With Covid-19 infections finally low enough to make Kern a “red “" county”, it is imperative to prevent further spread in the vulnerable Kern River Valley and here in Bakersfield. Direct stocking from the San Joaquin Hatchery was lower pounds than usual during March. By Next weekend, we might see low to mid 50s and no rain. Easily lost over 30 in the last 3 hours. Thankfully the pilot bailed in time and  survived, but was engine failure from smoke particulates to blame? https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sequoia/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD799174. It looks like the next time we will see safe wading and productive catching on the Upper Kern will be in late July similar to 2017.   We would find pods of fish in various places and just sit there and fish them out and they move on to another pod. When we arrived back down at the Johnsondale Bridge the water was chocolate milk. Last year the CDFW planted for over four months in high flows that gave us great disbursed catching for quite a while after the Kern River runoff ended. It has really been hot in the San Joaquin Valley and up in the Kern River Valley. Catching has been good on small nymphs as well. So hopper patterns are worth a try now. Water temps will drop substantially and that will put down the wild and long term holdovers, however, the recent planters on section 4 should still be eating as they are used to getting fed daily and will take a while to naturalize there feeding behavior. It used to be my favorite spot 10 to 15 years ago but it has languished, it just doesn’t seem to get fish stocked in it any more. I didn’t have a lot of takes over the next 3 hours but did land the first> 20” trout in 2 years. The best catching has always been when the river drops below 1,000 cfs at Kernville and they are taking 600 cfs out from the Fairview Dam diversion for KR3 power generation. I left my rods in the car and just took a few pics today. Around noon I decided to move up river trying to find water that might have low angling pressure. You can view and comment on the proposed regulation changes here https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Trout-Plan/Regulation-Simplification     Please consider sending feedback to the CDFW. We can look at the last giant fire in the Kern Drainage, the McNally Fire (150,000 acres), to get some idea of its consequences. The Kern River Fly Fishers encourage everyone to follow the current orders of the State and County Health Officers. Fast sink tip stripped moderately slow. It appears the best catching for the summer is behind us as river temperatures climbed 8 degrees from last week. Winter is pretty much here. The Lower Kern usually is planted this time of year and has no stockings planned or completed since last spring. River was 70 degrees a noon and air temp 97. While our sympathies and concerns are extended to the unfortunate circumstances for many in SoCal, it does mean that there is a potential for more active trout and less fishing pressure on the Upper Kern. See all here http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow_ss/COURSES. I'm guessing those people don't realize they could be in for a big fine if they are on the trail above the bridge (fire zone closed area)when it is being patrolled. No public official commented on the Kern River any Kern County concerns. The hatchery people are hoping that it can be cleaned out and up and running again to receive San Juan Hatchery footlongs again in another few weeks. One of three browns landed today. Would it be similar to Kernville employee and volunteer stockers? Some of these trout exceeded 4 pounds. CDFW Region 4 (our region) hatchery trout will now be allocated to the areas that those closed hatcheries normally supply. Map & Directions My #12 foam stone with a yellow belly got a lot of hits, especially after 10 am. Keep a thermometer with you in August and September as temps near 100 degrees and flows above Fairview Dam continue to slowly fall. Wish I had brought my camera with me. I think that usually applies to the 20 mile section. Although a small creek, it can bring a lot of muddy water into the Lower Kings should this latest storm drive flows up over 50 cfs. Even though they are spring fed waters they were a chocolate mess when we got there after a 2” or rain had deluged the country side. So I just avoided those areas and reports over the last few weeks suggested the fishing was tough on section 4. For this reduction, we tried to maintain efficient stocking in about 30 locations instead of doing a poor job at 70 locations. Warmer lake temperatures are suspected. The latest from the hatchery is encouraging. Been pretty hot lately and the Upper Kern was high and climbing this week well above 1,000 cfs as the short  melt season restarted again. The BHFBPT seems to work at every western water I’ve fished this year. Tule                                                       0% Click for Streamflow data. The difficulty finding trout confirms the extreme fishing pressure the 20 mile stretch is experiencing. Snow pack levels now are 87% of normal but no significant storms on the horizon. While BFL has had one decent January rainfall day it has not shown up in the Southern Sierra snowpack. A total of 25,000 fingerlings were planted, with the hope many would survive to grow to catchable size. Last week we tried as many spots as possible to located the super catchables planted on sections 4, 5 and 6 before the tourney with no big trout found. I would guess the dark slug of water would arrive within an hour. TULE                           31% Can’t imagine camping in this kind of heat? I hope the harvesters don’t return tomorrow. Next week looks more normal in temperatures for this time of the year……mid to upper 40s. We decided to try fewer stretches on sections 4 and 5. Far fewer grabs were experienced today with just 5 trout landed in 4 hours of aggressive wading and bushwhacking in the morning. These high flows require it. The secret is to get your streamers down fast and keep them there. All anglers on the 20 mile stretch of the Upper Kern clearly will have their challenges for the next year. We left  a bit early as the smoke appeared to come from the western peaks. Hard to believe huh? Upper Kern River today  at 2,00 cfs. Air temp was 67 degrees at 9 am, water temp 53 degrees. Since these fish are genetically diploid (able to reproduce), rather than triploid (unable to reproduce), we are limited in what waters we can plant them.   As of late this morning the fire was at 10 acres. I was buzzed by a pair of F-35 raptors and a pair of F-18’s. This raised the water about 2 feel or just a little more. January 14 - 21, 2021 Precautionary fishing [7] Strokes & Plugs [11] What the county’s talking about this week. Flash back pheasant tails, copper johns, hares ears, princes.... all bead heads set at least 36” below a hopper our stimulator with yellow bellies. San Juan River . Feel free to provide feedback on whether that was a good choice, or reasons you perhaps would select another location. All proceeds to benefit Casting for Recovery. Water temp was 59 at the start around 8:30 am. Today I arrived on the river around 9:30 am and it registered 52 degrees. There is no time frame to restart the Kern River hatchery. The lower part of the 20 mile section waters had reached +70° for most of the summer. I don’t think I ever landed 3 browns in one year before, let alone in one day on the 20 mile stretch! Citations are written to bait fishers and the unlicensed practically every time I’ve been there. I believe this may be a new strain of CDFW planters as I’ve seen more of these on social media posts. Trout of any size counted to help people score, because the catching dropped off after sterile trout and extended drought became the norm years ago. Water looks good. Thunder was rolling in close and dark clouds moved in just before I quit. California HAB portal  https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/resources/human_health.html Future home for 50 brood stock Kern River Rainbows with chiller. Wet wading a good idea. Hope to update you as information comes in. It sounds like everyone caught trout and many super catchables up to 25.5”. As I am typing, utilities across the state are issuing warnings to many residents in fire prone areas that may experience power outages for days until the fire risks dissipate. It was very hot and I drank a gallon of water I’d guess. Below Lake Isabella the flows are +900 cfs and have dropped from 1,400 cfs a week ago as agricultural demand wanes. The high tomorrow should be in the low 40s. Upper Kern flows have dropped but that will only be very temporary and short lived. Since March I have only found one honey hole recently stocked after sampling at least +50 times? Water temps in the upper 50’s all day. So the first couple of hours of fishing it was hard to find a run to myself. The Lake Isabella spring fishing derby has been changed from prior years. As river temps rise to 70 degrees it has been my experience to catch more and more pike minnows. Did hook a few on the ruby 2, but it was a worm day. Remember that the Lower Kings below Alta Weir is barbless, artificial, catch and release with heavy fines for those that don’t comply. You can’t find better experts to wade beside to show you how to catch on general patterns many of you have in your fly boxes. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will see dry weather with highs in the mid 30s. These guys are from Oklahoma. Then just try to survive when the hot returns. Most trout begin to really suffer above 65° and I avoid fishing the Kern River when it gets above 70° on the 20 mile section.   https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Trout-Plan/Regulation-Simplification. Few recent stockers landed. Stay Safe. Don’t remember what the wind speeds were, but it was vicious! The warm water closed the Kern River Planting Base for the summer. Is it river temp or harvesting that ended the good catching for this year it seems? And though we are now in December and it’s probably time to put away that hopper box until . I had 8 grabs in the first 45 minutes on two different flies. Flow Spikes the last week. It will stock our county locations periodically but much lower pounds than later this spring. We tried another often stocked area low on section 5 on the way home and covered a good 1/2 mile stretch  with no grabs nor trout seen scooting. . No T storms in the High Sierra lately but keep an eye on weather forecasts if you plan to come up. A lot of things are changing to provide trout to the areas where there was devastation. It takes about two hours for the surge to show up at HQ once the surge starts at Fairview Dam so you have some time to cross the river and fish before you have to get back on the road side. Pine Flat Reservoir is low and will be in the accumulation mode so releases should be low (been well under 150 cfs the last month). It is still getting stocked but the cooler temperatures are slowing the catching way down. The CDFW has spent nearly $750,000 improving the Kern River Hatchery to propagate and care for Kern River Rainbow Trout. He was all by himself and worth the effort to reach him. For the past several months the river was stocked at high flows that washed stockers down river and prevents stocking truck followers from harvesting most trout soon after they are placed in the Upper Kern. I drove to another spot up on section 6 and waded through a chest deep run in 62 degree water to get my first head shaker in weeks. Fines and removal will result. Then I began seeing a lot of cars, unfortunately they were all within a mile of each other because it was the only stretch where there were not orange cones and signs marking off parking lots, dispersed camping areas and turnouts. Been vacationing a bit but had a chance to go fly fishing again. Surprisingly there wasn’t much to view and only nymphs were present. I did not try section 4 as that is where people were going to apply fishing/harvesting pressure, float rafts, and flows on that stretch over 700 cfs. The Lower Kings trophy trout program started two weeks ago. I was very beat by 1 pm and wading in deeper water in the low 60’s actually had me shivering and tightened up some old worn out muscles. No stomach pumping or photos taken today, making sure to return the trout back to the river ASAP. It could be a long time before you can get back to your vehicle. Rainbows were taken on the BHFBPT again. Just two rises seen in 4 hours. This should be enough of an explanation for people curious about whether or not New Mexico is worth fishing. The higher flows can push freshly stocked trout  downstream and spread them out better. The first lake plants nearby are happening in October this year. Perhaps after Whiskey Flat Days could make for some decent catching? Rainfall for this snow/rain season is improving. The CDFW has made a dramatic shift from its stocking policies of the past with few Bakersfield lakes and Lower Kern River plants but far more plants occurring on the Upper Kern. The Upper Kern is running pretty cold in the 30's on the 20 mile section. Trout began going belly up and all of the trout were planted earlier this week on the 20 mile stretch. We offer more inn-to-inn USA bike tour destinations than any other company. However, I did cover a ton of water. So water temp had come up 7° in just 3.5 hours on a 95° degree day. Jim had Bryant and Chuck out that morning. I pumped a few stomachs and they were eating #18 – #22 mayfly nymphs and ants. Many tubers were using the area as well. I plan to return later next week and can update then. Perfect. Cabins for Rent – With the Fly Fisher in Mind, Helpful Links & Phone Nos. Water temp was 65 degrees at 8 am. Acclaimed author and voice of the fly fisher the world over, John Gierach has a new book. You can see high water marks on the shores from the spikes earlier in the week. The Kern River Hatchery is still not fully operational and no trophy program is in progress yet and its future appears to be uncertain. Have a great mentorship outing!   Had a chance to fish the North Santiam in OR recently while visiting family in Salem. The Kernville hatchery is still not fully operational and so no local trophy trout program restarted yet. I had quite a bit of action on the red hooked #12 Arnerd and the #16 flashback bead head pheasant tails. After some spirited discussion he got a warning. It was not an issue today with light fog north of Visalia but could be denser this 3-day weekend. Stocking on section 4 only this week? There has been no stocking for 2 months. In these flows, if you hook a trout on a #16 BH flashback pheasant Tail and they go downstream they are extremely hard to land. The first people to comment on the proposed change were only public officials after 20 minutes of technical issues. If we have another low snow pack year that won’t be possible again this year. It makes for long days, OT pay, and if river temps rise along with the long valley commutes in 100 degree weather, trout can be near lethal exhaustion by the time they are placed in the river.

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