First Post & Hwy 108?'s

[WadeK]

Hi all!,

I usually don't make it as far North as this neck of the woods living in Bako, so I haven't posted on this board. I usually post on the Fly Fishing Addicts board which deals more with SoCal. I practice C&R and haul out more trash than I pack in. I've been Fly fishing for 10+ years and have been an avid fisherman for 35+ years. I'm also a member and previous board member of the Kern River Fly Fishers Club which is a member of the Federation.

I'm planning a trip with my 13yo son, part of which takes us the length of Hwy 108 from West to East. I've got a spot I want to go at the East end, but I want a stop on the West side for cheap/free overnite tent/bp camping and some fishing in the evening and morning before getting back on the road. Any suggestions? Is the Clarks Fork worth looking at?

Tight Lines,
Wade

[Darian]

Sorry, I can't help with Hwy 108 area but welcome to the Board.... There are some guys that live down in the souther area that do post here. Maybe one of them has some info for you. enjoy your trip....

[Sammy]

check out frasier flat campground. It sits on the south fork stanislaus. can get a little busy but good fishing, especially with dries. and beautiful of course.

have fun and welcome to the board. Here is a the icon of the guy playing the violin.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Call, email or stop by for accurate information on fisheries east of Modesto from my friend Bob Nakagawa @ the Sierra Angler Fly Shop.

http://www.sierraanglers.com/

PS: If you ever go up or down on Hwy 99 through Modesto, CA I would highly recommend you stop by the Sierra Angler Fly Shop and chat with my old buddy Bob who is a very knowledgable veteran in this sport.

[WadeK]

Thanks Guys! I'll check out the Shop and that CG. Any other suggestions?

[trouterfan1]

PM sent for area to try

[k9mark]

Wade, anywhere from Dardanelles to Kennedy Meadows for camping. Personally, Kennedy Meadows would be perfect for you guys.

[fj40]

Got a place up there and all above suggestions are right on. Yours as well at Clarks Fork. Dave

[RDS]

Hi Wade,

There are quite a few places to try on the west slope up Hwy 108. You can fish the South Fork of the Stanislaus which flows out of Pincrest Lake. There are quite a few access points to get to the river with one of them being Frasier Flat as mentioned. You and your son might enjoy the short drive into Pinecrest just to check out the scene as it is a nice place to visit in the summer.

Up a little further you can take the Beardsley Resevoir turn at the sign and follow it down and fish the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus. It is a good fishery for wild fish but it is in a canyon and you have to do a little work to fish it successfully. Further up you will also find the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus as it parallels the highway. You can fish any of those areas for mostly planted rainbows.You will also find the the Clark Fork turnoff which takes you to the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus. There is a campground there and you can fish around there for planters or you can fish upstream towards the wilderness area and fish for wild fish. There is a trail for you to follow. If you continue up the highway you will come to Kennedy Meadows which also has a campground, store,restaurant, etc. Kennedy Meadows is also the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus and is a very popular spot in the summer. The further you get away from the campgound, etc the less people you will see, as usual. There are also many creeks in the area such as Herring Creek but because of the lack of snow this past winter the creeks might already be a little skinny. I haven't checked them out so I don't know.

There are quite a few places to fish and I have just given you a rough rundown of some of the more well known areas. If you need any more specific info you can let me know. I hope that you and your son have a great trip. Personally I have two daughters and my oldest one has no interest in fly fishing at all. I am still working on the younger one so I still have some hope. Have fun.

[WadeK]

Sorry to dig up an old post, but I realized as I was about to ask for info for a new trip, that I hadn't posted a report here in reference to the trip I took before. So this is a repost of the reports I put up on the Addict's site.

1st installment:
Friday 7/27/2012 I got off work, went home and packed stuff into the truck for the trip. I should say JAM-packed stuff for the trip. I’ve been seriously prepping for this trip for over 3 weeks and still felt over packed and under prepared and generally scatter-brained. More so than any trip I can ever remember. Leading up to the trip some things went very right and some things went very wrong. Then some of those same things flip flopped.
As an example, the yard-sale Optio W10 waterproof camera my landlady/housemate had just given me to replace a poor film camera that died, gets set on the roof of my truck while packing. You guessed it. Seconds later, as a Greyhound bus is going by, I knock it off the roof of my truck and its run over. So, no trip pix. I didn’t even have it 5 minutes.
Saturday, 3AM Leave Bako, get ½-way to I-5 and remember XY&Z, go back.
Saturday, 7:30AM Get to Ex’s in Hollister to pick up Jeffery. Emily informs me I do have to take her to a 4-H meeting after all and can I stay overnight and drop her off at the Fair tomorrow? Oh well, so much for sticking to an itinerary. I should explain that I love doing stuff like this for my Daughter. However, this trip was supposed to be a reward to Jeff for taking care of her animals while she was lucky enough to go on a trip to SE Asia and we were supposed to meet up with friends to convoy for part of the trip. We swap things around and put food in the Ex’s refrigerator to make room for her and I make calls to reschedule which actually works out for the better (at this point).
After dropping her off at the meeting, I took Jeff to the rifle range. I had given him a .22 for his 13th b-day and hadn’t gotten to finish having him site it in. We got it to group about ½ to 1” right of the Bull’s-eye at 50 yards, before we had to go pick up Emily.
When we get back to the Ex’s, Jessica, their 3 year old ½ sister walks up to us and sobs “Emy, Wooster kicked me!” There’s a gash on her shoulder that’s still oozing blood. Emily turns to me and asks “Will you show me how to Slaughter that Damned bird? Where having Chicken and the Rabbit that bit her yesterday for dinner.” She then took Jessie into the house to bandage her up. I felt miserable because I had given Emily the Rooster for an early 17th B-day present. It was a beautiful bird that was the same breed as her 3 hens, but Em assured me it had a “pact with the Devil”, having now drawn blood from every family member that lived there. Jessie used to help Emily collect the hen’s eggs before I brought him.
Jeff helped me catch and dispatch the Rooster and yes, it managed to draw my blood too. Emily helped with the Rabbit while my Ex kept Jessie, Raymond and their Dad occupied in the house. He’s a little squeamish. :^) The feathers seem just OK, with no dry fly quality hackle. The stew was good, if a little tough and stringy and took too long into the night. Neither of these animals had been raised for food, so it was to be expected. Em saved the rabbit pelt for a purse to go with the jacket she made last year. The Chinchilla coloring should make for a pretty purse.
The next morning we scrambled to get everything for the trip repacked and Em to the Fair in San Jose to take care of her pigs. The packing went too easy with everything *…40 minutes into the drive to the Fair I realized we didn’t have the oars to my kick-boat. Then Jeff, ever thinking about his stomach, asked if I got the coolers and refilled them with the food out of the fridge? Doh!! I hate being rushed!
We dropped off Em and wished her luck. Instead of heading to Tracy to meet up with my buddy, we went back to Hollister to get what we forgot and made plans to meet him in Sonora. As I was finishing repacking I found my light jacket that Em had borrowed the night before. We’re headed into Bear country for a week and my only light jacket was splattered with bunny blood. Well that should make for an interesting trip!

To be contiued...
I fish for my sanity. If I catch it, should I still practice catch and release?