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!

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!

Carpenter Ant Fall

By the time you read this it may already be over with, but the annual carpenter ant fall is in full swing at Davis.The fish are looking up and if you use a stealthy approach and a hunter mentality the rewards are fantastic! I landed 2 of 6 hooked yesterday on a big ol' foam ant pattern on the surface including this chunky 3 pound fish. The fall will only last a few days or so, but these fish will remember ants for a bit longer.Get some!

Lake Davis Report

I finally took the boat out on Davis for a shakedown cruise and was absolutely amazed by the amount of water in the lake. of the snow is gone from the lake but the westside still looks snowed in and impassable. I only fished for a few hours before the wind forced me off the lake. It was nice launching from the Lightning Tree boat ramp for the first time in YEARS, but the dock has not been installed yet so retrieving in the wind was a pain in the ass. All four launch ramps are usable this year!

On a down note, only one Forest Service campground is open this year,Lightning Tree. Grizzly and Grasshopper are closed for improvements and there is very limited dispersed camping on the west side of the lake. J&J's Grizzly Store has 34 camping sites available for tents and RV's and is less expensive than the Forest Service campgrounds.Check them out!

The water clarity in the north end of the lake is pretty poor at this time with a foot or two of visibility and a color that ranged from chocolate milk to pea soup. There is a lot of water to explore this year and finding fish should be a fun and challenging experience.There were a few blood midges around but not much else at this time. The damsels should start showing up anytime but with the full lake may have a long migration this year. I am hoping for a good hatch but expect it to be about the same as last year...spotty. If they don't show in great numbers don't be too bummed because midging will be outstanding as usual! Blood midge pupa's and Sano's rootbeer midge will catch plenty of fish!

Next up...Frenchman's.

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!

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!

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!

Fishing my brains out...

It has been a while since my last post.I have been very busy with life,guiding and fishing.Now for the good ,the bad and the ugly!

Lake Davis has finally started to fish well,although the damsel hatch has been pretty slow to get going at this point.We have been having good success fishing Sano's Rootbeer midges and blood midges under a bobber in about 10' of water.Fish have also been caught on Rickard's stillwater nymphs,sheeps creek specials and wiggle tails fished on an intermediate line.


Client Doug Haut caught this monster on a blood midge yesterday! Guideline rep Tim Loomis also caught a nice fish but for the most part the fish were cookie cutter 14" specimens.



Water temps are hovering in the low 70's and I will be guiding the river and the Lakes Basin until the water temps come back down in the fall.

Last week I had the pleasure of guiding Al Delco and Charlie S from the Merced Fly Fishers. After picking up a fish here and there we finally got into fish around 5:30 pm and for the next hour we just hammered them.Rootbeer midges were the hot ticket.



The Middle Fork Feather River has dropped into shape around the Graeagle area.I had the pleasure of guiding the Reber's from the Bay area last week.We had plenty of opportunities throughout the day both nymphing and with dries.There was a nice Little Yellow Sallie hatch in the early afternoon that had fish looking up and chowing on small elk hair stonefly patterns.



The Reber's were a great,fun family to fish with and I look forward to future trips with them.




With the wet cool spring we experienced the river should fish well this July for small wild trout.The Lakes Basin lakes will be fishing nicely as well.I will fish Lake Davis for another week or so until temps get into the mid 70's then I will not be back until the fall.

Come on up the fishing is FINE!

Lake Davis and other waters June report

With the weather finally turning into summer the season is starting to heat up.I have been busy fishing and guiding on various waters lately.On Saturday I donated a half day trip on Lake Davis for the Sierra Nevada Partnership (http://www.northernsierrapartnership.org/) and Trout Unlimited.After a bit of planning shenanigans I met up with my clients,John and Shanna from Albany, at the Honker Cove Boat ramp and we were off.While the fishing was slow the company was fantastic and I was able to learn a great deal about the NSP and what they are trying to accomplish.Please visit their website to learn more.It was a fun day on the water and John and Shanna were wonderful clients!

I got back out on Davis for a bit of personal fishing yesterday with the awesome women from the Sierra Nevada Women Fly Fishers from Reno.These girls are super fun to fish with and are all very talented fly fishers.I had my best day on Davis this season going 6 for 8 hooked.The fish came on Sheep Creek Specials and cinnamon wiggle tails stripped on an intermediate sinking line.Not only was the company great the lunch provided by the girls was unbelievable!!I truly enjoy fishing with this group of fishers!

Last week I had a chance to fish Prosser Creek near Truckee.I was swinging seal buggers and had two solid takes connecting with one of them.The fish was well over 20" but came unbuttoned after a brief battle.The flows were a bit high but fishable.That has all changed due to the runoff finally taking place.As of this writing most rivers in the area are blown out with the exception of the upper Middle Fork Feather and the Lower Little Truckee which was low and clear and CROWDED.Pyramid was still fishing well as of last week but my attentions are elsewhere at this point.

The damsel migration at Davis is slow starting this year,but should pick up with the nicer weather. The rivers will take a while to drop back to fishable levels but all the water this spring was badly needed.

Time to fish!!

Lake Davis 5-13-10

Got out on the lake with new client Adam and his uncle Mark yesterday for a laughter filled day in the boat.It was Marks' first day fly fishing and by the end of the trip he was casting well and he even got to tangle with a fish!Unfortunately the fish broke him off after a short battle.Adam lost his only hooked fish shortly after the hookset.Each angler had multiple opportunities as fish were taking a #14 bead head PT under a bobber,but getting the fish hooked was challenging on this day.Next time will be better I am sure.All in all it was a great day!As far as wildlife goes,we saw ospreys,a bald eagle,canadian geese,pelicans and lots of other birds.

Water temps were 54 degrees and there were a good amount of blood midges hatching.The lake is way up from last year and it seems as though it will stay higher longer than last year.

Come on up!Let's fish!!

Lake Davis

The rain has returned as of this writing.Looks to be a great water year and the rivers may be prime well into the summer.

Reports are coming in from Lake Davis and it seems as if the veterans who know the lake are averaging between 1-5 fish per outing. Blood midges under an indicator have been producing, but don't be afraid to try PT's and hare's ears as well.A few damsels are starting to show so damsel patterns are worth fishing. Olive,cinnamon,and black buggers as well as wiggle tails are all productive flies stripped in on an intermediate line.My personal favorite, the Sheeps Creek Special,is always the first fly I fish because it catches fish like no other.Give it a shot,you may like it!!

Please leave the false spawners in the backs of the coves alone to do their thing. It is a bad habit for fishers to target actively spawning fish in any lake or river.Please leave these fish alone!!

In closing,come on up and enjoy the beautiful Sierra Valley and Lake Davis!!

Wind and Rain

Another powerful storm is plowing into the Northern Sierra's this morning with very strong winds and heavy rain.We need the rain but I could do without the wind!

The general trout season opened on Saturday,but due to some familial issues I was unable to fish.My thoughts on this coming season are that the streams and rivers will fish well into late summer before succumbing to warm and low water conditions.Runoff is starting in earnest and will take the rivers out of shape for at least 2-3 weeks.I am looking forward to the Grey Drake hatch on the streams here in the Sierra Valley and the blood midge hatch on Lake Davis.

As of this writing the ice has come off of Davis and it is fishing pretty well for false spawners in the inlets,if that is your game.Fish are also being found along the eastern shore.Small buggers,sheeps creeks,wiggle tails and green hornets are producing fish.Midges and PT's under an indicator are also producing quality fish in the 16-18" range.Lake levels are fairly low as of today but that will change as snowmelt fills the lake.

The Lakes Basin is covered in a thick blanket of snow and will be a while before the lakes are accessible for fly fishers.The Middle Fork of the Feather is high and cold but fish can be found in the upper reaches above Portola.As the water warms with the weather look for carp tailing in the shallows or sucking bugs near the weedbeds.Largemouth bass will be eating poppers on the surface and other large offerings in the weeds near the lilly pads.

I am looking forward to warmer weather and great fishing!See you all on the water!!