Late July Report

We are fishing primarily the Kings and Merced drainages with some forays into the Kaweah drainage. Are the fish there? Yes! They are willing depending where you go, when you go and how you fish. This comes as no surprise but let's revisit a few topics. First, allow us to offer some anecdotes with some emphasis on stealth. Although we may not service streams that resemble the Letort of yore, we still find that being sneaky is huge. We have a fun story of making the "hide behind the boulder" strategy key and another funnier story of "Take that bright blue cap off please!" each translating into fish. Lower water is naturally making the fish skittish. Remember, this is a soft form of hunting. Below is a shot of Randy positioning himself behind a rock to fish a good looking piece of water..

Here is Randy's reward for staying stealthy...

Elena used this big boulder to cover her approach ...

Another thought is temperature. Some cooler mornings have had good bites because the water starts the day cool. Then, ironically, because the air temps go up the grasshoppers become active and the smarter trout brave the warming waters to grab a big meal. Interesting math eh? Finally, the good ol' evening hatch does play a role all over and we do see varying degrees of surface activity kick into a higher gear on various parts of the river as the insects get active. A dead drift remains very helpful in enticing a trout. John and Frank fished a shady area in the peak of the day to find willing fish on the Kings....

Finally, after missing a few takes, John tied into a beauty...

For you more experienced and resourceful anglers, let it be known that in general terms, the upper Kings has been running a drop cooler than the Merced with both rivers showing robust PMD activity as well as small caddis. A mysterious flurry of giant golden stone hatches have occurred but we can't find the adults no matter how hard we beat the bushes. This, however, may explain why sometimes a huge stimulator draws a take. The fresh shucks covering boulders; still rich in color and soft to the touch. Eeeeew! See the photo below:

Crazy eh? Small PMDs, caddis and attractor patterns are just fine. If you can handle gnarly terrain, your catch rate will go up but we stress safety. Please be reminded as well that our Oakhurst fly shop is open 7 days a week this year! Details: http://yosemiterivers.com

Late July + Early August News

We continue to be amazed by how late certain waters are "turning on". Of course we are also starting to find it rewarding. As of late July and even early August we are both witnessing and hearing of rainbows migrating to spawn! This isn't even at high elevations. Bigger waters such as the Kings and Merced have come alive and once you adjust to the higher flows, the fishing is solid. The smaller streams remain strong. Some of them unusually pretty and verdant. Below, Mike and Katherine work an idyllic pool after a long day sampling various Yosemite streams with us.

Bernard and Steve work on a good drift on the Kings River.

Perfecting a bow and arrow cast, Bill nabbed this scrappy Kings River bow.

A high meadow stream alive with color and plants.

An overcast day produced a flurry of browns.

Cole nabbed a solid brookie in the Tuolumne drainage. This fish was latched onto a smaller brookie which he hooked and was determined to not let go. We netted two fish. A rare and bizarre "food chain moment"

Gordon Johnson instructs on the Merced.

Myron nabbed a stout small stream brown while out with Rick Mazaria. See the next picture.

What a crazy fish!

One of the forks of the Tuolumne looking beautiful and fishing well.

This photo is a delight. One leaves the heat of the valley and heads for trout city!

Overcast conditions can inspire the fish.

Last but not least, champion angler Victor Gonzalez from Spain had a day out with Bernard and fish had no chance.

Yosemite Rivers Fly Shop 2010

Happy New Year!
Sierra Fly Fisher is proud to ring in the new year with one of those silly things they call WEBSITES for the shop! We really wanted to keep it old school but ok ok these are modern times right? It's http://yosemiterivers.com. Pop on by the site and by all means pop on by the shop. In fact, be on the alert for fly tying classes. See flyer below.