by Mike Brown
One of the most spectacular places in which to wet a line is California’s Eastern Sierra. Gin-clear, cold running waters and magical crystalline pools flow beneath the watchful eyes of towering granite cathedrals, providing an excellent underwater habitat for gorgeous wild trout including browns, rainbows, brooks and goldens, with the occasional cutthroat lurking in a few, certain places. And in secret, tucked away locations, golden/rainbow hybrids can be found, caught, photographed and released. The golden/rainbow hybrids are some of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen, touched and filmed.
Eastern Sierra streams and creeks are not only beautiful, they are abundant. Several canyon areas (including Bishop Creek Canyon and Rock Creek Canyon) offer more fly fishing opportunities than any other fly fishing destination I’ve ever visited. How many of those waters you choose to fish are limited only by the amount of time you have available. During the winter months, I can always be found mulling over TOPO maps and highlighting the places that I might like to investigate the following Sierra season. By springtime, I’ve usually made some loose plans with fellow fly fishing enthusiasts to day hike or backpack into those areas in search of untouched trout waters. This is how many of my personal “secret spot” discoveries over the years have been made.
Fly fishing Eastern Sierra waters with a fly rod and small imitation bugs made of fur, feathers and thread is by far the smartest and most efficient way to catch wild trout. By offering a trout something reasonably similar to what it’s used to seeing and eating naturally, the fly fisherman is already way ahead of the game. Whether you tie your own or you purchase your bugs from a fly shop, imitation flies will always do the trick. Generally, Eastern Sierra wild trout aren’t too picky about what’s being served up to them, so most any fly size 16-20 will bring about a hearty strike. My preferred Eastern Sierra flies are the barbless Parachute Adams, Standard Adams and Parachute Hares Ear. No matter the time of year, water temperature, weather conditions or water flow rates, I can guarantee you will always find one of those three flies attached to my tippet, ready to search out the first trout.
In my own estimation, the most enjoyable way to catch, photograph and release these wild beauties is by using ultralight fly fishing gear. I also believe the average Sierra fly fisherman could easily get by using just about any weight fly rod he or she had at their disposal. But in my opinion, ultralight fly fishing is the way to fly fish these amazing running waters. For those fly fishermen that are new to the sport or haven’t yet discovered ultralights, the ideal all-around Eastern Sierra set-up might easily be a 4-5wt 8-8’6” medium-fast flex fly rod. Add to that a matching weight forward or double taper floating line with a 9-10’ 6x or 7x tapered leader and fly attached to the business end, and you’ll be set for some awesome high-altitude Eastern Sierra fly fishing experiences. Using a 4-5wt rod will allow the angler to cover all the possible bases – for instance, just in case you decide to spend some time during the warm, evening hours on a lake in a float tube throwing tiny dry flies to cruising trout.
To me, nothing compares with the tug of a high-altitude wild trout on ultralight fly fishing equipment. Sure, anyone can have a blast catching trout using just about any weight fly fishing rod they might have laying around, but for the real fun there is no comparison to an ultralight outfit. For my own Eastern Sierra fly fishing adventures I primarily throw a 0wt 8’ fly rod. Most of the trout I catch come from very tiny places and are typically tiny themselves - rarely exceeding twelve inches (I’m after fight and color, not size). Coupled with floating line, a 9-10’ 7x tapered leader and flies that range in size from a visible 16 to a eye-straining 22, my ultralight rods fit my fly fishing needs perfectly. Waders are not a necessary piece of equipment to have in the fly fisherman’s arsenal, considering most Sierra running waters are rarely wider than fifteen feet across. But having a pair at the ready never hurts. I always carry along a pair in my truck for just such an occasion.
As time goes on we will discuss ultralight fly fishing equipment, Eastern Sierra fly fishing locations, gorgeous wild trout and personal experiences catching and releasing these incredibly fragile creatures. From time to time we’ll even be able to meet one other at some of these stunning high altitude destinations, sharing stream water by day and stories by night.
Fly fishing Eastern Sierra running waters will leave all your fly fishing needs satisfied and have you wanting to come back for more. And between casts, stop for a brief moment and take a look around at where you are. Forget about current politics, your love life problems and those overdue bills sitting on your coffee table. Get lost gazing at the scenery before you and daydream a little about where you might like to go next time you come up. Fly fishing in the Eastern Sierra is one of the most excellent things a wild trout fly fisherman can do.
