Gettin' to the good places

[Ralph]

The fish in these Feather River pools don't get much pressure. They're pretty dumb actually!

[Frank Alessio]

Down Right Crazy...

[JasonB]

looks like the south branch? very cool place!
JB

[Alosa]

I don't care how dumb they are, that's WAY too much effort to put in to get my line wet.

[Ed Wahl]

Wow. I've thought about doing that for years and you actually had the stones to up and do it.

Congratulations Ralph, that's way cool.

Ed

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We have had some wild customers over the years who used ropes to get down into remote areas.

Dr Tom Deeble is one of those guys.......

[Ralph]

looks like the south branch? very cool place!
JB
Bingo! You can rap down the falls (there are a long series of falls/pools) and scramble out to Milsap or simply jug out when done fishing. It's best, of course, to throw out a sleeping bag at the base of one of the falls so you can fish at dusk and dawn and watch the sun set and moon rise over the canyon.

In the heart of California it is amazing how much absolutely untouched water you can find if you're willing to make the effort . . . and half the fun is the effort!

[Tony P]

They're pretty dumb actually!

The fish or the Fisherman? :lol::lol::lol: In all seriousness it looks like an awesome place to spend some time but my balls aren't big enough to strap my ass to a rope & repel down a cliff.

Tony

[k.hanley]

Ralllllph! That -- is -- just -- flat -- out -- awesome!

Standing "O."

Cheers, Kenny

[FRSam]

That'd make one awesome video Ken...repelling to your favorite bucket.;)

Great shots Ralph...sounds like an adventure well worth the effort. There was a day but fortunately those days are behind me now.

Pete

[jjjewett]

that place is rad.

the crazies are the ones who kayak down those falls!!

[Dan LeCount]

further proof that -

the harder it is to get to

the easier it is to catch fish

what were the fish taking Ralph? I wouldve thrown an ant or maybe a weighted wooly bugger into the falls.

[craigfalk]

Ralph,

Thanks for sharing. I completely understand the desire to reach and fish a pool like that one. There's a pool on a tributary of the NF Feather that I discovered in the early 80's. I could only reach it at lower flows and even then it took some swimming and rock climbing - a completely remote pool less than a mile from Hwy 70.

I also sent you a PM.

[Ralph]

Dan: The only fly you ever need is an E/C caddis! That said, they were eating salami skin and cheddar crumbs, so a salami and cheese pattern would work too. The fish were pretty unremarkable, it was the setting that made an impression.

Craig: 10-4. Fly fishing is a wonderful excuse to explore cool places. Thanks for the PM, kayakers are a breed unto themselves! In another lifetime I was one, so I get it and excuse their lack of better judgement.

[Dave Neal]

"Dan: The only fly you ever need is an E/C caddis! "

True that, Ralph, your E/C Caddis is one incredibly effective pattern, in so many situations. You should feel very proud of that fly. I personally thank you every time I pull it from a memorable trout's lips!

As for the rap access that was very cool. It would be nice to utilize that approach on some spots on the MF San Joaquin, here locally. Some old school Yosemite rock legends, that fly fish a lot here on the Eastside, just solo into it! No fear. But rapping/jugging would be the way to go for me!

[Dan LeCount]

EC caddis is a killer, although I always have a tough time seeing it in the twilight(when the caddis go nuts!) so I have to fish it behind a higher floating Elk hair caddis half the time.(or even better a yellow sally) Being a dropper doesnt stop the fish from eating it though! Not the flies fault though, just my bad eyesight. The myth of guides having eagle eyes is broken with me.

[Frank Roepke]

STRONG!!!! can you post more pic's?

[Tracy Chimenti]

I've fished a few isolated falls like this, once on Big Granite Creek, near the wild an scenic NF American. We didn't have rope gear, but could see them finning below, ignorant of us. Try as we might, we hurled our floaters down into the holes only to have the summer's noon inversion stop the entire wad, a mere yard above the water, and blow it back up the cliff into our faces.

Hint: A hide-away spinning rod and a crappie jig are alot lighter, cheaper, and safer than splipping in to these holes. Just not as glorious! You still need a little adrenaline, don't you (you ol' smoke eater)?!

[Ralph]

Hi Tracy-
Lisa and I had the same experience on some cliff pools in the Upper Stan. Fly would drop just fine to a certain level then start to rise or catch some weird strata of breeze and coast sideways.
The rap and jug at this place is pretty straightforward, not much pucker factor to be honest. The hard part were the paper wasp nests that were under the overhangs. You couldn't see them until your feet swung into them. Not much fun getting attacked on a rope.
How are the mandarins looking this year?