When I was a kid (60 years back), I along with my Dad and several of his work buddies used to catch a 4-seater Cessna prop out of Lone Pine, CA. We’d fly to the wilderness area, land on a cow pasture about 11k ft up. The man’s name who had this business was Bob White. He had gotten permission to fly up there with an old tractor (in parts) reassembled at the top along with a large wooden 14 ft trailer. We’d fill the trailer and off we’d go deep into the wilderness area about 10 miles. Bob would dump us off right along Golden Trout Creek, and for 10 days we were pioneers catching the limit EVERY DAY of 20, yes TWENTY Goldens. We could stand on massive beaver dams and catch our hearts out (they are great fighters, and “pan size”.) This went on for years until the Sierra club, and the forest service Rangers went into this valley of Golden Trout stream, and the lush Golden Trout meadows with dozens of beaver dams. They trapped/killed ALL the beaver, destroyed ALL the dams. We were heart sick, the beautiful flawless meadows were a marsh land after their evil deeds. . After our ten days there Bob flew us back to Lone Pine, and we went straight to the Forest Service headquarters in LP. When asked why, they said they HAD to do it because the trout could not get past to lower streams. There were several attorneys in our group, engineers, and me, the overly polite, yes sir-no sir raised kid. But, I was really ticked off and opened my mouth to speak (usually kids were to be seen and not heard)…however I asked, with no fear, “How the heck did the Golden Trout get over, around, under, or thru the dams for the thousands of years before the Sierra Club and the ‘Protective’ Forest Rangers came along to MURDER all the beaver? The whole room went dead silent. My dad simply said, “out of the mouths of Bairn ***babes****. Yes, Scottish blood yelling FREEDOM was boiling in me. I’ve NEVER trusted the Sierra Club again (Communist). Same stoooopidity here in Idaho where I live now. Forest department hauled in the Canadian wolf, NOT native to Yellowstone. They have spread thru MT, ID, WA, OR, and N. CA. They are massive, and deadly. They also brought in the Yellow Hockweed to supposedly reduce erosion after treeing the areas. Hockweek is an invasive weed, HORRIBLE. If we are caught with the yellow weed on our land WE can be fined. They also just recently imported Grizzly bears right above me…not a natural habitat for them. Cattle destroyed (but the WISE of our time say ‘no meat’, just bugs so they don’t care). I have little trust of any of our ‘forest keepers’. People in ivory towers making decisions when they don’t know SQUAT of the reality on the ground. Sorry folks, got riled up. What was once a great memory for a kid growing up, is now a sticking and fighting point for me
Interesting that the opinion about bever has done a 180 now and bevers are being reintroduced to rivers to enhance the river and surrounding ecosystem.
I fished this Upper Kern "Golden Trout Wilderness" and the Sierra's extensively during the 1980's. 2, 3, and 4wt graphite and bamboo rods were always 'at the ready' in my trunk. Glorious memories. Heaven on Earth !
Very happy to see you have brought your unbridled enthusiasm for fly fishing to my state. You have chosen the perfect trifecta of Native California trout for your quest. Your excellent, well conceived photography really help us travel along with you and experience the grandeur of golden trout country. The black bear and falling tree remind us you are truly in the wilderness! The trout you caught in the headwaters of the small tributary creek are what we know as true Little Kern River Golden Trout. The crimson stripe on the side and cheeks along with yellow color on the lower body are typical trademarks of this beautiful rare trout. The famous fish illustrator, Joseph Tomelleri, has a beautiful illustration of this fish that is used in the California Heritage Trout Challenge. It is also included in the 2013 Trout of North America wall calendar. Keep up the great work. I look forward to the next video.
Thank you for the kind words! This is the best comment I've read from this video I think. It has some good info in it and is just overall a positive comment. Glad you enjoyed and the new video about the Kern River Rainbow comes out tonight (Friday).
This is the league of extraordinary fishermen. Men that will brave the unfamiliar territory to go out into the wilderness and accomplish a longtime goal. To me, that's the definition of awesome. Great video and job well done, gentlemen. Thank you, Jon and Andrew. I really appreciate what you do and seeing the fish. Can't wait to see part 2 and always tight lines.
I have done a similar trip before. There are a lot of gold-rainbow hybrids. It can be tricky to figure out what is on the hook. The fish you caught in the plunge pool looked like the real deal, Little Kern Golden.
Oh, wow, what an amazing adventure! Gorgeous native trout in their native habitat - this will be a great series. It’s off to an exciting start! Can’t wait for the next installment!
My ichthyology professor caught the world record golden trout in the Sierra Nevada. He and his brother decided to cut their trip short to get it officially measured. They put it deep into a snow bank. In the morning they found the back end of the fish eaten off by a martin, so the trip continued as scheduled.
4:05 great video. Ive enjoyed geolocating your spots in areas I know well and am glad you’ve been able to have great experiences here. The “gold” you see in the stream are crystals of the mineral called mica. In its lighter-colored form it’s called muscovite, and in its darker (black) form it’s called biotite. It’s unique in that the crystals peel off in very thin layers and it almost feels like plastic. Those thin layers of muscovite are what reflect the golden color when wet. It crystallized deep underground (5 or six miles) within a magma chamber ~90million yrs ago. It grew with quartz and feldspar minerals which all grew together as the magma chamber cooled to make the solid granitic rocks of the Sierra. Weathering & Erosion has broken off small pieces of the mica and deposited them in the stream along with the sands made of the other minerals in the granite that have broken down over time. Put another way, you were fishing in the exhumed guts of an old volcano that has since been exposed on the surface!
Love trout fishing so much I actually started a series on my RU-vid channel catching all species I haven’t and I travelled too catch my first rainbow trout and more recently a brown trout it was quite an experience and met lots of great trout anglers and seen many waterfalls and rivers! I can’t believe kids my age vape and drink when they could see and experience the great outdoors!
It has to do with elevation. If you transport an actual golden trout to a lower elevation, it will revert back to markings and color associated with a basic rainbow trout.
Was doing the same thing you guys are doing back in the 80's when I was stationed at NAS Lemoore jet base.We used ultralight spinning rods with 4 pound test and very small panther Martin spinners,black body with yellow dots and gold blade.We fished the same areas you guys are also higher up.We also had large pistols on us.Great times and good exercise hiking those areas!
Well done gents! I did this same trip a few years ago and loved the adventure. I haven’t been back since the fire devastated the area. It looked so different when we were there. I’m happy to see the fish have come back and hope the forest will soon follow. I’m looking forward to part 2!
Yep a lot of the area had been burned! But the fish didn't seem to mind too much. Definitely made for a unique setting to be fishing in. Thanks for watching! Part 2 should come out Friday
I am so glad you can to California. I have always wanted to fish the little kern. Another you could go is Dinkey creek. The fish won’t be as good but the trout there are fun to catch.
A dream of a fishing adventure. The landscape is inconceivably gorgeous. You two brothers lived some unforgettable days looking for that gem of a golden trout and that will create a most strong bond between the two of you. You guys share that same enthusiasm for learning and finding the transition and separation of those two species of trout. Awesome…
I'm a Californian and the intro made it seem like California wildlife was more dangerous than I'd experience. The metropolitan people are far more dangerous lol You almost got me for a moment xD
@@hardmanfishing I moved to Indiana couple years ago and have not figured out where to fish for trout yet, especially because I'm older now and don't have to mobility of younger man anymore, so your videos bring me back to the great early years of my life! Thanks for that especially taking me back to that part of CA, I grew up at the beach but my heart was always in the mountains. Really happy you got to experience that
I’ve fished that area pre castle fire, we would spend usually 4 days around the forks. Other trips we would hike down by Clicks Creek where it meets up with the little Kern super fun.
Great video, guys. A different location and an entirely different atmosphere from your usual. Beautiful trout, as always, and stunning countryside with a real edge to it.
I did this trip, well similar, last summer. Hit Kern, Volcano Creek and a small lesser known one that’s easier to access which I won’t name. It’s crazy how much time and effort we put in to catch 4” trout 😂. What you caught in this video sure seem to be all rainbows.
That's what I was thinking too at the time, but we were well into the Little Kern Golden range where there is supposedly no other fish 😂 I just think if we had fished the headwater the trout would've exhibited more of a golden trout looking color pattern. But we didn't have the time nor did we access at the right spot to do that.
@@hardmanfishingI caught a ton of rainbow x golden hybrids out there. They looked like rainbows with a golden under glow to them. Very pretty fish. There is a creek in Sequoia that has rainbows in the lower reaches and then above the waterfalls is all goldens. Some of the plunge pools have both and they interbreed. Wondering if these might be some hybrids as well. Regardless, cool trip!
Great Video. I used to live in California and always went to the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River to fish. Up on the mountain you can fish for Cutthroat. Trout. I miss fishing up there. Here in Pa., it just isn't the same. Looking forward to your part 2.
I fished the kern around peppermint creek and caught my share of Goldens 25 years ago fighter jets would fly through the canyon and shake rocks loose into the river great fishing never got skunked.
Well you certainly have my attention as did the bear. It was nice to see the golden trout as I had never seen one up close. Of course I've never hiked up in the high sierra either which obviously would limit my chances. Gosh it was beautiful....the trout and the scenery. I've had a mountain lion walk through camp while in New Mexico. After the growl, my eyes were as big as silver dollars even at night inside a 4-man tent. Nice going guys and thanks for sharing this very special trip. **edit-for lack of knowing how to spell "special". Good grief!
The area burned in September of 2021. The area had been closed since late last fall due to weather and road damage as well as unusually high waters and hadn’t reopened until not too long before you arrived. I do believe this is the first time they’ve allowed campfires there in the better part of a decade too. The bears aren’t much to worry about except for when they’ll come into camp searching for food. Either use a bear canister or hang food or anything that smells like food from a high tree branch several feet out from the trunk of the tree. Every bear I’ve encountered in the backcountry has kept their distance. I always keep an eye out underfoot for rattle snakes too but unless you step on one or get within a few feet of one and then provoke it they’ll likely not be any bother. They’re often surprisingly averse to striking unless provoked. I’ve gotten within 4 feet of a couple and both were coiled and motionless, likely not wanting to be seen. I simply moved along my way, diverting slightly to the side to yield and that was that. The mountain lions are what you need to be most concerned with. Carry a can or two of “bear spray” for both the unlikely hostile close bear encounter or a mountain lion encounter. The fact that there’s two of you reduced the chance of a lion encounter significantly and realistically the chances of an encounter are quite remote in that area. The CDFW lists one confirmed non fatal attack in the Sequoia National Forest in Tulare County. No specific location is given. Yes, one. Nearly all of the listed lion attacks in CA have been in the more urban Southern California mountains and foothills. You guys happened to visit on an abnormally wet year. The rivers aren’t usually anywhere near that high on an average year. I was at the Kern River just below the Johnsondale bridge last week and was surprised how high the water still is. The amount of water there is usually only seen during the late spring snow melt. You caught some nice fish and yes, there are certainly some Little Kern Goldens and possibly some Volcano Creek strain golden trout (what you call the CA golden) in the mix. This is the fish that has been extensively transplanted into higher elevation lakes and streams in the Golden Trout Wilderness as well as other areas including out of state. BTW, where you were at on the Kern in the second video was a good 15 miles or so upstream from where rainbows are planted. It is known that there are some non native yet naturalized brown trout up there though. Thanks for sharing your adventure.
At 14:04 , that was a Golden! Very Nice! I use to live in Three Rivers on the Western side, of the Sierras !We fished for Native Browns! too bad you guys didn't fish Sequoia Park (Western) side! Hang your food High in Trees, and make lots of noise when hiking!
So happy you're in California giving it your all. Love it. That Golden is a gift from God...The Kern River had been overflowing in town. Lots of snow melt from the Sierras.
Iron pirite.. not gold.. but it can cause some gold fever😵💫.. some awesome fishing here in California everywhere in every stream and river!! God bless!!
Gold is VERY dense. You would never find it in flakes on the surface of a stream's sediments. It would have migrated down to the bottom of the sediment/gravel bed. But it was fun seeing you get excited about iron pyrite!
Sup Boyyyyyyz.....WELCOME to Cali.👊😁 Looks ta me like ya guys are somewheres near Yosemite I wanna say.🤔 Yeah, black bears are pretty common in these parts...IF that's where you guys are at.🤔 Great vid tho....lookin forward to part 2. Little advice on food storage....if ya can....hoist it up in a tree if ya can a ways from camp...just sayin. Good lookin fish for sho. Gotta love those Goldies. Taste good too if ya get a chance ta eat one....also, just sayin. Keep these comin guys. Peace ✌😎
I bought some property just outside the edge of the Golden Trout Wilderness. LOL I do have protection from bears and also bear safe your food. The bears up there do know people and are not as scared as some wilderness bears. You won't see the mountain lions. Any contact with them will be you feeling them on the back of your neck.... Also a new pack of wolves has been tracked in that area but no "reported" sighting as of yet. Have fun out there. That burn was just last summer.
I'd try to hit the headwaters or a trib to get some prettier fish! That's what I'd do if I was just specifically targeting these fish. And they're not too difficult to hike into so you could probably do it in a day if you were willing to walk.
Great fish guys!!! That’s an insane journey!! As I was watching I was just waiting for the bear story!!! Don’t know how prepared you guys were? You didn’t mention bear spray at minimum, but you both should have had it and both should be packing iron even in that liberal state!! I mean it’s either the cat gets you or not…. But obviously nothing happened so you got lucky..
Every camping site in that area from lower down to Yosemite has bears. They just want your food. Put it up higher than you think. Those widow makers are a much bigger hazard, much more serious than bears. Tons of trout up there almost every cast. Their beautiful!!!
Agreed... and the rattlesnakes which we start running into a little later in the trip. I'd rather see a bear than a rattlesnake or a falling tree. Thanks for watching!
Maybe I’m 3 months late to get a response but what net system or attachment do you use to quickly unhook it from your belt is that? Seen a few online but most are holster type
I have been planning quite possibly the same trip to do with my 2 kids who are 9 and 11 currently. The route I was looking at is about 42 miles round trip for an out and back. I was wondering if you might be willing to share some intel on your route or give me input on my intended route. I am not a traditional fly fisherman, instead I would be taking tenkara rods and some backpacking spinning rods. Anyway nice videos and it gives me some idea of the terrain after the fires went through. If your interested in helping me with my plan, I would love to chat somehow not in the comment section.
Im pretty sure that those "Small Goldens" are a special type of trout called red band trout(the first two fish). They are protected in Montana. I might be wrong tho.......
Although similar in appearance to Red Band, the trout they caught were in fact either Little Kern Golden trout or Little Kern Rainbow trout. Those two species, both related genetically and often very difficult to impossible to distinguish between visually, are the only two present at that location in the upper Little Kern and tributaries. In the mid 70’s conservation efforts were made to establish healthy populations of native Little Kern Golden trout by chemically treating the waters to remove all non native species, installing man made barriers to fish migration downstream and reintroducing genetically pure examples of the species to those waters. It seems the efforts were successful. Knowing what I do about the area I would say that all of the fish caught in the Little Kern and tributaries in this video were Little Kern Golden trout. The areas they were at are well above the barriers.
Great video & fish the high Sierra while growing up,some very beautiful yet rugged country,that's not gold it's Iron Pyrite or fools gold,common in the High Sierra Country,tight lines & bent rods 🤙
