Hi,

I'm new to this list and I'm considering a trip to Kirman Lake - near Bridgeport in northern California. Has anyone fished there recently? Any advice/information would be appreciated.

I've been told that Kirman has been over fished (by lots of poachers) and may no longer be productive ... true?

Thanks in advance, Heath

Heath,
We are planning a trip up to Kirman in late August with a guide from Wilderness Outfitters in Mammoth called Harry Blackburn. I'm sure he will be up there or get a report before we go. You can call the fly shop at 760-924-7335 for an update. I'm hoping the info you have is not legit, since we are counting on catching large Brook trout from a float tube. Please let us know what you find out.
Marc

Marc,

My report on Kirman is that a float tube is required. I tried to fish from the bank and there were a few places where a 30 foot cast got me over the reeds and into a little water. No strikes on humpies or hoppers and I think I saw one fish rise in two hours. The birds, however, were fantastic. Hundreds of Yellow-headed Blackbirds and American Coots with young. Some fantastic Ruddy Ducks with the male bills bright blue and they were strutting their stuff. Pied-billed Grebes with their colorful, pin stripped young and an American Kestrel pair hunting nearby.

I ended up walking from the Kirman trailhead along Hwy 108 up to Kirman Lake then down to Mud Lake and than back to Hwy 108 at Pickle Meadow. It took me an hour and a half to hitch a ride back to my car. An intersting walk and I would not want to walk back from Mud Lake up to Kirman. Sounds strage, to me, but it seemed like it would be a much harder walk going from Mud to Kirman than it was going in.

Sorry I can't be of much help on what to use at Kirman.

Best Regards, Heath Wakelee
Granite Bay Flycasters
VP Conservation

I was up there about two months ago. Mountain biked in (nice ride) and float tubed the lake for about 3 hours with no hits and one visual. It's possible that I got there a bit late, the sun was already up and starting to get hot. Guess I could have stayed and tried fishing the end of the day but figured my time was best spent somewhere else. One thing that I didn't try is fishing a sink tip to get further down, this could have made a big difference. Anyway, if an opportunity to fish presented itself to me I probably wouldn't head to Kirman until later in the season, once the weather starts to really cool down and the fish get into that feeding frenzy before the winter socks them in.

I think early and late in the season is best for Kirman.

Like May and October.

I hear a lot about how good Red Lake is fishing the plast few years too.

_________________
Bill Kiene
Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacrmento,CA
www.kiene.com
800/400-0359

The few times I have visited Red Lake, the wind has been whipping the surface pretty good.