I know, I know  you have had heard this line for over 3 years. I use a 12 ips super fast sink tip with 8 lb Vanish to tug my bugger. Flows are now below 250 cfs and they can draw water from Pine Flat Dam in a way that can keep downstream flows temperate for rainbows and the + foot long brookies they planted at high flows earlier this year. Most of us are hunkered down at home tying flies because of the COVID-19 virus induced social distancing. So a lot of walking and boulder hopping are required to find some long term holdovers still surviving there. California HAB Map of affected waters https://mywaterquality.ca.gov/habs/where/freshwater_events.html I had to quit before I wanted to as I had consumed 3 liters of water and had just a half liter to drink on the way home. Will flows drop this weekend with a nice low pressure system to arrive soon? Probably had 25 hook ups. Hooked a lot of nice trout but only landed one. Make sure you have a sturdy wading staff and be safe. We landed +75 in 3 hours before the dark clouds began to form. Fish on the lowest parts of section 5 to give you the best opportunity to avoid flow spikes. Stay tuned. If it is not a big storm we may get a a short period of fly fishable river if the SNF reopens. A fisher I bumped into said that a county sheriff tried to cite him. Call the flow phone when you are at Riverkern where the last cell signal can be found. They were emptied into the Kern River and we have not had brood stock collected since. Trout are definitely fewer than my last trip. It was pretty obvious that these bows were not fished to in the last two months and have moved up river quite a ways from anywhere I have been fishing this summer. When you say? Sadly the overall regulation changes will increase harvesting even as state wide trout stocking pounds continue to decline, only sterile trout are planted, and legal take rates remain the same or increase in number or season duration. It came up big. The flows were much lower this week and I could wade to a lot more holding water. Staffing has just been sourced to cover vacations and other issues. Is it river temp or harvesting that ended the good catching for this year it seems? Check the top line of the graphs at    http://www.sutronwin.com/scedison/tw/jsp/    to find out when flows drop in the safe range and make sure  you buy a good thermometer. The first people to comment on the proposed change were only public officials after 20 minutes of technical issues. That's nearly as much material as it took to build the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Plan accordingly. Stocking on section 4 only this week? With fingers crossed our hope is the hatchery will plant the 50,000 pounds of trout allocated this year. Doubt the river will clear before Easter with another colder storm coming to add to the snow pack we desperately need. This will ensure there will be additional pressure on the lake and likely means fewer solid sized rainbows will migrate up river this year. KRR brood stock are scheduled to be obtained next year (fingers crossed). Landed 17 to the net. Let’s hope the carnage won’t be irreversible. We decided to wet wade, as temps into the lower 90’s were forecasted. We recently had guide, Chris Leonard,  from Mammoth speak at our club about winter fishing on the Lower Owens. Simply math tells you our trout populations statewide will continue to decline. We started around 8:30 am and noticed a hint of smoke in the air. The Commission is rescheduling the agenda item to April 15 at 10:00 a.m. Also several larvae size #18-#20. Lake Buena Vista has had many lunkers landed to 7 pounds but we are unaware of any fly fishers doing well there. TULE                          22% There seems to be a slow decrease in hospitalizations so we must take care not to reverse this. Water is off color and river temps in the upper forties. Most of the drowned bodies of those who perished have been recovered with the exception of the 11 year old girl who slipped off a rock and went in near Keysville. All trout between 9” and 14”. Hatchery update: it continues to be dry. On the first cast I hooked a 16 inch pristine rainbow and it really was the beginning of a very good day. It will take months though to more than double their weight and stock them as true trophies. You can read an article recently published in the Californian here  https://www.bakersfield.com/news/hatchery-closes-down-again-following-three-years-of-renovations/article_c24d71b4-2dd7-11eb-a774-276cf8699ec7.html . I continue to protect the community up there by having all the food, water, fuel, and flies I need packed before I leave home. River levels are beginning to come up to 315 cfs as demands for water increases with the severe drought upon us again in the San Joaquin Valley. We did see a lot of stonefly shucks everywhere we fished today. Easily finding a quite spot with numbers has always been difficult on the lower. See here https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7048/    At this time the Sequoia National Forest area, including trails, is still closed north of the Johnsondale Bridge because of the SQF fire. Both the #12 Arnerd and #18 BHFPPT caught rainbows. This proposal would limit the CFGC’s ability to restrict or suspend fishing until May 31, 2020 in three counties. Mountian 99 north of Kernville is currently closed. You get to accurately sight cast, learn where trout lay, and get immediate feedback with landing or spooking fish. Currently, over 15,000 people in Kern County are at home recovering from Covid-19 in quarantine. I used my foam stone / dropper rig and got no grabs or surface bumps. Please check our meetings webpage for updates or visit our homepage at www.fgc.ca.gov to join our electronic mailing list (select Agendas: Business Meetings). There is a lot more moss in the river, especially on section 5 where water temps exceeded 70 degrees the last month of summer. Water temp 60 degrees on section 4 and air temp 72 degrees. Lake Isabella Kern County Health Department HAB hazard map (several DANGER level locations identified this week)   https://kernpublichealth.com/cyanobacteria-blooms-blue-green-algae/   I checked to see the progress of the SQF fire before I left the house. All pristine this week  and last week with , amazingly, no recent stockers hooked of the 33 total landed over my last two short trips. Watch flows from Mill Creek as it is not flow controlled and can muddy up the Lower Kings quickly and clear up very quickly as well. One day they receive a letter from their mom's godmother Natty who wants them to come visit her at her dude ranch where their mom spent a lot of time growing up. Section 5 is flowing very low (just 85 cfs) and deeper hiding water is becoming less abundant. Spent some time with a class of 2nd graders for Trout in the Classroom this morning. The Lower Kern has been planted about once a month according to the CDFW planting web site. I managed to cover a long stretch and pick up a 10” brown and 9  rainbows before lunch. This has cause huge changes in the flows on the lower flow section. Some of this section 6 water has not been reachable for 2 years. They were caught more than a mile apart. However, the bulk of them will be held until they are true +3 lb trophies. That’s great. The flash back pheasant tail has been a great fly for me wherever I have fished for trout in CA, OR and UT the last five years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims’ loved ones. All proceeds to benefit Casting for Recovery. This will involve major construction that is anticipated to take a minimum of two years to complete. They have much better wild trout counts for sure. It is unclear to me if there is a separate meeting to discuss CDFW fishing closures at 10 am or is a part of the 9am meeting/webinar? This is an exciting opportunity that will rely upon modern fish hatchery techniques which is a major factor in closing the hatchery to ensure the facility can satisfy this need. Also + 10,000 lbs of half pounders were added as well by the chamber and CDFW. Don’t know what to make of it??? At this juncture on the 20 mile stretch we will see trout lethal river temperatures in June and the end of stocking likely after Memorial Day. Other public commenter’s believe that closing one area to fishing will crowd people into other areas. It is only 1% contained and very dry/hot conditions coupled with steep terrain is making control of this fire very difficult. Direct stocking from the San Joaquin Hatchery was lower pounds than usual during March. I was too tired/lazy  to walk down and land them. This is one of the latest starts (3rd latest on record) to the rainy season ever in Kern County. Sent to Paris to visit their grandfather, the twins fall in love with France, not to mention two French boys. The SQF fire (originally the Castle Fire) originating near the Forks of the Kern on 8/19  has dominated the environmental conditions on our favorite river. Only Lake Ming has been  planted and no trout planted in Riverwalk, Truxton, or at Hart Park. I did get some more information related to CDFW hatchery operations after the huge trout kill of 3.2 million trout (see here https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/fish-plants-continue-in-eastern-sierra-waters/ )  I was wondering what percentage of the state’s hatchery population was lost at the affected Mojave River Hatchery, Black Rock Hatchery and Fish Springs Hatchery? The Upper Kern went over 2,000 cfs this week and was blown out. It has been quite a while since there has been stocking. It appears that the snow pack is close to gone as flows dropped dramatically as predicted below 400 cfs on section 5 the first week of June. Why? The statement above says there, “are unique strains of Kern River Rainbow Trout (KRRT) present in the Kern River watershed”. We headed back toward home. The CDFW is proposing to change fishing regulations state wide and our club is providing feedback to the agency. After some spirited discussion he got a warning. At this writing there are no plantings scheduled for April on the 20 mile section or local lakes (will be too warm until October). Hard to believe huh? No trout to be seen there according to baiters I talked to. If that information is indeed accurate, it most certainly will accelerate harvesting over previous years. The water was easier to access because flows dropped quite a bit since last week. Then check your email or junk folder for the invite email from the CDFG. Total today were 18 to the net and I had on at least 30 trout in four hours. The NOAA forecast is for warmer than normal temperatures and lower than normal precipitation through May and that means low snowpack and faster snow pack melt. We have found that reducing an allotment below a certain threshold creates disproportionate reduction in catch rates, meaning no one catches anything. Going forward I would not expect river temperatures to be in the 50’s for months but likely in the low 40’s starting this weekend. The Lower Kings has continued to be planted all summer. The brood stock could not be collected again as Covid-19 had shut down the project for 2020. Kids day at the Kern river Hatchery 4/28. We arrived in Kernville and no one was fishing in Riverside Park and that usually indicates very slow catching. There will be lots to report on going forward and I look forward to keeping you updated. However,  when the first storm that dumps more than an inch hits, expect some pretty lousy fly fishing conditions. Up on section 5 and 6 I found some unpressured water and covered quite a bit of ground. Those areas are no longer secret it seems and will likely be pressured until stocking resumes. However, they are located above 8,000 foot elevations. I avoid fishing any trout river when temperatures exceed 70 degrees. I arrived on the top third the 20 mile section and recorded 66 degrees. I managed 4 rainbows (largest 16" and 3 clearly wild) in 4 hours. Most of the trout in the river now I believe to be 8” – 11”wild and fertile. There will be more this week but the river is still going to rise and should recede very soon with the low snow pack and more normal temperatures coming next week. Flows above Fairview Dam on Section 6 and below on section 4 continue to slowly fall making wading a bit more easy, but crossing the river up there is still not recommended for safety reasons. At this time it isn’t clear what methodology is used to determine where the plants go but it is assumed it is where people are most like to catch them? In addition, on section 5 flows have been up and down (see gold line) likely for maintenance by SoCal Edison. Lake Isabella net pens have been used for years to raise trout primarily for the Lake Isabella trout derby to be held next year. Hopefully there will be a change, but healthy Kern River conditions from July to September are not likely with the current trend in place. In the past the CDFW has planted brookies to 14” in January 2019 below Pine Flat Dam for a winter surprise. We also have supplied sub-catchable trout to Kern County to rear in net pens in Lake Isabella and these fish will be released in spring 2019. We spent time on section 4 and 5 until 2 pm. We have good news to report that the Mocassin Hatchery is nearly at full production and CDFW Region 4 is nearly back to planter production of 2 years ago and that is why we will see more regular planting near the Bako the next few months. Hope you all stay safe.”, More seasonal temperatures have finally returned to our area. April 1st is the day that snow pack levels are benchmarked. Check before you head out this weekend. Didn’t see any flying around though. Directed by Stuart Margolin. It felt like hanging out with an old friend. While BFL has had one decent January rainfall day it has not shown up in the Southern Sierra snowpack. But the hatchery is holding trout in three races for the first time in months. Come join us and have a great time planting and catching afterward. We are just a few months into the rebuild and there has been some progress. On a sad note two more gentleman went into the Kern River (Keysville stretch again) and didn’t come out Saturday. This left much of the soil dry and stripped, making parts of the Sequoia National Forest vulnerable to soil erosion and flooding. Then I had them cast on my old Orvis Clearwater fly rod that easily has had 10,000 students from 2nd to high school cast over the last dozen years. Those wilder trout likely lost their natural wariness over that time frame and fattened up a bit. Unfortunately the 3 month forecast is not encouraging and a second year of drought will affect many of our state waters again. KRV Web Cams http://webcams.lakeisabella.net/ There is a planting scheduled for this week on sections 3,4,6. It was very hot nearing 100 degrees so I headed home. There was all kinds of insect activity from tiny midges to large crane flies. Wish I had a camera. I’d  say a half dozen pike minnows on the warm part of section 5. Make sure you are in good shape to handle altitudes well above 6,000 feet. I arrived at Riverside Park in Kernville around 9 am. Currently Mt. The size, engineering and condition of the siphon that conveys water to the hatchery is worth a future article. The river in its Sunday garb.—Dress on the river.—A chance for the men.—Absence of taste in Harris.—George’s blazer.—A day with the fashion-plate young lady.—Mrs. My foam stonefly got a lot of grabs after noon so fish are still thinking about chomping on hoppers although I did not see any flying around.There were swarms of October caddis and small midgets. So I made inquiries and got an email this morning that reads below. We were honored to have the new hatchery manager, Tony Holland,  speak to our club Wednesday. I only saw 3 vehicles on the 20 mile stretch but there were 10 vehicles at the Johnsondale Bridge Parking lot. Our next meeting is October 2nd at Coconut Joe’s Banquet Room 4000 Easton Drive. We made stealthy presentations to tons of easy access small golden’s. Made a dash up to the Kern today to scout out the river for the mentorship outing we have scheduled for Saturday. Flows have finally dropped below 200 cfs and the Bako hit triple digits this week. They are in the transition between seasons, switching from mostly stream plants to the winter lake and urban water plants, though the Kern River will still be in the mix. This meeting will be held by teleconference only. It means you care about the fishery and the citizens in your area. Perhaps they have become wild in the last few months? I got a sense by 11 o’clock most people gave up due to crowding as most vehicles were gone. I covered quite a bit of water and land and managed 5 trout in 3 hours. Sacramento                                          23%. Three people were arrested and 30 fines issued after Garda have broken up a street party in Limerick city which locals said featured 'hundreds' of students. None of the fish appeared to be stocked recently - having pointy noses and white fins tips. Our prediction that flows will remain hazardous until mid-August appears to be spot on. Stocking schedules in the South Coast Region and Inland Deserts Region will be affected for the remainder of the 2020 and into the 2021 calendar year as CDFW works to disinfect and repopulate the hatcheries with fish. Mystery! This species will thrive this summer on the 20 mile section. Tuition is $30 and materials $10. This is the first time you can cross the river (choose your spots carefully) to cover a lot of water. With Covid-19 infections at these very high levels, it is imperative to prevent further spread in the vulnerable Kern River Valley and here in Bakersfield.