Stanislaus - Where did the fish go?

[Magic]

I fished the Stan last weekend below dam/Knights Ferry and only got ONE hit all day and it was small guy. The fish have disappeared...my buddy fished it this week and only a few hits. We saw some dead Salmon on the banks and in the river. I know they have done a lot of restoration work on the river and put a lot of gravel in the runs...Just can't find the fish anymore. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

In many draineges Steelhead might be still holding down river waiting for rain?

[cyama]

The lower Stan doesn't get a very big run of steelhead. Like the Yuba I would consider most of the fish trout. My theory on the slow fishing is that all those small fish in the 8-12 inch range have been poached. I talked to the warden and he said his territory like all wardens these days is very very large. The only good thing I see is that the few fish left are the big smart fish. Try some small black fiies in sizes 20-24. Midges, bwos and black rs-2s.

[tascaso]

Agreed cyama, same thing for the Tuolumne below La Grange, heavily poached and depleted.

-Tony

[Chris Gearhart]

It's definitely quality vs quantity on the Stan and the Moke. My trips lately have only put between 4 and 6 fish to the boat. However the smallest fish has been 14" and the largest 21". As for the poaching I couldn't agree more, it's a real shame.

Chris