Season: 2
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MotorTranscript
00:00 Before I could even choke down a cup of coffee, the guys from Rover Accessories had already
00:05 high-tailed it up a hiking trail to a small lake that was rumored to have its share of
00:10 golden trout.
00:12 Hidden lakes like these are all over the US.
00:15 What makes this one so special is you can literally drive so close to its shoreline,
00:19 and you can do this with peace of mind that the trails were put there for that purpose.
00:29 As a wheeler, I didn't know fly fishing was so complex, from float tubes to pontoon boats
00:35 to just about every rod and reel you could think of.
00:39 See it just so happens that this Charles guy tests adventure gear for various companies
00:43 like Colorado Creek.
00:45 That would explain his king-size fishing wardrobe.
00:49 Is that mainly, so that's going to dive into the water, it's not going to be?
00:55 Yeah, we got it on a sinking tip.
00:58 So what's going to happen, he'll be sitting out in that float tube casting out to deeper
01:01 fish, the bigger fish will be sitting out there.
01:05 That thing's going to just throb back in those little flashes on the side should get their
01:11 attention.
01:12 Now I just tied a standard clinch knot on it.
01:15 It's the standard knot that we'll be using for the flies for the weekend.
01:20 We'll also be using the dry flies on the surface, some of the smaller fish that are sitting
01:26 up there.
01:27 I think the lucky one is going to be this ant.
01:33 It's got an orange indicator on it so you can see it when it goes down.
01:39 One might think that by the time these guys get their gear together, these fish are going
01:42 to be packed up and gone.
01:43 All right, you ready?
02:05 I grew up fly fishing up here in the Sierras.
02:31 My grandfather used to take me up like every month in the summertime so we'd start coming
02:36 up fly fishing here.
02:37 I was just a little tyke, put a fly rod in my hand, no clue what I was doing.
02:43 But after taking to the peacefulness of it, I grew a liking to coming up to the Sierras
02:47 and I get up here as often as I can.
02:52 And what I'm using here is a sinking, it's called a type three sinking line.
02:56 And it's kind of a medium to aggressive sink rate.
03:01 I'm fishing about 10 to 15, there we go, got one on.
03:06 Trying to fish about 10 to 15 feet of water.
03:09 That's a little one.
03:12 That's a nice one.
03:13 I don't like to play these fish for too long.
03:15 I want to tire them out, get them in shot, try to bring them up, these smaller fish I
03:19 like to bring up to the boat pretty quickly.
03:22 Get my net and release them all within.
03:39 And also another thing, when releasing fish, use a net like this that allows you just to
03:45 put it in the water, turn them over and let them go.
03:51 There was a small brook trout about eight inches.
03:54 Inflatables gave these guys access to deeper water.
03:58 And access means going where the fish hang out.
04:01 But I'll tell you what, another tried and true way to get your line in the water is
04:08 from shore.
04:09 Kevin McNulty is the editor of Four Wheel Drive Sport Utility Magazine, and he is no
04:14 stranger to outdoor adventures.
04:16 Unlike the rest of these guys, Kevin actually didn't grow up fly fishing.
04:20 He learned about it from a book he bought.
04:23 He spent two months traveling parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, getting better acquainted
04:27 with the nuances of the sport.
04:30 You might say he's been hooked ever since.
04:41 This is magical out here.
04:42 It's hard to even think.
04:43 It's spectacular.
04:44 It's so nice to be out here in beautiful country like this and just relax and forget the day
04:51 to day grind.
04:52 Yeah, and I don't think many people know that they can get out here in their vehicles and
04:56 they can find this place.
04:59 That is another fish, well, that's one of the finer points of having a four wheel drive
05:04 vehicle, to get out here.
05:06 People that don't own a four wheel drive will never see places like this.
05:10 And these are what you've been bringing in?
05:11 These little rainbows?
05:12 Little rainbow?
05:13 Yeah, little brookie.
05:14 This is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
05:26 That's fantastic.
05:29 That's really great.
05:32 Kevin put it in perspective for me.
05:34 One big reason to own a four wheel drive is to get to locations like this, where it's
05:39 so quiet you can hear a pine cone drop a hundred yards away.
05:44 I left Kevin alone to his fishing.
05:46 The goldens were biting and I didn't want to take him out of the moment.
05:49 You know, whether or not Charles and his buddies will admit it, it was clear to me that there
05:53 was more to this trip than just catching fish and running trails.
05:58 The serenity of these mountains and their incredible beauty certainly has the power
06:02 to harmonize life.
06:04 Maybe that's why Tibetan monasteries are on mountain tops.
06:07 I once said to Scoop Vessels that I had a spiritual relationship to the Sierras.
06:12 He laughed at me.
06:15 Four-Wheeler Trivia.
06:17 There's no denying that the Land Rover Defender looks like Great Britain's answer to the U.S.
06:21 Army's Jeep.
06:22 But, do these luxury SUVs really have a World War II pedigree?
06:26 The answer when we return.