Over the next few hours we made our way up the creek, looking for likely holding spots. In nearly every deep pool there were a handful of LCT waiting patiently for food to float by in the current. With a short growing season and limited biomass in this high altitude creek the fish come easy to a well presented dry fly. We took our time fishing each pool and landed more than our fair share of LCT, taking in the high sierra peaks as we found our way from pool to pool The trickiest part about fishing a creek like this is stealth. Shadows, less than gentle casts, and any sign of people will send these fish running to the nearest rock for cover.
We left the creek and headed back to the car fully satisfied with how the LCT of Wolf Creek were fairing. It’s clear that the fish and habitat they depend on were healthy but things weren’t always like this on Wolf Creek. Non-native Brook Trout had taken root here and pushed the Lohantan’s out. With support from the Department of Fish and Wildlife the cutties were reintroduced to their native drainages. Both Wolf Creek and Silver Creek, tributaries to the Walker River, have gone through significant restoration work through California Trout’s Sierra Headwaters Initiative.
In the face of non-native brook trout, habitat loss, and drought the LCT seem to have taken root on Wolf Creek but their existence here is delicate. The open fishing season is from August 1st through November 15th and is limited to catch-and-release fishing with artificial, barbless hooks. Although, my uncles have yet to cast a fly on Wolf Creek it has become one of my favorite high sierra creeks to fish in the fall. I just might drag them from the campsite one of these trips and show them what it has to offer.
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