“The fish was fairly molten. It did not glitter in gaudy burnishment, as does our aquarium gold-fish, for example, but gleamed and melted and glowed as though fresh from the mould. One would almost expect that on cutting the flesh it would be found golden through all its substance.”
The California Golden Trout has captured the admiration of many for decades. Why are we so enraptured by a slimy, six inch salmonid?
Maybe you’ve seen the sticker on a bumper, the red circle with a cross through the words ‘Pebble Mine’ or scrolled past a post regarding the mine on Instagram. It’s likely that if you have an ear in any realm of conservation, fishing, or Alaska, you’ve heard about the proposed Bristol Bay Pebble Mine. Here’s a brief rundown on why people are so (rightfully) upset about the mine.
In case you missed our Facebook live video a while back, here it is! A link to specific questions are posted in the description; just select, copy and paste that link in a new tab to watch. Enjoy! And look for a condensed FAQ page on our website in the future!
Fly fishing report from our very own Chuck Stokke on the Upper Kern River. Great fishing, even into September!
I remember the first fish I caught on the Upper Kern vividly. At the time, I had only been fly fishing for two summers and the interstate-wide water whispering by was at first, immensely intimidating. Most of my time had been spent on small tributaries, cramped creeks that require little in the way of distance but a decent bit of accuracy and control. The Kern was to become my instructor that summer, fair but forgiving, even to the novice like myself. It was also my first significant exposure to sight fishing; the level of exuberance I had upon discovering the “thrill of the stalk” is rarely displayed for much else in my life, except maybe an excellent meal in good company (also something we specialize in at Golden Trout). I had hardly walked 100 yards upstream when Steve pointed a fish out in the water. It was darting in and out along the edge of a thick mat of vegetation, hungry from a long winter, active in the evening light. It was a mid-distance cast for me, and the shore behind me was free of obstruction so I tentatively stripped out some line, made one false cast and then laid it gently on the water six feet in front of the fish, but easily a foot and a half past it towards the far shore. Like a fairy tale (my kind, at least), the fish swept upward, surfaced and took my stimulator. I can’t honestly remember the next half minute but when I had the fish in hand, I had never seen something so amazing. This was no stocked fish. It was 14 inches, with a vibrant blush along its lateral line. Never had I been anywhere that you could walk 100 yards down the trail, throw a sloppy first cast out and have a 14 inch trout take it like it’s life depended on it. This was paradise. Not all my casts on the Kern ended like that, that’s just not the nature of fishing. But I am proud to say that over the course of the next several months, between serving meals and checking horses, I would sneak away with my rod, find an empty stretch of water and work on increasing my distance. There were plenty of fish ready to take my fly an easy cast away, but it came to be that I preferred a missed fish across the river than a slam from the one right below me. I spent a great deal of time on the Kern, more than most fisherman ever have the chance to do and I recognize that privilege. Experienced fishermen much better than I frequently pulled out 16, 18 inch fish and while I never did I was still able to develop my skill and catch sizable fish. How many rivers are so gracious to so many? If someone asks me who taught me how to cast, my honest answer is, the Kern.
-Golden Trout Pack Trains Packer, Savanna
The Kern River Rainbow in the Upper Kern River area is designated a native and heritage population. They are considered to have the most similar genetics to the original Kern River Rainbow, a fish thought to have come about several thousand years ago due to hybridization between Coastal Rainbows and Kern River Goldens. Fortunately, in the 1900's when they began stocking Rainbows in the Kern River, there were natural barriers to prevent these stocked fish from making their way into the Upper Kern.
Credits to @bensontv and Generations Photography for many of these photos.
