Tuolumne River - mostly non-yak

Last Saturday, the San Jose Flycasters hosted a one-day fishout on the Tuolumne River.  The host provided a great handout with info on which rivers in the area were likely to fish, a map of the area with easy access points, and even hosted a driving tour of the area that morning to show us likely spots.
 
Another member and I headed up a couple days early since one day is never enough fishing.

The first day, we drove all over the place checking out the places the host listed including things like Lumsden Bridge.  You have to really want to get to Lumsden Bridge and drive an expendable vehicle but we made it.  Too bad the main Tuolumne River was blown out or we could've fished once we got there.

Apparently, Hetch Hetchy was on the verge of spilling so they were dumping water to stay ahead of the overflow.  That doesn't make much sense but I'm sure somehow it's a good strategy.

We drove up to Cherry Lake as well...didn't look very good for wet wading and we didn't have a speedy boat with us so we headed back towards more fishable waters.
 
On the way back from Cherry Lake, a bear sprinted across the road.  The first wild bear I've seen and a good reminder to not leave food in your car out there...

We ended the day on a nearby lake chasing bluegills on poppers until darkness kicked us off the water.  It was the first time the buddy I was fishing with had tried a kayak.  He caught fish so it couldn't have been too bad... 
 
Here's one of the little bluegill that agreed to pose for my camera:
 

 
Friday morning, we hit the South Fork of the Tuolumne and got into fish fairly quickly.  They were cookie-cutter size, but still fun to chase in crystal clear water that wasn't even knee deep.  Here's my first of the day:
 

 
You can see the ant pattern hanging off his lip.  I'd noticed giant ants in the parking lot so I figured it was worth trying an ant pattern and sure enough...that quickly put a fish on the end of my line.
 
I played around with a variety of patterns to see what worked best.  The ant was a good start.  A Chernobyl Ant cast at another rising trout worked well too.  Various other patterns didn't fare as well.  Sometimes I changed flies to try something different and sometimes I changed flies because the one I'd been using was donated to the local foliage....
 
Saturday morning, we caught the driving tour to start the day.  Great turnout from the local club and we learned about some access points that weren't listed on the handouts.  Some are easy places to play with stockers and others are good places to park and hike so we can chase wild trout.
 
We spent most of Saturday chasing some of those wild trout...hiked a couple miles up the river that day...eventually getting all the way to a cool waterfall. 
 
I caught my first fish in a riffle on this trip and tried a bunch of patterns I'd never tried before (some were patterns I'd tied but not yet had a chance to fish...and they worked).
 
The water was super clear and very slow in the pools.  Plenty of riffles and runs as well...the water has plenty of oxygen from all those riffles so the wild fish fight really well for their size.

Best trout for me from this trip was only 11 inches and the wild ones I caught were less than ten inches...but I'd fish there again in a heartbeat!  Very beautiful area!

Temps hit the mid-90's but we were wet-wading in cool, shady water on Friday which balanced it perfectly.  All that hiking on Saturday made things a lot hotter so I ended the day with a wet wading session to cool off.  My knees were killing me (we easily hiked six or seven miles by the time Saturday was done)...can't wait to go again!
 
Here's a poor shot of one of the smaller ones I landed on Saturday...suckered out of a riffle by a yellow Stimulator fly:



And no, you can't use that one for bait on your next ocean fishing trip... 
 
Our event host did an amazing job!

Fantastic report, Thwack.  Thanks for sharing it.   

Nice report, good to hear about flies from the yak.
Love the little wild trout. 

WOW, loved your report Thwack.  Reading your description of the south fork quickly took me back to my paradise.  Thanks for sharing.

I've been fishing the middle and south forks of the Tuolumne for the past 6-7 years as my wife's family likes to camp on the middle fork.  I agree, lots of accessible water in that area.  You're right, if somebody is willing to do a little hiking, the opportunity for wild fish is abundant.

I don't do a lot of flyfishing, but that is one area where I truly enjoy it.  Don't know what size rod you were using, but I've got a little 3wt. that makes those little guys an absolute blast to fight.

I'd be curious to know the names of places that you fished, especially the waterfall.  I'm always looking for new water to explore.

Also, PM me next time you head up in that direction and need a partner.  Not sure what your line of work is but I've got the summer off if you ever go over midweek.

Michael

Great report!  Sure, the more common sierra fish are small, but half of what I like about trout fishing up there is just being up in the woods.  Can't wait for a trip!

Last month, I was driving 49 south of Placerville, and I realized how long it's been since I took a non-backpacking sierra trip.  I think I need to just go fishing up there!

Rick

thwack,
the waterfall...is it the one you have to hike up the south fork from the campsite at the confluence of the main river and the s fork, down in the gorge??? if so, you are truly an intrepid individual!!!!! A friend and i explored that whole area a few years ago. we stumbled upon the waterfall during one of those insane all day pushes up the river in hope of that once in a lifetime big browns.Boy when we got to the pool below the waterfall......well let it be said, Adam named it 'wet dream falls'....wide open catch and release of the wildest looking trout id ever seen...anyways...that waterfall is one helluva long and dangerous hike. if you fished upstream from rainbow pools, you musta had somepretty good planter action..Cherry lake has some good size browns in it, but it is so far off the main road. When were in the area and want lake action we drive all the way thro the park via Tolumne medows,and just as you exit the east side of the park,youll see a sign to Saddlebag lake(the highest altitude lake in the sierras, accessable by road). Heavily stocked with tropy alpers . on the far side of the lake is "the 20 lake basin", 20+ tiny sierra glacier fed lakes teeming with brookies n bows...and quite a few golden, of which ive caught 2, all within an easy day hike.

Thanks for the kind words on my report.  Sorry I'm so slow to respond.  Right after I posted, I headed out for a few days of fishing on the Fall River in northern CA, then immediately after getting back I headed out for a couple weeks on the east coast (mega trip with the family to DisneyWorld then drove up the coast sightseeing en route to Colonial Williamsburg where we spent 4th of July weekend).
 
I usually work Mon-Fri but can sometimes burn a vacation day to get away mid-week.  I'd much rather fish mid-week if possible since there are usually fewer folks to trip over near the easy access spots.
 
I'd love to hear more about Sharky's waterfall!  The one I hiked too is Carlon Falls and it's maybe a couple miles off the parking area.  Most of the trail is pretty flat with maybe two short steep sections.  The trail gets close to the South Fork of the Tuolumne in a bunch of places...some of them appear to get fished often (you can see the signs of foot traffic) and some don't...both fished well for us.
 
I'm hoping to head back out that way next weekend (fishing somewhere closer to home this weekend).  If I can get away for fishing, I'll try to remember to post a note.

We were mostly looking for places we could get quick access...the sort of drive-from-home, fish a bunch, drive-home sort of trip.  So, all-day hiking to Sharky's waterfall would take more planning, I'd still like more info.
 
We got planters close to the parking area at Carlon day-use areas.  You can literally park and catch fish within fifty feet of your car if you only want to chase planters.  Hiking further downstream right there didn't look reasonable (no decent trail) though going up from Rainbow Pool area is supposed to be pretty decent.

Some great middle fork access in the area around San Jose Family Camp (and upstream past Spinning Wheel).

Met somebody else fly fishing there that really knew the area...gave me some good tips on flies, tactics, locations, etc.  I haven't had a chance to try any of those to see if I can make them work for me...if so, I should be able to get into some of the nice browns that lurk near where we were picking up small rainbows (nothing like hearing there's a 20 inch brown living within ten feet of where you were happy to have pulled out an eleven inch rainbow the day before...d'oh).   

I'm heading that way this weekend.  Leaving Saturday July 12 and coming home Wednesday July 16.  Really looking forward to it! 

I'd love to hear about this place you call Spinning Wheel.  I'll send you a PM.

Michael

I'll keep an eye out for your PM...
 

I'm heading that way this weekend.  Leaving Saturday June 12 and coming home Wednesday June 16.  Really looking forward to it! 

  Hummmm...  Unless ya mean July, I think you missed it already!   

Have a great time out there!

I'm heading that way this weekend.  Leaving Saturday June 12 and coming home Wednesday June 16.  Really looking forward to it! 

  Hummmm...  Unless ya mean July, I think you missed it already!  

Have a great time out there!

Fixed it, thanks Al!

Michael

Nice report and beautiful fish.

Z

Heh...I didn't even catch the June/July hiccup.  Oops.  Good think he meant July since I was outta town for three weeks and would've completely botched replying in time.
 
It's a really nice area...easy to get to...easy hiking...plenty of fish (even if they're small)...and the wet wading in the shade kept the heat from being a problem when we went.  I'm trying to figure out when I can get back there...
 
It's also worth checking the flows before you go...by the end of summer, I expect the south fork to be pretty weak.  Middle Fork might be also...I don't know yet.  But, the main fork should be fine by then (vs. the massively blown out flow when I was out there last month).
 
If anybody's headed that way to fling flies, let me know and I can give more info on what flies were working back then...

ok im gona try show a map of "wet dream falls".Please realize that after about a half a mile from the campsite/trailhead, the trail dissappears. the rest of the way is sketchy on a good day and straight dangerous on a bad (high flow). its many miles of boulder hoppin,river swimming, sometimes cliff clawing insanity...oh yea...dont forget the mom and cub super close bear encounters, rattlers and ever present mozzies....

i wasnt too sure on the map where it was, so i gave 2 spots close to each other. you cant miss it, cause theres nowhere else to go in the canyon. i also showed the campsite to start at.