The Kings river can be broken down into three different areas:

• The lower Kings which flows out of Pine Flat Reservoir.
• The upper Kings (a 20 mile section between Pine Flat and the confluence of the South and Middle Forks)
• The higher drainage such as the Cedar Grove section on the upper south fork in Kings Canyon National Park as well as other forks and tributaries.

The 20 mile stretch of the upper Kings river above Pine Flat is special regulation trout water. These are wild fish with a lot of muscle. It is also one of the most beautiful rivers in the west. The fishing begins here in mid to late February with some heavy BWO (#18 - 20) hatches and Golden Stone flies (#12 - 14). Depending on the weather, March also announces the arrival of the largest May fly of the year, the March Brown (#12). The "Salmonfly" also starts to show itself in April. This is the largest Stonefly of the year, but unfortunately the heaviest emergence of these Stoneflies tends to be when the river waters are on the rise due to the spring snow melt. Summer and fall are great times to be on the upper Kings. The flows have resided from the spring runoff and with the water levels getting back to normal there are numerous small Mayfly hatches and some great Caddis activity. August and September can be very hot on this section of the river.  Daytime highs reach 100º F. This is a great time to be wet-wading the pocket water areas early and taking the hot afternoons off to wait for the evening hatches.

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