Feeling Like Fall

A quick update...

Fall semester is in full swing and my fishing/guiding time has taken a back seat for now. I am booking trips on the weekends in October and have a few available dates at this time. Lake Davis looks to be fishing well as water temperatures come down and the fish put on their feed bags. Simi seal leeches, small buggers, Sheeps Creeks, Rickard's Stillwater nymphs and snails are all top producers this time of year. The MF Feather is starting to pick back up.Caddis, October Caddis and Isonychia Mayflies will be on the menu.

The Truckee continues to fish well for wild browns and rainbows. Dry/droppers are working well with a Stimi or tarantula and a caddis or small baetis dropper.

Steelhead are starting to show in the Trinity and Klamath rivers and fall half-pounder fishing is in full swing in the American.

Lots of options available and don't forget that Pyramid opens on Oct 1st!

Get out and fish!

Ahhh Summer!

Finally started wet wading this past week as summer showed up in full force.Started off on a scout trip to the North Yuba with Brian Slusser(Four Seasons Fly Fishing). The water is still running high but the water temps are in the upper 50's and the fish are looking up.We caught fish on big searching patterns(Turk's Tarantula and Stimulators) as well as high sticking little golden stones in the pocket water. There are little yellow sallies, golden stones and caddis hatching on the North Yuba right now and fish are holding in the shallow riffles and pocket water.


Next up was a great session on the MF Feather where I concentrated swinging soft hackle flies in the riffles and hooked over 20 fish in a few hours of fishing. These fish were aggressively taking the swung fly and it provided for a very enjoyable afternoon of fly fishing. There weren't many bugs on the water, but the flows are perfect and water temps are ideal for wet wading.

Now for the shitty part of the day...I found this mess left by some inconsiderate people at my favorite run along the MF Feather above Two Rivers Soccer Camp.





The MF Feather was designated a Wild and Scenic River in 1968 and is considered one of the most beautiful rivers in the entire state.To willfully leave behind garbage pisses me off to no end.The fact that I cleaned up one mess left at this same site 10 days previous to the discovery of this one leads me to believe it was made by the same folks.Please carry out your garbage and respect the earth that we call our home!

Here is a message I left for the litter bugs.

Anyways, the fishing is good to great depending on the day and the river.Get out and enjoy this fine summer here in the Northern Sierra!

Busy, busy, busy...

Summer has finally arrived and with it I have had a busy past few weeks guiding.I've been all over the place and have been finding some nice fish for clients.


From the Truckee to some smaller creeks and a few lakes we've been having a blast fishing high off color water with hungry fish!

Lake Davis is providing some fantastic dry fly fishing during the callibaetis hatch and as a bonus, the damsels have returned.

The MF Feather is still running high but the fish are eating and mayflies, little yellow sallies, caddis and golden stones are on the menu.A few very large browns have been caught over the past week on streamers as well.

Get out and enjoy this fine summer!

Another lovely spring

More snow and rain fell this week here in the Northern Sierra's prolonging an already cool, wet,and windy spring. I got out a few days ago on a quick scouting mission of a few local favorite spots. First stop was Nelson Creek near Quincy. This small creek is raging and because one needs to be in the stream corridor to fish it , Nelson is on the wait a week or two and check back mode. The water clarity was good, but the flows are just too high and fast to be fished safely in my opinion.

Next stop on my exploration was the Middle Feather near Two Rivers Resort. This is my favorite run in this reach and while the flows were high it looked very fishy. Alas, I had no grabs but was happy with the promise that this high water year holds. I only saw a few midges and one creamy mayfly and no rising fish, but that should change with the river levels dropping and temps increasing.

We should start to see golden stoneflies, little yellow sallies, grey drakes, and a plethora of caddis flies hatching in the coming weeks.

With the another semester at FRC wrapping up I have been very busy writing papers and studying for finals. Taking a short break from a creative writing project, I was able to wet a line on Smithneck Creek near my house where I was able to catch a couple of little browns high sticking a prince nymph. This little creek is out of its banks in most places in the canyon but fish can be found in the slack water and pools in the meadows.

Back to the studies!

General Trout Season Opener

With a banner snow year that has morphed into a cold, wet and windy spring the rivers and lakes of the Northern sierra's are looking very promising for the 2011 fishing season. The MF Feather is very high but has good color in the Beckworth to Graeagle reach. Streamer fishing is the name of the game right now. Fish em' on a heavy sink tip and swing through likely looking water. Remember, fish tend to hang close to the banks in the soft edges during high water. Bunny leeches in black and purple will work in low light conditions and on cloudy days. Try bright pinks and oranges if the flows color up.

Lake Davis is ice free with access on the east side all the way to Lightning Tree. The west side is still snow covered and will be a while before it is open to vehicular traffic. The boat launch at Honker has been plowed but the ramp has not been installed yet.Smaller boats are advised at this time as there is minimal turn around room. Flies that are producing right now include sheeps creeks, wiggle tails and buggers in black, cinnamon, and olive stripped on an intermediate line or a floater with a long leader.Midges and pheasant tails under a bobber are producing as well.

The Truckee is high but the color has been good and fish are being caught on a variety of flies from nymphs to streamers. Air temps are expected to rise next week so the river will most likely blow out. The Little Truckee has been fishing well lately but is already seeing a lot of angler traffic. Please stay off the redds of spawning fish and DO NOT fish to actively spawning fish!

Get out and make your own fishing report!

Pyramid Report

After a crazy, record breaking series of March snowstorms,


I have finished shoveling (with a lot of help from mother nature) and have returned to the big lake, Pyramid. The fishing has been hit or miss with a few 30 fish days here and there, but mostly 5- 10 fish days are common. Both stripping and midging has been productive and a few fish over 10 lbs have been landed.



Now for the good news...the Tribal Council voted on April 1st( no joke) to reopen the Nets effective immediately. This decision has been a long time coming and will help spread out the spring crowds.



The Middle Fork Feather river opened on April 2nd from the Railroad Bridge above the A-23 bridge in Beckworth to the Mohawk Bridge.


The river is very high and unfishable at this point.


It may be a while before it comes down to fishable levels, but when it does we should see some excellent dry fly fishing opportunities all summer long!

The Dog Days Of Summer

August is upon us and the dog days of summer are starting to appear.Normally this would make for challenging fishing conditions but because of the tremendous winter this year water conditions are near perfect.

This past week my office was Nelson Creek and the Middle Fork of the Feather River.Nelson Creek is a rough and tumble spring fed creek that flows into the Middle Fork Feather. Wild rainbows abound averaging 10-12" with a few larger 14"+ thrown in for good measure. The fishing isn't easy but there was enough top water action to keep my clients busy all day.



Most attractor patterns work here, with a red humpy being the most productive.There were a number of very small golden stoneflies hatching and a few mayflies as well.Caddis hatches in the evening are getting the fish to be a little less selective.

The Middle Fork Feather has been the biggest surprise this August as water temps are still in the low to mid 60's and the fish are crushing Little Yellow Sallies with great fervor.Tom from Newark Ca had a great morning recently moving over 30 fish and hooking about 15 in a short 4 hour half day. We didn't change the fly once as we were getting crushed on almost every cast in some of the riffles!

I have also been spending time guiding on the Truckee and Little Truckee Rivers in the past month. Brian Slusser of Four Seasons Fly Fishing(www.flyfishingtruckee-tahoe.com) has had me helping him teach his 2 day fly fishing schools.These schools are a great introduction to the sport of fly fishing and give us time to delve into the nuances a little deeper.Brian is a great guide and all around great dude!If you are interested in fishing the Truckee area I highly recommend Brian!

With only 2 weeks before classes start I am enjoying this fine summer that we are having.Soon my focus will shift to my continuing education and guiding will be restricted to weekends.As fall returns and water temps fall we should experience some great fly fishing!

MF Feather Report 7-3-10

Picked up a last minute trip for the MF Feather and the river didn't disappoint.Fish were looking up all day and we had action on dries from start to finish. Elk Hair Caddis and Little Yellow Sallies were the hot ticket,but fish also smashed small stimulators. Wire body caddis nymphs caught fish in the deeper pockets when the action on top slowed down.



Water levels are perfect right now and the fish,while small, are very agressive and a ton of fun to catch.

We fished from Graeagle down to the Two Rivers area and found active fish in the riffles. From 2-4pm a very solid Little Golden Stonefly hatch took place with fish hammering Little Yellow Sallie dries.To fun!!