Hobart Reservoir Day Trip 08-09-15

I decided (kind of last minute) to take a day trip up to Hobart Reservoir, just west of Carson City, NV.  I've been wanting to check this place out for quite sometime because I've heard that the fishing is phenomenal.

I visited several sites on the Internet and they all warned of a rough, steep five mile stretch of road you have to take to get there--they weren't kidding.  The road was one of the steepest and narrowest roads I've been on in recent memory, but the websites said that it's what keeps the crowds out and the fishing great.

The Ash Canyon road starts just outside of west Carson City and it wastes not time getting steep and narrow.

There are a couple of fairly large turnouts/vista points, but for the most part, there's only room for one vehicle.  A couple of times on the way up, I met a truck going down and we almost touched side view mirrors as we passed each other and those were the wide parts of the road.

At this particular turnout, there's a trail head that I'll have to take another time.  I wanted to spend my time at the lake today.

Trail head on the Ash Canyon Road

Not only was the road incredibly steep, but it had tons of drainage cuts across it, so right as you could get some momentum going up, you'd have to slow down for these "speed bumps;" it was very frustrating.  I had my little Tacoma in 4WD most of the way up and had to drop down to Four Low for a part of it.

About halfway up the road, it occurred to me that I hadn't checked the turnbuckles on the Bobcat in a couple of weeks and I had visions of it sliding out and tumbling down the mountainside.  I guess it's just my nature to worry, but they held on tight and at the top, I checked them and they were as tight as my wallet in a casino...

We finally made it to the top, where there was a nice little parking area.  From here, it's a 1/4 mile hike down a steep trail/road combo to the water's edge.  There is a service road to the lake, but it's locked.

Fly rod, Tenkara Rod, camera and water--ready to go.

Parking above the reservoir.  There were no signs prohibiting camping, so next time I come this way, I'll pop up here.

The well marked trail head to the lake

The photo doesn't do the steepness any justice.  The trail was straight down without a switchback in sight.

 A lot of fishermen haul float tubes on their backs down to the water and there would be a real advantage in doing so, but pack as light as you can because you'll have to drag it all up this trail when you're done.

Last leg of the hike down.  You can see the lake poking through the trees.  

There is a small walk in campground near the water and it has a vault toilet, bear boxes and a couple of picnic tables.  You'd have to be in "backpacking mode" to enjoy those sites.

Hobart is a very beautiful little lake and the rough trek up to it makes it all the better.

Dexter found the water right away

Like he even has a chance to catch that duck...

NOPE

After Dex settled down a bit and quit scaring the fish away, I broke out my fly rod.  I got two pretty good casts in and there was a bit of breeze, which made it a little more challenging.  Casts 3-5 resulted my line getting tangled and cast 6 saw a Jeffery pine snag my killer bug in its limbs.

Frustrated, I put the fly rod away and set up my Tenkara rod, which I like better anyway.  My Tenkara rod severely limits my casting distance, but at least I can get the fly in the water, so I stayed with that the rest of the afternoon.

I can't tell you how frustrating it is to watch trout after trout follow your fly right up to the shore and then turn away at the last minute.  I only used a Utah Killer Bug and and Elk Hair Caddis, but they didn't want to bite on either.  There were a lot of bugs flying all over the water's surface, so the trout could afford to be picky I guess.

A little foot bridge that crosses the reservoir's outlet.

The stream running out of the reservoir

Hobart limits fishermen to artificial lures and single barbless hooks only, which is a good way to conserve the fishery.  A man down the shore from me caught one and when I asked him what he used, he said "PowerBait."  He then reasoned that PowerBait is artificial.  Where's a warden when you need them?

Well, I got skunked at fishing, but I didn't give it a lot of time and I had fun anyway.  Everywhere you looked in the water, you could see trout swimming around.  Next time, I'll lug a small float tube down and expand on the number of fly patterns I try.

We trudged back up to the parking area and took a little side hike up to a large jumbled array of granite boulders.  I thought there would be some nice views of the lake, but there were too many trees.  There was, however, a lot of smoke in the air from all of the fires.

I don't know the name of this little peak, but it was just east of the lake.

We started back down the hill to civilization and even in my truck's lowest gear, I still had to ride the brakes the entire way down.  At two wide places in the road, I stopped to let my brakes cool down.  I got out and felt the heat emanating from around the wheels and I could smell that burning brake odor you get when you're behind a semi going down a steep hill.  On the way down, I snapped a quick photo of Carson City below.

Carson City, NV

To wrap it up, it was a fun trip, but if I'm going to torture my truck like that again (and I will), then I'm going to make the trip worth wild and camp up there for a couple of nights.