Since we had a pretty good snow pack last winter, most of the mountain streams are roaring with snowmelt. High water creates difficult fishing conditions and presents a serious safety hazard. Anglers who fail to respect the power of rushing water may well be among the many drowning victims that the rivers claim each year. A good wading staff may well save your life.
Probably the best way to deal with the situation at this time of year is to fish lower elevation streams whose headwaters are below the snow line. One such stream in the central Sierra Nevada is Grizwold Creek near Calaveras Big Trees Park
My earliest recollections of Grizwold Creek go back to the 1950s when my brother and I would accompany our Dad there. At the junction of Grizwold Creek and Skull Creek, there was a huge curving railroad trestle that spanned both creeks. The wood trestle was built to accommodate the logging trains that hauled the lumber down out of the mountains to the lumber mills. Atop the hill overlooking both creeks was a sizeable lumber camp complete with bunk houses, an office, and a chow hall for the loggers. Perched just above the railroad bed was a wood water tank that probably held 20,000 gallons. A pipe from Skull Creek kept the tank constantly filled. The water spout on the water tank would pivot out over the tracks to fill the steam locomotives.
My brother and I thought it was great fun to stand under the tanks fill spout and pull the rope that released a huge stream of water. We finally stopped our incessant showers when Dad complained that all the water from our showers was washing downhill and muddying the creek.
The trestle caught fire and was destroyed sometime during the late 1960s, but the bunk houses and water tank still remained into the 1970s. My newlywed wife took a photo of me posing next to the redwood water tank in about 1972 . Within the next few years however time had taken its toll and the old empty water tank collapsed into a pile of rotten boards and metal bands. The bunk houses also succumbed to the ravages of time and are all gone now. On the site of the old lumber camp the State Division of Forestry built and maintains a seasonal fire station that is stilled manned during fire season.
To get to Grizwold Creek take Boards Crossing Road off of Highway 4 at Dorrington and follow forest road 5N02 across The North Fork of the Stanislaus at Sourgrass Crossing. Stay on 5N02 heading southerly until you get to Beaver Creek. After you cross Beaver Creek, the Forest road number changes to 5N03 which you follow approximately 6 miles in a southerly direction until you get to Grizwold Creek just below the CDF Fire Station. Then continue another half mile around the hill to Skull Creek. Park your truck just after you cross Skull. Walk downstream (West) for about 30 minutes. As you walk along the road you’ll see Grizwold Creek on the right below you. Once it is joined by Skull Creek, Grizwold becomes a great stream. After you’ve walked about a half hour (roughly 2 miles) leave the dirt road and drop down into the creek.
Grizwold Creek in this stretch is lined by wild azaleas and in early summer you can often smell them as you approach the creek. Tie on almost any fly and fish upstream back toward your truck. Except for the larger pools, you can wade up the middle working the pocket waters between pools. These are wild trout and are predominantly rainbows in the 9 to 12 inch range, although you will probably catch about 10 rainbows for every brown. The Brown trout can reach 15 to 16 inches and like to hide in the shade of overhanging branches or under a sunken log. Again, since these are wild trout, I practice catch & release exclusively. When you get to the junction of Grizwold and Skull you can climb up the right bank to the road & it’s a ten minute walk on a level dirt road back to your truck. On a typical day of fishing Grizwold Creek, I’ll usually catch and release between two and three dozen trout. It’s a great way to start of your fishing season in earnest.
Until Next Week
Tight Lines
