3053_1.jpg
"Flow" on the Upper Truckee...
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3055_1.jpg
I coaxed a little brookie out of this pool, hiding behind the bush on the right.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3056_1.jpg
I left my Sacto Starbucks Fri morning at 7, was at the trailhead at 9, and 6 miles later had camp setup. All before lunch. Feeling pretty good about the day, I headed over to the lake and was blown away--literally. The afternoon gusts were brutal and trying to cast was impossible. I kid you not, no matter where I went the wind would shift into my face. I decided it'd be better if I had some lunch.
Heading back to the lake after lunch I had the kind of experience that causes you to think, "What's the status of my life insurance?" As I was walking along the trail parallel to the lake, I look up and see a black bear bearing down at full speed gallop at a 90 degree angle to the trail, about 30 yards in front of me. He hits the trail, stops, and looks at me. I remember three thoughts: he can close that gap in a hurry, I wonder if he'd chase me if I jumped in the lake, and should I hold on to my fly rod? Hmmm... Fortunately, my frozen face and body didn't appear to be a threat, so he continued his gallop in the same direction. Of course, at that moment I realize that not everything at my campsite had been safely stowed in the bear canister, and seeing that's the general direction he's heading, I thought I'd better get back to camp to put everything away. As I approach camp, fortunately no bear, but lurking about 20 yards away is a coyote who appears to be stalking some chipmunks. I packed anything with an odor into the bear canister, stowed it waaaaay far away from my campsite and went back to fishing.
The winds were brutal all afternoon, so between untangling wind knots and peeling my line out of the bushes, I decided to wait for those brief pauses in the gusts to cast. It paid off, because I landed my first brown (oops, er, uh cutt). I was stoked. I just learned how to cast and picked up my first fly rod last month, so this was huge. The good news was the brown (oops, er, uh cutt), the bad news was not another fish. Lots of swirls around the dries, but no takers. I quit around 6 but didn't care about quantity. Already the whole trip was worthwhile.
I tried the lake again on Saturday morning, but had no luck. It was frustrating to see them swim up to the fly, take a look and turn around. Again, with a few swirls but no takers. My plan all along had been to bushwhack along the Upper Truckee looking for likely spots, so I broke camp, hoisted the backpack, and kept my rod out so I could fish on the go.
The river was almost gone. I was in the same area in June of this year when there was still snow on the trail and tons of water. Every spot that I had previously used for water supply was completely dried up. I decided I'd fish wherever I could find any water that looked clear, had a little bit of flow, and might be deeper than 6 inches. I also learned the hard way that these river fish spook in a hurry. Several missed opportunities. Fortunately as I approached a small pool, I saw them before they saw me. I made a couple of casts from my knees on a gravel bar in the middle of the river bed and score--a little cutt (I don't have any pix because my camera was packed away in the backpack). I continued to work my way along the river (finding a lot of beaver dam activity) until I found one more pool holding several fish. Hiding behind a bush, I dropped the fly in and waited. It took a while, and few fly changes, but I finally coaxed out a little brookie.
So, roughly 12 miles of backpacking, a bear, a coyote, beavers, and lots of wind over 2 days, but for me it was perfect. Hard to believe it's all so close. BTW, it was really weird to see Caples without the water.
Meiss Lake is gorgeous even if you can't fish here.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3036_1.jpg
Water surface gives you an idea of the winds.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3043_1.jpg
The view near where I was camped.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3047_1.jpg
Another one of the small lakes in the area, but I was not about to mountain goat my way down.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3049_1.jpg
My first brown (16 incher)... oops, er, uh, cutt...
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3051_1.jpg
I found lots of beaver dams while bushwhacking.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3053_1.jpg
"Flow" on the Upper Truckee...
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3055_1.jpg
I coaxed a little brookie out of this pool, hiding behind the bush on the right.
http://bdigitaldesign.com/upper_truckee/IMG_3056_1.jpg