Back from Yosemite

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markskor
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by markskor »

"You're not easy to forget Mark. Trading mathematics for HSC amenities....classic!"

And they said math would never pay off :eek: ...a good story to tell my kids in class this year.
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markskor
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by markskor »

Recently, I have seen more and more fly fishermen in the Sierra…less spinner types. I do not understand why.
I had just walked the easy 2 miles, from just below the dam to the far end of Saddlebag, intending to camp at the inlet. I had tried to do the west ridge of Conness earlier that morning as a day hike, but we got blown off the summit ridge by 50 mph winds… (Just not worth it), so, it still being early in the day, I bid goodbye to my hiking partner and decided to stay over instead and fish a known spot, the far end of the big lake. Saddlebag fishing is at best finicky in the daytime: RE, as to when or if its trout really ever decide they want to bite, sometimes it produces, and other times – absolutely nothing…you just never know there.

Mid July, everything that day was in spawning mode… they were all hovering just outside, gray dorsal fins barely breaking water, all schooling about 25 yards out, in the wide rocky inlet, shallows. The wind was blowing steady off the lake, not nearly as strong as earlier in the day, high up above, but definitely breezy…coming from offshore right up the inlet too. It is mid afternoon now – nobody is fishing on this side of the stream…the spinning gear ready, camp nestled up in the trees just above. Perched on the south side of the wide stream inlet, armed with fly/bubble…large white Elkhorn, 4-pound line, I zinged (zang?) the bubble out low, far out onto the lake, (and incidentally into the wind)… BAM…14 inches of Rainbow. Another cast, the same; This continues for two hours…into the late afternoon…almost every cast, a hit, a dance…I find I am actually laughing a bit out loud.

About ¼ mile north, up the cove, on the other side of the inlet, the ferry arrives again, letting out the (now cost $11) fares, intending on picking them up later…First I see a few hikers (with dogs)…Then I particularly spy a few fly fishermen (long rod tubes) coming down the dock too. One by one, they see me and amble over…FYI, I am still nailing them…maybe 15 inches that time… hooting and hollering now…(BTW, I released everything…all C&R), as this fishing was totally unexpected, afternoon spinning heaven. One of the fly fishermen, eager to join in the fun now, took a ready perch on the opposite side of the inlet, casting out nicely…Low roller cast, but immediately is thwarted by the offshore wind blowing everything back in his face. Maybe he gets his line out 5, maybe 10 yards…I am out 30…He swears at me (laughing), and leaves…Oops, another fat 15 inch ‘Bow…or maybe that one was a Brookie -(did not dance)…hard to get the Brookies to dance up here, they just won’t come out of the water.

At least 3 other fly fishermen came along in quick succession that afternoon, all intent on trying their luck from the very same vantage point. It was something to see…long casts, tippets flying, and utter futility…funny, they all swore at me too…and then they all gave up…unfortunately, none of them caught anything. I eventually wore out that fly I was using…total of 20+ fish in a two hour period. In Sierra lakes, if I was only carrying one rod/reel, I would vote for the spinner approach. I can appreciate the art form of a well-presented dry fly, but a sweet spinning rig, in the right hands, often produces more quality fishing…(Why you ask?)…More time with the lure/fly actually in the water…in the catching zone.
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rlown
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by rlown »

Given i generally go in late fall, i carry both spin and fly (and bait), as you never know what's gonna work. If i can see them 20 yds from shore, it get's the roostertail rainbow dressed. or a lil cleo or a blue/silver Kastmaster. If it's calm and i can wade a shelf, it might get a more "delicate" hopper presentation. i kinda like to fish deep and let my tackle sink, so i like heavy sinky flies. Just me; I tend to think the bigger fish are deeper off the shelf.

I tend to leave a meal or two at home so i work harder on the right fishing approach. Hence, I don't like to go to "known" fishless lakes.

Still Mark, I've fished that lake along the mid-west shore and was never disappointed. I can only imagine what the inlet must be like. Last I was there, we were on a mission to get to Upper McCabe.
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gary c.
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by gary c. »

For the last couple years I have only fished alpine lakes with a fly rod. My last 3 BP trips were with guys that were fishing a fly/bubble. As long as the wind was not in my face and I had room for a back cast I out fished them 2 to 1 or better. The problem was that half the time I couldn't get a decent place to cast. I'm OK with a roll cast but most alpine lakes have hat shelf that is just a little too far for my roll cast. The guys with he fly & bubble fished anywhere that they wanted. Unless it's mostly stream fishing I think I'm going to start carrying a spinning rod.
Gary C.
"On this proud and beautiful mountain we have lived hours of fraternal, warm and exalting nobility. Here for a few days we have ceased to be slaves and have really been men. It is hard to return to servitude."
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freestone
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by freestone »

Great story and thread! I use to have a rod that could swing both ways....fly or spin. The trouble was, it did neither very well. I found myself using it more as a fly setup rather than spinner, so I eventually invested in fly equipment and haven't really looked back since. Flyfishing in the wind can be done, but if you are trying to fish the middle of a lake, its not the right tool. I carry a very limited amount of gear and fly selection. If it's not working, (and its not, on windy days) I go climb a mountain. If its working, I'm as happy as a dog licking icecream. I actually like fishing close to shore, for me its all about seeing the fish react to the fly (or not!) then seeing the strike.
As for those Z pads, my understanding is thru-hiking is all about breaking camp fast and doing big milage days with the minimum weight and hassle. I guess squeezing air out of a pad for them is a counter productive and time consuming task.
Short cuts make long delays. JRR Tolkien
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Andrew Skibo
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by Andrew Skibo »

Gatorade comes in packets that will do fine for a 1 liter Nalgene. I first saw the packets at Philmont a few years ago, and couldn't find them at retail. Now they are in the REI website. Not cheap, but nothing in modern backpacking is cheap.
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markskor
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Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by markskor »

I realize that Gatorade comes in a 1 liter package... and many several kinds are available in other venues. However in all the various Yosemite Stores, "world famously renowned" as a backpacking Mecca, they did not stock/restock anything simlar in a dry drink mix except Kool Aid Grape and Crystal Lite Raspberry Tea.
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oldranger
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Re: Back from Yosemite, the rest of the Story

Post by oldranger »

Mark has given you his version of the story, now it is my turn. If your read both versions you will understand that he is a big BSer :D ! Note any omissions or diversions from the real events are to protect the innocent. On the other hand there are no innocent. Also since I have yet to store my photos on a service there will be several installments. Sorry.

As I drove down I-5 thru Northern California it dawned on me that with food in my pack for 2 weeks that said pack would make it impossible for me to meet Mark on the appointed day. Necessity being the mother of invention I went to plan B and had Minarets Pack Station Pack me in past my first day’s intended destination.
Sunrise over Upper Isberg Lake.JPG
To make a long story short I made the trek over Isberg Pass,
Top of Isberg Pass.JPG
did a short diversion, then a little cross country, back to the trail then off again for the last mile. At the tarn below Edna Lake I arrived at Markskor’s camp about 3 hours late. Completely bushed I was relieved that Mark did not insist that we head up to Edna. We became acquainted face to face for the first time and Mark kibitzed as I set up my camp about 100 yards away (not unfriendly but just a better flat spot) and cooked dinner. We agreed on our plans for the next day and as soon as the sun died down we jumped in our respective tents to escape the mosquitoes.
My blissful sleep was interrupted about 3Am by the realization that my exped downmat had apparently sprung a leak! I pumped it back up and the next thing I knew there was sun on the tent and it was time to get up for the first ever Mark/Mike joint Edna Lake fishing expedition.
Route to Edna.JPG
From S.JPG
Snowbank.JPG
FAST FORWARD to about 6 PM and Mike joins Mark at the location of our camp (we split up as soon as we got to the lake). “AH Mark, what did you think about the fishing?” HUGE GRIN! “Well, in terms of size and number of fish it was at the top of the list of any backcountry lake I’ve ever fished.” “ME too!” Actually I was much less articulate than “Me, too!” But it took at least 15 or 20 minutes for us to jointly get out all the superlatives. What a day. My best fish of the day (hook turned upsidedown and fish slid back into lake unharmed):
Edna Rainbow.JPG
Next installment Mark leads the way to rendezvous with Tehipte Tom, tres amigos wander e. side of Clark Range.

Mike
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Mike

Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
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markskor
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Location: Crowley Lake and Tuolumne Meadows

Re: Back from Yosemite

Post by markskor »

Yes, that was indeed the best fishing I have ever experienced at any backcountry lake...without a doubt...not even close to anything previously in terms of size and numbers. What a great day! Just so you all know, we were 25 - 30 miles in at the time we met up that afternoon.
FYI, what Mike forgets to mention is that:
1) I had landed 7 or 8 fish of similar size (or bigger...lol), before he even got his first nibble, but he did catch up nicely as the day progressed.
2) As to being a BS'er, I did not realize that he had a camera along. Glad he kept it in his pants. Good to see that there is proof of our epic fishing day.
3) The final "route" up to Edna from the tarn (his picture taken from my campsite) looks a lot easier than it actually was, but well worth the effort. Notice that big black rock above the ice floes -center of the picture...just to the left of the snow field that looks like South America...that rock hides the entrance to Edna.)

Nice trail report though...Way to go Mike!
Mark
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oldranger
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Re: Back from Yosemite, the rest of the Story-- Part 2

Post by oldranger »

Next day we packed up (I’m always the slow one) leisurely. The trip to Red Devil was short. Mark actually knew the way and picked out where the trail was before we could see it.
mark leading the way.JPG
God it hurt to admit that he did a good job! Our new camp was set up by noon. Mark was in the water far before I was finished farting around. I took my Exped to the rock slab where we would hang out for the rest of the afternoon.
Red Devil Lake.JPG
Tehipite Tom showed up early (unlike moi). I showed Tom to our campsite and discovered that the local marmot had chewed into 3 of my things 1. My handkerchief (ate quite a bit before he decided he didn’t like the taste of my snot. 2. My diner for the night that I had left in my cooking pot (he took the lid off, chewed through plastic bag containing dinner and promptly decided that he did not like freezedried food and showing much better taste than he did with my handkerchief. 3. The handle of one of my hiking poles. As only the 3rd worst calamity of the trip (After the leak in my sleeping pad and later running out of book) the items were lessons relearned! We shared frozen margaritas and honey roasted peanuts and wasabi peas during an early cocktail hour.
Tres Amigos Red Devil.JPG
Mark sketched as we talked.

During our first morning as a group of 3 we walked to the NW and down to the Red Peak Fork of the Merced. Mark figured we could take a high traverse and avoid going down to the lower reaches of the creek as I had to do two years earlier doing the reverse trip in order to avoid crossing wet slabs during a thunderstorm (He was rrrrrrrrrrrright again! :crybaby: ).
Tom leading across slabs.JPG
We all were amazed at grizzled old junipers on the s. facing slabs(check out Toms photos). We also had views down the Red Peak Fork.
Looking down Red Peak Fork.JPG
. Once across the slabs we had to head uphill through a mosquito infested forest to a saddle that provided access to the Grey Peak Fork drainage.
Across Gray Peak Fork.JPG
Mark and Tom pushed me along mercilessly as we had traveled over several miles, most on hot s. facing slabs.

to be continued

Mike
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Last edited by oldranger on Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:46 am, edited 2 times in total.
Mike

Who can't do everything he used to and what he can do takes a hell of a lot longer!
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