Another one of my early-season go-to streams is Texas Creek, a small mountain stream that winds nearly invisibly through the forest, so much so that you can’t see it from the roadway where it crosses over it. Most people don’t even know it’s there, which is fine by me! Typical small Sierra water which holds lots of feisty little rainbows and browns in decent numbers, and every once in a while you’re lucky enough to stumble across a twelve-incher that feels like a real whopper in that small water!

Early in the season the Indian Rhubarb are just starting to sprout, giving it a very Dr. Seussian feel to the place. It’s pretty brushy and thick heading upstream, and it always feels like a well-earned workout after a couple hours of being hunched over and winding my way through the tangled willows and alders…