Saturday, September 20th:
Our fish-out with the Stanislaus Fly Fishing Club was scheduled to commence at 8:00 a.m., floating the middle fork of the Stanislaus from Knights Ferry to Orange blossom, just outside of Oakdale CA.
Mapquest advises a 2 1/2 hour drive, so I’m up at 4:30 and on the road at 5. My canoe is strapped to the roof of my truck and all my gear was loaded the evening before.
Here is my essential list:
- canoe
- life jackets
- throwable floating device
- paddle + spare paddle
- anchor + 50 feet of anchor line
- sunscreen (actually forgot sunscreen, mistake!)
- sunglasses
- hat
- 4 & 7 weight fly rods with matching reels
- floating, sinking, and intermediate lines for both reels
- flies for trout, stripers, and bass
- two quarts drinking water
- 4 beers and a sandwich
I made one stop for a breakfast sandwich and coffee, and arrived at 7:45. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Gus Link and his partner, Paul. (? not 100% positive on name) of the Stanislaus Fly Fishing Club. Their vessel was a two person pontoon boat with a rowing station and a casting platform. Kevin Morrison and Susan (not sure on last name) from our Santa Cruz Club rounded out our group with kayaks of their own.
The theme of our trip was a non-motorized float down the Stanislaus with the possibility of catching Trout, Stripers, Smallmouth Bass, and Carp. Gus and Paul had previously unloaded their boat & tackle, and leaving us to watch their gear, shuttled a truck down to our take-out at Horseshoe Bend. While they were gone, we unloaded our boats and gear, and rigged for trout initially. Although we had originally planned to float to Orange Blossom, low water dictated an earlier pull out.
We had agreed to pay $20 apiece for shuttle service, and a $10 parking and day use fee. However, Gus said that because there were only 3 of us to transport, he would waive the shuttle fee. And my senior State Parks pass gave me free entry and parking privileges. Woohoo, good start.
Our guides returned and we launched at 8:30-ish. The water temp was high 50s, and air temps were low 80s. In my mind, an earlier start would have been advisable. I decided (wisely) that temps were too warm to warrant waders.
In all candor, I must admit that I overestimated my canoeing skills. The trip was advertised as a gentle float, and it was…punctuated by small sets of rapids every five or ten minutes. I must have smashed into every rock in the river. Keeping two hands on my paddle and fishing at the same time was impossible. Even on the smooth runs, as soon as I put down my paddle to cast, my boat would begin to helplessly spin about, making accuracy impossible. I had either to anchor mid run or beach the boat in order to fish.
Early on, I saw caddies, stone, and mayfly hatches coming off. I saw no surface activity to indicate active feeding. My go to was a stonefly pattern, with a soft hackled P/T nymph as a dropper two feet below. We floated over lots of carp, but saw no sign of trout.
The drift itself was lovely, but til about midway between Knights Ferry and Horseshoe all I saw were carp. Lots of them. Big, averaging 16 to 20 inches. Some bigger. They were not interested in my offerings. I switched droppers frequently, to no avail. P/T nymphs, Stonefly nymphs, Zug bug, prince nymph. None appealed to our target audience.
At about the midway point, I finally saw trout. Big ones. Steelhead sized. And swimming away fast. They were very sparse, and extremely wary. They were gone before I could even get a cast off.
A short while further, I saw my first Striped Bass. It was hunkered down deep, generally hanging out with the carp. I anchored upstream, and switched to my heavier rod with a sinking line and a chartreuse and white deceiver. 15 minutes of casting without a grab. I saw many more stripers further on, none actively feeding. They were just sulking around the bottom of the deeper runs. Each time I passed two or more, I would paddle back upstream, anchor up, tie on a different streamer, and futilely cast and retrieve for ten or fifteen minutes. No love for me.
It was about 3:00 when we reached Horse Shoe Bend. Susan was already out of the water and ready to go. Kevin and I kept an eye on her gear as Gus drove her to her car. Both cars returned, Susan loaded her Kayak and bid adieu. Kevin and I loaded all our tackle in Gus’ truck, but left the boats unattended. Gus drove us back to our trucks, and we then returned back to Horseshoe to retrieve our boats.
A nice moment: A group of kayakers held off above me as I covered the water with my casts. After a few moments, I reeled in and waved for them to pass. They stopped briefly at my boat to point out an Osprey nest with juveniles, being fed by Mother or Father bird. I was so focused on fishing that I was missing the real life nature exhibition.
I also floated by a wake of buzzards fighting over scraps of some long dead critter. At times, watching them soar in the skies over my head, I wondered if they were anticipating a fatal mishap on my part.
Another nice moment: The parking area at the take-out was about 75 yards, uphill, from where we took out. As I struggled up the hill with my canoe, two young men asked if they could help, then promptly carried the boat and loaded it on my roof rack. Who says chivalry is dead?
By 4:30 I was loaded to go, and by 7:00, I arrived back in Aptos after an uneventful drive.
Would I float it again? Absolutely, but I would use my brothers pontoon boat (similar to Gus’), and shoot for a 6:30 launch. Maybe a touch earlier, when water levels are at 700 cfm, not 250 as it was for us Saturday. At 250, I had to step out of my boat once due to shallow water. 700 cfm would eliminate that requirement.
Final Score: Susan caught a trout. We were all envious. That was the only fish hooked.
This report respectfully submitted to The Santa Cruz Fly-Fishing Club
by K.Murdock
Sgt. at Arms
SCFFC
Posted on October 5th, 2025