18 Sept 11, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 19
Are You Up To The Challenge Of Fly Fishing The
Middle American? By Cal Kellogg
The trout were rising in a seam that appeared impossible to reach. On my side of
the river, the bank adjacent to the trout was lined with thick brush and black berry
vines. And even if it weren’t the trout were well beyond my casting range and the
water was too deep for me to wade closer to the fish.
Studying the scene, I noticed that there was a finger of sand and gravel that
extended from my side of the river downstream to a point 40 or 50 feet above the
trout. The water appeared shallow enough to allow me to wade down the finger to
within casting range of the risers.
Easing into the water I started working my way slowly toward the trout that
continued to rise enthusiastically.
The trout were feeding on hatching mayflies and my simple No. 16 rust colored
parachute with its grizzly hackle and elk hair wing had already proven to be a good
imitation. I made a couple false casts and then fired the fly down stream with a lot of
power.
Right on cue the fly disappeared in a small swirl. I reared back on the rod and
instantly felt the weight of the fish. True to its nature the big wild rainbow catapulted
out of the water and then bolted for the far bank, swimming upstream in a wide arch.
The odds were against me, but luck was on my side. I kept the pressure on the trout
and after a nerve-racking fight I was able to slide the awesome 22-inch rainbow into
my net.
The fact that I just described catching a big beautiful wild rainbow in the American
River is sure to raise some eyebrows among members of the Northern California
trout fishing fraternity and that comes as no surprise. The small group of savvy
anglers that fish the Middle Fork of the American know it as one of the Golden
State’s best-kept trout fishing secrets.
The American River’s Middle Fork bubbles to life high in the Sierra Nevada in the
Granite Chief and Desolation Valley Wilderness areas. From there the river flows in a
rough westerly direction. The best section of the river for trout fishing, from Oxbow
Reservoir to the Middle Fork’s confluence with the North Fork, encompasses about
40 miles. Some parts of this 40-mile section provide easy access off or Highway
49, Forest Hill Road or Mosquito Ridge Road, while other areas require aggressive
hiking to reach.
It is hard to believe that Middle Fork, which isn’t planted and lays little more than
an hour drive from the state capitol in Sacramento and just southeast of Auburn
boasts such a robust population of wild rainbows and browns. The river’s rainbows
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are thought to be decedents of the steelhead
that ascended the river for eons, before the
construction of Folsom Dam. The browns
are believed to have entered the system
after they were planted in the region during
the late 1800’s, but no one is really sure.
The stretch of the river from French
Meadows Dam and Oxbow Reservoir is
diverted into a series of tunnels and is used
for making hydroelectric power. These
water diversions make for variable flows
in the section of river below Oxbow. When power generation is underway the river
level rises. When the generators are not working the river level drops. These fluctuations
represent a blessing and a curse for anglers. On one hand when the flows are up,
it disturbs forage items and the trout feed. While high flow periods offer exceptional
fishing, anglers, especially those that wade, need to use caution since the flow can
increase quickly.
Mayflies, caddis flies, stoneflies, sculpins and crawfish are the primary forage items
within the Middle Fork. Unlike many of the state’s wild trout waters, the Middle Fork
is not subject to special regulations.
Fly-fishing on the Middle Fork can be excellent during the late spring and throughout
the summer months. The best offerings are subsurface patterns such as woolly buggers,
muddler minnows, medium size black stonefly nymphs, hares ear nymphs and soft
hackle zug bugs.
If you want to get into dry fly action on the Middle Fork you’ve got to be willing to
put in some legwork in order to find risers. The river is fairly deep in most areas and
most of the trout prefer to feed along the bottom much of the time. Having said that,
as illustrated at the beginning of this story I’ve experienced some outstanding dry fly
action on the river. During the evening hours you will want to take a match the hatch
approach when utilizing dries. During the midday hours, terrestrial patters such as deer
hair hoppers and stimulators will draw good size browns and ‘bows to the top.
The Quarry Trail, Mammoth Bar, the area above the Driver’s Flat Campground and
the section directly below Oxbow Reservoir are my favorite parts of the river to fish,
but these are not necessarily the best areas. The entire Middle Fork offers excellent
action for anglers willing to invest some time in unlocking the rivers secrets.
Fins all meet this criterion. If more anglers
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HOW TO By Cal Kellogg continued from page 13
catch more and larger trout.
In this class of lure one of my all time
favorites are ½
ounce Hum Dingers
and 3.25 inch
Speedy Shiners.
In recent years,
I’ve also enjoyed
success running 3
inch Kingfishers.
I fish these lures
without dodgers and
flashers just like I
would a minnow
plug and I troll them
quickly from 2.5 to
3.5 miles per hour.
If working shoreline
structure, I might
even bump up the
speed a bit more.
Once again color
selection is a keep
it simple proposition.
The trout are
looking for baitfish,
so chrome/blue,
chrome/black, white
and all chrome are
great choices.
Early and late in
the day when the
light level is low or if the sky is overcast,
darks spoons work great. Straight black
works well as does dark blue. I’m
convinced the reason that frog finish
spoons are so popular and effective is
that frog is the only dark finish that most
anglers ever use. Do yourself a favor.
When the light level is low, break out
some dark spoons, troll quickly and watch
the number of hookups you get soar!
When It’s Time To Slow Down
Sometimes the conditions are against
you and even though the fall feeding
frenzy is underway, the bite might be
slowed on the day you fish due to a full
moon or a temperature drop. When fast
presentations with minnow plugs and
spoons fail to produce, it’s time to slow
down. But keep in mind that doesn’t mean
it’s time to rig up with small lures. Fall
trout still want a substantial meal and
something that looks like fat slow moving
baitfish will often prompt even inactive
trout to strike.
For slow work during the fall I rely
primarily on 2 to 3-inch trolling flies and
3 to 3.5 inch grubs. Again, I refrain from
using blades, but at times I do pair these
offerings with a Wiggle Disc for added
action. Most of my trolling flies come
from my own lines of flies featured on
FishHuntShoot.Com. Shad and smelt
colors are my go to hues, but orange and
black can be deadly too.
I probably use a Wiggle Disc with the
fly 80 percent of the time, but be aware
that there are times when the trout won’t
touch a fly and disc, but will jump all over
a naked fly that has very little in the way
of action.
Grubs have great built in tail action, so
I don’t use a disc with grubs as often as I
use a disc with flies.
Smoke colored grubs are my favorites,
but orange, white and even clear grubs
have their place too. You’ll find my
signature series grub kits on the FishHunt-
Shoot.Com website. In the kits, you’ll find
grubs in many sizes and colors along with
hooks, swivels and more.
For rigging grubs, you’ll want some
straight shank, slow death and ring eye
hooks. You’ll also want to stock up on
quality trolling swivels, as grub trolling
can twist your line badly if you’re not
careful.
If the bite is good you can go through
grubs quickly as trout have tiny, yet
needle sharp teeth. A trick you can use to
prolong the life of your grubs is to add a
drop of super glue to the hook when you
rig up. This will keep the grub securely
in place on the hook, holding the plastic
together even if it has tiny rips and tears