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.

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.

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

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!!!

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!!!!