At early dawn when the air is crisp
And you're standing knee deep in a beautiful rip
You see a trout rise to an unknown fly
Then your heart starts to thump and you wonder why
You're a neophyte fly fisherman.
You can measure the cast and study the lie
Then lengthen the line to make your first try
As you check the rod to get a good presentation
You hold your breath in solemn anticipation
You must be a fly fisherman!
The fly floats gently on its way to the trout

I havn't fished the upper Kern since February 2009. When I say upper kern, I mean from Riverside park in Kernville up to the Johnsondale bridge. DFG stopped stocking this stretch of the river in the fall of '08. Now I'm not sure if they started stocking again, but I've fished the River since 1964 and there has always been a harvest of rainbow trout. I have spoken to to the US Forestry District ranger and his feeling is the Department of Forestry would really like to keep stocking.