First wild trout

[HK_Supermarket]

Visited seqouia and kings canyon for the first time this week. Went on lots of hikes and gave tenkara fishing a try. Now I'm hooked to fly fishing too! Not that I needed another reason to buy more gear...
Shout out to anyone who knows what kind of trout they are. I think they are Kern golden and rainbows... Not sure tho.

Looking for more places to try camping in the sierras with stream access. What are your favorites as socal locals?

[TaBASSco]

Pretty sure the bottom one is a brook trout. Next one up looks like a cutthroat. I can't tell on the rest.

[Dry Fly Rie]

The ones in the snow are brookies. The others appear to be rainbows, but could have some golden genes in them, depending on which stream you caught them in and how far up in elevation.

I’m glad you got to experience fly fishing. It’s my favorite type of fishing to do (hence my handle on this site). I’ve never tried tenkara before, but it looks appealing, especially for some of the small Sierra streams I frequent in the summer when I can make it up there.

Just an FYI…placing the fish on the ground (or in the snow) can be very damaging to their protective slime cost and potentially lead to disease and death in the near future. If you’re keeping them to eat, it’s no big deal, but if you’re hoping to successfully release them, it would be better for the fish if they didn’t touch the ground.

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

[Zach]

Sounded like you had a good time up there. Surprised there's still so much snow pack, but we were at about 200% this year from the rains.

[HK_Supermarket]

Just an FYI…placing the fish on the ground (or in the snow) can be very damaging to their protective slime cost and potentially lead to disease and death in the near future. If you’re keeping them to eat, it’s no big deal, but if you’re hoping to successfully release them, it would be better for the fish if they didn’t touch the ground.

Oh yea, I definitely try not to handle them or let them touch the ground when I can. But when I got to that snowy lake/stream we were fishing a frozen overhang about 6 feet from the water itself. I was too far to land them in the water. Will need to bring a longer net next time! Thanks for input

[HK_Supermarket]

Sounded like you had a good time up there. Surprised there's still so much snow pack, but we were at about 200% this year from the rains.

you and me both. I was expecting to see some snow. But definitely did not expect to spend half the hike in it. At around 8000 ft elevation it was snow the rest of the way. That lake sits at 9200ft elevation.

[DarkShadow]

Went on lots of hikes and gave tenkara fishing a try. Now I'm hooked to fly fishing too!

As the saying goes, "Trout don't live in ugly places."

[Carpkiller]

Eastern Sierra (although it probably works just find other places as well) tip:
Check out maps of creeks/rivers to find the ones that have drive-in campgrounds along their course. Rock Creek and Lee Vining Creek are good examples.
Park your car at the lowest campground or somewhere nearby.
Fish your way upstream. Every so often there's a campground with restrooms and picnic benches for picnicking (or laying down and working the kinks out of your back). When you're done for the day, just take one of the roads out of the campground and have a nice downhill walk back to your car.
The challenge is figuring out where you can park; it's up to you to figure that one out by checking with local rangers. There's usually day use parking near campgrounds.
The San Joaquin River affords a better opportunity, because there's a shuttle into the area. You leave your car in Mammoth, ride the shuttle into one of the campgrounds, then hike and fish your way upstream. Devil's Postpile no longer has a campground, but it's a good spot to start your walk for the day. When you're done fishing, take a break and crack your back on a picnic bench at the nearest campground ..then walk up the access road between the campground the the shuttle route. Just be aware of the shuttle schedule....and when the last shuttle leaves the valley.