I think every serious trout fisherman reads about or sees pictures of the elusive golden trout and dreams of catching one someday. It's a trout that only resides in a few places in our country, at very high altitudes that usually require a long hike or a horse to reach it. The sheer beauty of these trout can not be explained and most pictures really do not do them justice for their true colors. I was lucky enough to have caught most of the trout species in the west by my early twenties but always dreamed of one day catching a golden trout. I was also blessed to happen to live not only near the high Sierras where golden trout live, but also in a place that has the golden trout as the state freshwater fish.
The research began for operation “catch a golden trout'' after hearing many stories of certain areas or lakes in the Sierras that hold these trout. The truth is that most fishermen do not openly talk about where to catch these prized trout; but even when they do, the hike usually keeps many from attempting the trip. My wife and I decided that for our anniversary we were going to make the trip to the Cottonwood Lakes in the high Sierra mountains. Our anniversary is in September which turned out to be a great time to go.
The first thing to figure out was determining which lake to hike into, as it is a chain of lakes. The second was making sure that we had the necessary hiking gear, and third was to figure out which flies and lure would work best.
The countdown had begun and we were prepped and ready to go when the weekend finally came for our adventure.
The plan, since we didn't have an overnight permit, was to drive up to the Cottonwood lakes campground on Friday and set up camp as well as acclimate to the altitude. Saturday was the big day, our plan was to get up, hike to the lakes, fish all day, and hike back. I had read different things on the difficulty of the hike and how long it would take. We decided we had read enough stories of others getting it done in one day that we could get it done also.
The drive up to the Cottonwood Lakes campground gains serious altitude and has many steep switchbacks. This road is the same you would take if planning to summit Mount Whitney via Cottonwood Pass. We arrived at the campground and there were plenty of spots available, which was a relief since it's a first come first serve campground. We set up our camp and decided to try the little stream on the trail towards the lakes before dark. We were super excited to try and catch our first golden trout no matter the size. We set up a 5 weight rod and reel with a little yellow humpy dry fly and we were off. We had to stop by the trailhead sign and read all about the golden trout we were after and the excitement built. It took us a little while until we came to the creek and it was a tiny little stream. We worked our way to every spot that had a little pool and were rewarded with some tiny little rises off some anchovy size trout. It's still fun though and we hooked and had on one little golden that was probably four inches that we lost but not before seeing this beautiful yellow body and red belly. We were ready and excited for what the next day’s adventure would bring
Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead
We woke up first thing and Jen made some coffee as we packed up our gear for the hike and we were off. The hike is not necessarily steep one only about a one thousand five hundred feet elevation gain but it’s a good six miles to get to lake three. The other challenge is it’s at 10000 feet altitude so camping the night before at the campground helped with acclimating. The hike was beautiful, especially once we entered the John Muir Wilderness. We crossed the stream a few times and saw some pretty meadows and scenery along the way. We had never done this trip so we weren't exactly sure how long it would take us to reach Cottonwood Lake three, but it was worth the journey just getting there. It ended up being about a five and a half hour hike.
We arrived at lake three and were starving from the hike so we had a quick lunch while I rigged up the spinning and fly rods. The lake was gorgeous, clear, and a turquoise color. I immediately saw a small golden trout cruising the shorelines and the excitement kicked in. We knew we were on a tight schedule because of the time necessary to hike out before dark and only wished at that moment we had more time. The chance to finally fulfill a childhood dream and goal was knocking. Jen walked the shore to a little cove not far from where we had lunch and we began casting. The wind had picked up so we decided to try using some very small single barbless hook lures to start. I immediately had a follower on the second cast. It was midday and that can sometimes be a tough time for fishing. We had made about a dozen casts when I heard Jen yell out I got one!! I ran over to her with the net and could see this absolutely stunning bright yellow red belly trout being reeled in. I quickly netted him, keeping him in the water and we gave each other a high five. We quickly removed the hook and took some pictures of one of the prettiest trout I had ever laid eyes on. The pictures really do not do this fish justice.
We admired this beautiful golden trout specimen for a brief few seconds before releasing him. I was so proud of the wife for a job well done. This is also when I felt the urgency of time left to try and catch one of these gems before we had to pack up and go. We really only had a few hours of fishing before heading home. I switched up to a bubble float and an Ant pattern with no luck followed by a nymph just to see if I could stir up a strike. I then switched to a tiny little panther martin and again had a few followers but no takers. I spotted a nice size golden cruising the shoreline casted past him and retrieved it quickly in front of him and watched as he attacked it ferociously. He made a few good runs before I was able to bring him to the net. I was trembling with excitement over accomplishing catching my first golden trout.
We grabbed a few pics and let this beautiful golden trout specimen go. We unfortunately were out of time and decided we should pack up and get hiking down the mountain. We desperately wished we had just a few more hours but knew we would be back again.
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