The Rubicon River

The headwaters of the Rubicon River are in the Desolation Wilderness area of California. The several forks of the river in the headwaters area are full of small trout. I have caught brookies, rainbows, and browns in the tiny brooks that eventually flow into Hell Hole Reservoir. Since I guide only on the lower part of the river, I will leave it to you to use the U.S.F.S. El Dorado and Tahoe Forests maps to find access points, of which there are many. These wonderfully detailed maps are available at retailers such as R.E.I., or at any ranger station.

Once it leaves Hell Hole Reservoir, the Rubicon flows down the canyon, often in steep cataracts, terminating in Oxbow Reservoir. From Oxbow, it flows through a tunnel and into the Middle Fork of the American River. I concentrate on the river just above Oxbow, because access is good and there is very little angler use once the parking area is left behind.

To get there, take the Foresthill exit from Highway 80 just above Auburn, and travel the approximately 15 miles it takes to reach the town of Foresthill. About halfway through the town, Mosquito Ridge road dives off to the right and down into the deep canyon of the American River. It is ten miles down to the bottom of the gorge, where the road crosses the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American. After crossing the bridge, the road rises up the other side of the canyon and onto a long ridge that leads to Hell Hole Reservoir. About one mile beyond the bridge there is a sign pointing to Oxbow Reservoir. The road reaches the reservoir and follows its shore to a powerhouse above the lake. Just past the powerhouse there is a parking area right at the river.

I normally bypass the first few holes and hike to the first large pool where I scramble up onto a bedrock ledge on river right. The head of this pool produces some nice rainbows with deeply drifted large flies. You will often hook large suckers instead of trout. In fact, while fishing alone here one day (not really a good idea) I slipped on the bedrock ledge when I set the hook on a take; the rod slipped from my hand and disappeared into the deep slot. Stunned, I watched my Sage XP and Ross G-3 slide into oblivion. When I recovered and was able to think clearly, I remembered that a floating line will bring the tip of the rod to the surface and so I kept watching the tailout of the pool from atop the bedrock ledge. After about a half hour of anxiety, sure enough the line surfaced down near the deep tailout on the other side of the river. The difficulty was that I could only get to the other side by swimming. I was dressed for the occasion anyway, so I doffed my shirt and shoes and swam across. By the time I got to where I had seen the line, it had disappeared. Some time later it reappeared and I was able to grab it and the tip of the rod. As it turned out, the reel was stuck in the cleft of a branch on the bottom, necessitating a dive. The sucker that caused this calamity was, of course, long gone. The swim was refreshing, and I was able to fish the rest of the day.

Above the big hole there is a near endless variety of pocket water to fish, all of which is accessible during normal summer flows. The best fishing, however, is generally in the spring because of the rainbow spawning migration out of Oxbow. If flows are high, reaching the areas above the big hole is difficult and sometimes impossible.

Caution is needed on this river. A wading staff is essential, both for keeping vertical in the river, and for knocking on rocks and logs when hiking outside of the river. The Rubicon is home to a very healthy population of rattlesnakes; giving them advance warning so you can hear the buzz of the rattles is a good idea. It is not a good idea to enter this canyon alone. At times it is necessary to scale cliffs and other steep terrain to get around deep pools that are flanked by rock walls. If you fall and are injured, a companion can go for help. It gets very hot in the canyon, so it pays to have a filter type water bottle to keep hydrated. When the sun leaves the water, mosquitoes and black flies will annoy you, so bring the repellent. But, despite all of these dangers and annoyances, this river is well worth the effort once you have put some distance between your vehicle and you.

I mentioned the North Fork of the Middle Fork American River earlier. Just past the bridge at the bottom of the canyon, there is a sign on the left pointing to a trail that is the access point for this river. If the fishing in the Rubicon is unrewarding, try this stream. It flows mostly in the shade during late afternoon, and can be good on dries in the evening. I recall fishing the North of the Middle one day in early spring with a couple of friends. On one of her first casts, Jeanne hooked a very nice rainbow of about 16 inches on a Stimulator. What followed was a very good day of small stream rock hopping and fishing. Here again caution must be exercised, as this is a back country area. The trail rises high above the river, necessitating steep descents where it is possible. At times, the trail is narrow and a bit unstable; one should not let the eyes roam from the trail even though the river down below is seductive. The fishing is good near and above the confluence with Eldorado Creek, which comes down from the Georgetown side of the divide.