Winter fishing options

Winter arrived in full force the week before Thanksgiving with lots of snow and some brutally cold temperatures for November. The temperatures have finally moderated, but local fishing options have become very limited. Access to the Truckee and Little Truckee is limited and I have not made it over that way lately so I have no first hand information. For stillwater enthusiasts the only game in town at this point is Pyramid Lake.



Needing to fill the void of not being on the water lately, I headed out to the big water to fish with my good friend Ernie. We met at the North Nets around 9 am and were fishing shortly after. Stripping beetles and buggers was the way to go and I had a decent day landing all 5 fish that I hooked.Ernie only had one fish and his friend Ed landed 3 of 6 that he hooked.Popcorn beetles were by far the best fly but a few fish came ate the old standby,a black wooly bugger. The fishing was pretty good by early winter standards and it was very nice to be out of the now for a few hours.



I have one more week of classes then the fall semester will be in the books! It has been a long,difficult semester and I am ready for a break. I am planning on a couple of steelhead trips during the break and will be fishing Pyramid a bit as well.

Get out there and fish!!

Winter is almost here...

The weather has taken a decidedly cold turn towards winter.Nighttime temps are running in the teens and ice is starting to form in the margins.With this change, my focus on fishing venues changes.Pyramid Lake is fishing well right now with fish to 13lbs being landed. Reports are starting to roll in from the Trinity with a mixture of wild and hatchery steelhead being caught. Swinging flies is my preferred method to catch steel, but whatever method you choose to fish is cool and as long as it is legal I say go for it!!
Lake Davis has been fishing well for the past few weeks with fish putting on the feed bags.Water temps have been in the upper 40's but that is quickly changing. If you plan on fishing Davis in the next week or so,dress warm and have a great time! One recent report said to use a 20' leader with a floating line.This is absolutely not necessary to be successful right now.I have been having great days there with only a 9-12' leader to 4x.Theses fish are NOT leader shy! Sheep Creek's, cinnamon wiggle tails, and buggers have produced lately.
November 15 brings the end to the general trout season on the Middle Fork Feather River and tributaries.It has been a great season this year!
Thanks for all of the support this season! I look forward to fishing with you all again next season!!

Time for reflection

Sitting at home rehabbing a knee injury has given me some time to reflect on my life as a guide and fly fisherman. This season was really good for me as I had an increase in business of 300% and enjoyed some special days on the water. All of this bodes well for my future as I continue to grow my business and learn better ways to help my clients become the fly fishers that they seek to be.

Fall fishing has been going off locally and all venues are fishing well. I am unavailable to guide until my knee heals but I cannot recommend Jon Baiocchi(www.baiocchistroutfitters.com) highly enough so if you are in need contact him. Jon is super knowledgeable about Lake Davis and the Middle Fork Feather River,he is a patient teacher as well as a superb fly tyer!

Time to tie up some new leaders and refill some of the flyboxes and get the knee ready for steelhead!

Enjoy this lovely fall and get out and fish!

No More Plastic Bottles

I am proud to introduce my new stainless steel water bottles that will replace all plastic bottles on my guide trips. We, as a culture, need to reduce our reliance on the use of plastic water bottles, so I am affecting change where I can. These bottles are free to my clients and I was going to charge a nominal fee to non-clients,but after further thought they are free for the taking to anyone!

Fall is here and I have ventured north for my first steelhead trip of the season. I spent 2 days on the Trinity swing prime water with my new Sage 6110 Z-Axis switch rod. Pretty nice rod that casts well, but I didn't get to feel how it handles an adult steelie.Though it totally dominates smolts!!

With plans to meet Brian Slusser (Four Seasons Fly fishing 530 386 0525) for a drift on the Klamath changing due to his continued success with clients on the Rogue, I made the 4 hour drive to Grants Pass,Or. We did a short drift below town where I landed 2 half pounders and two coastal cutthroat, but no adults. Brian hooked two adults that he couldn't keep on. Zac Kaufman, head guide for Morrison's Lodge ( 800 826 1963) was also fishing with us and he landed a beautiful coastal cutthroat. The fish were there,but we weren't connecting with adults.

The next day Brian and I fished below Hellgate Canyon at a spot called Carpenters Island. Big beautiful pocket water that was fun to fish. I was confident that we would find fish this morning but alas no adults were hooked.The Rogue is a large river that has perfect steelhead water and is ideal for Spey fishing. I am heading back that way next week for a few more days.

If anyone is looking for a guide for the Rogue, I highly recommend Brian Slusser! He is super knowledgeable, a great teacher and can put you on fish in a mudpuddle! He still has some available dates left this month before he heads back to the Truckee so if your interested in tangling with Rogue steel give him a call;530 386 0525.

A Visual Ode to Steelhead

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!