Brown Trout – Page 12 – Keep Calm and Fly Fish

Out of the six heritage trout on my list the one I looked forward to catching the most was the McCloud River Redband Trout. I had already caught a Lahontan Cutthroat from the Upper Truckee and now I was off to my second heritage trout. The McCloud River Redband was once the only trout native to the McCloud River system above Middle Falls. Natural barriers in the form of impassable waterfalls have separated this sub-species from their coastal rainbow cousins for thousands of years. This allowed Mother Nature to take her place on the easel and paint the bright red band we see today on these beautiful fish.

The McCloud River Redband is one of rarest sub-species of rainbow trout in the world due to it’s small population. I would categorize the McCloud River Redband as the second rarest trout in California after the Paiute Cutthroat. Unlike the California Golden Trout and the Little Kern Golden Trout, many of the tributaries that hold populations of McCloud River Redbands are closed to fishing all year. The only place in the world where you can catch a McCloud River Redband legitimately is Trout Creek and Swamp Creek.

Although rare in the wild, the McCloud River Redband was one of the easier heritage trout to catch. No epic hikes over a mountain pass, no driving on high clearance dirt roads for hours, and no prospecting from hole to hole to find your fish. A fairly long drive and simple trip to Trout Creek and you’ve got yourself a pretty lil’ redband.

My fiancee and I planned on staying the night at Trout Creek Campground since the distance was a bit too far away to make it a day trip. We packed the night before and left the following day at 10am and arrived at the campground at around 4pm, pit-stops included.
“I think we’ve been spoiled,” I told my fiancee. The campground was suprisingly packed full of RVs, ATVs, and occupants. We drove around the campsite a bit and finally found a small spot next to the creek. Once the tent and bedding was set up, I strung my 2WT and set off to explore the creek. Like most heritage trout waters, small stream fly fishing tactics was the name of the game.

After a few minutes of bushwhacking and hiking downstream I finally found a nice bucket that looked fishy. I made a few casts with my dry and got a good rise. Fish on! However… the fly came loose. I could still see the fish so I threw a few more cast to see if I could get it to rise again. Luck was on my side as I finally rose it once more and claimed my heritage trout.

The water in Trout Creek was running a bit low but I was able to find a few holes deep enough to hold fish. Several more redbands came to hand before I ended my day.

The following morning I set out to explore the upstream to see if I could find any fish. To my surprise I found nothing. Perplexed and a bit disappointed, I backtracked downstream and fished the area I was the day before. I caught two more pretty redbands and called the trip a success.

The fishing on Trout Creek was decent but the camping was less than stellar. Parts of the creek had cans and garbage in it, the RVs next to us had guests that were very loud, and the humming of ATVs on the road broke the immersion of fishing for rare trout in the middle of nowhere. My fiancee and I both agreed that we wouldn’t be returning to Trout Creek Campground any time soon.

McCloud River – Middle Falls
On the way out of Trout Creek we stopped by Middle Falls to check out the waterfall. We passed an informational sign that told us about the history on the falls. There was a picture of a brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout that caught my attention.

About halfway down the trail to the falls it hits me. “Damn it… I should have brought my rod”. I ran back up to the car, put together my rod, put on my vest and neoprene socks, and ran back down to the falls.

“There are five people fishing here,” my fiancee said with a bit of disappointment. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I replied. I observed the other anglers as I strung my rod. No problem.

The McCloud River was fishing great. Throughout the time I was there I caught several stockies and one wild rainbow. I was looking for a McCloud River brown.

I hiked a bit downstream to try and stay out of the other anglers way. The banks along the river were heavily overgrown so I had to bushwhack through what looked like a small animal trail to get to the water.
After trying a few holes downstream with nothing but a few rainbows, I waded upstream and fished a decent looking pool. I made my cast and rose a fish. It’s a brown! “Yes!”. Into the net a McCloud River brown trout.

Yellow Creek Meadows

With 95-100 degree temperatures in the first week of June, I’m going to say its unofficially summer. School is officially over which leaves me with more time to spend on the water. I have a feeling this summer is going to be a long hot one.
This week I spent some time on the Feather fishing for steelhead as a small warm up for Yellow Creek where Amanda and I fished and camped for the first time.

Feather River
Its been awhile since I’ve fished for steelhead but the low-flow section is looking good with hatches of caddis, mayflies, and midges. The CFS flow is higher than usual due to the farming season but wadeable if you are careful. I’ve always found that the hardest part of steelhead fishing is finding the fish. Taking the time to poke through pocket water, drift through riffles, and tight-line through deep holes are the only ways you’ll find these beauties.

Wild Beauty

After eliminating all of my usual holes and riffles, I finally found where the fish were. However, the only way I could present my flies to the fish was by stand upstream, dead-drift my indicator and at the same time feed line directly downstream. This technique can be difficult to pull-off because if you set the hook, you could potentially pull the flies out of the fishes mouth instead of hook them. I was able to get two BIG beautiful fish to take with this method.

At first I thought I had hooked into a big sucker or a spring salmon because it felt heavy but didn’t fight hard. After getting the fish closer towards me I saw that it was a steelhead. There was no way my dinky net would be able net it, so instead I did the famous steelhead tail grab and brought it to the bank where I could admire it. Definitely one of the better fish I’ve caught out there. A couple more casts in I hooked another steelhead that was a lot more chrome but lost I it before I could net it. My luck ran out the rest of the day so I decided to call it quits. It was starting to get hot and I didn’t bring my sunscreen!

Yellow Creek
Manda and I planned a weekend camping trip to Yellow Creek to beat the heat. I’d never been there before but have heard and read good things about it. The road to the campground off HWY 89 was well-maintained and easy to drive on. Once we drove over Butt Creek bridge and through the woods we finally arrived at our destination. Meadows of tall green grass, a spring creek flowing through the center, and pine trees surrounding the borders between valley and forest. The great Humbug Valley!

Humbug Valley

Once we set up camp, I headed out to scout what I was up against. Never have I seen water so clear and pristine with a bottom mixed of volcanic stone and aquatic weed beds. The tall grass lined the entire bank and thick bushes grew over parts of the creek providing ample shade and cover for the fish. As I waded upstream I saw little fish dart out of the weed beds to try and get avoid me. The fish were small but they were there.

Small Creek Fly Fishing

“You should have been there 45 years ago!” was what I was told during my visit to the local fly shop.
The spring creek section of Yellow Creek was once known to have supported trophy-sized brown trout. Several decades have passed since the last big brown was caught however rumors tell of a few living trophies that have defied extinction. The creek hosts an abundance of weed beds and undercuts that could help keep the big ones hidden during the day until night when they come out to feed. My expectations and chances of finding a trophy were extremely low. However, before I could start looking for a trophy I had to first figure out how to fish the creek.

Beautiful Cool Slow Water

Spring creek fly fishing is a whole new level of fly fishing. Presentation, fly selection, and stealth are critical. With an emphasis on the stealth, you basically need to become a trout ninja blending into the grass, stalking the fish that you see, and try to make them rise. This is a challenge that will make you forget about the fish’s size and was by far the greatest fun of the trip.

First fish, a Nice Brown Trout

First Brookies I’ve Ever Caught

The fish I caught out there were not easy to catch. It took some hard work to try and accurately present the fly to them without spooking them away. The creek hosts a rare trifecta of trout. Brookies, browns, and bows. This trip will always be remembered as the one where I caught my first brook trout!

Rare Meadow Bow

Yellow Creek’s meadow section is an fantastic place for small spring creek fly fishing. Something I notice was that the fish were only to be found within
15 minutes of the campground. The further upstream or downstream I waded the less fish I found. Perhaps it is the natural degradation of the area or maybe the fish just like it there better? What ever it may be, I believe that CalTrout did a great job restoring this unique spring creek habitat.

All fisheries go through a cycle prime and decline and many believe Yellow Creek is going through the latter. Here’s to hoping that it gets better so I don’t have to tell the next generation of Yellow Creek visitors “You should have been there X amount of years ago when there were actually fish there!”

Although I couldn’t find a trophy fish, I can cross Yellow Creek off my bucket list as a place I must experience. There are very few spring creeks in California as accessible as Yellow Creek and every fly fishermen owes it to themselves to challenge their skills here.