Last year, when I first made the hike down to the Little Sur River in the Ventana Wilderness, I wasn't expecting much. The whole area had been burned badly in the 2008 wildfire season, and I was assured by those in the know that the already spotty trout population of the Little Sur was surely done in by the fire, or the resulting ash and mudslides.
My fishing buddy and I decided to check it out anyway. We had caught fish in Salmon creek, a similar river an hour south of the Little Sur, and the idea of small stream fishing close to home was too tempting. Therefore, our first trip down was filled with cautious optimism.
Our optimism paid off, and we found the Little Sur to be chock full of small 3-4" trout eager to rise to any well presented dry fly. Even better there was not a single angler on the river (although that first day there were a dozen or so naked hippies, but that is a story for another day).
I made the hike down to the Little Sur often last summer, and each time was rewarded for the effort. It seems that something had survived the fire, and a small little population of trout was taking hold.
My fishing buddy and I decided to check it out anyway. We had caught fish in Salmon creek, a similar river an hour south of the Little Sur, and the idea of small stream fishing close to home was too tempting. Therefore, our first trip down was filled with cautious optimism.
Our optimism paid off, and we found the Little Sur to be chock full of small 3-4" trout eager to rise to any well presented dry fly. Even better there was not a single angler on the river (although that first day there were a dozen or so naked hippies, but that is a story for another day).
I made the hike down to the Little Sur often last summer, and each time was rewarded for the effort. It seems that something had survived the fire, and a small little population of trout was taking hold.
Representative Little Sur Trout
The river opened up again this last weekend, and once again I found myself full of trepidation. The winter was unseasonably wet, and I was worried that the storms might have filled the river with mud. Furthermore, the camp host at the trailhead had reported sightings of merganser ducks, which he believed were eating the trout.
Once again, the hike down to the river paid off, and we discovered that not only had the trout population survived it had thrived. Not only were trout rising to well presented dry flies, but the average size had risen from 3 inches to 6 or 7 inches, with fish as large as 11.5 inches being brought to hand.
This story may not seem remarkable, but as a youngish angler, I have little experience with improvement in my fisheries. It seems that everywhere I go in California, I am told about how much better the fishing was "back in the day". I am told that overfishing, poaching, stocking, or dams have ruined once great fisheries, and that I will never experience what my older "brothers of the angle" did.
It may be the case that the environment in general and river's in particular are not what they were, but it was really nice going back to work this week knowing that there is somewhere where things are getting better.
--Posted by Eben
Once again, the hike down to the river paid off, and we discovered that not only had the trout population survived it had thrived. Not only were trout rising to well presented dry flies, but the average size had risen from 3 inches to 6 or 7 inches, with fish as large as 11.5 inches being brought to hand.
This story may not seem remarkable, but as a youngish angler, I have little experience with improvement in my fisheries. It seems that everywhere I go in California, I am told about how much better the fishing was "back in the day". I am told that overfishing, poaching, stocking, or dams have ruined once great fisheries, and that I will never experience what my older "brothers of the angle" did.
It may be the case that the environment in general and river's in particular are not what they were, but it was really nice going back to work this week knowing that there is somewhere where things are getting better.
--Posted by Eben
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