We will pass along when and if that occurs. This is part of the reality of the new policy implemented by all California power companies. Trout were picky though. In BFL we have not recorded a measurable rain event in over 200 days and it shows. Of course we fly fishers would love to see them disbursed everywhere so we can catch and release them later in the fall. Stay tuned for updates. At $0.59 each I buy 3 dozen at a time to last me all year here https://www.flydealflies.com/flies/pheasant_tail_flash_back_b.html   I like to carry #16, #18, and #20 BHFBPT where ever I fish for trout in California, Utah and Oregon. We did see a lot of stonefly shucks everywhere we fished today. However,  when the first storm that dumps more than an inch hits, expect some pretty lousy fly fishing conditions. More is still on the horizon as I am typing. We will see how the Lower Kern unfolds this Fall. We just got a great storm that is hitting our area today. They were packed out in milk cans on mules and fattened up at the Kern River Hatchery. Kern county’s water is no different. So while the warm weather is appreciated we are going to pay for it later if something does not change soon. The 4 mile stretch is at risk. It is unclear to me if there is a separate meeting to discuss CDFW fishing closures at 10 am or is a part of the 9am meeting/webinar? Let’s hope the trout get a chance to move around a bit before the locals following the stocking truck harvest them. Hopefully LATE this fall the hatchery will be ready to receive the first Kern River Rainbow brooders. Conclusion, expect the catching to fall quickly with the lack of stocking and the lower flows giving natural predators an advantage. Usually stocking in Bakersfield Lakes has occurred by now but is not scheduled any time soon nor on the Upper Kern in November. We headed down river to ascertain the extent of the poor conditions. Time will tell. Future home for 50 brood stock Kern River Rainbows with chiller. The carp bite for fly fishers has been challenging with rising lake levels moving those finicky feeders into different holding water. 1-406-586-2188 Book with Confidence Book a Trip View Cart ( ) If we disturb that time by hooking and releasing a trout they likely will hide after being C&R’d and not feed any more during that short 3 hour window. The water, shellfish, and fish contaminated with these algal blooms can be extremely harmful and even lethal to us and our animals. All were clearly wild and took a size #16 BHFBPT. Took a water temp at 3:30 pm about 9 miles north of Kernville and it was 67 degrees. Use a very small/light indicator and strike at the slightest movement. All 5 landed were 14” to 17” but noticeably leaner this week. All pristine this week  and last week with , amazingly, no recent stockers hooked of the 33 total landed over my last two short trips. That could change soon as we slowly reopen the state. For now enjoy the trout fishing that we have now and plan your summer trips for alpine elevations and tail waters , or out of state. Executive Director They loved my red hooked #12 Arnerd and # 16 or #18 BHFBPT. Going forward I would not expect river temperatures to be in the 50’s for months but likely in the low 40’s starting this weekend. One was 15" high up on section 5. I tried  a favorite half mile stretch on section 5 first. KERN RIVER: Trout action continues pretty fair to good, but the only DFW plants this week were in Section 6 of the upper river in Tulare County. At this time 191 structures have succumbed and 3,188 structures are threatened. So there you have it from the horse’s mouth. Fingers are crossed. Nothing large in their bellies, but they did devour my #12 red hooked  Arnerd and #16 BHFBPT hung deep below my Hills’ foam Stonefly #12. Some of this section 6 water has not been reachable for 2 years. I decided to start at a wild stretch that I covered two weeks ago and got a dozen grabs and landed a nice wild 16" bow to see how it was doing. 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. The subsurface insect activity is still pretty viable in the lower 50 degree water. In the lower river, the flow was 428 cfs. That makes the bigger trout lethargic and increases all sorts of physiological issues for trout. More on that later. A lot of the runs that held trout last week didn’t get a grab this week. They stocked sections 4 and 5 two weeks ago and section 4 should get some trout next week. Flows really have dropped down in just 8 days on Section 5 , the low flow section, I finally got a day I could get away to fish. May 30, 2018; Kern River Access, Please Advise? For those that are catch and release fly fishers, we avoid fishing water as it nears 70 degrees to avoid lethally stressing rainbow trout. Last week it was 62 degrees today 70 degrees at 1 pm. The CDFW still has not fattened up their super catchables (3 lbs) to size yet. Perdigons, Peacock Frenchie #18, Red Holo Midges #16, Rusty Albino #16 have been very consistent lately.Nymphs:  Olive/Orange Perdigon #14, Soft Hackle and Flashback PT’s #14-18, Pink, Peacock and Orange Frenchies #14-18, Tungsten Jig Quill Body Baetis #14, #16-20 Purple, Red and Black Holo Midges, #16 Rusty Albino, Tungsten Jig PT Red Tie #14-18, WD-40 #16-22Dries: Cripple Baetis #16-18, Parachute Adams #14-20, Griffith’s Gnat #16-20, Cluster Midge #16-20, Brooks Sprout Baetis #22-26, Missing Link #16-18Streamers: Olive Wooly Bugger #12, Micro Finesse Game Changer White and Tan.   I don’t think I ever landed 3 browns in one year before, let alone in one day on the 20 mile stretch! We geared up and also tried a new fly floatant that is much more wallet friendly than Gink or a facsimile. It clearly was a hefty stocker (right pectoral fin rubbed off and no white tips on the fins) that taped out at +18” and grabbed my red hooked #12 Arnerd. The big fish are now in entire stretch of the Lower Kings River. Probably lost 15 others. The Kern River Hatchery has begun to stock that water earlier this year then in years past. They are planting 2,000 lbs of rainbows ranging from 1 to 3 pounds. The hatchery has shut down planting until the Sequoia National Forest is reopened. I did manage 7 to my net. Flows are now below 250 cfs and they can draw water from Pine Flat Dam in a way that can keep downstream flows temperate for rainbows and the + foot long brookies they planted at high flows earlier this year. The Upper Kern should be at flows under 500 cfs by July 4th. Took a temperature at 2 pm and recorded 70 degrees. One power failure or pump failure and there are just hours to repair or all big trout go belly up. “For starters, you and others have rightly noticed that we have conducted less trout plants in Kern County in 2018 as compared to previous years. So as long as the powers-that-be don’t drive the financial economy into the ditch; and tariffs, labor shortages, and overheated construction pricing don’t blow the project budgets … we’re about ready to finally make this happen. We need to stock enough fish so anglers catch fish at an acceptable rate, and  we believe it is better to stock those fish where there are more anglers to maximize the catch efficiency. No hunting closure/restrictions are being considered. With Covid-19 infections rising fast in LA and Kern County we need to prevent further spread in the vulnerable Kern River Valley. Our expectations were low, however, we managed to land about 20 huge rainbows over 10 hour period and missed more than we landed. Air quality in the SJV is very poor and people with allergies are wheezing and sneezing a lot. You can see high water marks on the shores from the spikes earlier in the week. I had quite a few grabs on my #12 foam golden stonefly but none got the hook. A password will be e-mailed to you. We arrived on the river at 9 am. In addition, CDFW has temporarily postponed fishing on the North Fork Yuba River in Sierra County. The last two months have been extremely warm and I was able to wet wade last week as the Sequoia National Forest was opened up to the Johnsondale Bridge and the 20 mile stretch was made accessible. They hadn’t had any luck, but the did cheer as they watched me pluck six pristine bows below and above them. So I just avoided those areas and reports over the last few weeks suggested the fishing was tough on section 4. Even with plenty of local TV news time being devoted to keeping people out of the river prior to the 4th, people still are going into a dangerous river. When river temperatures drop in the 40’s all life in a river slows down including insect life. It is clear harvesting and river temps over 70 degrees on this stretch have dramatically reduced the population of holdovers and the best catching of the year is now behind us. For more information you can check these web pages. A good thing but far below 2006 peak planting. So a lot of walking and boulder hopping are required to find some long term holdovers still surviving there. It makes more holding water  on Section 6 but raises river temps all the way to Lake Isabella. None of the fish appeared to be stocked recently - having pointy noses and white fins tips. The means fish hard while fishing is good . The Canyon Fire started on the Upper Kern River on Saturday, Dec 5th around 1:00 PM. Back in April the number was less than 200 county wide. They are very durable and dry fast with mesh liner and one zipper pocket for your driver’s license and credit card. These areas really must be getting harvested quickly or our timing has been bad. Stocking will resume just before Memorial Day. There is a huge database containing these fish counts by every licensed guide in the state. Also, the communities of Ponderosa and Camp Nelson have been put on voluntary evacuation status. Water was very very low and 50 degrees. I landed 6 rainbows 14” – 17” in the first hour and missed several others. The Y axis shows the number of days into the year the Upper Kern recedes to under 1,000 cfs and the X axis sows the April 1st snow pack for that year. Shallower water is giving herons a distinct advantage in spotting unwary planters. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Remember to get your 2018 license  https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/, Click Here for Prior Years Fishing Reports, https://www.bakersfield.com/news/hatchery-closes-down-again-following-three-years-of-renovations/article_c24d71b4-2dd7-11eb-a774-276cf8699ec7.html, https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sequoia/alerts-notices, https://kernvalleysun.com/chico-flat-campground-shuts-down-for-season/, https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/fish-plants-continue-in-eastern-sierra-waters/, https://www.amazon.com/Albolene-Moisturizing-Cleanser-Ounce-White/dp/B07FL7MM7K/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Albolene+Moisturizing+Cleanser+Travel+Size+Squeeze&qid=1604079509&s=beauty&sr=1-5, https://kittredgesports.com/fishing_slideshows/Wintertime%20techniques%20and%20tactics%20Lower%20Owens%20in%20Bishop.pdf, https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9e80e202cae24dfebfa206541c49ed07, https://kernpublichealth.com/covid-19_dashboard/, https://caltrout.org/news/cdfw-euthanizes-3-2-million-trout-to-halt-bacteria-outbreak, https://www.flydealflies.com/flies/pheasant_tail_flash_back_b.html, https://smile.amazon.com/Berkley-VPS8-15-Vanish/dp/B000309ZNK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=8%2Blb%2Bvanish%2B110%2Byard&qid=1592545858&sr=8-1&th=1&psc=1, https://www.sportsmans.com/simms/simms-hardbitetrade-felt-studs/p/1408657, https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Hatcheries/Criteria, https://kernpublichealth.com/cyanobacteria-blooms-blue-green-algae/, https://www.bakersfield.com/news/project-manager-on-isabella-dam-provides-update-on-progress/article_686f2cf8-aff9-11e9-a36e-37d34aad1e76.html, https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/sequoia/home, https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=178544&inline, https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FishPlants/Default.aspx, http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow_ss/COURSES, http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=177983&inline, https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Trout-Plan/Regulation-Simplification, https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=177431&inline, https://www.showclix.com/event/if42020bakersfieldca, https://tforods.com/the-predicament-of-buying-the-right-fly-lin/, https://wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Online-Sales, https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/CustomerSearch/Begin, https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Hatcheries/Criteria, https://www.dreamflows.com/graphs/mon.480.php, https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Online-Sales, https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=1, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QF1YORS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/resources/human_health.html, https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/where/freshwater_events.html, https://www.theflystop.com/fly-fishing-flies-discount/dry-flies/terrestrials/foam-terrestrial-olive, https://www.theflystop.com/fly-fishing-flies-discount/nymphs/beadheads/beadhead-flashback-pheasant-tail, https://amazon.com/gp/product/B01GUG9JGS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1, https://ktla.com/2019/08/19/another-l-a-man-found-dead-in-kern-river-2-others-including-11-year-old-girl-still-missing/, https://ktla.com/2019/07/18/bodies-of-2-san-bernardino-teens-2-young-men-recovered-from-kern-river-11-year-old-girl-missing/?fbclid=IwAR2AkFitZ2pB8CGSeGj9KDVAbsulYkxYehs4vscV5GEOqsfiBBc0L5DB1kg, http://www.dreamflows.com/graphs/mon.480.php, https://levan.asapconnected.com/ClassDetail.aspx?pk=1344820, https://www.modbee.com/news/article207013744.html, http://www.flydealflies.com/flies/pheasant_tail_flash_back_b.html, http://www.sutronwin.com/scedison/tw/jsp/, https://www.harborfreight.com/non-contact-pocket-thermometer-93983.html, https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2018/02/28/cdfw-trout-hatcheries-announce-angling-opportunities-for-trophy-trout-in-2018/, https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/round-lead-free-wire, http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow_ss/COURSES.02, https://www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/. Very cold weather has kept the trout down but the bite may be back with the recent warming trend. I communicated with some other baiters, spinner, and fly fishers  an no one seemed to think the Upper got a fresh plant this week with the exception of Riverside Park in Kernville. The biggest went aerial and tossed the hook after several leaps. I got a chance to talk with the new hatchery lead and he passed along some more info on the trophy trout program and its current status. Again most takes were on the dry foam stonefly and 5 trout were landed and released quickly to give them the best chance of recovery. SAN JOAQUIN             42% I was in Oregon a couple of weeks ago and most guides there  avoid any water that hits 65 degrees any time of the day. Natural predation and harvesting are occurring faster than stocking can replenish on the Upper Kern.   The loss of 3.2 million trout in the SoCal hatchery system has really made stocking all of California challenging. Forest Service Temporary Closures and Restrictions - 09/07/20. Chinook salmon fingerlings were planted in Lake Isabella back in November. We would like to kick off site work in April, and open the initial stores including Bass Pro May 2020. I did try hanging some midge larvae patterns sizes #20 and #22 without any grabs. As long as California utilities have to cut power at any time when the winds pick up in fire prone wilderness areas, there is no guarantee for power. Hopefully we will see plants closer to home soon in + - 50 degree water of our local lakes. Maybe some day on the Upper Kern we might implement such regulations but for now the CDFW and others will treat the Upper Kern like a put and take fishery. I applied to my foam stone and it held up great and kept my fly buoyant. I continue to protect the community up there by having all the food, water, fuel, and flies I need packed before I leave home. 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