Yosemite High Country - LTFF Beginner Fish-out
Group 1: Fri.-Sat., August 23-24, 2019 Group 2: Sun.-Mon., August 25-26, 2019
Limited to 8 Students in each Group from the 2019 LTFF Beginner Class
Cost: $195 / person
Overview: This trip offers fly fishing for several trout species in two pristine high alpine settings. Each day includes up to 2-4 miles of day-hiking at 9,000 - 10,000 feet. Please only sign up for this event if you are in shape to hike up to 4 miles a day at high elevation.
This year we are using Steve Slater from Lost Coast Outfitters to lead both the mentors and students on to certain stretches of the following small alpine streams or possibly other streams in the area that he knows well.
A daily meeting point and time will be set before the fish-out to meet-up with the guide and mentors. Registrants will be advised of this by email a few days before the fish-out.
Tuolumne's Lyell Fork:
At 9,500 feet, this stream starts at Lyell Glacier and only drops 500 feet in 10 miles. This provides a gentle stream that meanders through meadows and granite pools for a truly unique experience.
To get there from Tuolumne Meadows, we'll hike along the Dana Fork for about 1.5 miles until we arrive at the Lyell Fork. Here the meadow stream is waist deep and wide, offering dry fly fishing along the banks to Brown Trout. Traveling farther upstream, you move into Brookie and Rainbow territory, arriving at several large and shallow granite pools the size of small ponds. It's a great place to spot fish in clear water and practice gentle overhead casting. Traveling slightly further upstream, you pass through endless granite channels and pools mixed in with more meadows, with each section both memorable and unique.
Most of these wild trout are in the 6-9 inch range, but a handful of fish are caught each year in the 18 inch range. Larger fish require more stealth and finesse, while the less spooky smaller trout will attack dry flies readily, often with acrobatic displays.
Students will use overhead casts in meadow sections and practice roll casts in areas with trees. We'll use mostly small dry fly patterns with thin mono tippet (5x - 6x).
Students will use overhead casts in meadow sections and practice roll casts in areas with trees. We'll use mostly small dry fly patterns with thin mono tippet (5x - 6x), but you may want to nymph the deeper holes. Come prepared for both dry fly fishing and indicator nymphing.
Tuolumne's Dana Fork:
Similar to the Lyell Fork, the Dana Fork is a small mountain stream that meanders through meadows at 9,000 ft. elevation. This stream follows along Hwy 120, meaning slightly less hiking and easier access. There are many fish to be caught on a fly along this 2-mile long stream since each hole seems to have an endless supply of wild trout.
Students will primarily use overhead and roll casts. Again, we'll mostly use attractor dry fly patterns with thin tippet (5x-6x), but we may resort to indicator nymph fishing if the dries aren't working.
Registration fee includes:
- Guide fees for two days
- Sack lunches each mentored day
- ~ 2 dozen selected flies
Other Student costs:
- Yosemite National Park entrance fee of $30, good for 7 days. Annual pass is $80. Carpooling helps save on this cost.
- Possible campground fees, depending on whether you are successful in finding an open campsite in any of the nearby campgrounds. (NOTE: In general, campsites in the Tuolumne Meadows / Yosemite area CANNOT be reserved in advance.)
- Lodging costs for motels, condos, or other vacation rentals available in the area. Students are encouraged to look into the many rental options in the Mammoth Lakes / Mammoth Mountain Ski Area about 1 hour south of Tuolumne Meadows.
Items not to forget (not a complete packing list):
- Bring (or plan to buy) your own breakfast, dinner, coffee, and snacks for each day.
- Camping equipment (e.g., tent, sleeping bag and pad, cooking equipment, etc) if you plan to look for an available campsite in any of the nearby campgrounds
- Headlamp and extra batteries, especially useful at night in camp
- Small backpack, large sling pack, or vest with a large back pocket to carry lunch, water, packable rain jacket, etc.
- Water bottle(s) or water bladder large enough to carry a full day of water (1.5 - 3 liters); or a filter system to replenish a smaller water bottle.
- Fly fishing gear (3-5 wt rod, a couple 4X or 5X mono leaders, 5X - 6X mono tippet, nippers, forceps, fly box with additional flies, net optional). For indicator nymphing, bring a few small indicators, BB size split-shot, and tippet spools of 3X mono and 4X & 5X fluoro.
- Dry fly floatants - flies need to be floating high on the water surface all day. It's virtually imperative to have BOTH the liquid (gel) silicone and desiccant "dry shake" versions.
- Sun protection (hat, sunscreen, neck buff)
- Wet wading shoes like Chacos or Tevas. Or wading boots with neoprene guard socks. Unless you just prefer to, there's no need for wearing waders on this trip, which will be a little more difficult to hike in.
- Mandatory items: wading staff, polarized sunglasses, and of course, a valid 2019 fishing license.
Other notes:
- Dinner options are available at Woah Nellie Deli (in the Mobil Gas Mart), right at the junction of Hwys.120 and 395, should you end up camping in the area and would rather not cook your own dinners. For a gas station mart, this is remarkably good food. The deli is open 7am - 9pm.
- Other dining options are available in the Mono Lake area (Lee Vining) and further south in the Mammoth Lakes area; however they're sure to be more expensive.
For further information, contact: Fish-out Leader: Steve Slater (stevetslater@yahoo.com) or John Murphy (jmurphy7599@gmail.com)