The return to the hills of Quincy
Written by: Seth Stell
Saturday was my return to the majestic hills of Quincy, CA. Last year I spent much of my spare time, cruising these hills and exploring new creeks hidden deep in the forest. All week I had been planning a one day excursion back to visit certain spots my buddy, Mike discovered early last summer.
Of course towards the end of the week, the weather began to turn for the worst and our Saturday excursion started to look like it was less of a reality. All I could do was remain hopeful the rain storm would blow over enough for us to make it to our fishing spot. Saturday morning I woke up to a light rain in Reno and quickly checked the weather forecast in Quincy. It appeared the heart of the storm finally blew over Quincy and was heading north for Oregon. This meant one thing; It was time to hit the road baby!
After picking up Mike, we hit the highway with our sights set on Quincy, CA. After approximately an hour, we arrived at a small dirt road and we ascended into the hills for an additional 30 minutes, finally arriving at Mike’s honey hole. Mike’s honey hole is a very special stretch of creek that has produced a rare species of trout, Golden Trout. I was very excited to fish this spot because I had never been fortunate to see (nor catch) a Golden trout. I heard about the natural beauty these trout possessed and was eager to get my line in the water.
After rigging up our poles, we began to start working the creek but much to our surprise, neither Mike nor I had a bite. Mike was speechless because this sacred spot always produced fish. We tried another stretch of the creek and it produced the same results, nothing! After pondering the results, Mike concluded that the creek might have dried up at the end of last summer ultimately wiping out the population of Golden trout. This was a bummer but we decided not to let this horrible beginning to our day ruin our expedition. So we packed up my Jeep and descended back into the Quincy valley and drove over the hill to Grizzly Creek where our luck turned for the good. Within the first cast of my Panther Martin spinner bait, I had a strike and the bite was on! Unfortunately, none of the fish that we caught were worth keeping. Due the rain, the water flow levels were extremely high which increased the speed of the water traveling down the creek. This made the presentation of our lures challenging to place in front of the trout’s typical feeding habits.
Although we didn’t catch a Golden trout or a fish of worthy size, it was still refreshing to return to the hills of Quincy. It was great to escape the noise and pace of the city. All in all, a great day for us. Of course, any day is a good day when I can hit the water in search of the next big strike!
Until next time, we fish on! Enjoy the photos.
Seth Stell
