mokelumne flyfishing

I've got some time this weekend near jackson and want to fish a half day.
anybody know if the mokelumne is worth fishing this time of year?
i was thinking of 4 sections
1. below salt springs
2. below tiger creek
3. elektra rd
4. below camanche
any feedback would be appreciated,
thanks
dave[/url]

[Darian]

Dave,.... My vote goes to the section below Salt Springs thru Tiger Creek. I'm not a fan of the river below the dam at Tiger Creek. On the few occasions that I've been down there, there was little or no streamside cover of any sort. Just bare rocks. Area was very hot and I imagine the water was too.

[Campbell]

I would fish below camanche. I live just a couple of min. away and the flows are perfect right now. They have added a lot of new gravel and this has made it really good for flyfishing. I would use a dry and dropper rig. Caddis on top and a small black dropper. Try a 16 PT Flashback. There are a lot of nice trout in this section. I have caught and seen some that have easily gone 24" with some occasional steelies. Get to the park early start up top and work the riffles and then some of the deeper slots. After you have worked your way down stream you can cross over to some private property and fish a couple of really nice runs down from the park and accross from some homes. Good Luck

[mark]

Hello Campbell,

I love in Lodi and would be interested in floating that stretch of the mokelumne. Have you ever floated it? Is it possible to do it in a drift boat or am I limited to a small pontoon or something. I assume you would take out at mackvile rd.


Where have you been focusing your efforts in the park?

Thanks for the info.

-Mark

[Campbell]

I have floated it a number of times in a canoe. At the current levels it is safe. My father in law floats it with a buddy whom has a pontoon drift boat (14') and do quite well. I know a lot of guys who float it in personal pontoons and also do well. The only problem is that there is no take out for large boats that need a truck to pull the boat out of the water. There is great fishing all through this area.

When I fish the park I always go up towards the sign that says no fishing beyond this point, and then work my way down. The river has changed a lot in the past 2-3 years from them adding so much new cobble to the river bed. Each time I go I learn a new spot.

i talked to a guy from DFG who works at the hatchery today. he said they're doing a "pulse test" on Friday which means they're cranking up the flow from 400 CFS to 1500 CFS in order to spread the new gravel.
He guessed it would last about one day but it's hard to say how fish will respond.
dave earl

[Chris Gearhart]

I heard there was a closure on the river as far as floating it below Camanche. Has anyone heard if the closure has been lifted. I have always wanted to float it as well.

Chris

[Campbell]

Floating the river was closed for most of the year. The flows were really high from all of the rain this past year. It opened up for floating about a month ago or so. This portion of the river will close on October 15th and re-open on January 1st.

[mark]

Thats great info, thanks for the heads up Campbell.


I will give it a try here in the coming days.


Hopefully the new dam in woodbridge wil drastically improve the steelhead and salmon run up there.

-Mark

[FishFiend]

I work on the river for EBMUD below Camanche dam. They are increasiing the flows and there are some really nasty trees that cross the river and you will be hard pressed to get by them in a boat without any power. We use a jet boat. A couple of kayakers had to be rescued a few weeks ago because they got stuck on a giant cotton wood that blocks the whole river. That tree is really dangerous, lots of strainers. Be careful.

Dan