I admit that while in college and studying marine fisheries, trout were the furthest fish species from my mind. However, during a summer break, I headed to the Mammoth area to fish with my buddy Rich. We goofed off and caught stockers out of the mountain streams, and rented a boat to troll one of the local lakes. It was during that boat ride that I added a brown trout to the list of trout species I had caught.
A few days after that, we were casting lures at the edge of Crowley Lake and I hooked and landed a large silvery trout that looked like a steelhead. After asking the locals, we determined that it was a rainbow that was going through a color shift.
Years later, I was fishing with my buddy Darren and I landed a more respectable brown trout on a quick weekend trip to the high Sierra. After we took a few photos, we let the fish go.
One species I had to find in another state. After a successful hunting trip in Wyoming, I got to fish a river plugged with trout. After weeding through a few rainbows, I hooked something that just fought harder. After running me up and down the river on 6-pound test, my first ever cutthroat trout was in the net. The 16-inch trout was gorgeous. Overall a bronze color covered with spots and punctuated with a slash of fiery orange under the chin.
After spending most of my life chunking bait or casting lures, my buddy Ed introduced me to fly fishing during a high mounting camping trip. After a slow start, I finally started getting the hang of presenting a dry fly to a rising trout.
We spent the first day of our trip catching resident rainbows in the stream near camp. After lunch, Ed suggested we do a hike to a high mountain lake that held plenty of brook trout. After a hike that nearly killed me, we spent the rest of the day catching the feisty brook trout, a brand new species for me.
That trip changed the way I looked at fly fishing. Following Ed’s suggestion, I purchased a 5 weight fly rod and a few flies. I enjoyed the finesse required to be proficient at casting a fly on fly line and was excited to catch more trout with the new fly rod.
The following summer, Ed and I headed to another high mountain area to fish a small creek for golden trout. Prior to the trip, I read up on the colorful fish. Ed suggested the fly sizes and types for the trip.
At the trailhead, we hiked a half mile to the narrow creek and started fishing. It took me a few minutes to get back into the groove of casting to narrow water, but about ten minutes after we started, my first golden trout was on the line. I took several photos of the beautiful fish and quickly released it.
Ed and I caught dozens of golden trout that day and that short trip to the golden field remains one of my favorite fishing memories.
If you’re interested in being a little bit more adventurous about freshwater fishing, jump on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website and do a search for the different species of trout available to west coast anglers. Believe it or not, some of these beautiful fish are a lot closer than you think.
