Fishing Reports, Beer, Rock and Roll, and Sports - The All American Blog Post

So, this weekend felt like a true spring day. I spent both days on the Lower Sac and the weather was AMAZING! No wind, sunshine, flip flops, shorts, sun tan lotion…and lots of trout. With a bit of down time today I decided to throw a blog post with some fishing reports and mandatory randomness up…

Fishing Reports –

Public Service Announcement - First and foremost if you are not planning on going fishing, going on a guide trip(with any guide not just me), or have a fishing trip on the calendar in the next 2-3 months get off your can and make it happen. Life is to short to miss spring fishing. I know of no one that died thinking they fished on to many spring days.

Lower Sacramento River – March has turned into on the best months to fish the Lower Sac. Last March was possibly the best trout fishing have ever seen…anywhere ever. This March so far has been good, I have not had the fishing I was having last march but it is still early. I floated Bonnie to Anderson on a two boat trip both Saturday and Sunday this last weekend and had one angler in my boat but was never to far from the other boat. Both days everyone hooked and landed a bunch of rainbows from 12-20” inches. Multiple 18-20” rainbows were landed by each angler on both days and there was plenty of 16” sac footballs mixed in with some smaller 12-14” fish. Hot bugs were sucker spawn, rubber legs, Hogan’s March Madness March Brown, Hogan’s Amigo in olive, Hogan’s PMD S&M, and the King Prince #14. Fish were in the riffles, long runs, and even the flats. Changing bugs to fish each type of water was key. Small mays in the flats and long runs and stones and caddis in the riffles. Fishing should continue to be good to very good through the first part of April until the fish really start to spawn…but then it is time to move down to the lower river.

Deel Getting Ready for the Scoop...man is an athlete

Deal sealed by the Deeler

Nice Sac Bow

Not a bad 2nd fish of the day within sight of the boat ramp

Lower Yuba River – The Lower Yuba is LOW. I have heard the fishing is good and there is some technical dry fly fishing if one wants to search it out. I personally have not been on the river in a few weeks but I have heard some good reports from guys wading and stalking the banks.

Lower Feather River Spring Steelhead – They are in and fishing is good both nymphing and swinging flies. Nymphing will catch more fish but these guys are pretty receptive to a swung fly. Bright days swing caddis and soft hackles, over cast days swing low clear water traditional patterns. Fishing should remain good through mid-may. There may even be some dry fly fishing or swinging flies on floating lines ounce the caddis start hatching.

Stripers and things that eat bigger fish – Heard some early reports of some nice stripers being caught down out of Yuba City/Colusa area on the Sac and the Feather. The sac up outside of chico is clearing up and the smallies and resident stripers should get going pretty soon with some of the largemouth in the river getting up on beds as well.

Beer Report – I bought the 4way IPA Sampler from Sierra Nevada this last week. It has 4 IPA beers in it, 3 are new and one is the Torpedo.

Snow Wit White IPA – This is a light beer for an IPA but has the great IPA flavor with a bit of lemony citrus flavor. Much lighter then the traditional IPA’s that I have been drinking, like the Torpedo and some of the  Lagunitas Beers. Would be a good summer IPA style beer I think.

Nooner Session IPA – This is exactly what it says…and IPA beer you can drink the in afternoon…and have a few of them and not be totally hammered. This beer is really hoppy but does not have a huge alcohol content (4.8%) so you can have a few. Good beer with good flavor that won’t get you crooked after two.

Blindfold Black IPA – This is by far the darkest of the beers in the sampler. It is dark but not super thick and heavy. It has a good hoppy taste with a roasted malt flavor mixed in with a bit of the typical sierra Nevada IPA fruitieness. It is a 6.8% beer so a bit heavier then the others and will keep you down if you have more then one or two.

I also had the first release from the Harvest series which showcases “our favorite ingredient by exploring a range of hopping methods: single hop, fresh hop, wet hop, and wild hop. By working directly with breeders and growers, we can recreate this series each year using rare hops early in their development” according to the website. I had the first issue, Harvest Single Hop IPA Yakima #291 Varietal. This is by far one of the best releases I have had in a while from Sierra Nevada. Great Hoppy IPA flavor balanced with a berry fruity like smell and taste with a little spice. Now they have over done this flavor in the past in my opinion but they NAILED it here.

Tunes that make long drives early and late in the day better – I was on a “band discovery” phase for a while but there has been some good main stream/established in my rotation band releases the last few weeks.

Drive By Truckers released “English Oceans” – I was in love with these guys for many years and then Jason Isbell left the band and I have just not connected with them the way I did when he was part of the band. I think this is a good album but I just don’t connect with Cooley and Hood like I did Isbell…maybe a phase in life thing or something. It is a great rock record though and it is good to see good rock music being made

Beck released “Morning Phase” – I love Beck. Talk about a true musical cameleon. He has not released an album in 5 years sense “Guero” which I loved but was totally different from the previous album “Sea Change” which I also loved…So “Morning Phase” is more in the “Sea Change” line but WAY better and way more evolved. This is a true album from start to finish. Great work!

Taking Back Sunday released "Happines Is"– This falls into my guilty pleasure emo leanings band thing…This is the 2^nd release sense the original lineup got back together in 2011. The line up that brought the world “Tell All Your Friends” in 2002…this album changed my life so I buy pretty much everything they release. That said the non-original line up was a total bummer and sucked for the most part.

Sports report – March Madness is upon us and if the tourney is anything like the conference tourneys this year it is going to be good! Get your brackets filled out and enjoy the run. Personally I am making a stand and not filling out a bracket. I always get involved in all these bracket pools and loose money, get pissed at teams, and really have a whole negative vibe usually going by the sweet 16 on most years. This year I am taking it in one game at a time, no bracket watching, just hoping for good games.

Spring Training is wrapping up and Giants open the season in March 31 @ AZ and then have a weekend series against the dodgers on the road and then open up April 8^th at Home against the D-Backs. With Patrick Corbin going down for the D-Backs they are in trouble. The Ace Lefty is done for what sounds like the season possibly needing Tommy John surgery. Also opening up the season in Australia against the Dodgers should wear on both our first 3 series teams. I would love to go into the home opener with series win over both the D-Backs and the dodgers. April should be an interesting month for the Giants with 2 series with the Dodgers and the D-Backs along with a series with the Rockies and Padres plus an Interleague match at home with the Tribe. Should get a pretty good idea of how the NL West is going to stack up after the month of April. PUMPED For baseball season this year!!!!  

Umpqua Please remember the #1 Rule for all cover bands...

I am sure everyone has followed the Umpqua vs. Idylwilde drama over the inter web and with in the fly fishing industry. I have stayed pretty quiet about the whole deal as I try to avoid dog fights and poop throwing as best I can, but now Umpqua Feather Merchants is tying and selling my flies without my permission...that in and of it self is lame and pretty un cool but lets be honest some guys play in bands and write originals some guys play in casinos and cover songs. If Umpqua wants to be a cover band more power to them...BUT never forget the #1 rule of being in a cover band: if you can't nail the song don't play it.

Check out the pictures below and see for your self...if your first reaction is wow those flies are different you are right. Every material from the hook to the thread is wrong, and the fly is even tied wrong...No cover band mess's up that bad. Come on Umpqua class it up. No bad cover band ever played the Filmore.

Consumers, Anglers, Guides, Shops...Don't be fooled by lame nock offs. The real stuff PLUS new stuff, even Hogan's Amigo (The fly pattern that I came up with when everyone started fishing the S&M nymph...gotta stay ahead of the game) is coming out Spring/Fall 2014 through Montana Fly Co. www.montanafly.com

is that the wrong proportions and materials...why yes it is

is that the wrong hook...yes it is...is it a cheap hook...of course

Is that the wrong material again...yes it is.

Cast Hope Fish Fest Video

Check out this new video that Anthony Carruesco and Matt Formento made for Cast Hope this last summer at our 3rd Annual Fish Fest…for more information about Cast Hope and what we do check out www.casthope.org
Cast Hope Fish Fest 3 from Cast Hope on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/88034678

Spring Trout, Steelhead, Stripers, and Shad

Spring and early summer is quickly booking. March-May is almost booked up but there are still a few dates left to get out on the water for spring Trout, Shad, Stripers, bass, or steelhead. If you missed the spring look into June and July for summer trout, stripers, and bass. Available Dates: March 2, 9, 22 April 6, 13, 22, 23, 25, 27 May 24-26 June 10-12, 15-19, 22-27, 30 Evening Trips - Great for Shad, stripers, bass, carp -$225 for two anglers, drinks, and flies/rods/reel: April 2-4, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 17, 28, 20 May 1, 8, 12, 14-16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29

Spring Trout  Lower Yuba River - Both nymph and dry fly fishing can be very good on the Lower Yuba River March-Mid June while the river sees all the major western tailwater hatches. The weather is very comfortable and fishing is usually some of the best all year Lower Sacramento River - Last March and into April on the Lower Sac were some of the best trout fishing I have ever seen any where on the planet. March is usually one of the best months on the sac with caddis, PMD, and March Brown hatches providing steady nymphing fish throughout the day.  Spring Steelhead  The lower Feather River sees a great run of Spring steelhead each year and march through mid May are prime time to nymph, swing flies on switch rods or light spey rods, or even catch one on a dry. I will have switch rods in my boat this spring so if you have been thinking about trying swinging flies for central valley steelhead this is a great time to get out. The spring fish on the feather are some of the most willing I have found to hit a swung fly.   Shad Shad should be moving into the rivers by early may this year and with lower then normal water levels it should be a great year for shad fishing and wade fishing for shad on the Lower Sac. I will be offering my evening shad trip for two anglers this year for $225. I have listed some weekday evenings I have open above. Should be a great year to get out the switch rods and spey rods to wade fish for shad or kick back in the boat.  Striper Spring and Summer striper fishing is some of the funnest fishing I think around as any fish you hook could be 6 inches or 60 pounds. Last summer we saw really good numbers of resident fish in the 5-8lb range and had clients sight casting to many double digit fish...even some that were fish of anyones life time. This is as close to salt water fishing as we get in the valley, casting big rods, big flies, and even getting to sight fish to some very large fish. Evening, half day, or full day trips are available.   Bass Smallmouth and Largemouth bass on the Lower Sac, Feather, or area lakes are a ton of fun. Catching bass is no longer a secret in the fly fishing community but many of the areas we fish off the Lower Sac and Lower Feather still fly pretty low under the radar. April - June is best for these guys but good top water evening fishing will last well into June.   Carp If you have ever tried carp fishing you know the challenge is part of the fun. This year should be interesting with the lower water levels in many of our reservoirs. If carp fishing interest you I would get out during the spring and early summer as many of the flats will be high and dry I think by mid June.

Monday Morning Product review...in preparation for Spring and Summer.

I am a big believer in the little things in life. It is the little things that make a difference in the world. My world is ripe with examples of this…Yellow mustard on a hot dog vs. spicy brown, or eating that hot dog at a ball game or at home can change that hot dog from just a hot dog to a religious experience…. A little to the left or a little to the right on a clients cast to a trout sipping in the foam or a striper cruising a weed line can change ecstasy to abject failure in a few seconds, and a cast with such promise becomes a cast that haunts them for weeks or years… I have made a few casts that still haunt me today.

It is these little things that I have always thought Simms Fishing Products has done so well. Any angler that has ever worn Simms products comes to realize very quickly that they make the most durable, comfortable, and innovative fishing products around. Add the fact that they use the best fabrics and technology available and they make the best fishing products on the globe. That said because of those things I think many anglers over look the little things that make Simms Products so good.

It easy to review waders, boots, and jackets, as these are all big ticket items and one would expect these things to address the little things when it comes to features, but what is so great is that Simms pays attention to the little things whether it is on a $500 pair of waders or a $20 trucker hat….and these little things are what make the difference between good and the industry’s best.

2 Examples

Trout Trucker, Bass Trucker, Tarpon Trucker

Everyone wears trucker hats now a days, from the 20 something year old slanging flies at my local fly shop to my 65 year old client talking about the good old days on my local river. Personally, I wear the Trout or Bass trucker on a daily basis. They are so sweat stained after the last spring and summer that they are about 3-4 different colors across the front. This looks a little funky, but makes for some serious fish mojo. One might think that these are just cheap trucker hats that Simms throws their logo on and then charges $20 for…no no no my friend, someone put some thought into these. Under the bill of these caps is black and most trucker hats do NOT have black under bills. Well it is the little things that make a difference, like the addition of one more twist of dubbing that takes a perfectly proportioned birds nest to a vintage 70’s Penthouse bushy birds nest that no self respecting trout in the river will eat. Black under bills on hats reduce glare when wearing sunglasses while on the water or anywhere for that matter. Ask Major League baseball why all their Majestic Game Hats, no matter what color the team is, or the hat is, have black under bills. Just like the Bigs, Simms does the little things.

Black under bills...Just like the Biggs.

 Sun Armor

As a fly fishing guide in Northern California I spend a lot of time in the sun. To avoid my dermatologist spraying too much liquid nitrogen on my face, and tainting the limited good looks I was blessed with I wear the Sun Armor Facemask. Prior to my local sales rep giving me the Sun Armor Facemask I had been wearing the traditional buff tube thing. I always had a few issues with it… One, the triangle sunburn that I would get from the area my buff never covered at the opening of my collared fishing shirt that I always forgot to put sunscreen on. Two, the danger of almost crashing my 17’ motor boat when blasting up or down river because my sunglasses fog up when I have my buff pulled up over my nose to protect my face from bugs. This situation would result in me trying to wipe my glasses while driving my boat and then inevitably a bug would fly in my unprotected eye and then I would be forced to drive with one eye. This leads to a serious reduction in my depth perception that is a hazard not only to myself, and anyone in my boat, but everyone else on the river.

Simms Sun Armor = no burring triangle or boat crashes due to fogged up sun glasses

I have always had these issues with Buffs and I have never shared them with anyone, I just assumed they were a small price to pay for a face free of skin cancer and liquid nitrogen burns– though I have had enough triangle burns I may have off set any benefits at this point.  The beauty of the Sun Armor Face Mask is Simms addressed these issues – little things my friends. Simms created a longer split neck line section which results in a flap that I can tuck in the back and front of my shirt preventing the burning triangle and even created laser cut breathing holes that prevent my glasses from fogging up and me crashing while blasting around in my motor boat. Now, I am sure these were not intended results, but these are the little things that Simms pays attention to and in doing so created the best facemask on the mark.

Short Yuba Report, Break in, tying flies, Rock and Rol Not drugs, and the greatest game begins...

Lower Yuba River - Flows are around 690cfs and are rumored to be dropping down to 500cfs soon. This is incredibly low, I have not seen the river below 700cfs sense I was a kid back in the early 90's. Clarity is about 1', about as clear as I feel confident I can catch fish. Englebright lake is blow out and as a result I imagine the river will be colored up for a few weeks. That said fishing was good yesterday. We hooked fish on Rubber legs, egg patterns, and 12-14 attractor nymphs like copper johns, prices, and various rubber leg nymphs. There were good numbers of skwala stoneflies around and a few areas where fish were actively eating adults in swirls and coves. Fishing the water along the banks blind with a skwala dry did rise a few fish but we had much better luck fishing to rising fish. Fishing on the L.Yuba should continue to be good as the water clears a bit but hopefully it keeps a bit of color as the river at 500-700cfs and gin clear could be pretty tough. 

Break In - If you live in Northern California you probably know of the fly shop Fly Fishing Specialties in Citrus Heights. Unfortunately they were broken into over the last weekend and a bunch of high end gear was stolen. From what I have heard it was a pretty pro job and one done by people that knew what to steal. So, if you see any of the following items on craigs list, ebay, classified bulletin boards, or on the inside of a guys trench coat on the corner or your local river access let Rick at Fly Fishing Specialties know and he will send the the goon squad out after them. 

Stolen Items:
Abel Products:
Brown Trout Super 3
Rooster Fish Super 11 
Tarpon Super 12 all pimped out

Matte black spey
Grateful dead spey 128 of 250
a few sets of pliers
Hatch Reels
4 plus
7 plus
 Hardy Reels;
4 inch bugle
fortuna XL1 X2 X3
 Sage Products:
Evoke LH retrieve
Sage Rods
            12 XI3
            Peacock Bass Rod
            6 and 7 wt One series Switch Rods
            5 and 8 wt One
Dyna King and Regal vises

Tying Flies...
It is a rare time when I feel my boxes are full to the point that I can divert from the normal grind of guide, tie flies, guide, tie flies, guide...and work on some flies or experiment with some new materials and such. I bought some of the new spirit river UV2 dubbing. I got the tan scud/shrimp and an olive one...both looked really good in the bag and Tom Page at Reel Anglers showed me a cool amber wing caddis pattern he used the dubbing on so I was sold. Buying dubbing is the equivalent of buying a new flavor of potato chips...the cost is minimal and the purchase has the chance of changing your life for ever. 

yummy new dubbing

Usually when I get a completely new style of dubbing like this I tie a few standard patterns with it that I know fish and see how they fish tied with the new dubbing. Then if they fish well or better then I know the dubbing is good. So, with these two I tied some basic olive and tan birds next to see how the stuff works. So far so good, we will see how the fish like the stuff though. One  thing with these dubs I have been doing is chopping a clump of it up before I use it. It is a blended dubbing and has some really fine synthetic material in it blended with some long stiff angora style fibers in it, so by chopping it the angora gets a bit shorter blending with the shorter fibers a bit better. 

I buy music not drugs...
I am addicted to music and buying music. I got into a few bands on the record label "Top Shelf Records" and it has resulted in my pretty much loving every band on the label. The latest one, Chamberlain is GREAT. Good american rock and roll. Singer sounds a bit like John Mellencamp to me...which really who doesn't like.  Also discovered Dave Hause, another great song writter and his new CD "Devour" on Rise Records is great. 

Greatest Game...
Pitchers and Catchers have reported and the giants have had their first full team workout. They open up the Spring schedule on Feb 26 against the A's and then start playing everyday for the most part that Friday. I am pretty excited about the season and the new additions of Hudson and Morse. I think Hudson is going to be a great mentor to Tim L. and with Tim L's new off season program I am curious to see how he shows up to camp and  how his spring goes...considering he is usually terrible during the spring. either way I will going to the mall this coming week and taking part in a spring ritual of buying by giants cap. I will wear this cap all season, almost everyday on the water and off, through thick and thin for the whole season. Kind of a big day for me. 

Drought, Current Fishing Reports, TV, Sports, and Music....You know the important stuff.

So, February first is approaching and it looks like it is going to rain outside but at this point I am have no faith that water actually falls from the sky. That said the weather man says there should be some rain in the next few days. I also looked at the extended forecast on Accuweather through March 14 and it shows some rain coming in through the month of February. I think the bottom line though is that we are so far behind in rain/snow that not matter what happens the next few months we are going to be experience drought like water conditions through the summer.

What does the drought mean? Well to be honest I can only hypothesize what fishing will be like as I have no frame of reference in my life for these type of conditions. I was not around the last time we had this bad of water situation and I have never fished many of the rivers I guide this low. The general consensus around here, among those that fish and live up here, is that spring is going to be pretty darn good fishing, especially if we get the rain we all hope for. If the rain and snow comes most water agencies will hold back water and the rivers will most likely not change much during the spring. If we get enough water the creeks and smaller tribs to the valley tailwaters could pump some color but the ground is so dry I highly doubt it. So…Spring will be good fishing even if we get very little rain and the drought conditions remain fishing should be pretty darn good fishing until about late may or June. Trout fishing on the L. Sac, L. Yuba, and Steelhead fishing on the Feather should be good. I think ounce the weather gets warm and water is low, say come June, we will start to see the true results of the drought on the tailwaters. I imagine for those that venture up to the sierra trout water the reality of the drought will take place sooner, that said as long as the air temps remain low during the spring fishing should be decent. Unless we see about 90 straight days of snow and rain I would plan my sierra trout trips this year for the spring…I think by early to mid June trout fishing on bodies of water that rely on snow melt are going to be in sad shape.

With regards to Striper and Shad fishing many old timers say low water years are good shad years and high water years are good striper years…that said I heard a guy in chico say the other day that striper fishing is going to be amazing this year with the low water. Again I have no reference point for the current conditions. I think shad fishing in May and June should be pretty good as the schools will concentrate with low water but I am not sure how far they will move up river…I have heard in low water years the Shad can hang up but who knows. I can’t imagine the migratory striper run will move very far up river this year and the lower water should concentrate the resident fish making them a bit more skittish. I have been tying some smaller, sparser, and lighter clousers for the summer and spring. I think smallmouth fishing on the Sac will be pretty good this year as lower water should concentrate the fish and make fishing for them a bit easier as they will be easier to locate. Carp fishing I am not sure on the various reservoirs how that will pan out or how the river will be affected. I am sure the flats will not have water on them in most places but that may create new flats with low water who knows.

Current Fishing Reports

The Lower Sac – is fishing fair I would say. Each days seems to be different with some days being better then others. Most fish are coming on Baetis and general Mayfly Nymphs. S&M nymphs #18, Trim Flash Back PT’s #14, S&M PMD’s #16, Little Amigos #16, and a few fish still coming on beads. Overcast weather should help and any rain can’t hurt.

The Lower Yuba – is fishing fair as well. The skwala hatch is going but most of the skwalas seem to be concentrated above the bridge and the hatch has not really migrated to far down river. I have seen skwalas as far down as sycamore but I have not seen them in any consistent number. Small nymphs and the occasional rubber leg are still catching the most fish for me. On some days there can be a decent baetis hatch with fish eating in the flats as well. Overcast should turn some fish on over the next couple of days.

Culture Reports – For those needing culture.

Sports Report…

Super Bowl week is upon us and my one Denver Bronco fan buddy is pretty pumped…probably been wearing some form of bright orange all week. Personally I will be fishing on super Sunday and counting days until pitchers and catchers report and I can start reading random baseball news from spring training. I have been catching a few NBA games and college basketball games but nothing to serious. This is kind of my down time…signing day for ND is coming up and I have been following that but not much Sports Watching lately.

TV report…

So with no sports really grabbing my attention I have been catching up on TV programs…Here is my list.

The Following – gruesome, suspenseful, and addicting

Girls – on HBO…pretty damn funny.

True Detectives – On HBO with Matthew Mcconaugheyand Woody Harleson, great new show with good acting and story.

Revolutions – everybody loves a post apocalyptic Sci Fi show

Music…

I have been all over the place lately. Got into two new bands Into It Over It and Have Mercy….Good indie/emo rock….but then I watched Jason Isbell on Austin City Limits and started listening to all his CD’s over again. He is one the best song writters I listen to. There is no other artist that I know of that writes more songs I connect with then him. Any of his CD’s are great albums and have a place for any mood or trip.