Some small streams seem to have a real magical quality about them… the water, the rocks, the surrounding plant and animal life, and of course the fish that dwell there! Pauley Creek near Downieville is such a place, and it had been a few years since I had been there, in large part due, as my wife reminded me, to the frustration I had felt (and probably displayed) the last time I had fished there and encountered the expected fishy-looking water that was, essentially, fish-less! Sadly, such was the status of many of the creeks and streams in that particular area, and we hadn’t been back since…

But that was two or three years ago, and based on what I’d been seeing recently in both the water and fishing conditions nearby, I decided to take another look and give it another try. And I was not disappointed!

The walk to the stream follows a dirt-and-gravel Forest Service road that doubles as part of a fairly heavily-frequented mountain biking trail, and it’s not unusual to have several of them pass by along their downward descent from the mountain peaks above. Once the bikers have turned off towards town, however, the road continues on towards the creek, where the shadowed waters splash along over beautiful, shimmering shale slabs.

Heading upstream from there, you encounter some incredibly beautiful emerald-green waters that plunge along with an occasional waterfall or two along the way… truly magical surroundings! On this particular day, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the trout had returned, and there were plenty of hungry and eager rainbows to make it a grand success…