Site Map

Here's a quick run down of the major sections of this site and the focus of each:

Fly Patterns Habitat Species

Updated! Reviews

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September 2010 Comming soon...the tale of two forks. Likely considered the red-headed-step-child of Eastern Sierra Rivers especially when compared to its big brother.

September 2010 Rainbow trout with large spots on back Also Comming this Month...the flows are creating good conditions on the McCloud River along the Nature Conservancy Preserve.

August 17, 2010 Upper North Fork Kern River Another report from deep inside the Golden Trout Wilderness and Sequoia National Park. Fly fishing for native Kern River rainbows near the headwaters around Funston Meadow.

August 10, 2010 CalHeritageTrout C.D.F.G. Fisheries Biologists held a Heritage Trout Clinic . John Burge attended the weekend event in the Modoc National Forest and contributed a write-up with photos.

August 1, 2010 Emigrant Wilderness The western edge of the Emigrant Wilderness provides the headwaters of the Clavey River.

July 12, 2010 California Golden Trout The Golden Trout Wilderness encompasses the headwaters of South Fork of the Kern River - a refuge for sure.

June 25, 2010 Commercial fishing group Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations - leads legal charge to get water back into the Scoot River

June 9, 2010 Deer Creek downstream of the Red Bridge The EcoAngler explores Deer Creek in Lassen National Forest and the Ishi Wilderness.

May 24, 2010 Received an email from Ned Morris (CHTC #3,57), looks like California holds another subspecies of redband.

May 14, 2010 Mayfly hatch in Yosemite National Park Time to feed the beast....fly fishing a Yosemite creek.

April 28, 2010 The Lyell Fork flows through Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park A classic, high-country fishery in Yosemite National Park - Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River..

April 18, 2010 The native trout of Golden Trout Creek Inspired by Trout Unlimited's Calendar featuring a California Golden Trout, I give you ... Golden Trout Creek.

March 27, 2010 Coho Habitat along California Coast They can check-out, but they can never leave...

March 19, 2010 Westlands Water District - Can you handle the truth?

March 15, 2010 An excellent behind-the-scenes look at how the Klamath River dam removal agreement came into existence and profiles of the locals who had the courage to agree.

March 6, 2010 Op-Ed on water policy in S.F. Bay Delta and the need to think of local fishing economies impacted.

March 1, 2010 Coho Habitat along California Coast The natal home to wild salmon and steelhead ...it's more than a clean bed.

February 20, 2010 Water and the California Dream As native fish populations crash throughout California - time to take a long and hard look at the state's water-supply crisis.

February 19, 2010 Over a year later, the signing of the Klamath Settlement Agreements signal the "beginning of the end" for 4 dams on the Klamath River - a turning point for native salmon.

February 18, 2010 Op-Ed on Feinstein's misguided efforts to change water policy in S.F. Bay Delta.

February 14, 2010 American Kestrel Photo series of an American Kestrel.

February 10, 2010 California coastal creek under clearing winter sky Good winter rains fill coastal creeks like this. The creek opens to the sea and attract big-fish-eater.

February 3, 2010 Central California Coho Populations Continue to Crash.

January 23, 2010 California Sentor Tom Hayden In 1996, his man connected-all-the-dots... published a report and no one in CDFG acted. Studying Salmon to death.

January 20, 2010 Death by a 1000 cuts - A summary of the California's Salmon crisis.

January 16, 2010 For Central Coast steelhead who want to experience fine-spawning in Carmel - your table is almost ready. The agreement to remove the San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River.

January 13, 2010 Biologicist tracks radio tagged condors What station are you listening to? Photographs of California Condors soaring high above Big Sur.

January 1, 2010 Malheur Lake Basin Redband released back to its home The EcoAnlger closes out 2009 with the final chapter of The Great Basin Redband Roundup ... Malheur Lake Basin Redband Trout

December 20, 2009 Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk Photo series of a Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.

December 14, 2009 Catlow Valley Basin redband The third redband profiled in The Great Basin Redband Roundup ... Catlow Valley Basin Redband Trout

December 8, 2009 Peregrine Falcon Photo series of a Peregrine Falcon.

December 2, 2009 Fort Rock Oregon The EcoAngler profiles the Fort Rock Basin Redband Trout

November 20, 2009 a 25 inch steelhead. The EcoAngler attends the Junc Show on the Trinity River.

November 16, 2009 Merced Falls manages a hatchery for chinook salmon. California's fish stocking operations - force for good or evil? Make your comments heard. Contact Jim Starr with C.D.F.G at either (916) 327-0713 or dfghatcheryeir@dfg.ca.gov The close of the public comment period is today.

November 12, 2009 a 20 inch wild rainbow. Fall fishing on the Upper Sacramento River.

November 4, 2009 Great Basin RedbandThe 1st installment of the Redband Roundup leads off with the Chewaucan Basin Redband Trout

October 19, 2009 Scouting a Rainbow on the Forks of the Kern River. The EcoAngler drops into the Forks of the Kern River for a closer look.

October 5, 2009 Chasing a Rainbow on the San Joaquin River. Fishing the famous "rock-pile" near the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.

September 21, 2009 South Warner Wilderness rainbow trout. At the headwaters of the South Fork of the Pit River, you'll find the Warner Wilderness .

September 14, 2009 Kern River rainbow taken on stonefly nymph. The yellow sallie hatch had peaked but the rainbows on the Kern River above Johnsondale Bridge were in denial.

September 2009 Escaped cud eaters along the East Walker River. Scud-eaters and cud-eaters are loose along the East Walker River .

September 3, 2009 Wild brook trout photographed in their habitat of a Sierra Nevada river. The rich color and pageantry that is college football and wild brook trout

August 25, 2009 California poppies can be found on the West slope Sierra Nevada rivers. The EcoAngler hikes into the South Fork of the Merced River

July 26, 2009 Whitehorse Creek Cutthroat taken on a parachute Adams. A small, isolated population of Whitehorse Creek Cutthroat quietly survive in the Coyote Basin.

July 12, 2009 Warner Lakes redband from below the waters surface. Underwater photographs of a Warner Lakes redband.

June 21, 2009 South Fork Kings River flows down the West slope of the Sierra Nevada. The Mineral King valley is where the South Fork Kings River flows. It's an amazing setting to fish for wild trout.

Archive of Content

 

The Nature of Fly Fishing

It's less about how to cast further, or increasing the number of fish landed, and more about increasing the angler's knowledge of the species, the environment he inhabits, and what he likes to eat (real or inmitated). That's the goal of this site - EcoAngler.com.

Californias Native Trout of the Golden Trout Wilderness

Ecological?

By definition, ecological is the interactions and relationships between organisms and their environment. It comes from two Greek words: oikos meaning "the family household," and logy, meaning "study of." The science of ecology teaches the angler, it is impossible to separate the study of a species of fish such as trout from the study of their environment. Freshwater ecology is a broad and complex science, and the scope of this site only allows a brief overview of the critical elements - Fly patterns (a.k.a. aquatic insects), Habitat and Species.

A good ecologist can dovetail into dovetail until the whole thing stretches out of sight. We call it an ecosystem now; earlier Americans called it the Sacred Circle. Either way it can make your little head swim with a vision of a thing of great size and strength that still depends on the underpinning of its smallest members.
Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing by John Gierach  

Fly Patterns

It starts with a trout's favorite class of food - aquatic insects. (Grasshoppers, ants, beetles, minnows and leeches are also on the menu here.) And in the case of the angler, the fly patterns which imitate these insects.

Salmonfly Pteronarcella

The goal of the EcoAngler is to recognize the insects that freshwater trout survive on, and to the extent possible the ecology of these tiny creatures.

Trout Habitat

Trout are coldwater fish and take up residence in streams, ponds, and lakes that have cold water year round and provide enough food and oxygen to survive. The initial focus of the EcoAngler is trout habitat in the Sierra Nevada and Northern California. Casting to wild rainbows on the Kern River

Each of the fisheries covered in habitat includes information critical to your angling success. This information includes:

Fly Patterns

To improve your chances of connecting with a resident trout - a suggested list of fly patterns is given for a particular habitat. Here's a sample set of nymphs recommended for the East Walker River.

Suggested Fly Patterns for the East Walker River

Map of Area

Sample Map for the East Walker River The EcoAngler includes a detailed topo map of the stream or lake and surrounding area with each of the habitats listed.

To get you to these fly fishing destinations, driving directions from a major city are provided as well. (Look on the left side of the specific habitat page under "Directions.")

Flow Information

Water Flows for the East Walker River Easy access to real-time water flows and levels are available from each of the stream habitats profiled. The link entitled Flow Information - in the upper left corner of the page - takes you to the USGS extensive web-site for water data.

Spotlight - Habitat Restoration

Learn about other major habitat restoration efforts:


  • River Restoration

    • As anglers, it's up to each of us to protect and care for our fisheries.

    Species of Trout

    No species of fish has excited the freshwater angler through the years as the trout. California is home to two native trout species (rainbow and cutthroat) and numerous subspecies including Eagle Lake rainbow trout, Lahontan cutthroat and Kern River rainbow trout.

    Wild Brown trout

    California Heritage Trout Challenge

    CalHeritageTrout Catch, photograph, and release six different forms of California native trout from their historic range and California Department of Fish and Game will send you a personalized certificate featuring the art of Joseph Tomelleri (similiar to this one).

    A sort of Angler Honor Roll lists a number of anglers who have successfully completed the California Heritage Trout Challenge since the program started.

    The EcoAngler describes a number of these native trout that qualify for the challenge including:

    Book and Video Reviews

    Sierra Fly Fishing - Volume 2

    Sierra Fly Fishing Volume 2 with Guy Jeans Reviewed Like going to a movie after first reading the book, the movie usually disappoints. For me at least, this movie lives up to expectations. And so you know, my expectations were not developed from any book on the Upper Kern River. I had the good fortune to experience the Golden Trout Wilderness with Guy Jean in 2006. As I sat and watched the DVD, with the memories of this wilderness and one-of-a-kind fishery firmly etched in memory, I couldn't help but feel I was re-living the entire five days from that summer. (My mental camera only slightly better than the digital one.)

    Read the entire review in Native Trout.

    The Longest Silence

    The Longest Silence Essays on fly-fishing have been written and will continue to be written, but McGuane's work likely represents the apex of the category. If somebody or some new collection of work proves me wrong, then so be it. In my mind, page for page and word for word, The Longest Silence will reign! No arguing McGuane as the master wordsmith, right? Now, combine that quality with a grand sense of humor and keen insights into the sport and you have something special. We'll be lucky to see another book of it's equal in this generation. (There, I said it.)

    Read the entire review of this book in the Reviews section.

    Get Bent: Fish Eye Video Issue 3

    Mike Wier's Fish Eye Volume 3 Get Bent offers plenty of rod bending material - translation: lots of big, juicy trout. The jazz track accompanying this section almost keeps pace with the video action on screen. This opening moves with rhythm and energy. A video mosaic of rivers I recognized like the East Fork of the Carson, the Truckee (appears to be footage from Fish Eye #2) with some of the usual faces which Mikey has fished with - including an eight year who takes a rainbow on a dry fly. It wraps up with another youngster Loren Elliott hooking and landing a 20 inch rainbow on the East Fork of the Carson.

    Read the entire review of this video in the Fly Fishing Reviews section.

    The Season of the Mayfly: Fish Eye Video Issue 2

    Mike Wier's Fish Eye Volume 2 The video magazine opens with a twisted tribute to the opening scene in the movie Jaws... instead of a young, female swimming substitue a mayfly. Watch the serenity of a mayfly floating carefree. Then witness the death from below reality when a trout goes on the feed.

    Read the entire review of this video in the Fly Fishing Reviews section.

    Caddisflies

    Caddisflies As LaFontaine states midway through the book, "The study of caddisflies is the graduate school of an angler's education." His book clearly mirrors both the diversity and complexity of its subject matter - caddisflies. LaFontaine mastery of the bug and how to present it to trout in it's varying life stages is apparent. But the crowning achievement in these pages is the bridge LaFontaine builds between this insect's world and the mind of the angler. It's a bridge every angler must eventually cross in order to master the complex interaction between these bugs and feeding trout. I couldn't really come up with the number of days and the river miles you would need to wade in order to gain the knowledge Lafontaine distills onto paper... but a lifetime wouldn't be a stretch here (wearing out many pairs of wading boots along the way).

    Read the entire review of this book in the Reviews section.

    The Trout and the Fly

    The Trout and the Fly If you wish to get inside the small, primitive brain of a trout, then read The Trout and The Fly. Most theories passed around in angling circles for how these critters behave is commonly hearsay. The authors, Brian Clarke and John Goddard - both avid fly fishermen, reveal trained and measured observations. More than any sport, fishing lends itself to word-of-mouth and story telling. Clarke and Goddard take a more analytical tact - providing the angler fundamental knowledge of trout behavior.

    Read the entire review of this book in the Reviews section.

    The Angler's Bamboo

    Angler's Bamboo I received Angler's Bamboo as a gift from my cousin, Gib Cooper who along with his wife owns and operates Tradewinds Bamboo Nursery out of Gold Beach, Oregon. The book provides a concise history of how "tea stick bamboo" came to be revered by anglers around the world.

    Read the entire review of this book in the Reviews section.

    Many Rivers to Cross: Of Good Running Water, Native Trout, and the Remains of Wilderness

    Many Rivers to Cross M. R. Montgomery goes fishing. Well, to be precise the author goes in search of rare, hard-to-find, native trout. The places and the numbers of native fish he finds are as telling as the sharp observations he gives the reader. I initially picked up the book on account of it's subject matter - fly fishing for native trout around the West. As I read the last couple of chapters I found myself less interested in the author's fishing activity and more drawn into his commentary and writing style.

    Read the entire review of this book in the Reviews section.

    Fly Fishing Articles

    American Angler

    American Angler MagazineLook for my feature article - Secrets of the Sierras 4 Classic Walk-In Trips appearing in the current May/June 2010 issue of American Angler.

    You'll learn about some terrific wild trout fisheries of the Central Sierra Nevada.

    Southwest Fly Fishing

    Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine Cover I contributed a story for the January/February 2009 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing focusing on the Wishon Fork of the Tule River of California.

    Arising from the high granite slopes of Moses and Maggie mountains in the Golden Trout Wilderness, this segment of the Tule River flows south and then west through a portion of the former Sequoia National Forest ...

    Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine Cover I contributed a feature story for the November/December 2008 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing focusing on the Kings River of California.

    Broken down into two classic reaches: the lower Kings River below Pine Flat Dam, and the upper Kings River above Pine Flat Reservior.

    It's ultimately a story of two different fisheries. Each reach impacted by vastly different management practices.

    Southwest Fly Fishing Article featuring Golden Trout Wilderness and Kern River Rainbow

    I wrote a feature story for the July/August 2007 issue of Southwest Fly Fishing. The article details a five day span spent angling for Kern River rainbow trout along the upper Kern River within the Golden Trout Wilderness.

    Northwest Fly Fishing

    Northwest Fly Fishing Magazine Cover Another, shorter article I wrote appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of Northwest Fly Fishing. It's a piece about one of my favorite still-water destinations in the entire Sierra Nevada - Heenan Lake.



    I contributed a feature story for the January/February 2008 issue of Northwest Fly Fishing. The article covers the upper Merced River in Yosemite Valley flowing down through the Merced Canyon until it meets the South Fork of the Merced.

    Northwest Fly Fishing Article featuring the Wild & Scenic Merced River