Central Sierra Nevada

North Fork Stanislaus

by Ed Hood July 23, 2014

The Stanislaus River is a major drainage through the central Sierra Nevada, and is a great weekend getaway from the bay area. The Stanislaus gets a little overshadowed by the Tahoe area to the north and Yosemite to the south and I really enjoy it as it’s usually quite a bit more low-key than those two areas. The south and middle forks are really awesome pieces of water, but I always find myself coming back to the north fork, along Highway 4. It takes me 2.5 hours to get to the town of Arnold, a pretty quiet town in the Summer, but gets busy in the winter with nearby Bear Valley and is home to many cabins owned by bay area residents.

Stanislaus National Forest Map

Stanislaus National Forest is a big one, that encompasses approximately this area between Tahoe and Yosemite. Courtesy of Google Maps.

When I go up there, I will usually camp at nearby Calaveras Big Trees S.P. or if I’m more in a motel mood, the Arnold Meadowmont is a nice one, conveniently located across the street from the Snowshoe Brewery. If you’re on a fishing trip, it’s very important to know the nearest beer stop.

Anyway, the north fork has a bunch of different access points, usually with campsites on or very near the river. I enjoy fishing the river either in Big Trees park or at the Sourgrass picnic area. There is a ton of river to fish and a short walk away from the main parking lot will get you away from a lot of people. Fish are stocked periodically at these two access points, but if you want to target wild fish, it doesn’t take much to get up or downstream to find them. Rainbow and brown trout are numerous in this fork of the river, in the 6-12 inch range usually, but much larger fish have been seen in hard to get to holes.

For the Big Trees access, simply follow the main entry road through the park and the road will eventually cross the river. There is a large parking lot there and is a very popular swimming hole for campers. Obviously, you’re not going to want to spend your time there. Walk upstream, do a little rock hopping, and you will have the river more-or-less to yourself. For the Sourgrass access, follow Highway 4 another 10 minutes east of Arnold to the town of Dorrington. Make a right on Boards Crossing Road, and follow it down the canyon to the bridge. It will take about 15 minutes from the highway. You will have to meander through the cabin community, so keep an close eye out for not very well marked road signs. There is a big picnic area on the left after you cross the bridge (watch out for an also not-very-well marked speed bump). Much like Big Trees, the river is frequented by campers and picnickers. The bridge area is heavily fished with Powerbait, worms, etc., but a short walk up or downstream will get you away from the pressure and into more wild fish.

Calaveras Big Trees Access Point

The Calaveras Big Trees access point. Courtesy of Google Maps.

The Sourgrass Access

The Sourgrass access. Courtesy of Google Maps.

This fork will be blown out during a normal snowpack year, usually between May and late June. While teaching a class there this past June, the water was in perfect shape. The river is essentially a tailwater of Spicer Reservoir, though its main origin is Lake Alpine. The north fork always has water going through it and can fish well, even during the dog days of summer in low water years (like this one). Put some weight on those nymphs, fish closer to whitewater, and fish it hard. Dry fly action will start happening in the late afternoon in big pools and slicks. I always bring two rods with me as there are great nymphing spots and great dry fly spots right next to each other. I’ll favor my Helios 2 905 mid flex for nymphing and my Superfine Touch 865 for dry flies. On this last time out, I took my Tenkara out on its maiden trip and it performed admirably. I’m going to have a bunch of fun with that this year.

For fly selection, the fish aren’t particularly picky on this fork of the river. Typically attractor patterns in size 16-20 will to the trick. My favorites over the years have been the Fly F.K.A. Prince and red Zebra Midge for nymphs and stimulators and humpies for dries. The river will get its standard caddis, golden stonefly, yellow sally, and pale morning dun hatches and great evenings can be had in the fall, when the October caddis starts hatching.

Great pocket water and pools for miles