The Middle Fork of the Feather has recently been fishing the best it ever has. I and a few others suspect that the heavy snowpack the past couple of years has benefited the trout that call the Middle Fork home. The Middle Fork is undammed which means more water, more fish.
Last year when I visited the Middle Fork in August the water was still high due to all the snow. This year is the opposite with flows reaching their “regular” low flows earlier in mid-June. Lower summer flows can be nice as they make getting around the river much easier and safer at the cost of catching less better than average-size trout. Hot days with low flows can also raise water temperatures mid-day making it harder to practice catch-and-release. The window to fish the Middle Fork of the Feather is relatively small but worth every mile second.
The Middle Fork of the Feather is a long river with more than enough space to find your water. It is an incredibly healthy river unlike anything I’ve experienced within Plumas National Forest so far. Fish can range from 4” to +20” which keeps you on your toes waiting to see what’s going to bite next. The Middle Fork of the Feather truly is a special place.
Everything was working this visit and the trout density was fantastic. After catching a few beautiful rainbows I started experimenting with different techniques and patterns. I stuck to the hopper dropper rig to get some action on top and bottom. Once I found the hot patterns for both I was getting strikes every other casts. Seeing the silver flash of these fish react to my hopper was simply awesome.
The slow deep pools are where the big fish like to hang out. Some of these pools are +15 feet deep making them difficult to fish effectively. I found that dropping a single heavy nymph on a long leader with no indicator to be the best tactic. The water was super clear and with a good pair of polarized sunglasses I could sight fish for these wild trout all day.
Before ending my time on the Middle Fork of the Feather I spent a small bit of time fishing Nelson Creek. The fishing was just as good there as well. Throughout this visit the smallest fish I caught a tiny 3” and the biggest fish I caught was 15”. I can’t wait to get back down there again.
