Consuming Trout on JMT

[Ryan Degnim]

Hi, if no fires are permitted in kings canyon/sequoia national park above 10,000ft how do you go about cooking trout caught on the trail. Particuarly interested in fishing the raes lakes area. Is this permitted?

[Anonymous]

"Hi, if no fires are permitted in kings canyon/sequoia national park above 10,000ft how do you go about cooking trout caught on the trail"

Poach them in broth-miso, chicken bouillion, etc. One real good one is Thai hot sour soup mix. Lots of ways to flavor the broth.

[Chris Morgan]

Or you can use the gas canister-frying pan method.

[Ryan Luke]

Tom,

Which Thai hot sour soup mix do you use? Is it widely available at CA supermarkets?

[Mary D]

In making the decision to fish or not to fish, I include the weight of a small non-stick frying pan, a small bottle of olive oil and extra fuel in the weight of my fishing tackle.

[Anonymous]

Ryan,

Look for Thai Kitchens. I think they are available nationwide. The packages contain rice noodles and a set of seasoning packets that are added after the noodles are simmered for 3-4 minutes. The hot/sour, i.e. Tom Yum, and also Coconut Curry are excellent. I used to bring the water to where bubbles were starting to rise from the bottom of the pan, add chunks of trout, bring to a simmer, cook for a couple of minutes, add noodles, cook until tender(~4 minutes at 10,500-11,000'), add seasoning packets, stir, and enjoy. I seldom cook and never fish anymore, but back in the day those two dishes were gourmet food to a hungry backpacker. I still see the products on the shelf up here, so you should be able to find them down your way.

Tom

[Nia Schmald]

I kinda cheated. I believe the reason for the restriction is the scarcity of wood above tree line. So I collected a bag of twigs below 10000 ft and then used a small MYOG wood stove with a stainless mesh grill to cook the trout. When done I buried the ash. To me this met the spirit of the rule if not the letter.

Also, I can't find my map at the moment but I believe Dollar Lake, 2 mi north of Rae, is below 10000, and definitely has great fishing. I caught 10 10-12 in brookies there in about an hour.

[Ryan Degnim]

Nia what tackle were you using by chance? Were you flyfishing? Also I heard it is relatively easy to catch trout in this area, can you confirm this?
Thanks, Ryan.

[Nancy Kim]

Hey Ryan,
I fly-fished the JMT from start to finish in 2009 and kept a detailed journal of the trip. If you haven't already taken off on your trip, I can offer some advice. Beck's guide "Trout Fishing the John Muir Trail" is a great start, though by now some of the info is a little dated. For the most part, info on species is still valid, but I fished some spots he characterized as unproductive and caught large trout (by alpine standards). If you're doing a September trip from north to south, water gets pretty skinny on the last stretch through the high passes. Holding water in those creeks is tough to find.

Fishing the entire JMT was an incredible experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I caught every species (goldens, brookies, browns, rainbows) save for the cutties which are only available in a fews spots.

Have a great trip and feel free to ask any questions.

Tight lines,
Nancy

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