Feels like Fall

Got a chance at a few hours of personal fishing on the Truckee river the other day.I recently purchased a Skagit head for my 10' 6# single hander and wanted to try it out.The Truckee was the perfect destination to launch single handed spey bombs and swing a few runs.

The weather was a bit unsettled with rain showers and cool air temps.Felt like a good steelheading type of day.The first run I fished had a consistent current and swung very well.I had 4 grabs in this run but only hooked up with a log in mid current.I worked my way through another couple of runs that were ok but not exactly good swing water without any grabs,pecks nudges or bumps.

After working my way past a couple of white water sections I began swinging my way through a boulder strewn run.A couple of casts down my line came tight to a fish.As it rolled on the surface I knew I was into a nice fish.Then it ran right at me.I just reeled in keeping at tight line to the fish as it got closer..Not much of a fight so I grabbed the leader and led the fish into the shallows.Nice Fish!!

After a quick photo shoot I measured the fish at 22" and then released the gorgeous brown back into the river.I continued to swing my way downstream but had no other grabs.Satisfied with the new line and the one fish I called it a day and headed back to the truck.

This fall looks to be good for fishing with more water than most years and perfect water temps.Get out and fish!!

Back in the Saddle

Time flies when I am having fun!Hard to believe that today is the first day of class for the fall semester.Should be fun!

So ends my most succssful summer as a guide and begins my fall season.Lake Davis will get most of my attention but I will also be spending time swinging flies for steelhead on the Trinity River.My availability to guide is mostly limited to weekends(Thursday-Sunday), I will have some midweek trips available.So school becomes my main focus for now.

I am also judging interest in Pyramid Lake for the upcoming season.If anyone is interested in fishing for trophy Lahontan Cutthroat Trout let me know and I'll get my guiding permit for the lake.Pyramid's season opens Oct 1 and prime fall fishing is through November.

Thanks to those of you who have helped me have such a great summer guide season and I look forward to fishing with you again!

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!

Craig's Trout Battle II

Craig's Trout Battle I

The heat is on...

Summer is in full swing here in the Northern Sierra's with warm daytime temperatures and beautiful evenings. The Middle Fork Feather has gotten a bit warm and some algae is starting to grow.Best fishing is early and late with plenty of wild rainbows aggressively attacking dries.

The damsels have finally shown up at Davis but the water temps are too high and I have stopped fishing there until temps come back down in the fall.Reports have been encouraging with fish feeding in the shallows.If you do fish here right now,please use 4x tippets and land the fish as quickly as possible as they may not survive an extended battle in 70+degree water.



I've had a few trips on the Truckee River lately and have had mixed results.Craig from Orange County caught this awesome brown on a Fox's Pupa while fishing some amazing pocket water.He also landed also smaller brown a few minutes earlier.

Lenny from New York didn't have as much luck on the Truckee,but he did land a couple of small rainbows on a hotwire caddis.




Unfortunately we had to contend with a bunch of rafters that were floating the river and made for some challenging interactions.Everyone was polite but fishing became tougher after one rafter decided to disembark and walk her raft right through the pocket we were fishing.Fun times on the Truckee!



Milton Lake is fishing well as of this writing. Small para adams are getting consistent action as well as callibaetis emergers early in the day.The callibaetis hatch has been minimal at this point but should become the more consitent as the summer deepens. A size 14 mahogany dun is the ticket during the hatch.Midges are everpresent and size 18 snocones under an indicator also has been producing.Remember this tailwater impoundment is VERY cold so dress appropriately under your waders.

The small creeks are still a little high but are fishing very well.Tons of hungry wild trout providing almost nonstop dry fly action.Nothing like wet wading a small high country stream in the heat of the summertime!

Get out there and fish!

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!!