This Weekend: MF Stan or King's Canyon?

[Pupa]

Hi there. I'm torn between fishing this rainy weekend on one of two rivers that I've never fished before.

MF Stan: Anyone have any idea how the flows/hatches are currently in the canyon? Still some nice fish in that area? I've heard it is difficult to access below dam but have a few days and considering a hike-in/camping.

King's Canyon: Looks amazing up high in the canyon. Thinking of camping at Upper King's Canyon campground above Pine Flat Lake. I can't tell if there are any sizable fish in this section or if it is more a numbers game. Any ideas how hatches might be this time of year?

Thanks in advance. PM's welcome...

[Jeff F]

Pupa,

I'm assuming you're referring to the MF Stan below Sand Flat (Beardsley). In regards to access, the are some trails both up and downstream from the diversion dam. Most people fish upstream. There is some decent water, but you have to hike past a long stretch of frog water. No biggie.

As for downstream, there's a faint trail below the diversion that goes down about 1/2 mile or so. The fishing is good, but mostly dinks. Below that is the "real" canyon, which is an entirely different situation.......

Years ago, back when I was a young stud in great shape, I used to study topo maps looking for the most remote places I could find to fish. The MF Stan canyon, about a mile below Sand Flat all the way to New Melones, struck my fancy. On most maps, you won't find any trails down there. I did stumble upon a map that showed a trail though. It's on the south rim, near Mt. Knight. I believe it's a trail used by the water department to access the gauging station down in the canyon. You'll need a GPS to find it, if you can find the coordinates on a map. That trail is definitely not maintained, and is overgrown with poison oak and covered in leaves. Eric O. and I found it via GPS a few years back, but didn't go through with it (Eric pussed out) :p.

So one day about 12 years ago, which I'll never forget, Jeff Ching and I set out on an adventure down there. Never found the trail, so we just winged it. If you've ever been down into the MF Feather canyon, the MF Stan is similar but steeper, if you can believe that. 2000' elevation drop in about 1/2mi. Anyway, we made it down. The fishing is good for nice rainbows and some big brown trout. These fish never see any pressure, so the fishing is easy. I wouldn't dare do this trip alone though. If you injure yourself or get whacked by a snake, you're in big big trouble. This is a seriously remote place. Our trip ended up being a nightmare because we started back up the wall too late and ended up getting lost in the dark. But that's a whole 'nother story......

The north side of the canyon is totally different than the south rim.....barren, no trees or poison oak. We did see some deer trails traversing down the side of the canyon wall when we were down on the water. But again, no known hiking trails.

You could probably just keep walking downstream from Sand Flat though, but you'd have to stay in or near the river. The river is low enough to get around any cliffs or other barriers. But I haven't done it, so I couldn't tell ya. But if you want a real adventure and want to fish probably the most remote canyon in CA, that is the place. Those days are over for me though.

Good luck wherever you go. Personally, I'd wait for these storms to pass. Supposed to rain pretty hard.

~Jeff

[Jeff C.]

Hey Fisher! Flashbacks whenever you smell that pungent weed we encountered on the nightmare hike out?

[Pupa]

Thanks Jeff. We've done MFFR several times but the trails were fairly well defined, although steep long drops (1500'). This sounds like an even more challenging situation - maybe when I'm 20 again...

[Jeff F]

Hey Fisher! Flashbacks whenever you smell that pungent weed we encountered on the nightmare hike out?

Lol! Yeah, every time I go into the Stanislaus drainage, I smell that stuff. It takes me right back to that day, bro.

[Jeff F]

Thanks Jeff. We've done MFFR several times but the trails were fairly well defined, although steep long drops (1500'). This sounds like an even more challenging situation - maybe when I'm 20 again...


Yeah, you're right. The MFF trails are actually pretty good. Eric and I did Oddie Bar this past June. But you know what.....the fishing isn't any better than places I can drive to, or easier hikes, like the Pit for instance. However, I think that there's just something about truly wild places that will always pique my interest. I can pretty much guarantee you that there are not many people on this planet who've been down into the heart of that canyon. And that's saying something living in California! Most canyons, even the most remote ones, have at least a couple trails. So, the MF Stan is quite unique. Pretty damn cool, if you ask me.

[tcorfey]

I fished MF Stan below Beardsley a little over a week ago, fishing was fair to good. Flows were good and mostly midges.

Regarding Kings Canyon, they had a big fire come through that area last year I believe it made it up past Sheep Creek/Cedar Grove campground. I do not know where it started/stopped. I have not been there this year.