Got to spend 3 solid days fishing private water on the upper Jackson River near Warm Springs last week, staying at the Meadow Lane Lodge. I would never have booked the trip on my own; the drive and private water always scared me off, but my wife picked the spot for an anniversary trip based on the website, and I was not going to turn it down. Short version: Fun place, very good fishing; might try the area again, with some slight modifications.
-- Big thanks to the guys at Urban Anglers, who said "bring sulphurs" when I went in a few days prior to departure. There were adults coming off every night. I should have bought more - I ran out of them halfway into the trip, and being nowhere near a fly shop, had to improvise by trimming/chewing hackles off the underside of a Crackleback dry woolly (an old Missouri pattern) to at least give them something Pale-Yellow and floating. (for reference - https://swittersb.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/crackleback-fly-byron-haugh-photograph-hans-weilenmann.jpg)
For those who have never fished down there, here's some basics if you're considering the trip:
-The Drive: the drive is long. Took me (with wife & dog in the car) almost 5 hours to get down there from Alexandria. Probably could do it in 3:45 flying solo & with a less shitty car.
-Public access....n/a. I know you can get in below the dam to hit the wild fish side of things, but upstream seemed pretty locked-in with private water. I was having too good a time on-property to explore. Maybe next year.
-The Fish - the section I fished is stocked regularly by the lodge, but the trout seemed to be adapting to the river pretty quickly. Tons of healthy 12-15" rainbows, with decent coloration and overall good fights. Caught a couple bigger, but nothing above 17". Lots of fun rock bass, some sunfish/bluegills, and the less-fun side catches of fall fish. There are definitely smallmouth in there as well - caught one on a blue popper on the last night, saw others - but they were not interested in anything else I was throwing.
-Wadeability/The river - the water was rarely more than waist-deep, and current manageable. Most of the time I was knee deep, or on land. Slick rocks to be sure, but nothing super treacherous. Access points on the lodge property were sort of hit-and-miss, but it was easy enough to get through the brush to get back to the main dirt road. The river was running about 90-100 CFS over a bed that was about 1.5-2x the size of Rock Creek, but at a lesser gradient. Enough water for now, but much lower and I think it'd be problematic.
-Types of fishing/Tactics - I got to do all types of fishing on the stream - the sulphur hatches in the morning and evening made the fish really hone in on the insect of the day, and you had to match pretty precisely. When I did that, it was a blast.
Daytimes I did a mix of chucking streamers in deeper/faster spots (big woolly buggers with orange or yellow, rubber legs, coneheads, etc were the best), picking off risers on beetles, and in the heat of the day, nymphing (pheasant tails. no need for anything else. Just find the depth). Threw 5-6x for dries, 4x for the streamers. fished both a 4 wt and 5 wt rod; either is fine. wouldn't go heavier or lighter.
-Time of year - The stretch I was on is not a summertime fishery; I think Meadow Lane stops stocking for the summer, and I'd be hesitant to spend time or money to fish down there until at least mid September. Maybe below the dam, but not above.
-The location - not advertising a given property or not, but it was super secluded, and I never had another fisherman within a quarter mile. The house was in a mountain valley with big views on all sides. Warning: if you bring your dog, make sure you apply the Frontline tick preventative. One walk, not even in tall grass, and we had to pull 25 ticks off our 25-lb mutt's fur. Luckily, they hadn't latched, but it was a pain in the ass. If you go, bring everything you need. There's 1 or 2 little country stores in Warm Springs, and an IGA on the road in, but once you're out there, you won't want to haul it into town for beer or gatorade. ALSO - check out the Jefferson Pools in Warm Springs, and the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs. Both worth the visit.
http://www.tpfr.org
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