North Fork American

[wl1193]

Hi everyone. I am interested in fishing the North Fork of the American River on foot. I know it is going to be a quite a hike for me. Do you have any recommended trails I can take down to the river? I plan on going to the river via Forrest Hill Road. I have fished the area south of Yankee Jim's bridge. I am looking primarily for smallmouth bass but am interested in trout as well. I practice catch and release. Any ideas and tips are greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
Will

[Ed Wahl]

Will, any topo or forest service map will show you the 4 trails that access the canyon from Foresthill Rd.
I'd get a topo of the area before going in, there's tons of details you'll be happy to have.

Bring a filter in with you, you'll want a full bottle of water to start with on the walk back out. 2 bottles would be better.

I've only caught trout in these areas, the smallies are a bit farther down. My favorite smallie stretch is around the Iowa Hill bridge. It's a major swimming area but in the early morning it's empty and fishing your way upstream will get you out of the crowds pretty quick.

You can google Stevens Trail for another access out of Colfax, also in Smallie country.

Good Luck and welcome to the board.

Ed

[wl1193]

Thanks Ed. Does anyone know where I can check to make sure the water flows are good for fishing on the North Fork?

[Jaybinder]

Check the dream flows site.

[DFrink]

Thanks Ed. Does anyone know where I can check to make sure the water flows are good for fishing on the North Fork?

I was thinking about driving down Iowa Hill today to look at the river, I'll let you know. The smallie action is pretty good down there. Dreamflows is an excellent site and since this area is rafted so much you can probably count on good reports for flows. There is also access at Ponerosa Bridge (road connects Foresthill road to I80). Lots of swimmers down there but you can hike away from them pretty quick when the river isn't to high.

Dan

[wl1193]

I checked dreamflows. Thanks for the site. How much water per cubic feet is considered too much to fish?