Anyone thru-fished the JMT?

[James Pitts]

I am not the worlds greatest fisherman but I do use barbless hooks… I was convinced one couldn't catch fish with the things and was shocked to find that I could. I am sure I lose one now and then that a barbed hook would have kept, but I catch PLENTY of fish and the barbless hooks are so much easier to deal with… at least for me.

[W I S N E R !]

When I hear Panther Martin, I hear the sound of a treble tearing up a trout's mouth.
Single hooks and no barbs is the way to go; If you know how to fight a fish you'll be fine…If not, it's how you learn!

[mark henley]

In the Winds two years ago I took a very light Spinning rod with a ultralight reel and 6 lb test. I used both dry flies with a clear float, small spinners, but a very small trout colored spoon pitched across the rapids was KILLER.

One trout was so big it snapped the pole in half before I could readjust my drag.

[Michael Whiteside]

I heard that the Mepps spinners will twist a two-pound test line. Do you have any experience with that?

During my last Yosemite trip, in August, I saw a LOT of trout. This year I am planning hitting the JMT on 8/11/07 ready to fish.

Michael

[Scott Peterson]

I have never heard of a lure twisting lighter line versus heavier. Could minute structural changes from a 2 lb to 4 lb make a difference? I would assume the lure was tied improperly or not functioning well if it happened to me.

With all the talk about barbless, keep in mind, even a barbless treble hook can be hard to extract if the fish swallows it. You can mess a fish up with the most benign hook…and that is when I opt to eat it or at least cease to fish that particular body of water if I sense it to be fragile. I also follow all regulations under the assumption that fish and game errs on the side of caution.

I above all do not subscribe to a belief that any form of fishing is more pure or better than another. They all can be fun and given certain conditions…some more effective than others. I would never assume a fly fisher with waders, a net, extra tippet, a box of fly's, polarized glasses, boots, and a $3000 bamboo pole could outfish my old buddy from college in his stomping grounds. He worked for the Cal State Water dist. in Lassen county. In sneakers and jeans with his cheap spinner and a panther martin could work pool after pool catching fish on his first cast.

[Earl Hostetter]

I'm hiking the JMT starting in Yosemite Valley on about September 1 and want to take the whole month to reach Mt. Whitney. Anybody fish along the trail during that time? Oh by the way, regarding the fly vs spin thing….I just purchased a Grigg 6' 3wt flyrod (two piece). It's dead-of-winter up here in Alaska and I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect it will be good in streams and only ok in lakes. I also purchased a tiny Shakespear Microspin closed-face spin reel to use on the flyrod. I can already tell it will make a great ultralight spin outfit. One rod both fly and spin. What do you think?

[David Stenberg]

We just got confirmation on our permits today. We are going from Whitney to Yosemite. We start August 17 and will be out until September 9. Hopefully I will see some of you on the trail.

[Allyn Vaughn]

If you have NG Topo, you are welcome to download a map I put together for my trip last year. It shows most of the creeks, rivers and lakes and the types of fish in them. Data was obatined from Steve Beck's Trout Fishing the JMT and Ralph Cutter's Sierra Trout Guide. I found the information very accurate. Last year we start end of July and made it northbound to Red's Meadow before having to pull out. We caught probably over 250 fish each on the 13 days we were out. We would stop for lunch and fish about an hour and then after we set up camp.

Here is the link to my site:

http://www.hardinflat.com/allyn/index.html

and the link to the map:

http://www.hardinflat.com/allyn/JMT_Fish.tpo

Have fun

[Michael Whiteside]

Allyn,

I liked your photos. Would you mind telling us what pattern and size of flies you were using? I am a spin-fisherman but plan to use the fly and bobber technique some of the time this summer when I hike the JMT.

Thanks.

[Allyn Vaughn]

Michael, last year was a heavy run off year in the streams and creeks. So #12 and #14's were the size flies I took along. I used almost exclusively dry flies on the trip.

Elk Hair Caddis
Royal Wulffs
Black Ants (when everything else fails!)
Ralph Cutter EC Caddis (It is an elk hair caddis with parachute hackle to simulate the emerging cripple caddis)

Those were the ones that worked the best. My sight is not as good anymore so I tend to use a fly with light coloring to see on the water. Hate missing fish because I cant see the fly!

Thanks for the nice words on the photos. I found either my brother takes really bad pictures of me or I just don't look too good after a heavy pull up those passes!

[JW]

#18 Red Ant or #20 black midge. These two drys never fail if there is no current hatch or prominent food source.

[David Eastwood]

David- I take a 4 piece 4 Wt rod and one small box of flies for a 14 day JMT hike/fish. Elk hair Caddis 16/18/20/22 (Sierra staple), Light Cahill 18/20/22, Any Mosquito/Mayfly imitator 18/20/22. I have also found in the Fall that 'Hoppertunities' work very well. (Grass hopper imitators with blue, yellow.red legs) I have taken large fish in the late Fall with Hopper imitators. I too have become tired of taking fish off of my flies with my record being 23 in a day. I am a firm believer in fly rods as opposed to spinning set-ups. I have seen a few people fishing with spin setups on the JMT but the further you get away from the trailhead the fewer spin setups you'll see. My entire fly fishing kit is 9 oz with extra tippet material and one extra 8' leader. I hope this helps.Easty

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