Middle Fork American River

Fishing the Middle Fork American River

The Middle Fork of the American is a freestone river that starts as small water above French Meadows Reservoir and runs through a long, deep canyon to meet the North Fork below Auburn. Three dams break it up: French Meadows, Interbay, and the dam that holds Ralston Afterbay, also called Ox Bow Reservoir. Between them the river is boulder and cobble riffles, pocket water, bedrock holes and old cobble bars left by gold-rush mining. At the top, Talbot Camp marks the upper end of the road water. From there down to the bridge above French Meadows Reservoir, a dirt road and short spurs reach the river at 4.4, 3.9, 1.8 and 1.1 miles above the bridge, past Gates and Ahart camps. This is small water that barely moves late in the season, so fish it while flows are up. Below French Meadows the next access is under the Interbay Reservoir dam at milepost 20.4, then the Mosquito Ridge Trail at milepost 12.4, which drops to a big flat between Interbay and Ralston Afterbay. The Ralston Picnic Area at milepost 11.0 sits just above the afterbay, and the Oxbow access sits on the afterbay itself. At Ralston Afterbay the North Fork of the Middle Fork comes in, with its own bridge access a little way up. Downstream, a rough road ends at a cluster of houses below Volcanoville, and Ruck-a-Chucky and Cherokee Bar face each other across the river. Mammoth Bar is the last stop before the confluence with the North Fork below Auburn. This is trout water, and the season depends on which end you fish. The water above French Meadows is at its best early, while it still has flow. Lower down, the riffles shape up and wading gets easier as the river drops later in the season. In 1995 most campgrounds in these canyons opened in May or June and closed in October. Wading beats the bank on most of this river, since brush and vegetation crowd the edges at the Oxbow, at Ralston and above French Meadows, and a short rod suits the boulder water around Gates camp and below the Mosquito Ridge Trail. The bars at Ruck-a-Chucky and Cherokee Bar are excellent fly water. The deep bedrock holes at Mammoth Bar, at the Oxbow and on the North Fork of the Middle Fork suit bait and lures. Many roads here are rough, steep or unpaved, so check the notes for each site before you bring a trailer. Regulations on the Middle Fork change and differ by section, so check the current California regulations before you go.