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!

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!