Fly Fish Nevada

I originally had grand plans of trekking two plus hours north with my sons to Davis Lake for the damsel hatch, but found out one had grown out of his waders.  A trip to Reno to buy new ones made it so I didn’t want to go that way again so soon.  I had heard Virgina Lakes was doing well, and with all the options in that drainage, I decided we would make the hour drive there.  That is until I found out, as I was packing the night before, that I had misplaced my fins.  A thorough search of the garage failed to turn them up.  I can almost see them lying on the shore of some lake looking all sad and forlorn as I drove away without them.

Great view of the Bridgeport area from Buckeye Creek Road

So stream fishing it was.  As I had little time to plan, I figured we would play it by ear and do a little scouting.  I headed south towards Bridgeport.  The East Walker looked just about the way it did when I was there a week before (this is important for later…read on).  Bridgeport Reservoir looked fantastic.  Full to the brim and a few rising trout, but not enough to peek our interest.  We were headed up to Buckeye Creek, just north of Twin Lakes.  We took the road from Twin Lakes and enjoyed a scenic drive, but when we arrived, Buckeye was raging.  Not wholly unfishable, but it would be work.  So down to 395 we went.

Buckeye Creek at the bridge. A lot of white water.

We drove to the next drainage, Green Creek.  Green was a tad high, but totally fishable.  We rigged up and fished for a few hours.  Unfortunately, the action was slow.  I managed a couple of small trout just upstream of the bridge and the boys were skunked.  They are just getting the hang of drifting nymphs and had a rough go of it.  They caused me to remember how tough that task is until you master it.  They lost more flies, than we caught fish!

Bridgeport from Green Creek Road.

The boys, Owen on the left and Henry, trying to look bad ass, on the right.

Owen getting the hang of wading and nymphing.

I can’t seem to pass Dynamo Pond without wetting a line so we stopped and fished the back side of the pond.  Owen stuck with me as we fished near the inlet and Henry ventured out into the middle of the lake (the back side is wadable, though a little muddy).  I caught one on a dry, then I took to casting Owen’s rod and letting him retrieve his nymph.  No luck for Owen though, as he went home empty handed.  Don’t feel bad, however, he caught a nice one at Pyramid last January as I went fishless.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get an pictures of the fish I caught.  Every time Owen was ready to snap a picture, they would wriggle out of my hands.

Henry fishing Dynamo Pond.

Henry, frothed the water with the best of them.  I wanted to yell, “Stop on your back cast”, but didn’t want to disturb the other fishermen.  Owen and I wandered over to fish with him, but decided we weren’t ready to go into the mud (actually Owen found the drop off and went in over his waders).  While that was going on, Henry hooked a fish.  We all decided we were hungry after Henry’s triumph and we headed out.

All the hard work pays off.

A snake skin Owen and I found on the way back to the truck.

I wanted to head south towards Lee Vining, so we traveled over Dunderberg Meadows Road.  Sorry, pictures get a little thin from here on out, we were hungry and tired.  That’s too bad, the meadows looked beautiful.  We went to the Whoa Nelli Deli at the Tioga Gas Mart at the junction of 395 and Tioga Pass for a late lunch.  The food was great, though it was slammed with travelers.  After that, we drove further south and checked out Rush Creek, still running high, and the lakes around the June Lake Loop, all full and looking great.  Then we headed for home, tired from the heat, the early wake up and our full bellies.

The sign for the Tioga Gas Mart, where we ate lunch. Yummy!

We stopped at Bridgeport Reservoir and checked it out, but the wind was blowing and we saw no action.  As we passed the Miracle Mile on the East Walker, I looked for the small island in the water close to the highway.  It was gone!  It was there in the morning.  Upon arriving home I verified that the flows went from 240 CFS to 410! It would be interesting to be there when it happened, but that will make fishing difficult until it comes back down, likely in September when the alfalfa is season is over.

Holy crap, indeed!

Not a spectacular trip, but the boys and I had fun and that was the point.  It won’t be long before they are off on their own and I will be begging them to go fishing with me.  For know, however, I need to buy some new fins.  Those Sierra lakes are calling.

Filed under: On the Water Tagged: | Bridgeport, Dynamo Pond, East Walker River, Green Creek, Henry, Owen, Whoa Nelly Deli