The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

Well today was an interesting day to say the least. Steve and
I arrived at the river only to see it running like chocolate
milk - it's blown!...so we ask ourselves, "now what"?...well
we knew the water just below the dam had to be ok so we headed
on up.

I've heard stories about the difficulty of getting down there
so I've never bothered to fish it (why when there's so many better
places). This time it was the only option if we really wanted to
stick some fish.

We got to the dam and proceeded along trying various spots to
get down to the river. This is canyon country. One bad step and
it could be all over. A few times we would venture down only to
have to go back up and then try and find another spot. Finally we
got to the powerhouse and low and behold we see "The Staircase".
This wasn't a little staircase...laughs...It must be about
1,200 feet long.

We made it down (finally) and got into a couple of fish. It wouldn't
surprise me if we were the only ones to catch anything considering
the conditions down river.

Dang I'm tired...pics are below.

-Greg

Here's look at the dam...long drop down...

See where the grass ends?...it's a cliff below..had to hike back up and try again:

Here's looking back at the dam and wondering if we'll ever get to the river:

Steve can't believe we found this staircase...

Ok...we're fishin' now

Here's Steve on the last leg of the "Stairway from Hell" while hail is pelting us: