Kings Canyon/Central Sierra - LTFF Level 1 Fish-out
DUE TO THE CLOSURE OF KINGS CANYON BECAUSE OF WINTER STORM DAMAGE, THIS FISHOUT WILL NOW BE AT YOSEMITE
Two Groups of 10 Anglers.
· Session 1 fishing Friday-Saturday August 25-26
· Session 2 fishing Sunday-Monday August 27-28
This outing is exclusively intended for currently registered Level 1 students in the GGACC's "Learn to Fly Fish" (LTFF) program. There will be two sessions of 10 openings for a total of 20 fishing spots.
Cost: $200 / person
Overview
This trip offers fly fishing for several trout species in a pristine high alpine setting. Each day includes several miles of day-hiking at elevation. Please only sign up for this event if you are in shape to hike up at high elevation. This event will compare closely to our Yosemite event, so we encourage LTFF Level 1 students to sign up for only one of these two events to give everyone a chance fishing these beautiful and productive locations.
We will be camping and fishing off of California State route 180, east of Cedar Grove (and generally east of Fresno). We will fish the South Fork of the Kings River and its tributaries in the area.
Note: Cedar Grove is a 5 to 6 hour drive from San Francisco.
This is a new LTFF event for 2023. Steve Slater from Lost Coast Outfitters, will serve as our lead guide and has extensive experience on these waters. He will lead us to stretches of small alpine streams and others in the area that he knows well. We will have club mentors supporting this outing, allowing us to break into smaller groups and spread out on the water each day. We have a great group of LTFF alumni and club members with great experience to show you strategies and skills for this water. Between the club mentors and Steve there will be a wealth of angling knowledge at your disposal with a small student-to-mentor ratio for hands-on mentoring.
You can get an idea of the location and conditions with this Youtube video…(please don’t use this guy as a model for casting and angling skills! He would have benefited from some GGACC mentoring!) You may find a number of other Youtube videos for the South Fork of the Kings River in Kings Canyon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAIWQOYF4BY
Itinerary
· Thursday: Group 1 drive to the Cedar Grove area, camping at a group campground (details to be shared in prep calls)
· Friday and Saturday: Group 1 fishing and exploring, including specific skills clinics on the water
· Saturday evening—Group 2 arrives
· Sunday and Monday: Group 2 fishing and exploring, including specific skills clinics on the water
· Tuesday: Return home.
Those fishing in group 1 are encouraged to stay in a neighboring campground for the weekend, but are asked to not fish the same locations that the group 2 students will fish. In the pre-fishout meeting, we will suggest alternative local fishing spots.
A daily meeting point and time will be set before the fish-out to meet-up with the guide and mentors.
Most of these wild trout are in the 6-9 inch range, but a handful of fish are caught each year in the 18 inch range. Larger fish require more stealth and finesse, while the less spooky smaller trout will attack dry flies readily, often with acrobatic displays.
Students will use overhead casts in meadow sections and practice roll casts in areas with trees. We'll use mostly small dry fly patterns with thin mono tippet (5x - 6x), but you may want to nymph the deeper holes. Come prepared for both dry fly fishing and indicator nymphing. We should also have the opportunity to try some streamer fishing.
Registration fee includes:
· Guide fee
· Sack lunches each mentored day
· 1-2 dozen selected flies
· Campground fees
Other Student costs:
· Guide gratuity (Steve Slater)
· Possible additional campground fees, depending on whether we are successful in finding an open campsite in any of the nearby campgrounds.
· Lodging costs for motels, condos, or other local lodging. Accommodations:
We will be camping at a campground to be determined, most likely near the Bubbs Creak and Rae Lakes Loop Trailhead.
If do not want to camp, Cedar Grove/Kings Canyon National Park presents the most practical options---note that you may have a 30-60 min drive each day to reach our fishing location. There is a small lodge in Cedar Grove, which is the closest to our target camping area.
Gear Needed: (not a complete packing list):
· Don't forget your CA 2023 fishing license
· Bring (or plan to buy) your own breakfast, dinner, coffee, and snacks for each day.
· Camping equipment (e.g., tent, sleeping bag and pad, cooking equipment, chair, etc) if you plan to camp
· Headlamp and extra batteries, especially useful at night in camp
· Small backpack, large sling pack, or vest with a large back pocket to carry lunch, water, packable rain jacket, etc.
· Water bottle(s) or water bladder large enough to carry a full day of water (1.5 - 3 liters); or a filter system to replenish a smaller water bottle.
· Fly fishing gear (3-5 wt rod, a couple 4X or 5X mono leaders, 5X - 6X mono tippet, nippers, forceps, fly box with additional flies, net optional). Split shot and indicators as well.
· Dry fly floatants - flies need to be floating high on the water surface all day. It's virtually imperative to have BOTH the liquid (gel) silicone and desiccant "dry shake" versions.
· Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, neck buff)
· Wet wading shoes like Chacos or Tevas. Or wading boots with neoprene guard socks. It’s a good idea to bring along waders as there may still be snow melt run-off this year in August.
· Mandatory items: wading staff (or hiking sticks), polarized sunglasses.
Food
We strongly encourage a group dinners for camping. Getting to know your fellow students and everyone on the trip is part of the experience. We will discuss this over email and in the pre-outing zoom call. Areas to re-supply are limited to Cedar Grove in a reasonable driving distance, so plan accordingly to bring necessary food and supplies.
Carpooling
There is limited parking available at the campground. Students (and mentors) will need to carpool to ensure we are not over our limit. Please plan accordingly.
Your registration fee of $200.00 is non-refundable. It does not cover your travel costs, motels (if you decide not to camp), food (except lunch), or other sundries. Online payment of registration fee must be made within 15 minutes of starting the registration steps and your registration is not completed until notice shows of email confirmation sent.
Cancellation Policy: There are no refunds. In the event that a student is, for any reason, unable to attend, he/she may resell his slot (rod) to another LTFF member (by first pulling from the waitlist if one exists). It is the sole responsibility of the student to manage this transaction.
For further information, contact: Bruce Greenwood (ltff.ggacc@gmail.com)