WOLF CREEK Fish & Camp

The "Ski3Pins" and the "Magellans" invited Dexter and me to join them for a weekend of camping and fishing on Wolf Creek, which is the home of some very smart and crafty wild Lahontan Cutthroat Trout.  I had only met Ted a.k.a. "Magellan" once before and and had never met Ted's wife or Ski and The Lady in person, so I jumped at the chance to meet up with their group.

 

Wolf Creek is located up and behind the U.S. Marine Corps. Mountain Warfare Center, near Sonora Pass, CA, in the eastern Sierra Nevadas.  It was a beautiful place to spend a weekend, and at 8,600 ft. elev., a nice place to get out of the heat and relax.

 I only know how to tie a few different flies, but before the trip I sat down to tie a box of the barbless

flies that are required on this section of Wolf Creek.

We all agreed to meet at Walker Burger in Walker, CA, at 5:30 pm on Friday and then we would all caravan up to the campsite together.  I arrived a little early and Dexter and I enjoyed sitting in their shaded dining area and the company their many Meat Bees, which are actually not bees at all, but rather a type of wasp.

Ski and The Lady arrived right on time and we all sat down and had an early dinner at the little roadside stand.  Just as we were wrapping up dinner, the "Teds" arrived and after meeting everyone, we all sat out for our destination for the weekend.  

It's funny because, in the past, I've driven by the Wolf Creek turn off many times and I never new it even existed.  I think it's because you have to go through a Marine Corps. I.D. checkpoint and I had always assumed that anything beyond their gates was a military installation.  

We made it through the checkpoint and immediately got onto a dirt road that took us up high and through several groves of aspen--it'll be a beautiful drive in the fall!

   Down below was a small part of the mountain warfare center.

 We found a nice clearing that was approximately three miles from the end of the road and set up camp.  The Ski3Pins are on the left, the "Teds" in the middle and Dexter and I are on the right.

That evening we all sat around and visited until it got dark.  There had been a full moon a few days earlier and I was expecting a very bright evening, but the moon didn't show it's face until 9:30 pm or so and that was about the time we were all calling it a night.

I was parked only 15 feet or so away from the creek, so I was able to enjoy the sounds of rippling water all night long.  What a way to end a busy work week?

 The next morning I was full of optimism as I got my Tenkara gear ready.

I tried to pick Ski and Ted's brains as much as I could about these fish because I had heard that they were really difficult to catch.

 Ski set off to fish upstream from the campsite.

Shortly thereafter, Ski disappeared into the willows and I wouldn't see him again for three more hours.

While her hubby was fishing, The Lady went for a hike by herself.  She hiked up to a high ridge line and then walked west along the ridge for quite a while before descending down and returning to camp along the road.  She had been gone for about four hours and managed to stay dry until the last little part, where she slipped into the creek.  She returned to camp with wet boots and a few more scratches than she left with but she had a good time and had some incredible views.  She even saw bear scat along the way.

The "Teds" hiked east of camp and around a mountain to the next valley over, where they had a nice view of Silver Creek, which I understand is the spawning grounds for the Lahontan Trout.      

These were the guys we were after. 

 Most of the trout were small and about 5-6 inches, but Ski saw some upstream that were in the 8 inch range. 

My morning was very frustrating.  On my first or second cast of the day, I watched a little trout dart out from under a large boulder and chase my fly.  Is it really going to be this easy I said to myself?  The trout rushed up to my fly looked at it and ran for cover back under his rock.  Try as I did, I could never lure him back out.  At least it got my blood pumping a little.

For the next hour, I caught a whole lot of these horrible little things.  The Lady identified them as Ranger Buttons, but I had other names for them that I won't mention here. 

If your loose fly line even touches these little balls of hell, they'll latch onto it and twist in into knots that even a Boy Scout can't identify.

When I wasn't tangled up in Ranger Buttons, I would forget that I had a 12 foot rod and would get tangled up in the high branches of the trees.

I still wasn't ready to give up, until this happened.     

 I've never had this happen before, but on what was to be my final cast, I felt something strange vibrate up the rod.  When I pulled the line in, I saw that a dragonfly had managed to get tangled up in my tippet.  How in hell can that happen???

Above you can see my little fly dangling helplessly below the ensnared dragonfly.

I took this as a sign and I packed it up for the day and decided to take my trusty hound dog for a hike.

 Since I had hung up my fly rod for the day, Dexter was allowed to go for a splash.

 I didn't see a ton of flowers in the area, but those that were there definitely stood out.

It was really kind of funny to watch all of the little trout dash and dart about when Dexter hit the water.

 Later that afternoon, we all met back up at camp and visited, sampled some different wines and Ted brought out a nice Caprese salad for everyone, complete with home grown tomatoes and basil from his garden, for an appetizer.

 That evening, before dinner, Ski went on a final trout stalk of the day, while The Lady helped him spot fish from higher ground.

Ski made casting amongst the rocks look so easy.

 I snapped this pic because I thought it was ironic that even though campfires were prohibited, we still feel comfortable sitting around the fire ring.  I guess it's like going to the beach and hanging out around the swimming pool...

We all turned in for the night, just before the moon came up.

 Sunday morning was beautiful.  There were a lot more clouds in the sky and I was hoping the forecast of 30% chance of light rain would come true.

 Breakfast was served!

 Donna and The Lady posed for a picture by the creek.

 But Dexter had to go join them.  I guess he thought they looked lonely...

After photos, Ski and Ted wanted one last try at the trout.

Ski had spotted some trout in front of the large rock in the foreground. 

Ted was drifting his fly along with the current and we could see the trout approaching it, but they just wouldn't bite.  It was still fun watching the fish interact with the flies. 

We finally packed up the campers and headed back to civilization.  I had a great time on this trip and I'll definitely return once I hone my fishing/casting technique quite a bit more.

I'd like to thank the Ski3Pins and the "Teds" for inviting me along and I hope to meet up with you all in the future for some more adventures.  Maybe I'll bribe them with the promise of some Dutch oven enchiladas...