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Fly Fishing Report On The Kern River, California

Kern River Trout

Kern River Fishing Report: 03/21/24
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Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.

We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.

Upper Kern River Stream levels:
At Kernville

(See Archive at bottom of page)

Type of Stream
Freestone and Tailwater Sections

Species
Rainbow Trout {Wild and Stocked)
Golden Trout (Native)
Brown Trout (Wild and Stocked)

Size
Large

Location
Westslope of the Southern Sierras

Nearest Towns
Bakersville
Kernville

Season
Last Sat. of April through Nov. 15
(regular season)
Special Regulations:
Golden Trout Wilderness open from
last Saturday of April through
November 15th. Barbless artificial
only.
Two other sections, a twenty-mile
and a four mile section, have special
regulations and seasons

Access:
Easy to Difficult Depending on the
Area

Non-Resident License
State of California

Weather
National Weather Service Link

Seasons:
The general season is from the last Saturday in April through November 15. Sections of the river is open to
fishing year-round.
Spring:
Springtime is great in the tailwater if the discharges are reasonable. In the North and South Forks, the water is
cold and it’s mostly nymph and streamer fishing.
Summer:
Summertime is the best time to fish the high Sierras.
Fall:
Fly fishing the Kern River during the early Fall can also be very productive.

Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or  6X Nymphing:  
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X

Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X

Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six

Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators

Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.

Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:

Email us  at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.

Copyright 2016 James Marsh

Fly Fishing On The Kern River In California
The North Fork of the Kern River, sometimes called the Main Branch, starts from several small lakes in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. It begins in the Sequoia National Park and flows through the Ino and Sequoia National Forests and the Golden Trout Wilderness. The Little Kern River joins the North Fork at what’s called the Forks of the Kern River. The North Fork flows into Lake Isabella. Fly fishing the Kern River is usually a very enjoyable and successful adventure. Check back often as we update the Kern River fishing report weekly.

The South Fork of the Kern River also drains from the high Sierra Nevada Mountains and flows through the Ino National Forest. It also flows into Lake Isabella. Fly fishing the upper headwaters of the South Fork of the Kern River is an unforgettable experience.

The tailwater section of the Kern River below Lake Isabella and Isabella Dam, flows through a very rugged canyon just south of the Greenhorn Mountains. This section of the river is about eighty miles long. It’s strictly controlled by its releases and therefore the water temperature and quality of the fishing is subject to fluctuations depending on the releases of water from the dam. It has some very large brown trout. Smallmouth bass exist in its lower part.

Above Lake Isabella, the North Fork of the Kern is followed by Highway #155 for over 25 miles. It runs from Kernville up to the Johnsondale Bridge. The North Fork is heavily stocked with rainbow trout and also has a good population of holdover trout.

Much of the South Fork is remote and requires traveling in on horse back or by taking a long hike to fish much of its waters. It stays very cold even during the Summer and has big browns and rainbows. The South Fork of the Kern is a designated wild trout stream above the southern boundary of the South Sierra Wilderness. Golden trout are present above Monache Meadows.

The Upper Kern River above the Johnsondale Bridge has a special regulations area where wild Kern River Rainbows are very plentiful.  This four mile section can be fished year round and with barbless hooks only. It has a population of both rainbows and brown trout. This section offers pocket-water, fly fishing at its best. The Upper Kern river has a lot of tributary streams that also hold trout. Nobe Young, Dry Meadow Creek, Freeman Creek, Peppermint Creek, Durwood Creek, Trout Creek, and Brush Creek are some of them.

Most of the locals fish generic and attractor type flies. That often leads to less than satisfactory results. The Kern River has plenty of aquatic insects, crustaceans, sculpin and baitfish. The diversity is huge and varies depending on the section of the river your fishing. Pale Morning Duns, Yellow Quills, Blue-winged olives and other mayflies; several species of stoneflies, including Goldens and Little Yellows, several species of caddisflies and terrestrial insects make up the majority of food for the trout.

Kern River Fishing Report:

01/19/20 Stream levels are in good
shape. We are still getting some very
good reports. Lots of Cream and blood
midges, BWOs, Mahogany duns Scupin
streamers are catching some large ones.
02/10/2020 The river is still in good
shape and our customers are catching
good numbers of trout. BWOs, Midges,
Winter stonefies are hatching. Sculpin
streamers are working good. The general
season was closed 11/15 but the 20 mile
and 4 mile lower sections are open for
catch and release.
03/13/2020 We continue to get good
report from customers. There’s lots of
snow and you need to take that into
consideration getting to the water.
04/26/20 Stream levels are a little high
but would be okay for wading most
places with caution. There are some
very good hatches taking place.
05/09/20 There are good hatches taking
place. Lots of Golden stoneflies, little
Yellow stoneflies, Spotted sedge caddis,
Green sedge caddis. BWOs, Pale-morning
duns and others. Stream levels are about
1800 cfs.
05/21/20 The stream levels are staying in
good shape in all sections. All sections of the
river should turn out good numbers of trout.
There are multiple hatches taking place.
06/05/20 Sorry for the missed reports.
The river is in very good shape with good
wading levels and lots of trout being
caught by our customers. The wild and
stocked sections are turning out trout as
well as the headwater, backcountry.
06/17/20 Both the wild and stocked
sections of the river are turning out good
numbers of trout. The back country is also
producing good results for our customers.
There are some major hatches taking
place.
06/26/20 We continue to get good stream
reports from customers. There are good
hatches taking place and terrestrials are
starting to work.
07/10/20 The river is running low in all
sections but okay. You do need to use
extra caution to stay hidden from the trout.
There are good hatches and good
numbers of trout being caught by our
customers.
07/23/20 The flows are low and wading
safe and easy. We are getting good
reports from customers fishing all
sections of the river. There are good
hatches taking place.
08/06/20 The flows are still a little low but
rather normal for this time of the season.
Trout are being caught by our customers
in good numbers in all sections including
the South Fork. Good hatches are taking
place.
08/29/20 The stream levels are still low
but we are still getting some good
reports from customers. You have to
stay low and hidden from the trout as
much as possible. There are some very
good hatches taking place in the upper
sections of the river.
09/16/20 The wild trout section and upper
rivers and tributaries are in good shape
and we continue to get good reports from
those fishing it. Stream levels are still low,
so it is necessary to stay low and as
hidden from the trout as possible.
10/08/20 The river is still flowing at a low
level and hiding from the trout is still
necessary. Trout are still being caught in
good numbers in both the stocked and
wild trout sections.
10/30/20 The river is in good shape
with okay stream levels. Trout are
being caught by our customers in all
sections of the river in good numbers.
There are still some good hatches
taking place.

The river is in good shape with okay stream levels and good numbers of trout being caught by our customers. There are some very good hatches. Give us a call for a fly list recommendation.

05/03/21 Conditions are good and we continue to get good reports from both the stocked and the wild trout sections. There are some very good hatches taking place.

05/11/21 The stream levels are low and you have to use caution to not spook the trout in some cases. We continue to get good reports from customers fishing all sections of the river. Send us an email or call us and we will send you a list of recommended flies and gear.

05/20/21 The stream is still turning out some good numbers of trout for our customers and in all section including the headwaters. There are multiple hatches taking place.

05/27/21 More good reports have come in. The water is low and you need to use caution to avoid spooking the trout. Dress to match the background and use Perfect Flies which look like the real foods the trout are eating. Call or write us for a recommended fly list.

06/04/21 The stream is still low but we continue to get a few good reports from customers. All sections or the river are turning out trout.

06/16/21 Conditions remain about the same. We continue to get good reports from customers. Email us  at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.

06/28/21 The stream levels continue to be low and the water too warm in the twenty mile section. We are getting good reports from the other sections of the river including the back country. There are good hatches taking place and terrestrials like our Japanese beetles, Carpenter ants and hopper are also working.

07/10/21 Low water levels and warm water temperatures make the lower sections of the river a poor choice. The uppermost sections are fine, including the wild trout section. We have lots of customers fishing the back country and headwaters and we continue to get good reports from them.

07/17/21 The stream is still quite low and warm in the lower trout section. The wild trout section and the back country streams are all in okay shape with cool water and turning out good numbers of trout.

07/24/21 The back country or upper sections of the river are really turning out some good catches for or customers. There are good hatching and our terrestrial imitations are working good.

08/01/21 More good reports came in from the wild trout section and the headwater streams in the back country. The low water lets the trout get a good look at your fly and is one reason why our Perfect Flies far out produce the generic fly shop imitations. They look like the real things.

08/10/21 We continue to get very good reports from the wild trout and upper most sections of the headwaters. The water is low and clear and the trout get a good look at your fly. Perfect Flies which look like the real things, will make a big difference.

08/17/21 We received three good reports from customers fishing the back county this past week. Water levels are low, of course, but the trout still eat in low water levels and there are plenty hatching insects for them to eat.

08/25/21 The stream is still turning out some good numbers of fish for our customers fishing the wild trout section and upper head water streams. There are still some good hatches and our terrestrial patterns are also working.

09/03/21 Fishing in the National Forest has been shut down until September 17th. This eliminates all the trout waters.

09/11/21 You can fish the lower river for bass but that is it.

09/19/21 The forest is open again. The stream is still quite low. Suggest you fish the upper sections and focus on the fast water runs and riffles, or at least the fastest ones available. There are still plenty insects hatching.

09/28/21 The river is still very low yet we continue to get a few good reports from anglers fishing the upper sections of the river. Excellent BWO hatches as well as Western Ginger Quills are hatching.

10/11/21 The upper river was closed most of the past several days but open again. We received three good reports the past two days. Good hatches are taking place.

10/20/21 Stream levels are up some but still low. There is some rain in the forecast for this coming weekend that should help. We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week.

11/01/21 The stream level was up some but back down to a low flow. We still received three good reports from customers fishing the stocked section and wild trout sections.

11/08/21 The stream is still low. We are still getting some good reports in spite of the low levels. Good BWO, blood midge, mahogany dun hatches.

11/16/21 The river was way up from rain but back down but in much better shape. We received good reports from customers this past week. With the lower, clear water, the trout get a good look at your fly. Using junk generic flies like most shops sell doesn’t work well. See what a difference our Perfect Flies make.

11/24/21 The river is still turning out trout in the 20 mile section and the wild trout section. We received two good reports from customers this past week.

12/04/21 The stream is still producing trout for our customers. We received two more good reports from the past week. Blood and cream midges, BWO nymphs, aquatic worms, and our sculpin and leech articulated fly patterns are working good.

12/12/21 The stream levels are still low but we continue to get a few good reports from customers.

12/20/21 The foul weather has slowed anglers down but not the fish. The twenty mile section has been stocked recently and should turn out good catches. The wild trout section almost always does.

12/28/21 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing this past week due to the foul weather and maybe the xmas holiday.

01/05/22 The river is in good shape and so is the weather. We received three good reports from customers fishing this past week – two in the stocked section and one in the wild trout section. Good blood midges hatches are taking place and our articulated sculpin streamers are catching some good ones.

01/13/22 The river is still at good levels and clear. We received four good report this past week from customers. Three were fishing the 20 mile stocked section and one the wild trout section. There are good blood midge hatches and our articulated sculpin streamers are working good.

01/21/22 We received four good reports from customers fishing the stocked section last week. The wild trout section should also be good.

01/29/22 We are still getting good reports from customers. Four again this past week. Both the wild and stocked sections are turning out trout. Our cream and red or blood midge larva and pupa, aquatic worms, and little BWO nymphs are producing well.

02/06/22 We are getting several good reports a week from customers fishing the stocked section. We received two good reports last week from the wild trout section. Good hatches of little BWOs, midges and are taking place. Fish the midge larva and pupa rigged in tandem for the best results.

02/14/22 Good reports are coming in from customers fishing the stocked and wild trout sections. Stream levels are up some in good shape. Lots of BWOs as well as midges hatching.

02/22/22 The river continue to produce good catches. We received four good reports from the past week. We can’t over emphasize how important using good flies – flies that look like the real things is. Our Perfect Fly patterns do just that and greatly increase your odds of success. We sell the generic fly shop patterns as well, but only to demonstrate the difference.

03/02/22 We received three more good reports this past week. Stream levels are okay and the water mostly clear. The wild trout and stocked sections are both producing. March Browns are starting to hatch.

03/10/22 Great hatches and okay water levels make this one a hot spot to fish. We received five good reports from customers fishing this past week.

03/18/22 The river continues to be one of if not the best fly fishing destination in the state of California at this time. We continue to get good reports from the stocked and wild trout sections of the river. Send us an email at (sales@perfectflystore.com) for recommended flies and gear.

03/26/22 The stream is still turning out good catches for our customers. The flows are up and there is some stain in the water. There are good hatches of March Browns, Blue-winged olives, cream and red or blood midges and Little Black caddis.

04/03/22 We are still getting good catch reports from both the 20 mile stocked and the wild trout sections of the river. Good hatches are taking place.

04/11/22 Good hatches of Pale Morning duns, Blue-winged olives, Spotted sedge caddis, March Browns and Cream and Red midges are taking place. We are getting good reports from customers fishing the four mile wild trout section as well as the stocked section. Why are Perfect flies better? It’s simple. They look like the real things.

04/19/22 The good hatches continue to take place and we continue to get some very good reports from our customers. Stream levels are in good shape.

04/27/22 Good conditions exist. Stream levels are fine and trout are being caught in the stocked and wild trout sections. Good hatches are taking place.

05/05/22 Stream levels are up a lot and the river in much better shape. Good reports are coming in from our customers. It helps to use flies that look like the real things the trout are eating, not junk generic flies. Good hatches are taking place.

05/13/22 Conditions are okay with okay stream levels. All sections of the river are starting to produce some good catches thanks to good hatches taking place. Use Perfect Flies which look like the real things and watch your success increase.

05/21/22 The stream is up a little but still in good shape. We continue to get good reports from customers. All sections are turning out good catches including the back country. Good hatches continue to take place. Send us an email for a list.

05/29/22 The stream is down in very good shape. We are getting some very good reports from the back country, stocked and wild trout sections of the river. Great hatches are taking place.

06/06/22 The stream levels are fine and the water clear. We are getting good reports from all sections of the river including the back country which is red hot right now. Very good hatches are taking place. Pale morning duns, Spotted sedge caddis, Green sedge caddis, Little yellow stoneflies, Gray drakes, Dark Red Quills and other insects are hatching.

06/13/22 Stream levels are back down a little below normal but okay. We are getting several good reports from all sections of the river including the back country. Good hatches continue to take place.

06/20/22 Good hatches continue to take place throughout the system. All sections of the river are turning out good catches for our customers including the various back-country waters. Match the hatch the best way-use Perfect Flies.

06/27/22 To be short and simple, it just doesn’t get any better than this. Match the hatches and your in for a good time with fish on the line in any of the different sections of the river including the backcountry.

07/04/22 Excellent conditions continue to exist. Lots of insects are hatching and we continue to get several good reports from customers fishing it.

07/11/22 Stream levels are down rather low but the river is still in good all around shape, especially the back country. We are still getting several good reports a week. Good hatches continue to take place and our terrestrial patterns are also working.

07/18/22 The twenty mile section is turning out a lot of stocked trout. These trout are not very selective. The wild trout in the other sections and upper back country sections, and the holdover trout in the stocked twenty mile section, are not easily fooled. That is why generic flies work in the twenty mile section far better than the other sections of the river.

07/25/22 The river is quite low again and you have to stay low and as hidden from the trout as possible. The good news is, there is some chances of rain in the near future.

08/01/22 The river is up a lot and still rising from recent rain. Once it settles back down, it should be in great shape. Good hatches continue to take place.

08/08/22 The stream level is back down but still okay. We still are getting good reports – three from customers fishing this past week. Hatches vary some depending on the section being fished.

08/15/22 Stream levels are still low but okay. Good reports are still coming in from the wild trout and upper headwater sections. Hatches have slowed down some but will be changing as the weather cools.

08/23/22 We are getting a few good reports and some not so good reports. Stay low and as hidden as you can dressing to match the background. Don’t overlook the late day spinner falls and morning spinner falls of Tricos.

08/30/22 Low, warmer water conditions still exist. Trout still eat when the water is low. You just have to not let them see anything but your fly and they should match the insects hatching.

09/14/22 Stream levels are up and the water cooler. We received two good reports from customers fishing the past three days.

09/21/22 We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week. The stream is lower but still okay. Good early Fall hatches should start to take place soon.

10/07/21 Conditions are very good in just about all sections of the river. Good hatches are taking place and we are getting several good reports a week from customers. Lots of BWOs, spotted sedge caddis, Tricos, and terrestrials are still working.

10/21/22 The stream is flowing at a normal level and clear. We continue to get good reports from customers fishing both the stocked and wild trout sections.

11/06/22 The stream is still turning out some good catches in both the stocked and wild trout sections. There is rain in the forecast and hopefully, that will improve the conditions.

11/20/22 The Kern is still producing trout for our customers. We received three more good reports from the past week. Blood and cream midges, BWO nymphs, aquatic worms, and our sculpin and leech articulated fly patterns are working good.

01/01/23 The stream is running at a medium flow, but conditions will probably deteriorate with rain and snow moving in on Monday night. Good winter hatches are still taking place.

02/08/22 Sorry for the missed reports. Conditions are good. Trout are being caught in both the wild trout and stocked sections of the river in good numbers.

03/09/23 The stream is in good shape right now and trout are being caught in both the wild trout and stocked sections. Creams and light green midges are hatching. You can expect high water very soon as the warming weather will melt some of the huge snowpack.

03/18/23 The stream is just now getting down to near normal level. We haven’t received any reports in a few days but with the water lower and clearer, you should be able to catch trout.

03/28/23 The stream is down a lot and clear for the most part. We received one good report from a customer fishing yesterday. You should be able to catch trout thanks to some good hatches taking place.

04/08/23 The stream is flowing a little high and strong. There are very good hatches taking place in the four mile C and R section.

04/21/23 Our sculpin streamers has been producing good for two of our customers. Add some weight and get them down near the bottom in the heavier flows.

04/28/23 The stream levels are up very high as runoff appears to be kicking in gear.

05/08/23 The stream is still very high.

05/19/23 The stream is still too high to fish. Check back with us as we will keep you informed.

05/29/23 The stream is still high and dirty.

06/09/23 The stream level has dropped a lot the past week. It should be down in good shape before long.

06/17/23 The stream level is still high, too high to fish well. The snowpack of this year is a whopper. Hopefully it will be down soon.

06/28/23 The stream is still too high to fish. Stay in touch and we will keep you informed. It should start getting into shape soon.

07/07/23 Conditions are still not good. The flows are far too high making it tough to not feasible to fish. Hang in there. It will drop.

07/15/23 Stream levels are down a lot from last week but still too high to fish. Keep checking back with us. We will keep you informed.

08/02/23 Finally it is low enough to fish. We received our first report from a customer fishing it yesterday. Good hatches are taking place.

08/08/23 The stream is in good shape. We are getting good reports from all the different sections from customers fishing this past week. Good hatches and nice weather.

08/18/23 Conditions remain very good. I’m not sure how long it is going to last if the hurricane threat becomes a factor. We are still getting good reports from customers fishing all sections of the river.

08/25/23 The stream has been high this past week but is back down to a level that can be fished. There are still some good hatches taking place. You should be able to catch some nice trout.

09/01/23 Stream levels are back down to a good level. We are getting some good reports from customers fishing it. Good late season hatches continue to come off.

09/08/23 The stream is in very good shape in all sections. We are getting some very good reports from customers. It is best to match the hatch and with Perfect flies, you can do that.

09/15/23 The river is still in good shape in all sections. We received two good reports from customers fishing this past week.

09/21/23 Conditions are very good. There are good late season hatches and the stream levels are low enough for good wading opportunity most anywhere. We received two good catch reports from Perfect Fly customers.

09/28/23 The upper Kern turned out some good wild rainbows for two of our customers. Good late season hatches are taking place.

10/06/23 Conditions are very good. Good flow rates for wading. We received three good reports from customers fishing this past week.

10/18/23 Fishing remains good with levels holding steady and good hatches continuing.

10/27/23 Sorry for the missed reports. We have been getting good reports from about all sections. Both the wild trout and the stocked sections are currently producing good catches. Good late season hatches continue to come off.

11/03/23 Stream levels are still normal for this time of the season and late season hatches of Midges – red or blood midges and cream midges, and Blue-winged Olives. Using our Perfect Flies certainly helps because the look like the real insects and other foods.

11/06/23 I wanted to point out that our pre rigged in tandem, Cream midge larva and pupa works great. You fish it under a strike indicator if you want to but keep the bottom fly (the larva) near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet/

11/13/23 Conditions remain good. Stream levels are in good shape and the water is clear. Trout are being caught in good numbers by our customers.

11/23/23 The stream is in very good shape with lots of trout being caught by our customers. Our customers are catching good numbers in the stocked and wild trout sections on our pre-rigged in tandem, Cream Midge larva and pupa. Some are also coming on our Brown Sculpin streamer.

11/29/23 The river is still flowing at a good level and clear. Trout are being caught in the stocked and wild trout sections. Our cream and blood or red midges, with the larva and pupa rigged in tandem are working very good. We sell these pre-rigged on fluorocarbon or nylon tippet for those who have trouble seeing to tie o the tiny flies.

12/11/23 We continue to get good catch reports from customers fishing both the wild trout and stocked sections of the river. Most of the fish are coming on our cream midge larva and pupa rigged as mentioned above.

12/26/23 The stream is back down to near normal level after the heavy rain. We received two good reports from customers fishing day before yesterday.

01/08/24 Three more good reports have come in this past week. Our pre-rigged light green midges and winter stonefly nymphs are very productive. Stream conditions are good.

01/16/24 We are still getting good reports from customers fishing the stocked and wild trout sections of the river.

01/26/24 More good reports from customers have come in the past few days. There are good midge hatches taking place and our pre-rigged tandem larva/pupa combinations are popular for a good reason. They work good and use can use them under a strike indicator.

02/08/24 We received two good reports from customers fishing the wild trout section yesterday. Trout are also being caught in the stocked section.

02/20/24 The river is completely blown out and likely to remain high for a few days.

02/29/24 The river is down to near a normal level and mostly clear. Little Blue-winged olives, light green midges, and red, or blood midges are hatching.

03/08/24 The stream is turning out some good catches in the stocked and wild trout sections. We received two good reports from customers fishing the past three days.

03/14/24 The flows are up some making it a little tougher but we are still getting good catch reports from customers. Our articulated and plain sculpin steamers are working good. There are good hatches of March Browns, Blue-winged olives, cream and red, or blood midges, and Little Black caddis.

03/21/24 The high flows is making it tough to next to impossible in some locations. Watch the stream levels and fish when it drops back down to near normal levels.

Send us an email for a recommend fly list: sales@perfectflystore.com