Fisherman's Paradise?

Today, I made my first trip since 1996 to Fisherman's Paradise.

When I was there then, it wasn't like the days of my childhood. Things had changed.

When I arrived there today, I found that things have continued to change none for what appeared to be the good. Am I mistaken or has the place gone completely down the tubes.

There's a gate across the road going upstream.

There were several fish commission cars parked in the lot by the gate. I don't know if that's the norm or not.

The creek is low, but that's normal for the summer.

The lower bridge has been replaced. At least since I was there last. It's a nice bridge, but it
appears no one doesn't any landscaping work there any more. Everything is overgrown.
Wading, which I believe is still prohibited, is the only way to fish in some locations. And guys
were doing it. They weren't in waders, but were wading in shorts and tennis shoes.

Used to be, that you could stand the bridges and watch fish feed. You could show people who didn't
understand, how trout feed on insects. We stopped at both bridges as I had hoped to accomplish this.

I found 1 fish feeding. A small brown halfway down the pool below the lower bridge. He gave me hope that the water temperature was still in a good range. He was laying out in the direct sunlight just munching on bug after bug after bug.

Overall, the place looks like a commercial fish hatchery and training center.
Maybe the Fisherman's Paradise signs need to come down and be replaced by
signs for the Stackhouse School and Fish Commission Hatchery.

LMAO.

the outflow that you speak of, there was a dude standing right in the middle of the creek there.
Guess what he was fishing for?

I personally dont like to fish the paradise but I love spring creek. It is SUPER LOW and infact we shouldnt even be fishing it thats how low it really is. The upper part where a gate crosses the road is still open to the public and most likely soon the canyon will become open to the public. Didnt you see the sign by the gate that says wading is permitted above the gate now? Thats a BIG change up there that made the fishing that section much more enjoyable. You got to remember that the fish in the paradise section get pounded on day in and day out thats why you dont see consistant risers.

I hate that section, fish different sections of the stream... better structure, better currents....less crowd!

Not quite what I was thinking 

I guess "paradise" is in the eye of the beholder. It is a paradise, the fishing is always great, you never see a trout gutted. Every year theres consistant hatches year long. And the fish are beautiful. Yet its a mile from a small city.

Your right, its not the most beautiful place in the world. But... its kinda like hunting, a 4pt may be a prize in someones eyes.

That was the year I first fished it, 1985. I was 7 years old.   At the time it was the greatest thing in the world to me. Tons of big fish stacked the entire length of the stream. 
 
I can understand guys wanting to fish wild fish rather than stocked, but there was always wild browns in there then as well.  If they were native Brook trout they were stocking over top of, then I could see the problem. But it was a unique place when it was stocked, I can't see the harm in stocking that short section of the stream.
 
That said, I still enjoyed fishing it last summer. Fishing daybreak until noon 1 day last summer, I caught easily over 50 trout, some wild, some hatchery.  Browns from 8 to 18 inches and bows from 10 to 24 inches.   A few of those big fish came from the outflow I must admit, but most were just below there in the main branch.  They were stacked in that fast water above the posted wire. The fish out the main branch fought much better and didn't seem as tame as the fish in the outflow.

Nice to see some info on Fisherman's Paradise. I have not been there sinse late 1950s with my dad before he died. It was a great place at that time with large fish and lots of fisherman. The breeders were huge, I never saw trout that big. I must take a ride up some time to look at the place.

ORIGINAL: PAtrout

Nice to see some info on Fisherman's Paradise. I have not been there sinse late 1950s with my dad before he died. It was a great place at that time with large fish and lots of fisherman. The breeders were huge, I never saw trout that big. I must take a ride up some time to look at the place.

 
PAtrout,
 
You will be greatly disappointed if you are expecting anything like it was in the 50's, 60's, 70's, or even 80's.