From his grandfather, Dad learned the art of catching trout on the Weber River in the Utah mountains, and passed it on to me in the Sierras, beginning on Shepherds Creek, just south of Independence in the Owens Valley. Featuring a narrow stream with a lot of brush and few trees, Shepherds doesn’t favor beginners, especially with the 9 ft. bamboo fly rod Dad wielded. Now, you can’t…
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Brushy Streams
In streams like this, I lost countless hooks by allowing the line to drift too freely, catching a lot of branches and roots, both under and above water. Hundreds of times wild roses attracted my line like a magnet, requiring the loss of precious trout time to untangle the bird’s nest. Hundreds of wild trout darted to safety when I trod too hard, or unknowingly let my shadow cross the creek, or when I let the bait land too hard on the water. And fisherfolk face…
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