Overview

Yosemite National Park is a vast area of more than 700,000 acres which contains several hundred lakes and two major river drainage's. With an annual visitation currently around 4,000,000 people per year this isn't a place with a reputation for quality un-crowded fly fishing. The vast majority of park visitors are day trippers who never get out from behind their windshields long enough to discover that the Park is a lot bigger and has more to offer than just the busy crowded floor of Yosemite Valley. For a fly fisher with a good map and a sturdy pair of boots, there are more than 400 miles of streams full of wild trout, many of which seldom, if ever, get fished. With fishable waters found at elevations which range from 2,400 to 12,000 ft and four species of trout there are more fishing opportunities than a person could explore in a lifetime of summers.

The Merced and the Kings are the only totally protected river systems left in the Sierras. These completely wild rivers are free from the effects of logging, cattle grazing, mining, dams, or development of any kind. Please treat these last remaining wild streams with the care and respect they deserve. Teddy Roosevelt gave us all a gift when he set aside this vast piece of land but the stewardship for this resource is our responsibility. While backpacking into remote wilderness is a great way to access untouched fishing just hiking for an hour or two can put you on a wild stream where the only footprints are your own.

A Little History
The high gradient of the park's watersheds with their many waterfalls historically prevented fish from occupying the headwaters of any of the parks rivers and creeks. At the turn of the century the park was patrolled and administered by the U.S. Calvary. Major Benson was the officer in charge of the newly enlarged park and fortunately for the fly fishers of today, he was an ardent fly fisherman. On his orders the Calvary troops spent many summer days hauling trout fingerlings sloshing in milk cans strapped to the backs of mules into even the areas most remote lakes and streams. Most areas of the park's back country has not been stocked since and all the fish in Yosemite high country are the descendants of these original fish. The largest lake in the park, which is very remote and still has great fishing, was named after the Major.

Hatches and Flies
Like all Sierra high country trout the fish in Yosemite National Park need to be adaptable and tough to thrive in the park's many environments. Floods and droughts, short summer growing seasons, ice scouring of high elevation stream beds, and winter kill in some lakes all make life difficult for fish in this wild place. The clean granite the is characteristic of the Yosemite high country region is lacking in the nutrients which promote the growth of aquatic insects. This limits both fish numbers and growth rates in the higher altitude streams. This nutrient deficiency is less severe at the lower elevations due in part to the nitrogen fixing alders that line the stream banks from an altitude of around 5,000 ft. As the streams reach the lower elevations the numbers and diversity of insects increase as well as fish numbers and size. The largest of these insects is the Giant Salmon Fly Pteronarcys Californica. This hatch normally coincides with spring runoff and can be difficult to fish because of the high water. The large nymph, which takes two to four years to mature is always present and will take fish throughout the season. Many species of yellow, black, and olive stoneflies are also present and are seasonally important as both dries and nymphs.