Snorkel Survey

[McFlyfi]

Okay, so I actually have something to post about:

In early July, I finally got a chance to do a snorkel survey of one of my favorite places. A series of granite bowls has beconed me since I "discovered" it about 8 years ago. I've fished the bowls on several occasions in the past four years, and I've always wanted to know what lies beneath the suerface.

This small creek that has a pretty healthy population of wild rainbows. This creek seems to produce a fish or two of 14-16 inches nearly everytime I fish it, in addition to a a number of the "normal" 4-10 inch fish.

An hour long hike through some pretty rough terrrain put us at the base of the stair step series of pools. Our intent was to snorkel as many of them as we could get to, and check out what kind of flora and fauna exist there. Of course, I would bring my underwater video gear.

Sliding into pool number one on the list, the one with the easiest access, we were quite disappointed in the visibility. The creek flows through a marshy section about 3 miles upstream of here, and the marsh gives the creek a tea colored tint. What seems to be pretty clear from above turns seemingly to mud when viewed from inside the water. A series of high clouds overhead cut some of the sunlight reaching the water's surface, so visibility in this large pool was very limited. We only spotted a very few fish, all in the 6-10" range. Depths of the pool ranged from waist deep to probably 12-15'.

On to the next pool. This one was much smaller, perhaps 25 feet in length from the entry waterfall to the exit waterfall, and about 12 feet wide at it's widest. The deepest spot was about 51/2 feet, as I could stand ont he bottom and walk around with my face in the water.

Sliding into the water just above the exit, I sat still on the granite bottom for a minute. Within a minute or two, several trout sidled up to me to seemingly check me out. As long as I didn't move, the fish paid me no attention, they just went about their business. Soon after, a much larger fish swam over. This one was about 16" long, and what I had been hoping to see.

I further explored the smll pool, seeing a fish here and there, inspecting the bottom, taking it all in.

After a while, I wanted to check out the pool below where we started. This pool is big-perhaps 40-50 feet across. It would be necessary to hop down a 5' ledge to get to it. Upon further inspection, it appeared that the pool would be nearly impossible to get OUT of, as the exit point seemed to be too sloped and smooth to be able to even crawl out along. No handholds at all, and with a 60 foot drop as the exit, we decided to forgo this pool-for now. We made a note to bring a rope next time.

The other pools were basically unreachable. Slippery granite entrances and exits, waterfalls in the 8-30 foot class between them. It would be possible to swim all of them, but it would take starting at the top, and having ropes, anchors, harnesses, help, and some rappeling experience to be able to do it. It's definitely on my list though.

The video does show some cool fish, and the BDTS-like entry to the uppermost pool we hit.

This was the first time I'd shot video in this manner, so there was a lot of missed shots due to my inexperience with this particular rig. But there is a little good stuff in there.

WIth a nod to Bernard and the snorkeling of the Yellowstone video, here's -Father's Day Creek U/W vid, 5 min, 35mb ambient sound

[briansII]

Are you crazy!!

Having a fear of heights, that video gave me vertigo.

Very cool though. It's interesting how once you are in the water, the fish settle down and go about their business. I have seen other video where they return to feeding. What video camera/setup were you using?

briansII

[Eric]

Very nice Matt!!!!!!!!!!!
Eric

[rayfound]

So Rad. I've been thinking about doing this very thing on some socal locals this summer, but haven't had the time yet.

[Flyjunkie]

Me Likes, Me Likes!!!!!

Very entertaining Video.... Felt like I was right there....

[1mocast]

Cool...climbing and snorkeling in the same video...

[McFlyfi]

Are you crazy!!

Having a fear of heights, that video gave me vertigo.

Very cool though. It's interesting how once you are in the water, the fish settle down and go about their business. I have seen other video where they return to feeding. What video camera/setup were you using?

briansII

Crazy? I've been called that, there must be something to it!
I will say, the canyon is pretty steep. Fortunately, the granite is very grippy up and away from the water. Still, one slip...

I've got a helmetcamera. It's waterproof, and you connect it to your digital camcorder, so you're using the helmetcam as a lens and the camcorder as a VCR of sorts. I've got the camcorder in a watertight box in a small daypack.
Mount the lens on the mask strap, and go swimming!
What I didn't realize (at the time) was that the lens was mounted just a little too far back on the strap, so that while my face was in the water, the camera wasn't necessarily. There was an awfull lot of unwatchable vid on that tape. I'll fix that the next time I try it out.

Pretty cool. How far of a hike is that from the campground area? I haven't made it that far down yet, but would like to.

It's about 2.5-3 miles downstream. Probably an hour and a half by "trail." Shorter if you go XC.

Cool...climbing and snorkeling in the same video...

Now I just need someone(s) to help me rap down into all of them from above...

[fflutterffly]

I have often heard that if a fisherman stands in a pool long enough and still enough fish will take you for structure. Interesting. We took our snorkel to the Owens in hope of searching the "lost spot" for my "lost Troutbum" (* troutbum) but the current at this particular point of the river was to fast for us. I need someone with diving gear!

Great Idea to explore favorite area's to see the structure and fish!

[Justin]

Nice Action!
Very cool post!!

Justin

[briansII]

Crazy? I've been called that, there must be something to it!
I will say, the canyon is pretty steep. Fortunately, the granite is very grippy up and away from the water. Still, one slip...

I've got a helmetcamera. It's waterproof, and you connect it to your digital camcorder, so you're using the helmetcam as a lens and the camcorder as a VCR of sorts. I've got the camcorder in a watertight box in a small daypack.
Mount the lens on the mask strap, and go swimming!
What I didn't realize (at the time) was that the lens was mounted just a little too far back on the strap, so that while my face was in the water, the camera wasn't necessarily. There was an awfull lot of unwatchable vid on that tape. I'll fix that the next time I try it out.

Thanks for the info. I invested in a GoPro camera recently. While I think I can do what you did(video wise), I wouldn't. Too steep. I may try some small streams that are _flat_.

I have fished a similar looking area. Steep, granite walls and plunge pools. I made it down ok, but when I tried to get back out, I couldn't make it past the high water mark, where the granite was polished/slick. I eventually got out by taking my wading boots(felt soles)off, and clawing my way up about 10' past the slick stuff. I'm too old for that stuff..

briansII

[castaway]

Black Diamond in deed... Being one that has been severly hurt doing stuff like that... I must say... please be careful!

Not sure if you hve kids... but after I had a 30 pound rock fall on my head... My free climbing on cliffs has stopped - the 30 pound roc incident came in a location that appeared fairly easy... I have done a lot riskier...

However, I have recently started climbing on a artifical rock wall (a lot harder than it looks)... and would love to be able to employ a Rock climbing guide to get me to some of those locations...

Doing some repeling down to those pools would be a blast! unfished fish...

Or you could use this method...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyVz5Zru2yk

[Rob909]

Very Cool Matt

I've always appreciated your vids and the adventure goes along with them.

Now back to the couch for me


Rob

[Rockstar Fisherman]

That is a cool video, it's amazing seeing how the fish act in their natural environment.