Xmas was great. Funny how Xmas is sorta reborn and takes on a whole new meaning when you have young kids. It is really a lot of fun watching my oldest who is 2.5 open presents and get all fired up. That said now that Santa has come I am a little screwed as I used "Santa" to manipulate my sons behavior for the last month or so. To the point where I had him convinced that every time he wined Santa brought one less gift. Good stuff.
High water is every where. I have had to cancel a ton of trips this Xmas break as there is no where to fish. Lower Sac dropped down to 10,000cfs Xmas eve and should stablize and fish here shortly. The Lower Yuba is now below 6000cfs and looks to be dropping pretty steadily. Deer Creek is still around 250cfs but looks to be steadily dropping as well. I am hoping that the Lower Yuba is fishable this weekend but with the rain that is suppose to come in today and tomorrow who knows as Accuweather forcast over 2" of rain. Butte Creeks is still around 800cfs and unfishable.
With nothing to fish I am been going a little stir crazy but If the Lower Sac doesn't change it should fish fine here in the next few days so I will be back on the water towards the end of the week.
Also I had ham in some for for 7meals straight from xmas dinner on. I have run out of ways to use left over ham. I will most likely revert to the beginning and work my way back to a ham quesedilla.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Rain...and more Rain
So it has rained a ton up here in Nor Cal. Early last week prior to the arrival of what most talking heads on TV called the storm of the century the Lower Sac jumped from 7000cfs'ish to 15,000cfs'ish. Not a bad flow but this is a standard summer flow not a late December flow. The Lower Yuba was cranked up from 1500cfs to 4000cfs. This is the top of the "I'll go fish it" flow chart. The feather stayed stable. Then the rains came...
The Lower Sac has stayed stable down to about Cow Creek. I spent a few days fishing Posse Grounds down to RV and fishing was fair to good. When the wind was blowing the rain side ways fishing was good. Nothing spectacular but good winter fishing. Flows remain stable and fishing should improve with some consistent mild weather. I do imagine though that they will drop the flows back down eventually so keep an eye on that.
Lower Yuba blew out Saturday. The river peaked around 19,000cfs and is now dropping steadily to around 8000cfs. Deer Creek peaked around 3000 cfs and is now down to around 300cfs. Once Englebright stops spilling over the river should stabilize and get down around 3000cfs which is high but fishable. With deer creek dropping clarity should be fishable sooner than later. I expect the river to fish really well as soon as it comes into shape. Hopefully we won't get any more significant rain and I can get back on the river next week.
Feather River is fishable but most fish are up by the hatchery in the closed zone that opens Jan. 1. Should be good up there when it opens. I wouldn't brave the first day but the following weeks will provide some good fishing if everything else is blown out.
Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Christmas. I gotta go brave the shopping crowds today as I have put off every facet of my christmas preparation until last minute.
The Lower Sac has stayed stable down to about Cow Creek. I spent a few days fishing Posse Grounds down to RV and fishing was fair to good. When the wind was blowing the rain side ways fishing was good. Nothing spectacular but good winter fishing. Flows remain stable and fishing should improve with some consistent mild weather. I do imagine though that they will drop the flows back down eventually so keep an eye on that.
Lower Yuba blew out Saturday. The river peaked around 19,000cfs and is now dropping steadily to around 8000cfs. Deer Creek peaked around 3000 cfs and is now down to around 300cfs. Once Englebright stops spilling over the river should stabilize and get down around 3000cfs which is high but fishable. With deer creek dropping clarity should be fishable sooner than later. I expect the river to fish really well as soon as it comes into shape. Hopefully we won't get any more significant rain and I can get back on the river next week.
Feather River is fishable but most fish are up by the hatchery in the closed zone that opens Jan. 1. Should be good up there when it opens. I wouldn't brave the first day but the following weeks will provide some good fishing if everything else is blown out.
Hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for Christmas. I gotta go brave the shopping crowds today as I have put off every facet of my christmas preparation until last minute.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Yuba Weekend
Spent the weekend with a good client of mine who has fished the Lower Yuba a ton with me. We hooked +25 fish both days and lost a few nice steelhead...so fishing was really good. That said most of the fish we were hooking were not in water that a wade fisherman could get to so if you are thinking of going to wade the river keep your expectations realistic. I did see a few wade fisherman hooked up though so that was positive. Also saw a lot of guys throwing switch rods and swinging flies...though I didn't see any of them hooked up the river was in perfect shape to swing streamers on sink tips. We found most of the fish in deeper runs and in riffles hanging at the drop offs. Best flies were egg patterns, Jimmy Leggs, and san juan worms. In the lower river there was a few caddis and baetis hatching and while we did hook some fish on Yuba Pupa's and Olive birds nest we didn't hook any on baetis nymphs or see any fish eating flies on the surface. All in all a great few days on the Lower Yuba. finals this week then Christmas break.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Weekend/mid Week Report
Guided the Lower Yuba and Butte Creek this weekend. The Lower Yuba fished very well. Lots of fresh 16-18" half pounders and good numbers of mid size trout eating. Most fish came on egg patterns, san juan worms, and small mayfly nymphs. That said with the rain on sunday the river has now blown out. River is up over 3000 cfs and Deer Creek is dropping but still over 100cfs. Can't imagine the river will come back into shape by this weekend as it is raining now and more rain is forcasted over the next few days.
Butte Creek fished pretty slow. Water conditions were perfect but just didn't find any fish. I know there was a big salmon kill this summer and I am seeing the results on the river. Usually there are a few redds around, spawned out salmon, and dead salmon...I haven't seen any of these things. That said I haven't floated the creek yet but it isn't looking good. The creek did blow out but is now coming down but who knows what is gonna happen with the rain coming in. Lower Sac up through redding is holding in shape as well as the feather so if you need to get out those are solid options.
Butte Creek fished pretty slow. Water conditions were perfect but just didn't find any fish. I know there was a big salmon kill this summer and I am seeing the results on the river. Usually there are a few redds around, spawned out salmon, and dead salmon...I haven't seen any of these things. That said I haven't floated the creek yet but it isn't looking good. The creek did blow out but is now coming down but who knows what is gonna happen with the rain coming in. Lower Sac up through redding is holding in shape as well as the feather so if you need to get out those are solid options.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Here we go...
GO IRISH!!!!! Finally we beat USC...on the road non the less with our barely 18 year old freshman back up QB. Love it!!!! Should get a decent bowl game and even maybe the bowl that they have at AT&T Park which would be sweet as then I can go and not miss much do to travel time.
In other news Guided the Lower Yuba yesterday and the weather was all over the place...Pissing Rain...freezing winds...periods of warm cloud cover...and then all over again through the cycle. Scratched out about 12-15 hook ups amongst huge swings in light conditions, air temperature, and rain. Over all a tough day and I don't think we caught more than one fish on the same fly. Baetis would get active for 10-20mins then the air temperature would drop or the wind would come up. Over all tough day but good day of winter trout fishing. We did see some big steelhead role but couldn't get them to eat and there is still salmon moving up river below the dam so winter should be good.
Other than that not a lot going on. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and got out to fish over the short break here. Take care.
In other news Guided the Lower Yuba yesterday and the weather was all over the place...Pissing Rain...freezing winds...periods of warm cloud cover...and then all over again through the cycle. Scratched out about 12-15 hook ups amongst huge swings in light conditions, air temperature, and rain. Over all a tough day and I don't think we caught more than one fish on the same fly. Baetis would get active for 10-20mins then the air temperature would drop or the wind would come up. Over all tough day but good day of winter trout fishing. We did see some big steelhead role but couldn't get them to eat and there is still salmon moving up river below the dam so winter should be good.
Other than that not a lot going on. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and got out to fish over the short break here. Take care.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Quick report
It has been COLD...I have spent an afternoon fishing on my own on butte creek and day guiding the creek along with a few days on the feather. here is the reports:
Butte Creek flows have been all over the place lately but seem to have stabilized around 139-160cfs. This is a low but good flow. I spent an afternoon fishing and covered alot of water to catch two adults. I fished a ton of holes that if there is significant numbers of fish in the river should hold fish and didn't. I did not spend any time in the lower creek so maybe there are more fish down there. I caught all my fish on egg patterns. Guiding the creek we found a bunch of small half pounders and 3 adult fish but we COVERED A TON of water to do it...I think some more rain and more fish are needed to make the creek a bit more consistent.
I also floated 2 days on the feather. one day from town down to palm and then another did town to the outlet twice. Both days the river was pretty crowded but we managed to hook 2 adults both days. Not huge numbers but all 4 fish were fresh winter fish and were well over 20". Conditions were tough as it was very cold, windy, and clarity in the high flow was not very good. Either way not bad for winter steelhead fishing. Over all I think most of the adult fish are up above the hwy 70 bridge and fishing come Jan 1 when that stretch opens should be pretty good for a few weeks. Back on the water tomorrow.
Butte Creek flows have been all over the place lately but seem to have stabilized around 139-160cfs. This is a low but good flow. I spent an afternoon fishing and covered alot of water to catch two adults. I fished a ton of holes that if there is significant numbers of fish in the river should hold fish and didn't. I did not spend any time in the lower creek so maybe there are more fish down there. I caught all my fish on egg patterns. Guiding the creek we found a bunch of small half pounders and 3 adult fish but we COVERED A TON of water to do it...I think some more rain and more fish are needed to make the creek a bit more consistent.
I also floated 2 days on the feather. one day from town down to palm and then another did town to the outlet twice. Both days the river was pretty crowded but we managed to hook 2 adults both days. Not huge numbers but all 4 fish were fresh winter fish and were well over 20". Conditions were tough as it was very cold, windy, and clarity in the high flow was not very good. Either way not bad for winter steelhead fishing. Over all I think most of the adult fish are up above the hwy 70 bridge and fishing come Jan 1 when that stretch opens should be pretty good for a few weeks. Back on the water tomorrow.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Lack of posts...so here is a meaty one...so meaty
So I haven't been on the water in about 2 weeks as last weekend I took Wednesday-Sunday off and went back to Notre Dame with my father. It was Senior weekend and my father who has coached high school football sense leather helmets has a player on the team who starts at Tackle. Not only was a great weekend but the game was amazing as the Irish defeated Utah soundly and with a win today at Yankee Stadium against Army will become bowl eligible. Granted we may get like the south Dakota chamber of commerce bowl or something it is the extra 15 or practices that the team will get to set up next year that are important.
In other news I will be back on the water tomorrow through thurs. then sat and sun again on the Lower Yuba, Feather, L. Sac, or Butte Creek depending on what this storm does that is moving through. Didn't drop much rain last night or this morning but it has gotten really cold here in chico. Massive Reports to come over the next week.
In other news Idylwilde has released pictures of my new 2011 flies so here is a few snap shots of what is coming out.
Hogan's Lil' Bastard: A small midge/baetis pattern I came up with last winter on the L. Yuba but I fished it a ton through the summer up on Hat, Fall, and Baum Lake. This thing has caught fish all over for me and is my go to small baetis fly. comes in #18 and #20
Hogan's Petrified Pupa - New caddis pattern I came up with last spring when people started fishing my Yuba Pupa alot....gotta stay ahead the game. Comes in tan and olive
Hogan's Slow Guy - PMD and BWO: Came up with this fly to fish right before or during PMD and Baetis hatches when the nymphs are starting to swell with gas underneath the exoskeleton and getting ready to emerge. Fished this fly all last winter and spring on the Yuba and the L. Sac then fished it a ton on Fall River and Hat Creek.
Hogan's Fastwater caddis: This bad dog was born on the freestones of the sierras (N.F. Feather, N.F. Yuba, Pit River, Burney Creek...Deer Creek, Butte Creek...etc.). Stiff krystal flash legs to give the illusion of a scrambling egg laying caddis. Peacock butt to immitate an egg sack with a hackle head and beefy elk hair wing to keep this thing afloat as you high stick it through the chop.
Hogan's Golden Child and Hogan's Indigo Child: I have fished these flies for year and with the success of the Red Headed Steph Child I decided to release them this year...you know where to fish them.
Also Look for new Yuba Pupa Colors this year as well....
Now if that wasn't enough to chew on there will be reports coming soon...along with some tails of my exploits in the mid west
In other news Idylwilde has released pictures of my new 2011 flies so here is a few snap shots of what is coming out.
Hogan's Lil' Bastard: A small midge/baetis pattern I came up with last winter on the L. Yuba but I fished it a ton through the summer up on Hat, Fall, and Baum Lake. This thing has caught fish all over for me and is my go to small baetis fly. comes in #18 and #20
Hogan's Petrified Pupa - New caddis pattern I came up with last spring when people started fishing my Yuba Pupa alot....gotta stay ahead the game. Comes in tan and olive
Hogan's Slow Guy - PMD and BWO: Came up with this fly to fish right before or during PMD and Baetis hatches when the nymphs are starting to swell with gas underneath the exoskeleton and getting ready to emerge. Fished this fly all last winter and spring on the Yuba and the L. Sac then fished it a ton on Fall River and Hat Creek.
Hogan's Fastwater caddis: This bad dog was born on the freestones of the sierras (N.F. Feather, N.F. Yuba, Pit River, Burney Creek...Deer Creek, Butte Creek...etc.). Stiff krystal flash legs to give the illusion of a scrambling egg laying caddis. Peacock butt to immitate an egg sack with a hackle head and beefy elk hair wing to keep this thing afloat as you high stick it through the chop.
Hogan's Golden Child and Hogan's Indigo Child: I have fished these flies for year and with the success of the Red Headed Steph Child I decided to release them this year...you know where to fish them.
Also Look for new Yuba Pupa Colors this year as well....
Now if that wasn't enough to chew on there will be reports coming soon...along with some tails of my exploits in the mid west
Monday, November 8, 2010
Lower Feather
Spent Sunday on the lower feather. Took Saturday off as Friday night we threw a 30th birthday party for my wife...started at Crush in down town chico, rented out the balcony, ended with me carrying my wife down 3rd st. from the Bear like a scene outta a war movie. Needless to say I was taking care of the kids on saturday.
The lower feather is fishing good. I floated from the outlet down to Gridley. I had a father and his 10 year old son in the boat. We hooked 9 fish and landed 4. One nice 25" buck and the other 3 were 20-24" females. The Ones we lost were all in the 20-25" bracket and we had them on long enough to get a few pretty impressive runs and jumps. There are good numbers of salmon down to Palm and a few sprinkled in down to Gridley. Fishing has been best from the outlet down to Palm. I have struggled to find fish below Palm. There are salmon there and there should be steelhead, but just can't find'em. Most of our fish came on beads and san jaun worms. Didn't give the mayfly nymphs or caddis much time as they are much harder to land fish on than. With the over cast weather most fish came in the shallows behind salmon. Get out there and fish!!!
The lower feather is fishing good. I floated from the outlet down to Gridley. I had a father and his 10 year old son in the boat. We hooked 9 fish and landed 4. One nice 25" buck and the other 3 were 20-24" females. The Ones we lost were all in the 20-25" bracket and we had them on long enough to get a few pretty impressive runs and jumps. There are good numbers of salmon down to Palm and a few sprinkled in down to Gridley. Fishing has been best from the outlet down to Palm. I have struggled to find fish below Palm. There are salmon there and there should be steelhead, but just can't find'em. Most of our fish came on beads and san jaun worms. Didn't give the mayfly nymphs or caddis much time as they are much harder to land fish on than. With the over cast weather most fish came in the shallows behind salmon. Get out there and fish!!!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
AMAZING!!!!!
I have been a giant’s fan as long as I can remember. My father started taking to me Candlestick when I was 10 or so and I remember watching Will Clark, Matt Williams, Candy Maldonado, Kevin Mitchell, Rod Beck, Bob Brenley, Robby Thompson, ...I didn't know the game but I knew the players and watched them with such devotion with my father that I knew of nothing more important March through September. I have heard more KNBR broadcast of giant’s game then masses in a church. I have taken spring trips with my dad, many games, and The Giants along with Notre Dame football are always the first thing my father and I talk about.
I love the game of baseball and have never seen the world series as the be all end all for my team as so much in baseball is out of a players control. I do vividly remember watching on a small old tube TV from my crappy sub divided town house in Chico the 2002 game 6 utter collapse of my team and eventual home lose that lead to the lose of the world series. At that point we were so close and I was so excited I made the claim to the god of sports fans "All I need is one world series in my life". I believed that as I watched the giants become a good team, not a great team, and one entrounced in the breaking of a record and not the foundation of team play that is so important in baseball, that it would be a while before I ever even saw a division title.
The last thing I thought when this team broke spring training was that we were going to win the division, the pennant, and then World Series. I can't remember how many times Pablo hit in to double plays, the middle of the order left runners in scoring position, Cain or Zito pitched a gem with no run support, and I was left yelling at the TV completely discouraged....By August my son was in a store with my wife and saw a baseball and bat on display and said, "daddy baseball.... mommy says ya good job buddy....Oliver " ya baseball F*$K F*#K S**T F*%K F$%KEN gIANTS....mommy drags oliver outta the store swearing baseball f**k. That is where I was at as a fan.
I then went on to watch September and October with my jaw open...It was like everyone on the team decided they were going to do this and I was finally watching what I always thought that we might be able to do. To beat teams that most experts would say were not even in their league was mind blowing. I thought we could beat the Braves but no way the Phillies and by no means an American League team like the Rangers. Then I watched them not only beat the Rangers, if you know baseball, you watched them dismantle them! AMAZING!!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Weekend Report
Spent Saturday on the Lower Feather with two long time clients. We floated from the Out let down to the Gridley Boat ramp. So the whole length of the high flow that most people can access via drift boat. Fishing was great considering what it has been previous years. There were spawning Salmon all the way down to Gridley and we hooked fish throughout the entire drift. We hooked about 9 or 10 fish and landed 3. Which is great fishing for the high flow considering previous years. It was great to see salmon spawning as far down as we did and we saw fresh salmon rolling in some of the big deep holes so there are still salmon that are going to spawn which is great for early November steelhead fishing on the feather. Hot flies were eggs and san jaun worms in various colors
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Also check out my buddy Keith Westra's new clothing line "Nature Boy Designs". They are making some cool shirts and have plans for many more cool designs. I will be rocking this gear for sure and encourage everyone to keep tabs on what Keith has in the works on his website.
http://natureboydesigns.com
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Also check out my buddy Keith Westra's new clothing line "Nature Boy Designs". They are making some cool shirts and have plans for many more cool designs. I will be rocking this gear for sure and encourage everyone to keep tabs on what Keith has in the works on his website.
http://natureboydesigns.com
Monday, October 25, 2010
What a weekend...
If you were not aware it pissed rain in nor cal this weekend. Not sure what the totals are but it seemed to rain all day saturday and sunday. I was on the lower Sac and didn't see the river conditions change much as it is really the first big rain of the year and the ground is DRY. Butte Creek did come up from 100cfs to 1300cfs but is dropping right now. The Yuba on the other hand just blew out last night and came up to 2827cfs from 804cfs. Deer Creek peaked at 2410cfs last night and is dropping so hopefully as it drops the main river will as well.
The Lower Sac this weekend was fair. Not the normal sac for October. We fished from Possie Grounds to Bonnie View (doing double floats) the egg bite was very poor even with the rain and over cast conditions. All our my fish came on small mayflies (S&M's and a new fly called the Little Bastard). The afternoon baetis hatch was one of the best I have seen in a long time. Waders in Posse Riffle seemed to be catching a few fish but most I talked to said they were small fish. Throughout the float the redds just didn't produce fish most of my fish came in what I call bug water with only maybe 3-4 fish coming off redds and even then they ate the nymphs. End result was I will definitely not be heading back to the upper floats any time soon. I think with this rain the feather and Yuba are gonna get really good again...move some fish up and around and stir things up.
In sporting news...the giants winning the pennant and going to the World Series has over shadowed the slaughter that my Irish took at the hands of Navy. I can't even bring myself to watch the game. I dvr'd it assuming I would be in a media bubble until I could watch it but the score flashed on the tv as I was watching the giants game...Brutal. It is a rebuilding year officially. Looks like more weather coming in later in the week and maybe this weekend. Looks like good weather to move steelhead up rivers and get some things going. Over and Out
The Lower Sac this weekend was fair. Not the normal sac for October. We fished from Possie Grounds to Bonnie View (doing double floats) the egg bite was very poor even with the rain and over cast conditions. All our my fish came on small mayflies (S&M's and a new fly called the Little Bastard). The afternoon baetis hatch was one of the best I have seen in a long time. Waders in Posse Riffle seemed to be catching a few fish but most I talked to said they were small fish. Throughout the float the redds just didn't produce fish most of my fish came in what I call bug water with only maybe 3-4 fish coming off redds and even then they ate the nymphs. End result was I will definitely not be heading back to the upper floats any time soon. I think with this rain the feather and Yuba are gonna get really good again...move some fish up and around and stir things up.
In sporting news...the giants winning the pennant and going to the World Series has over shadowed the slaughter that my Irish took at the hands of Navy. I can't even bring myself to watch the game. I dvr'd it assuming I would be in a media bubble until I could watch it but the score flashed on the tv as I was watching the giants game...Brutal. It is a rebuilding year officially. Looks like more weather coming in later in the week and maybe this weekend. Looks like good weather to move steelhead up rivers and get some things going. Over and Out
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Quick Report
Lower Yuba: The first egg bite has slowed down. If you got out there mid sept to early oct. you hit it and fishing has slowed sense. That said there are fresh redds in the lower river (Hammond Grove down) with fish actively eating eggs behind them. Most fish in the upper river have moved off the redds and are hunkered down digesting a months worth of egg protein. There are still fish in the middle river eating eggs behind some redds but no where near the numbers there were a week or two ago. The fish that are eating bugs are eating small mayflys (flash back PT’s, Military May in Olive, S&Ms, and Micros Mays all in size 16 and 18) and a few caddis (Yuba Pupa, olive no bead birds nest, and Olive fox’s pupa in 16 and 18).
Lower Feather: I haven’t fished it personally but a few close friends have been guiding and fishing it and report salmon numbers like they haven’t seen in years along with good numbers of larger “half pound/juvenile” and adult steelhead. While the crowds are also thick in the low flow the high flow has come down and with all the salmon we should see a good salmon spawn throughout the high flow. This will keep steelhead fishing going through October and well into November. Hot flies…Eggs…eggs… and if you are hitting up the deeper runs in the high flow…eggs and mayflies.
Lower Sac: Egg bit has not started…Some say it is late some say the returns of salmon are way down. Talking to the salmon fisherman around Chico there are not a lot fish moving through and the ones that are are pretty beat up. If it happens it is going to happen in the next two weeks…cross your fingers. The lower river is producing a few adult steelhead and good numbers of Juveniles.
I still have some November and December days left and with all the salmon still moving into the feather and Yuba November and December are going to be a great months for trout and steelhead fishing in Northern California.
Nov: 7, 21, 22,
Dec: 18, 19, 22, 23, 29
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Weekend on the L. Sac.
Spent the last few days on the Lower Sacramento. Fished from Anderson down to Los Molinos and fishing was fair to good. Saturday was the opening day of catch and kill salmon fishing from Deschutes Bridge down river and it was a freaking zoo at the boat ramps but once we got on the river I didn't run into nearly as many boats as I thought. Every salmon guy I ran into was catching fish and most seemed to think the bite was pretty good. Saw one boat pull a good 20lb buck outta of a hole below Cow Creek and was amazed that they kept it based on its black color. Maybe they needed a pair of shoes, who knows.
Discouraging news: I saw about 4 redds with salmon on them the last few days and caught only a handfull of fish on egg patterns. The salmon are just not there and the fish know it as they are still hanging in the typical bug water eating small mayflies, fall caddis, and stones in the lower river. Talking to a few guys who have been fishing the upper river (redding to Anderson) the egg bite is not happening up there either. There is a handful of redds and if you are the first boat down the river you'll hit the 10 or so fish behind them but that is it. FISHING is tough up there. There is just not the fish spawning to get the egg bite going. Maybe its late? I don't know.
While on the L. Sac we did catch a few adult steelhead and a bunch of fin clipped half pounders in the lower river. All days we hooked good numbers of fish but not the stupid numbers we should put up during the middle of October and what is usually the peak of the egg bite. This week I am heading back to the L. Yuba and gonna go check out the Feather as the high flow has dropped and there is good numbers of salmon around dropping eggs.
In other news: Giants I love you....but Philly really scares me. I am gonna enjoy the series win for the next few days. Notre Dame, Way to get it done.
Discouraging news: I saw about 4 redds with salmon on them the last few days and caught only a handfull of fish on egg patterns. The salmon are just not there and the fish know it as they are still hanging in the typical bug water eating small mayflies, fall caddis, and stones in the lower river. Talking to a few guys who have been fishing the upper river (redding to Anderson) the egg bite is not happening up there either. There is a handful of redds and if you are the first boat down the river you'll hit the 10 or so fish behind them but that is it. FISHING is tough up there. There is just not the fish spawning to get the egg bite going. Maybe its late? I don't know.
While on the L. Sac we did catch a few adult steelhead and a bunch of fin clipped half pounders in the lower river. All days we hooked good numbers of fish but not the stupid numbers we should put up during the middle of October and what is usually the peak of the egg bite. This week I am heading back to the L. Yuba and gonna go check out the Feather as the high flow has dropped and there is good numbers of salmon around dropping eggs.
In other news: Giants I love you....but Philly really scares me. I am gonna enjoy the series win for the next few days. Notre Dame, Way to get it done.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Oh how good it feels....
I was completely prepared to host a dumpster fire and burn every piece of giants and notre dame gear I have and give up being a sports fan for eternity if my Irish lost to Boston College and the Giants couldn't win one damn game. Fortunately, both succeeded and Life is back to good. GO GIANTS!!!!!
Now on to fishing. If you are not fishing now, sell your fly rods and get a new Hobbie cause October is where it is at.
The egg bit is going off on the lower yuba with good and great days this last week. There are more salmon in the Lower Yuba this year then I have seen in years. All normal spots are full of salmon and fish are having to spawn in other or "new" areas. That said there are still tons of salmon in the deeper holes in the lower river and pods at the base of Daguerre waiting to move up river. Should be a great fall and winter on the Yuba. As for fishing instructions...fish beads or what ever egg pattern you prefer if you are oppose to beads. Fish are concentrated in the riffle eating eggs in the upper and mid river. Couldn't find fish in what we call bug water in the upper or mid river. Once you get down to about Sycamore the redds are not as thick and salmon have yet to pair up in the riffles so fish will eat caddis and mayflies with more regularity.
BE CAREFULL on the Yuba to stay off the redds. I saw multiple people over the weekend tromping through fresh redds...this is my pet peave, don't be "that guy".
Lower Sac is getting started with a few fish up on redds in the upper river but early reports are that the egg bite has yet to get going strong. Heard some mixed reports from the feather as well but with good salmon returns on the feather I expect that we should see improved steelhead fishing over there over the next few weeks.
I still have some winter dates available so if you are looking to do some winter steelhead fishing on the Lower Sac, Yuba, Feather, or Butte Creek pick one and give me a call or shoot me an email. Or just shoot me an email and ask for an up to the minute fishing report.
Winter Dates
Now on to fishing. If you are not fishing now, sell your fly rods and get a new Hobbie cause October is where it is at.
The egg bit is going off on the lower yuba with good and great days this last week. There are more salmon in the Lower Yuba this year then I have seen in years. All normal spots are full of salmon and fish are having to spawn in other or "new" areas. That said there are still tons of salmon in the deeper holes in the lower river and pods at the base of Daguerre waiting to move up river. Should be a great fall and winter on the Yuba. As for fishing instructions...fish beads or what ever egg pattern you prefer if you are oppose to beads. Fish are concentrated in the riffle eating eggs in the upper and mid river. Couldn't find fish in what we call bug water in the upper or mid river. Once you get down to about Sycamore the redds are not as thick and salmon have yet to pair up in the riffles so fish will eat caddis and mayflies with more regularity.
BE CAREFULL on the Yuba to stay off the redds. I saw multiple people over the weekend tromping through fresh redds...this is my pet peave, don't be "that guy".
Lower Sac is getting started with a few fish up on redds in the upper river but early reports are that the egg bite has yet to get going strong. Heard some mixed reports from the feather as well but with good salmon returns on the feather I expect that we should see improved steelhead fishing over there over the next few weeks.
I still have some winter dates available so if you are looking to do some winter steelhead fishing on the Lower Sac, Yuba, Feather, or Butte Creek pick one and give me a call or shoot me an email. Or just shoot me an email and ask for an up to the minute fishing report.
Winter Dates
November: 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28
December: 11, 12, 18, 19, 22, 23, 29
January: 2 - 9
Thanks for reading and get out there and Fish
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Report from the front...
I had a few afternoon striper trips last week and while the flows are LOW fishing was pretty good. Not great but good. Caught a fair number of dinks with some nice 6-15lbs fish mixed in. Really changed up flies, lines, and spots with the lower flows and later season to get fish though. I want to get a few personal days of striper fishing in before salmon season opens Oct. 9th as I know there are still some big fish around but we'll have to see. I know guys are still catching nice fish down lower as well around Colusa and Grimes.
This week I make the mover over to the Lower Yuba for the month of October. From what I hear the egg bit is slowly getting under way but not going off yet. Good numbers of salmon are pairing up though so any day now. Check back for some up to date reports soon.
In sporting news....This weekend after I pelted my neighbor "The Standford graduate's" house with eggs and profanities I nearly threw myself across the train tracks down town. Yes Notre Dame is rebuilding...new coach, new system, new quarterback....but god Saturday was shameful. The only bright spot in all of this is that the giants may just win the west...Seriously I am on pins and needles this week. I can't take a giants implosion here at the end that may lead me to the tracks for good. We need to pound AZ into the ground and then move onto the Padres...
In other news... the new Idylwilde fly Catalog is in the hands of most Idylwilde dealers. Go into your local fly shop and hit em up. It is by far the best catalog out there when it comes to fly companies. Soon all the new bugs and updated photos will be on the web site but get into your fly shop early while they are writing fly orders and tell them what you want after looking through the catalog.
Over and Out.
This week I make the mover over to the Lower Yuba for the month of October. From what I hear the egg bit is slowly getting under way but not going off yet. Good numbers of salmon are pairing up though so any day now. Check back for some up to date reports soon.
In sporting news....This weekend after I pelted my neighbor "The Standford graduate's" house with eggs and profanities I nearly threw myself across the train tracks down town. Yes Notre Dame is rebuilding...new coach, new system, new quarterback....but god Saturday was shameful. The only bright spot in all of this is that the giants may just win the west...Seriously I am on pins and needles this week. I can't take a giants implosion here at the end that may lead me to the tracks for good. We need to pound AZ into the ground and then move onto the Padres...
In other news... the new Idylwilde fly Catalog is in the hands of most Idylwilde dealers. Go into your local fly shop and hit em up. It is by far the best catalog out there when it comes to fly companies. Soon all the new bugs and updated photos will be on the web site but get into your fly shop early while they are writing fly orders and tell them what you want after looking through the catalog.
Over and Out.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Busy Saturday...
So September is not a terribly busy month for guiding and I ended up having this saturday off The wife and kids took off for the day, so I had some free time. With some striper trips next week I decided to go check out the river and see what I was in for. The clouds started to clear and the sun came out right as I was driving out to the river. Perfect.
Spent most of the time fishing about a 300 yard bank that had carp, stripers, salmon, and pike minnows all rolling, rising, or smashing bait...it was cool. Caught a few small stripers and had one big mo follow me all the way to the boat fishing an I line...Heart about beat out my chest I saw this thing follow my fly for like 70 feet and turn off right at the boat. Fishing wasn't great but it was a gorgeous day and I did catch some fish. Still some big fish around and eating. Here is a pic from a buddy of mine this last week with a nice fish
Got home in time to watch the Notre Dame vs. Michigan State game....holy crap...talk about an epic game. Yes we lost in over time on a fake field goal but I have to continue to remind myself that this is a rebuilding year with a new coach, new system, and a first year quarterback. I knew that it was gonna be the kind of game that who ever had the ball last was gonna win and that was what happened. Big thing I see as I look back on was to many 3rd down conversions and big plays in the 2nd half allowed by our defense and in the first half we turned the ball over in the red zone 2 times...can't do that on the road and expect to win.
In other news check out Kevin Prices new Mice patterns for bass and trout. These things are simple genius and I have been fishing them for about a year now. GREAT top water patterns.
Spent most of the time fishing about a 300 yard bank that had carp, stripers, salmon, and pike minnows all rolling, rising, or smashing bait...it was cool. Caught a few small stripers and had one big mo follow me all the way to the boat fishing an I line...Heart about beat out my chest I saw this thing follow my fly for like 70 feet and turn off right at the boat. Fishing wasn't great but it was a gorgeous day and I did catch some fish. Still some big fish around and eating. Here is a pic from a buddy of mine this last week with a nice fish
Got home in time to watch the Notre Dame vs. Michigan State game....holy crap...talk about an epic game. Yes we lost in over time on a fake field goal but I have to continue to remind myself that this is a rebuilding year with a new coach, new system, and a first year quarterback. I knew that it was gonna be the kind of game that who ever had the ball last was gonna win and that was what happened. Big thing I see as I look back on was to many 3rd down conversions and big plays in the 2nd half allowed by our defense and in the first half we turned the ball over in the red zone 2 times...can't do that on the road and expect to win.
In other news check out Kevin Prices new Mice patterns for bass and trout. These things are simple genius and I have been fishing them for about a year now. GREAT top water patterns.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Lower Sac, Giants making a push, and Kenny Powers week is coming
Guided the Lower Sac a few days this week and last weekend. Floated from Redbluff to Los Molinos looking for steelhead and trout. Found some nice trout and the trout grab was good during the mornings and kinda tailed off in the afternoon. Trout were eating stones, caddis, and princes in all the standard spots. We did not hook one adult steelhead, which is really why you go down there. We didn't even see a salmon, not that they are not there just didn't see any in the riffles yet or up in the shallows. My thoughts were that it is still a little early down low. This weekends coming rain and maybe another week or so and I will make this run again. Usually October is the month to be down low looking for these large steelhead before they enter the tribs.
In other news there was an article in the Chico paper saying they just opened the fish ladder at the feather river hatchery and they are expecting 15,000 fish to make their way in over the next month. So hopes are high for a good return this year...Hopefully some steelhead show up as well this year.
In sports news the Giants are legit. Dodgers fans deal with it, your playing for pride at this point. We are making a legitimate run for the pennant and the wild card. It is gonna be nerve racking as we go into the final weeks of the season and a season ending series with the Padres, but so good to have somthing to play for in September. Also Notre Dame at Michigan State this weekend is scary...I read Blue and Gold (ND football weekly news letter) cover to cover last night and I am nervous about this match up.
In meaningless pop culture news....Kenny Powers week starts next week. The season premier is Sept 26 and all next week will be dedicated to Kenny Powers. If you don't know Kenny get to know him by going to your local best buy and buying season one of Eastbound and Down for $19.99
In other news there was an article in the Chico paper saying they just opened the fish ladder at the feather river hatchery and they are expecting 15,000 fish to make their way in over the next month. So hopes are high for a good return this year...Hopefully some steelhead show up as well this year.
In sports news the Giants are legit. Dodgers fans deal with it, your playing for pride at this point. We are making a legitimate run for the pennant and the wild card. It is gonna be nerve racking as we go into the final weeks of the season and a season ending series with the Padres, but so good to have somthing to play for in September. Also Notre Dame at Michigan State this weekend is scary...I read Blue and Gold (ND football weekly news letter) cover to cover last night and I am nervous about this match up.
In meaningless pop culture news....Kenny Powers week starts next week. The season premier is Sept 26 and all next week will be dedicated to Kenny Powers. If you don't know Kenny get to know him by going to your local best buy and buying season one of Eastbound and Down for $19.99
Monday, September 6, 2010
Isonychia and the Irish
I am not a big hatch chaser. I am more of the mind set that I am gonna fish when I have time to fish and if there is a hatch going on then great, if not I will fish what ever I need to to catch fish. That said one hatch that I plan on fishing and chase is the late summer/early fall Isonychia hatch on a few local rivers. I Love this hatch as it comes off at a time when most trout anglers think trout fishing is firmly rooted in the summer douldrums and many are staying home bidding their fishing time for the fall.
Isonychia are a mayfly, and not of the BWO/PMD variety, these things are big. Most of the nymphs in my local waters are #8-10 and the adults are an easy #10 if not an #8 early on in the hatch. The nymphs began to get active right around labor day weekend and the hatch begans usually a few days or weeks later, peaking around mid september, all depending on the weather. A heat spell can shift things a bit as can a cold spell. When the fish are keyed in on the hatch they will eat the nymph all day and hit the adults with oportunistic vengence. Leading up to and during the hatch fish will key on swung adults in the riffles and runs.
The nymphs are swimmers and found usually in rocky freestone streams with some mud bottoms in places. When it is getting time to hatch the nymphs began migrating towards the bank and actually crawl up on rocks and emerge out of their nymphal schuk like a stonefly on the rocks. On bigger rivers though they can be seen emerging like a standard mayfly as well, bottom line is you can't miss them on the water and you can't miss the schucks on the rocks.
The Nymphs are a blackish/purple color with a long slender swimmer nymph profile and the adult is a dark purplish/gray. I have developed a few patterns to fish this hatch. The most successful pattern I have come up with is "Hogan's Isonychia nymph". I fish this pattern under an indicator with plenty of split shot and then if I know the hatch has been coming off I will swing this bug through runs and tail outs prior to the hatch starting. Once the hatch starts I fish a parachute adams or a few emerger patterns that I am still tweaking a bit. The big thing to remember during the hatch is that these bugs emerge on the rocks and are only on the water to lay eggs for the most part.
Chasing hatches is not my bag as most of the time an angler finds more people on the water than bugs (remember I live in California). The Iso hatch is not that way. I have been fishing a few local rivers lately chasing these bugs and have yet to see a sole. Mind you these are waters that would be PACKED in the spring and are just not associated with doldrum fishing.
I love this hatch is it reminds me of the big bugs of spring right before the small bugs of fall and the even smaller bugs of winter become the norm.
In other news...A great victory for the Irish this past saturday against a pretty tough Purdue team. The Kelly era is looking good as the team played with an intensity I hadn't seen under Charlie. Running game looked great and Christ spread the ball around and played a conservative game at QB which is nice to see after Clausen. I think the Defense needs some work but looked much improved against a quality Purdue team. Next week we have Michigan...and I hate Michigan and Rich Rodriquez...but I have to give them credit they looked good against UConn (who beat us up last year). Mich's new QB looked solid and it looks like Rodriquez finally has the athletes at Mich to run his spread offense. Either way it is gonna be a hell of a match up.
Other than that Go IRISH, Giants keep it together and get in the playoffs, fish - start eating eggs soon
Isonychia are a mayfly, and not of the BWO/PMD variety, these things are big. Most of the nymphs in my local waters are #8-10 and the adults are an easy #10 if not an #8 early on in the hatch. The nymphs began to get active right around labor day weekend and the hatch begans usually a few days or weeks later, peaking around mid september, all depending on the weather. A heat spell can shift things a bit as can a cold spell. When the fish are keyed in on the hatch they will eat the nymph all day and hit the adults with oportunistic vengence. Leading up to and during the hatch fish will key on swung adults in the riffles and runs.
The nymphs are swimmers and found usually in rocky freestone streams with some mud bottoms in places. When it is getting time to hatch the nymphs began migrating towards the bank and actually crawl up on rocks and emerge out of their nymphal schuk like a stonefly on the rocks. On bigger rivers though they can be seen emerging like a standard mayfly as well, bottom line is you can't miss them on the water and you can't miss the schucks on the rocks.
The Nymphs are a blackish/purple color with a long slender swimmer nymph profile and the adult is a dark purplish/gray. I have developed a few patterns to fish this hatch. The most successful pattern I have come up with is "Hogan's Isonychia nymph". I fish this pattern under an indicator with plenty of split shot and then if I know the hatch has been coming off I will swing this bug through runs and tail outs prior to the hatch starting. Once the hatch starts I fish a parachute adams or a few emerger patterns that I am still tweaking a bit. The big thing to remember during the hatch is that these bugs emerge on the rocks and are only on the water to lay eggs for the most part.
Chasing hatches is not my bag as most of the time an angler finds more people on the water than bugs (remember I live in California). The Iso hatch is not that way. I have been fishing a few local rivers lately chasing these bugs and have yet to see a sole. Mind you these are waters that would be PACKED in the spring and are just not associated with doldrum fishing.
I love this hatch is it reminds me of the big bugs of spring right before the small bugs of fall and the even smaller bugs of winter become the norm.
In other news...A great victory for the Irish this past saturday against a pretty tough Purdue team. The Kelly era is looking good as the team played with an intensity I hadn't seen under Charlie. Running game looked great and Christ spread the ball around and played a conservative game at QB which is nice to see after Clausen. I think the Defense needs some work but looked much improved against a quality Purdue team. Next week we have Michigan...and I hate Michigan and Rich Rodriquez...but I have to give them credit they looked good against UConn (who beat us up last year). Mich's new QB looked solid and it looks like Rodriquez finally has the athletes at Mich to run his spread offense. Either way it is gonna be a hell of a match up.
Other than that Go IRISH, Giants keep it together and get in the playoffs, fish - start eating eggs soon
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A few days on the Lower Sac...
Guided the Lower Sac the last few days and found it to be a ghost town for the most part. August/september are always slow months on the river but I didn't see a soul. Floated from Anderson River Park down to Jelly's Ferry and fishing was pretty good. Good action on caddis patterns through out the float and rubber legs once we got below Balls Ferry. Boated a ton of fish high 30's but nothing really big most fish were between 14-16" with a few around 17". A good numbers stretch. Didn't see one salmon...which is a bit scary.
The Lower Yuba above the bridge closes today and the flows should stabilize around 1000cfs after the last week as Yuba Co. Drops the flows. Fishing should really start to pick up in a week or so once everything settles in.
The Striper fishing has been tough as flows have dropped in the lower river down around 6000cfs. Holding water shrinks up and I think fish get a little spooky. Should be back out there in the next few days.
Other than that Notre Dame begans the Brian Kelly era on Saturday against Purdue and God willing the Irish will be in the BCS in a few years...I hope. GO IRISH!!!
The Lower Yuba above the bridge closes today and the flows should stabilize around 1000cfs after the last week as Yuba Co. Drops the flows. Fishing should really start to pick up in a week or so once everything settles in.
The Striper fishing has been tough as flows have dropped in the lower river down around 6000cfs. Holding water shrinks up and I think fish get a little spooky. Should be back out there in the next few days.
Other than that Notre Dame begans the Brian Kelly era on Saturday against Purdue and God willing the Irish will be in the BCS in a few years...I hope. GO IRISH!!!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
up date....
So striper fishing has been tough...not just for me either. The dudes throwen meat are not catching fish either. Some years I like this I guess and you just gotta keep fishing. I am a strong believer that fishing dosen't get better by sitting at home and bitching about it. So I have been fishing completely new water, new flies, new lines, all sorts of stuff to find fish and entice the ones I know are there to eat....the saga continues.
That said fall fishing is coming up...just got my new drift boat seat and I am stoked someone finally invented a drift boat seat with a hole in the bottom to drain the water. If you have ever rowed a drift boat in the rainy season you know how big this is. not much to report other than that...the giants make me sick on a nightly basis and I am holding out hope for a 10 win Notre Dame Season...I'll be honest though any thing above .500 would be swell....and a sweep of the Academy's...I can't take loosing to Navy
That said fall fishing is coming up...just got my new drift boat seat and I am stoked someone finally invented a drift boat seat with a hole in the bottom to drain the water. If you have ever rowed a drift boat in the rainy season you know how big this is. not much to report other than that...the giants make me sick on a nightly basis and I am holding out hope for a 10 win Notre Dame Season...I'll be honest though any thing above .500 would be swell....and a sweep of the Academy's...I can't take loosing to Navy
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
New Website Same Address
So one of my projects this summer was to redesign my website. While this blog here is what I update the most and is the most convenient way to disseminate fishing reports, ramblings, news, and other dribble a website is a must. The new site has all the pertinent guiding information, where when and how much, but what I think will be the most useful is all the information on my flies. There is a page dedicated to trout nymphs, trout dries, carp flies, and bass flies where there is a picture of every pattern and color of my flies and a description of how and why it came to be along with how and when I fish it. Patterns with in each page are also sorted into types for easy reference.
Check out the site and let me know what you think www.hgbflyfishing.com
In other news should get out striper fishing thurs - sat so reports to follow.
Over and Out.
Check out the site and let me know what you think www.hgbflyfishing.com
In other news should get out striper fishing thurs - sat so reports to follow.
Over and Out.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Stripers - numbers waiting on size
Been out on the L. Sac chasing stripers the last week. Fishing has been a numbers game as size has alluded me. Good numbers of fish in the 14-22" range (3-4lbs) caught on sub suface and top water. "Bigger Fish" seem to be eluding eveyone as all the bait, plug, and fly anglers I talk to express the same thing. The funny thing is every time I am on the water I see a few bigger fish smash bait or move off a flat. I saw a pig last time I was out multiple times smash pick minnows on the surface. Back outta the water whole deal...Cast to him multiple times with every conceivable fly, size, pattern and just couldn't get him to eat. So as I have said before they are their just gotta find them at the right time.
Other than that I am back to school this week but will get out on the river a few afternoons after school this week. Haven't heard much about other fisheries. Did hear the Yuba has been tough with the fluctuation and drop in flows. August is striper month so I have a hard time turning my attention to trout fishing. Well back to work today...over and out.
Other than that I am back to school this week but will get out on the river a few afternoons after school this week. Haven't heard much about other fisheries. Did hear the Yuba has been tough with the fluctuation and drop in flows. August is striper month so I have a hard time turning my attention to trout fishing. Well back to work today...over and out.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Fly of the Month in the Ozarks...Nice
Check it out the bass cracker is going Nation wide. I never been to the Ozarks but it is good to know that the Ozark smallies like it as much as Nor Cal smallies.
http://flyfishingtheozarks.com/2010/08/04/august-fly-of-the-month-hogans-bass-cracker/
http://flyfishingtheozarks.com/2010/08/04/august-fly-of-the-month-hogans-bass-cracker/
Saturday, July 31, 2010
New Brannon Santos Video featuring MY MUSIC!!!
Chico Local, Clear Water/Confluence Outfitters Guide, Idylwilde Sig Tier, videographer, and my friend Brannon Santos is making some sick videos...if you haven't watched his hex video below you need to!! for no other reason than you can make fun of me cause I am the guy missing all the fish....watch me pull the fly outta multiple fishes mouths.
His latest video is a promo video for Clear Water Lodge and not only is it amazing footage it features music written and recorded by me. If you have heard about this clear water place but have no idea where it is and what it is all about...check this video.
His latest video is a promo video for Clear Water Lodge and not only is it amazing footage it features music written and recorded by me. If you have heard about this clear water place but have no idea where it is and what it is all about...check this video.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Clearwater and some Rock and Roll
If anyone is needing a non fishing related weekend with a heavy dose of Classic Indie Rock save your pennies for this....Pavement, Sonic Youth, Spoon, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Ted Leo, SuperChunk, Yo La Tengo, Chavez....oh my God the Rock is over whelming. Like all the sick indie bands I never saw.
Alright back to fishing...Spent the last few days up at Clear Water and fished Baum, Burney, Fall, Hat...it was all good.
Fall: The hex hatch is going strong on fall and should go through August from what I hear. Calibaetis hatch is yet to start in the lower river but Trico spinners and PMD's are offering good dry fly fishing up river. The nymph bite has been going strong and fishing small nymphs under indicators catchs fish throughout the day.
Hat: The riffle is fishing good until about 10am. Trico spinner fall from about 8am to 9am will bring some fish fish up and then nymphing with small midges and mayflies is the ticket. Decent caddis hatches and Little yellow sallies bring fish up again during the evening. Skating caddis down in the flats at dark is the ticket if you wonder down stream.
Baum: is fishing great with good numbers of 10-12" wild and planted fish. fishing small attractor nymphs under indicators along weed beds and through the buckets is the ticket here. Find the current along weeds and you will usually find fish.
Burney: fish a stimi and a dropper above the falls and you will have more fun than you know what to do with. Go early though before the camera crowds show up and you become a photo op for the tourist.
No Striper news. I have been outta town and I had to take my boat in yesterday to get some welding done on it (no I didn't crash it, just up keep). I should get my boat back in a few days and I will hit the river like it owes me money so reports coming soon.
CHICO PEOPLE - if you have not checked the shows coming to chico here is a run down
The Hold Steady August 23
Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses Sept 16.
Also check out Brannon Santos's Videos as they come out. The video below is his newest. and yes I am the guy missing a lot of the fish, while chico rook Darren Deel is sticken'em on the front of the boat....total farm job. Brannon is a chico guide, sig tier for idylwilde, and a steelhead swinging nut job...also some of his newer videos will have some of my tunes in the them.
Alright back to fishing...Spent the last few days up at Clear Water and fished Baum, Burney, Fall, Hat...it was all good.
Fall: The hex hatch is going strong on fall and should go through August from what I hear. Calibaetis hatch is yet to start in the lower river but Trico spinners and PMD's are offering good dry fly fishing up river. The nymph bite has been going strong and fishing small nymphs under indicators catchs fish throughout the day.
Hat: The riffle is fishing good until about 10am. Trico spinner fall from about 8am to 9am will bring some fish fish up and then nymphing with small midges and mayflies is the ticket. Decent caddis hatches and Little yellow sallies bring fish up again during the evening. Skating caddis down in the flats at dark is the ticket if you wonder down stream.
Baum: is fishing great with good numbers of 10-12" wild and planted fish. fishing small attractor nymphs under indicators along weed beds and through the buckets is the ticket here. Find the current along weeds and you will usually find fish.
Burney: fish a stimi and a dropper above the falls and you will have more fun than you know what to do with. Go early though before the camera crowds show up and you become a photo op for the tourist.
No Striper news. I have been outta town and I had to take my boat in yesterday to get some welding done on it (no I didn't crash it, just up keep). I should get my boat back in a few days and I will hit the river like it owes me money so reports coming soon.
CHICO PEOPLE - if you have not checked the shows coming to chico here is a run down
The Hold Steady August 23
Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses Sept 16.
Also check out Brannon Santos's Videos as they come out. The video below is his newest. and yes I am the guy missing a lot of the fish, while chico rook Darren Deel is sticken'em on the front of the boat....total farm job. Brannon is a chico guide, sig tier for idylwilde, and a steelhead swinging nut job...also some of his newer videos will have some of my tunes in the them.
Friday, July 23, 2010
If you are not on the email List...
I hope everyone is having a great summer and has been getting out to do some fishing. It has been a weird summer with the late spring we had and all the water we have had this year. Many rivers and streams usually began to slow down this time of year as the summer dul-drums set in, but this year many are just hitting their peak. For the rest of the summer I will be spending most of my time on the L. Sac chasing stripers and the Lower Yuba fishing hoppers, but fall is right around the corner.
All this water is setting us up for a great fall and winter as salmon are already entering the rivers in good numbers and our fall steelhead will have plenty of water to follow them. I will be guiding on the Lower Yuba, Lower Sacramento, and Lower Feather River for both trout and steelhead. Egg bites began as early as mid September and go through December. As always my available dates are limited so look over the dates listed below and book early to get your first choice of dates.
Also check out my evening striper trips. While fishing for stripers is good all day on the Sac the best top water fishing is during the evening so on these trips we focus on fishing subsurface for a bit then as the sun goes down we look for fish smashing bait on the surface. If you have never caught a striper on a fly rod this is a great way to experience it close to home. These trips are $225 for two anglers and include gear and drinks. We meet at 4:30pm in Chico, CA and are fishing by 5pm and usually off the water about 9pm. Call For availability on these trips. Best fishing is July through September.
Available Fall Dates:
Sept: 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26
Oct: 2, 3, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30
Nov: 6, 7, 13, 14, 20-24, 27, 28
Dec: 4, 5, 11, 12, 18-23, 27-30,
Jan: 2-9
As always if you have questions about specific fisheries or what dates work best for you shoot me an email or give me a call.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Clear Water
Spent the last few days working up at Clear Water Lodge on the Pit River. I drove up Sunday early Afternoon to fish Lake Briton. This is the lake that Pit #3 comes out of and I have always heard that it had a really good population of Small Mouth and that fishing for them was pretty decent. One of those places I have been meaning to fish for years but just never made the point to drag the boat up and fish it.
That said I was glad I did. The lake is obviously full of water skiers and such but as you move back up into the Lake the structure is really cool. Lots of big weed beds and downed timber on the banks. When ever I fish a lake, especially a big inpoundment, I figure if I catch a fish I am lucky as it can take a while to get things dialed in and find fish on larger bodies of water. That said the fishing was great. I caught largemouth around the timber and smallies, carp, and blue gill around the weeds. Top water fishing around the weeds as the sun went down was really good and dragging streamers along with weeds prior to this was productive as well. Overall a really pretty lake and one that has a ton of fishing opportunities.
Working up at Clear Water is always a blast. Spent the 3 days with one client who was a beginning angler. Spent the first day fishing Hat Creek and Burney Creek throwing small nymphs and dries. Fishing was good as these bodies of water stay cool even when it gets hot based on the cold water springs that feed them.
One fun thing about Clear Water is based on the schedule if your clients don't want to fish after dinner you are free to go out and fish. So the first night there Ginno Bernero, Brannon Santos, and Darren Deel and I went out and fished the Hex Hatch on Fall River. While this hatch is epic the fishing lasts maybe 30-40minutes at best....that said I rose 5 fish and hooked none...my dry fly mojo was not happening. Darren landed 2 fish and Gino missed at least as much as me...while Brannon filmed and snapped some photos. Fun night.
Day 2 but the drift boat in at Baum Lake and fished the main body and then rowed up to the power house and fished. Again good day and a great opportunity for a beginner to hook up on fish. We did hook up in the power house on one monster fish that my client kept on for a good 5minutes until breaking him off as we were trying to get him up off the bottom - kinda hard on 6x and size #20 midges to much with a 20-25" 5+lb fish.
That night I went out with Jay Cochran a guide there and fished the Power House #2 riffle. Didn't really go off but I did manage to hook tons of dinker fish and a few nice fish on caddis dries.
Last day I took my client to the Power House #2 riffle in the morning and we were able to nymph up a few nice fish on small mayfly nymphs and even threw a few trico spinners as there were some fish up eating those. We spent the afternoon up in Cassel flats stalking fish in the channels and we were able to hook a few nice fish there as well.
Over all a good stay and really fun to watch a beginning angler get better over the course of a 3 day stay. I am home here for a few days and should get out striper fishing tomorrow then back up to Clear Water this weekend through early next week. Stay tuned.
That said I was glad I did. The lake is obviously full of water skiers and such but as you move back up into the Lake the structure is really cool. Lots of big weed beds and downed timber on the banks. When ever I fish a lake, especially a big inpoundment, I figure if I catch a fish I am lucky as it can take a while to get things dialed in and find fish on larger bodies of water. That said the fishing was great. I caught largemouth around the timber and smallies, carp, and blue gill around the weeds. Top water fishing around the weeds as the sun went down was really good and dragging streamers along with weeds prior to this was productive as well. Overall a really pretty lake and one that has a ton of fishing opportunities.
Working up at Clear Water is always a blast. Spent the 3 days with one client who was a beginning angler. Spent the first day fishing Hat Creek and Burney Creek throwing small nymphs and dries. Fishing was good as these bodies of water stay cool even when it gets hot based on the cold water springs that feed them.
One fun thing about Clear Water is based on the schedule if your clients don't want to fish after dinner you are free to go out and fish. So the first night there Ginno Bernero, Brannon Santos, and Darren Deel and I went out and fished the Hex Hatch on Fall River. While this hatch is epic the fishing lasts maybe 30-40minutes at best....that said I rose 5 fish and hooked none...my dry fly mojo was not happening. Darren landed 2 fish and Gino missed at least as much as me...while Brannon filmed and snapped some photos. Fun night.
Day 2 but the drift boat in at Baum Lake and fished the main body and then rowed up to the power house and fished. Again good day and a great opportunity for a beginner to hook up on fish. We did hook up in the power house on one monster fish that my client kept on for a good 5minutes until breaking him off as we were trying to get him up off the bottom - kinda hard on 6x and size #20 midges to much with a 20-25" 5+lb fish.
That night I went out with Jay Cochran a guide there and fished the Power House #2 riffle. Didn't really go off but I did manage to hook tons of dinker fish and a few nice fish on caddis dries.
Last day I took my client to the Power House #2 riffle in the morning and we were able to nymph up a few nice fish on small mayfly nymphs and even threw a few trico spinners as there were some fish up eating those. We spent the afternoon up in Cassel flats stalking fish in the channels and we were able to hook a few nice fish there as well.
Over all a good stay and really fun to watch a beginning angler get better over the course of a 3 day stay. I am home here for a few days and should get out striper fishing tomorrow then back up to Clear Water this weekend through early next week. Stay tuned.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
And then their were 2....
So with the birth of my second child (Boy:Beckett Hudson Brown) I have been a bit busy over the last week but have been guiding some and fishing on my own. Here is a quick run down.
Spent a few days up on the North Fork of the Feather River guiding and the fishing was great. Good until about midday and then slows a bit until the sun moves over the canyon and then the dry fly fishing can pick up as the sun goes down. Could numbers of 14-16" fish with a couple of monsters landed and lost. The North Fork is by far my favorite walk and wade trout stream and probably the most under fished freestone in the state based on the quality of fish and fishing. Most of our fish came on Jimmy leggs, olive birds nest, olive good and pleny's, Yuba Rubber leggs.
Also spent some time wading some creeks for smallies and that as always was productive and a great way to beat the heat.
Most of the fishing I personally have been doing and most of the guiding I have been doing is for stripers. Fishing has been for the most part tough. Lots of small fish but very few keepers and bigger fish caught. This is the case for everybody out there from what I have heard talking to many of my buddies that fish conventional gear. Not really sure what to make of it as every time I am out I see big fish blow up. So I know they are around just no one is catching them. Who knows...
Tomorrow I leave for 4 days up at Clear water lodge so report and picks to come...Over and Out.
Spent a few days up on the North Fork of the Feather River guiding and the fishing was great. Good until about midday and then slows a bit until the sun moves over the canyon and then the dry fly fishing can pick up as the sun goes down. Could numbers of 14-16" fish with a couple of monsters landed and lost. The North Fork is by far my favorite walk and wade trout stream and probably the most under fished freestone in the state based on the quality of fish and fishing. Most of our fish came on Jimmy leggs, olive birds nest, olive good and pleny's, Yuba Rubber leggs.
Also spent some time wading some creeks for smallies and that as always was productive and a great way to beat the heat.
Most of the fishing I personally have been doing and most of the guiding I have been doing is for stripers. Fishing has been for the most part tough. Lots of small fish but very few keepers and bigger fish caught. This is the case for everybody out there from what I have heard talking to many of my buddies that fish conventional gear. Not really sure what to make of it as every time I am out I see big fish blow up. So I know they are around just no one is catching them. Who knows...
Tomorrow I leave for 4 days up at Clear water lodge so report and picks to come...Over and Out.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Beckett hatched....
Beckett Hudson Brown entered the world yesterday at 12:41pm weighing at 7lbs 10oz and 20.5" long after a brief 1.5 hour labor. My wife is a beast - pushed for like all of 4 minutes. I have only witenessed child birth twice but it makes everything I previously thought to be bad ass that I have done look like playground moves. Both mom and baby are healthy and happy (though mom is a little beat up as to be expected) and will come home tomorrow.
Mom and Ollie Pre-Game
Ollie and Beckett Getting to know each other
Hard Day
In Fishing News....Spent last week on the L. Yuba and even the flows have been high (3200-4200cfs) fishing has been really good. The key has been the water clarity and the duration that the flows have been high. This has allowed for the fish to adjust and move into the new holding water that the higher flows have created. Very limited wading access at these flows but really fun float fishing as the river is basically a new river with all sorts of new holding water and spots. Hatches have been sparse to non-existent but nymph fishing has been good. Best Bugs have been Jimmy Leggs, Hogan's Yuba Pupa, Morrish's Olive Dirty Bird, Fox's Olive Pupa, and Hogan's Chubby Cousin, and Olive Birds Nest.
There are good numbers of golden stones around and I imagine if you hunt it out you could raise fish to a golden stone dry during the evening. Caddis hatches have been sparse and intermittent. There are few spots that I have had clients blind cast with Hogan's Yuba Emerger and we have risen a few fish in the afternoon but nothing that I would say constitutes good dry fly fishing.
I will be off the water through Sunday taking care of my wife, Beckett, and Ollie but will be back on the water Monday doing some striper and small mouth fishing. Plenty of reports to follow. Over and Out.
Mom and Ollie Pre-Game
Ollie and Beckett Getting to know each other
Hard Day
In Fishing News....Spent last week on the L. Yuba and even the flows have been high (3200-4200cfs) fishing has been really good. The key has been the water clarity and the duration that the flows have been high. This has allowed for the fish to adjust and move into the new holding water that the higher flows have created. Very limited wading access at these flows but really fun float fishing as the river is basically a new river with all sorts of new holding water and spots. Hatches have been sparse to non-existent but nymph fishing has been good. Best Bugs have been Jimmy Leggs, Hogan's Yuba Pupa, Morrish's Olive Dirty Bird, Fox's Olive Pupa, and Hogan's Chubby Cousin, and Olive Birds Nest.
There are good numbers of golden stones around and I imagine if you hunt it out you could raise fish to a golden stone dry during the evening. Caddis hatches have been sparse and intermittent. There are few spots that I have had clients blind cast with Hogan's Yuba Emerger and we have risen a few fish in the afternoon but nothing that I would say constitutes good dry fly fishing.
I will be off the water through Sunday taking care of my wife, Beckett, and Ollie but will be back on the water Monday doing some striper and small mouth fishing. Plenty of reports to follow. Over and Out.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
What it is all About...
Was gonna go chase some stripers today but after a slow day yesterday I have to admit to myself that it is still a few weeks away from prime time. Got plenty of shakers and saw some bigger fish smashing small shad but no cigar on hooking anything worth reporting....So today I took Ollie down to a local creek a few minutes from our house. Little Rock throwing, Bug looking, and of course some swimming...
Its amazing how the older my sons gets the less I care about catching fish and the more I care about passing on what I know and the sport of fly fishing to him.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A little known secret...
It has been hot recently in chico, ca....really hot like 106F. While most people just sit indoors and vegitate with the A/C on, I can't just stay home. Due to baby watch I am staying in town this week, but I can't just sit in doors all day. I was scheduled to work up at the Clearwater lodge but due to some cancelations I was able to stay home with steph.
One of my favorite things to do on the hottest days of the year is go explore valley creeks for smallmouth. Pretty much every valley creek that dumps into one of our big tailwaters like the Feather, American, or Sac has smallmouth bass in them. While it does take some exploring to find access, the productive buckets, and the best way to get after them it is well worth it as these fish eat all day and once you get the presentation down are more than willing to jump on a fly. My favorite thing about the areas I fish is the simplicity, one fly pattern, 4wt, wading boots (optional, sandals work just fine), nice cool water on a hot day.
All that said the fish aren't incredibly big. A nice fish on the waters I fish is about 15" avg fish is about 12" but on a 3 or 4wt they pull like a semi truck. Most of the fish I find will eat a fly dragged across the bottom or a popper presented with some action. One thing I have found key is fishing while the sun is high in the sky as this will allow you to see the fish. Most all the fishing I do is sight fishing and on average these fish are not spooky at all making walking the banks or wading down the middle of the creek looking for them pretty easy. Many cruise the shallow flats or runs looking for anything they can get their mouth on and a small woolly bugger dragged
across the bottom usually works just fine. Bottom line is get out and explore. There is so much fishing that many people rarely take advantage of close to home.
All that said the fish aren't incredibly big. A nice fish on the waters I fish is about 15" avg fish is about 12" but on a 3 or 4wt they pull like a semi truck. Most of the fish I find will eat a fly dragged across the bottom or a popper presented with some action. One thing I have found key is fishing while the sun is high in the sky as this will allow you to see the fish. Most all the fishing I do is sight fishing and on average these fish are not spooky at all making walking the banks or wading down the middle of the creek looking for them pretty easy. Many cruise the shallow flats or runs looking for anything they can get their mouth on and a small woolly bugger dragged
across the bottom usually works just fine. Bottom line is get out and explore. There is so much fishing that many people rarely take advantage of close to home.
Friday, June 25, 2010
2 days off...2 days of striper fishing
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Tour of Northern California...
Lack of updates are lame I know but it has been a crazy week. Here is the day by day breakdown:
Monday: Worked in Fish First. Got my check engine soon light checked out...within 6mos is soon right? apparently a hose was loose and it cost $84 to reattach...and yes I will never go to that mechanic again. This was balanced out when on the same day the dudes at Chico UHaul fixed my trailer lights for free. AWESOME dudes. ... "No charge just a loose wire and we needed to re do your ground" .... my thought attaching a hose $84 - Loose wire and redoing my ground free. What the fuck. After work packed up the car and drove up to Clearwater house to guide the next day. Made it to the guide house around 10pm. Crashed out with Andrew Harris and Mike Peters...Andrew is a light sleeper and apparently I am a light snorer...I don't think he'll bunk with me again.
Tuesday: Guided Pit 3. Fishing was great. Had a Husband and wife from Sacramento and they both got the tightline technique down and started hooking some nice rainbows. The Husband lost a really nice fish in one of the bigger riffles right before we left to throw some dries on Hat. Hot bugs on the Pit were Jimmy Legs, black bead olive birds nest, Olive Good and Plenty, and Olive Fox Pupa. Burned home that night and crashed out....Long day.
Wednesday: Had a OBGYN apt. with my wife where we learned she is due SOON. Due date is July 14 but we (as in wife, me, Dr) think Beckett will be here early. I also had a shad trip on the river and fishing was fair. Hooked maybe a dozen in a few hours and missed about a dozen. A few smaller females and a bunch of little males. The shad are thinning out and I think shad season is wrapping up.
Thursday: Hung out around the house left about 2pm to head up to clear water to guide the hex hatch that evening. There was no hex hatch. Between 3 boats there was 2 fish caught. Got back to guide house about 11pm. crashed out.
Friday: Guided Pit 3 and fishing was really good. Lots of big fish this year on the Pit and one of my clients even landed a nice 17" brown trout. Hot bugs were the same as tuesday. No hex that night for me but other guides that went out said they saw some bugs just no fish.
Saturday: Guided Pit 3 and did Ridge to Ridge which for those that don't know is the KNARLIEST stretch. Only done it a few times on my own and never with clients but these guys were determined. A really cool stretch with some amazing pocket water, big riffles, and big fish that rarely see flies. Hot bugs were Jimmy legs, Iron Sallies, and Olive good and plenty's. Went out for the hex hatch that night and it went off. The hatch was pretty epic...bugs EVERY where but only a few fish eating. They will figure it out shortly and in the next few days the fish should go OFF!!! Left Clearwater at about 10:15pm and got home about 1am...Long Day.
Sunday: Woke up late for my birthday and fathersday, cleaned up my boat and truck, unpacked and hung out. Then went to see Toy Story 3 with Oliver and Steph....Good day.
Finally gonna get some fishing in of my own this week. Shad are thinning out and I am hoping to get some striper fishing in mid week. Over and out....Go fish!!!
Obligatory pics....
Monday: Worked in Fish First. Got my check engine soon light checked out...within 6mos is soon right? apparently a hose was loose and it cost $84 to reattach...and yes I will never go to that mechanic again. This was balanced out when on the same day the dudes at Chico UHaul fixed my trailer lights for free. AWESOME dudes. ... "No charge just a loose wire and we needed to re do your ground" .... my thought attaching a hose $84 - Loose wire and redoing my ground free. What the fuck. After work packed up the car and drove up to Clearwater house to guide the next day. Made it to the guide house around 10pm. Crashed out with Andrew Harris and Mike Peters...Andrew is a light sleeper and apparently I am a light snorer...I don't think he'll bunk with me again.
Tuesday: Guided Pit 3. Fishing was great. Had a Husband and wife from Sacramento and they both got the tightline technique down and started hooking some nice rainbows. The Husband lost a really nice fish in one of the bigger riffles right before we left to throw some dries on Hat. Hot bugs on the Pit were Jimmy Legs, black bead olive birds nest, Olive Good and Plenty, and Olive Fox Pupa. Burned home that night and crashed out....Long day.
Wednesday: Had a OBGYN apt. with my wife where we learned she is due SOON. Due date is July 14 but we (as in wife, me, Dr) think Beckett will be here early. I also had a shad trip on the river and fishing was fair. Hooked maybe a dozen in a few hours and missed about a dozen. A few smaller females and a bunch of little males. The shad are thinning out and I think shad season is wrapping up.
Thursday: Hung out around the house left about 2pm to head up to clear water to guide the hex hatch that evening. There was no hex hatch. Between 3 boats there was 2 fish caught. Got back to guide house about 11pm. crashed out.
Friday: Guided Pit 3 and fishing was really good. Lots of big fish this year on the Pit and one of my clients even landed a nice 17" brown trout. Hot bugs were the same as tuesday. No hex that night for me but other guides that went out said they saw some bugs just no fish.
Saturday: Guided Pit 3 and did Ridge to Ridge which for those that don't know is the KNARLIEST stretch. Only done it a few times on my own and never with clients but these guys were determined. A really cool stretch with some amazing pocket water, big riffles, and big fish that rarely see flies. Hot bugs were Jimmy legs, Iron Sallies, and Olive good and plenty's. Went out for the hex hatch that night and it went off. The hatch was pretty epic...bugs EVERY where but only a few fish eating. They will figure it out shortly and in the next few days the fish should go OFF!!! Left Clearwater at about 10:15pm and got home about 1am...Long Day.
Sunday: Woke up late for my birthday and fathersday, cleaned up my boat and truck, unpacked and hung out. Then went to see Toy Story 3 with Oliver and Steph....Good day.
Finally gonna get some fishing in of my own this week. Shad are thinning out and I am hoping to get some striper fishing in mid week. Over and out....Go fish!!!
Obligatory pics....
Saturday, June 12, 2010
BUSY
So ..... here goes the recap. Guided the L. Sac for shad on monday. Fishing was tough...really tough....my thought was that we were between pushes of fish as guys up river Los Mo/Red Bluff area were banging fish. Tuesday guided the Lower Sac from Barge Hole down to Bend Bridge. Fishing again was tough as the flows are incredibly high. Clarity was fine but many of my usual spots were very different with all the water. We did manage fish though and I would say given the flucutating flows that day and the high water fishing was fair. Hot bugs were rubber legs and 16 flash back PT's along with some copper john variations in the afternoon.
Wednesday and Thursday I was on the road giving slide shows. Always a fun thing as it gets me off the water for a few days. Both were well attended and it was a good to meet some new people and get out of town.
Friday the wind roled in and while I was planning on fishing with my dad we ended up just hanging out and playing with my son Oliver. Should get back out on the water Sunday to fish on my own... Then next week I am up at Clear Water House guiding the fall and other rivers up there. Loven the sunshine!!! Over and out
Wednesday and Thursday I was on the road giving slide shows. Always a fun thing as it gets me off the water for a few days. Both were well attended and it was a good to meet some new people and get out of town.
Friday the wind roled in and while I was planning on fishing with my dad we ended up just hanging out and playing with my son Oliver. Should get back out on the water Sunday to fish on my own... Then next week I am up at Clear Water House guiding the fall and other rivers up there. Loven the sunshine!!! Over and out
Sunday, June 6, 2010
5 June 2010
Spent yesterday out on the Sac. Flows are up to about 16,000 cfs with a release at Keswick of 15,000cfs so I don see a drop in flows in the future. Clarity is marginal as the high flows erode the soft clay and dirt banks that the cliff swallows have done their work on. That said conditions are not terrible. Once we got back in the sloughs, flats, and creeks looking for bass we found some clear water and good conditions. That said the up and down flows, temps, and weather have really made the bass fishing tough. We found fish smashing bait on the surface but couldn't get them to eat our flies even though my clients put the flies on the money. We also found some nice 10-15lb carp in a few back bays, but they were suspended and not really in eating mode though we did get a few follows and serious looks. A good spot to come back to during low light conditions and stalk the fish up on the flats. Later in the day we found some small mouth and small stripers smashing the surface but again we had limited success. Overall we were fishing to fish most of the day but just couldn't get them to eat what we were throwing...frustrating.
The weather looks stable over the next week so that should help maybe get the fish on a routine. I will be back on the river tomorrow for an evening shad date so I'll have a shad report tuesday. IN other news if anyone has a silver face Fender twin reverb they want to trade out or sell for a cheap price let me know...
Over and Out.
The weather looks stable over the next week so that should help maybe get the fish on a routine. I will be back on the river tomorrow for an evening shad date so I'll have a shad report tuesday. IN other news if anyone has a silver face Fender twin reverb they want to trade out or sell for a cheap price let me know...
Over and Out.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Shad, Crazy weather, a street vendor, fly guide, etc.
So shad are here in force. I guided both tuesday and monday evenings and found fish in good numbers both evenings. One thing I have been hearing and board chatter has pertetuated is the rumor/idea that "there are a lot of big fish this year"....I am not one to jump on any shad rumor or generalization but the last few days have confirmed this rumor atleast in the dozen or so holes I fished on the L. Sac. We caught about 20-30+ fish a night and lost or missed a bunch more. We did find good numbers of "larger" females at most spots we fished. Even with high flows I am fishing 200-250 grain heads and standard shad flies.
I was gonna go fish today after school but it is raining and cloudy more like the last day before christmas break not the last day of school before summer. I will be back guiding tomorrow. Probably throw some flies for stripers, bass, carp, and shad...mix it up.
BAY AREA CREW: I will be speaking at the San Jose Fly Fishers on Wednesday next week on warm water fishing if you are in the club or area stop by
CHICO PEOPLE: I will be speaking at the Chico Fly Fishers on Thursday same speach so if you got to the san jose one hold off on the chico one.
In other news I helped my wife with her booth at thurs night market here in chico...Best night of people watching ever...all from my camp chair with my book. Check out Sweet Tangerine if you have a chance.
http://sweettangerinestudio.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweettangerinestudio
More non fishing news...Chico People go check out the band Surrogate at Cafe Coda this sunday. Great chico band on Tooth and Nail records - http://www.myspace.com/surrogateparty
BAY AREA CREW: I will be speaking at the San Jose Fly Fishers on Wednesday next week on warm water fishing if you are in the club or area stop by
CHICO PEOPLE: I will be speaking at the Chico Fly Fishers on Thursday same speach so if you got to the san jose one hold off on the chico one.
In other news I helped my wife with her booth at thurs night market here in chico...Best night of people watching ever...all from my camp chair with my book. Check out Sweet Tangerine if you have a chance.
http://sweettangerinestudio.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweettangerinestudio
More non fishing news...Chico People go check out the band Surrogate at Cafe Coda this sunday. Great chico band on Tooth and Nail records - http://www.myspace.com/surrogateparty
Also in my owns band news (the Remainder) look for shows and web site soon...30 year olds with jobs and kids take a while to make things happen
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Lack of Fishing Report
So this weather sucks...yesterday was great but with a muddy river it was hard to take advantage of it. I had shad dates all week that I had to cancel due to rain and cold weather. I even trailered up the boat and headed out to the river yesterday in hopes of at least marginal clarity but with a flow jump of about 5000cfs I was being optimistic. pulled next to the river on river road and it was brown with debri floating down it...turned around, went back home, cracked a beer, watched the giants, and lit the BBQ.
I guess the good news is we have plenty of water this year and once the weather and flows come around there is plenty of shad and stripers in the river. This mild weather is gonna keep the trout fishing on the L. Yuba going through the next couple weeks maybe even through June. Our mountain streams and rivers are gonna be great all summer... delayed gratification is tough.
I will be out the river all next week guiding and fishing so with 80 degree weather in the forecast hopefully the river comes into shape and I can get some fishing in.
I guess the good news is we have plenty of water this year and once the weather and flows come around there is plenty of shad and stripers in the river. This mild weather is gonna keep the trout fishing on the L. Yuba going through the next couple weeks maybe even through June. Our mountain streams and rivers are gonna be great all summer... delayed gratification is tough.
I will be out the river all next week guiding and fishing so with 80 degree weather in the forecast hopefully the river comes into shape and I can get some fishing in.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
OPEN DATE
Just got canceled this Saturday 29 May 2010. Last minute family emegency. I will offer this date up at a $100 discount for a full day (discounted rate $300) or a discount of $50 for an evening Shad trip (discounted rate $175). Weather is suppose to be nice with temps in the 80's. There is good numbers of shad and stripers in the Lower Sac along with active largemouth, small mouth, and carp. If that doesn't appeal to you the Lower Yuba and Lower Sac for trout should fish well with the spring weather moving in.
Give me a call or drop me an email. Date is first come first served.
Thanks
Hogan Brown
hoganbrown@hotmail.com
530-514-2453
Give me a call or drop me an email. Date is first come first served.
Thanks
Hogan Brown
hoganbrown@hotmail.com
530-514-2453
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Quick Report
Here is a quick report of what is going on. While the weather has been all over the place we have had some great days fishing and also some really tough ones but it looks like the weather may finally turn here soon. I still have some great dates available if anyone is looking to get out and fish if not read the reports and get out on your own.
Lower Sacramento Shad/Striper/Bass/Carp:
Shad: Good numbers of large female shad are in the river up through Chico. The bite with the cooler days and evenings has been best from 11-5pm but with warmer weather on the way look for the bite to move to the evening
Stripers: Good numbers of stripers up through Chico and the resident fish are getting active as well. As more and more shad arrive the bite will slow down but should pick up again towards the end of June and carry through August. Top water is best mid to end of August.
Bass: Are all outta wack with this cold weather. Every body of water I fish for bass is in a different phase of the pre-spawn-post spawn Cycle. That said most days there are fish to be caught and bass fishing is only going to get better as the weather warms.
Carp: They are in the shallows and their tails are up. Which means they are eating and ready to cast to.
Lower Sacramento Trout: Fishing has been fair to good depending on the day and the weather. Personally I wait to turn my attention to the Lower Sac until the weather really warms up and the lower stretches through the canyon start to fish. If you have never seen these sections of the river they are truly unique and much different than the back yard tour of Redding and Anderson.
Lower Yuba: Fishing is up and down with the weather but for the most part fishing has been fair to really good. Fish remain active all day with the milder weather and if the hatches come off while look out. PMD’s, Little Yellow Sallies, Golden Stoneflies, Caddis have all been around on various days and should gain in strength as the weather warms.
Clearwater House on Pit River: If you have never fished the Fall River it is a truly unique piece of water. A Large Spring Creek sitting in the shadow of Mt. Shasta with all the classic spring creek hatches PLUS a great hex hatch mid June through mid July. Call or email for availability.
If you are thinking about booking a date June is booking up but there are plenty of dates left in July. July is prime time for trout on the lower sections of the Sac and of course STRIPERS!!!!
Evening Shad Trips ($225 two anglers): June 1, 3, 7, 10
Full Day or Evening Trips for shad/stripers/bass:
June 5, 6, 13, 17, 23, 24, 25
July 1-3, 6-13, 15-18, 22-31
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