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
Labels: bernard yin, Fly Fishing Kings Canyon National Park, Fly Fishing Yosemite, Flyfishing Yosemite, jimmie morales, Merced River, The Redwoods at Yosemite, The Tenaya Lodge, Yellow Stones
posted by Bernard Yin at 2:24 PM
