TR: Frenchman's Creek...now I'm caught up!

San Diego finally received some meaningful rainfall over the last couple of
weeks, and it appears that the trout in Frenchman's Creek will make it
through another season. We had to make sure though...sometimes it's best to
check these things out firsthand.

Danl and I met at the chosen parking spot at 7:30 a.m. where he presented me
with the material to tie up a bunch of a San Juan favorite. I think this is
a tie even I can pull off! We set off down the frozen trail, our shoes
crunching the icy ground and our breath hanging in the cold morning
air...perfect hiking weather. Soon we found ourselves at the mouth of the
canyon and started down the boulder-strewn watercourse. Both of us had
fished the upper section of this creek in the past, and we pointed out some
of the pools that had yielded memorable fish...for me the hook-jawed male in
spawning colors, and for Danl the 13 inch brown that wasn't supposed to be
there. Streamside rocks were slick with a skin of ice, and sheets of the
stuff covered the still water in most of the eddies. We carefully threaded
our way over and around boulders and through thick brush for a little over
an hour, and finally rigged up, unable to stand it anymore.

For the next few hours we worked our way downstream, fishing as we went.
The water was very cold, and both fish and insects seemed to be quite
sluggish. We picked up the occasional fish, Danl on dries (of course) and
me on a midge dropper. Slow as it was, we had a fine time working some very
nice looking water. When things warm up a little bit, some stretches of
this creek are just going to be a blast! Because it was still close to the
Christmas season (I need an excuse), we.mostly me.spent a little extra time
hanging ornaments from the branches of the streamside trees. Nice ornaments
too.tufts of colored feathers with golden beads and iridescent trim.quite
beautiful in the afternoon sun.

At a point deep inside the canyon we came to a gorgeous pool fed by a fair
sized waterfall. Spots like this just aren't supposed to exist in this part
of the state. There *had* to be fish here, so we started casting in
earnest.and casting and casting. I think Danl got a couple of strikes here,
and I got zip. Then one of us tied on a Little Brown Streamer (from the
2003 swap) and BOOM! A pretty little rainbow. Then a hit and miss. Then
another fish. We had found the hot ticket and played in that pool for
another thirty minutes before being forced by the late hour to start back to
the cars. We fished as we walked, and Danl managed a couple of final trout
before we finally broke down our rods. We were back at the cars by the time
it was dark. Thanks, Danl, for another great day.

As for the pictures, I was still using the cheap disposable camera from the
Owens River trip, and the photos I shot just didn't turn out.too little
light in the canyon. I don't like to post so many pictures with me in them,
but Danl took some shots that really show the character of the stream very
well. I hope you'll like them.
http://users.adelphia.net/~wmason/FrenchMansCreek.htm

Cheers,
Bill