Kern River Rainbow Trout

I spent a day fly fishing the beautiful 20 mile section of the Kern River and managed to get a couple nice wild rainbow trout to the net before calling it a day. The water was cold and fishing was tough as they'd just raised flows out of Fairview Dam right before I got there so wading was a little more difficult and the fish were picky no doubt due to the spin fishers and bait fishers that worked the area while I was there. I was surprised that I didn't get any smaller fish this trip like I usually do. The two I got were on a small emerger with my 3 weight Helios within walking distance from the campsite.
I was planning on going further up the river and hitting above the bridge the next day but I broke my streamer rod, lost my net and my Coleman stove gave out so I gave up and went home after this day but I was happy to get a full day of Kern River in Fall colors and I'll be back again next year for my annual fishing trip to my favorite campsite in the Western Sierra!
If anyone finds a Green Fishpond Mid-Length net in the 20-mile, hit me up🤣
#flyfishing #kerncounty #kernriver #kern #rainbowtrout #fallfishing

[@MO_Lives]

Great sights and sounds

[@HookontheFly]

Thanks man! can't beat Fall on the Kern

[@Astrofishicist]

Great video and beautiful scenery. Those were some nice rainbows too!!! Sorry to hear about your rod tip, though. That's one good reason for getting a rod with lifetime warranty. LOL

[@HookontheFly]

Thanks 👍 I just wish "lifetime warranty" meant "free repair," I've broken several rods from good companies and between shipping the broken piece in and paying for processing, etc it always comes out to $30-$50 and you have to wait weeks. TFO just sells replacement pieces now that you can buy instead of going through all that, it ends up being about the same price as exercising your warranty. Have you ever had a totally free rod repair/replacement?

[@Astrofishicist]

@@HookontheFly I think they do that on purpose, knowing well that we rather spend $50 on a replacement section than $200+ on a new rod, and I imagine the only truly free repair would probably be from a local fly shop who sold the piece. Anyhow, I've only broken my rod tip once (fingers crossed) and in that case it was just a cheap rod without warranty. It's probably just a matter of time, given how much stress I put on my 2wt with larger fish, but so far it's been holding up well and the tippet always gave out first. My more expensive rods came with 2 tips, but given the price tag, I'm trying to be as careful as possible with those, knowing how clumsy I can be.

[@HookontheFly]

Best thing you can do is not set them down on rocks or concrete. I've been amazed what my 3 wt can put up with, it bends like crazy, and probably your 2 wt does as well, it's what they are made to do. When you set the rod down on something hard and it gets a small chip or scratch, that will weaken the rod slowlyy and then you get a big fish on and snap! its done for. sometimes the cracks or chips are so small you cant really see them because they blend in.
graphite rods are notorious for this, though fiberglass rods don't seem to break as easily from this sort of small crack. but graphite rods without cracks or chips that are taken care of will last awhile and handle even the big bass you find!

[@Astrofishicist]

@@HookontheFly Yeah, I always carry a cheap backup rod with me for the "just in case" scenario, especially since my day-to-day 2wt already has a tiny chip. I usually keep my rod between my legs, but sometimes it's difficult to avoid putting it down, especially when you have to crawl over rocks and through thick brush. Anyway, if it breaks, I figure it will be a carp that's responsible for it, or one of those 20+ inch catfish, even though they're increasingly rare to find/catch. I know a 5wt to 7wt is recommended for bass, but my 2wt has been handling them just fine, plus I absolutely love catching them on super light equipment.

[@HookontheFly]

I know, I always put my rod down too even though I know it's not good for it. the only reason you need a bigger rod for bass is if you're throwing bigger flies, so if you keep with the light poppers and buggers a 2 wt is great!

[@tbbonezutube]

Great vid. Nice rainbows. Bummer ending. I broke two rods on that river this last spring. I’m going up there in a couple of days. Is it too cold to wet wade?

[@HookontheFly]

Oh no! Hate to see it happen. Yes, water is about 45 degrees so you can wet wade but not for long.