Fishing reports, fly tying, tunes, and college football...all the good stuff.

Fall Fishing is picking up but for the most part is still limited due to lack of water and rain. There has been good fishing at times but it is going to be short lived without some good rain…

Lower Sacramento River Trout: I have been spending most of my time on the Lower Sacramento guiding for trout between Anderson and Jelly’s Ferry. Almost all the guides are fishing between Posse Ground and Anderson Chasing the egg bite/hatch. There is VERY limited numbers of reds and the few that are around get POUNDED early and often. When I put in at Anderson this week there was 20 trailers there taking out and I was the only boat putting in. I had Anderson to Barge hole to myself…it was AWESOME. Now I only saw 2 sets of reds the whole float, but the fish have to eat and are still feeding pretty regularly in what we call bug water. There was a bunch of  fish eating egg patterns on the few reds I found but most came on rubber legs, birds nest, and Olive Amigos. Talking to my buddies that fished the upper floats and chased each other down the river to redds all day our numbers have been about the same….So I haven’t gone up above Anderson in a few weeks and probably won’t for a while.

Lower Yuba River – River is still low and I tend to stay away from it when it is below 700cfs…it is sitting at 686 cfs now with a water temp of 55.6 so temps are good but flows are low. I have not been over there personally but everyone I have talked to said fishing has been tough. To be honest I probably won’t go over to the Yuba until the first big rain and the water comes up a bit to give everyone a bit more room to fish. Below a 1000cfs makes it tough for wade fishermen and drift boat fishermen to go exist.

Feather River – Feather has been decent. There is a fair number of smaller steelhead up in the Low Flow and spread out in the high flow. Things seem a bit late on the feather this year as salmon are still moving up river as a few of my buddies have been salmon fishing in the high flow and catching fresh clean kings. This river REALLY needs some rain and water to get steelhead moving up it or it will be another year of those fish going up the Sac. The Low Flow has been crowded as many of the Sacramento Area guides have been coming north due to the conditions on the American and the Yuba so there is a lot of guide traffic on the river.

Fly Tying…

I have made my big yearly switch from tying clousers to tying trout flies over the last few weeks. This usually entails a big order of the “newest” fly tying materials. One material company that I have been using a bunch of material from is Fly Men…the are working some great tiers like Blane Chocklett and a few others to create some really cool new products. The stonefly heads they call Nymph Head Evolution Stonefly Tungsten Beadheads I have been messing around with and I really like them…I must say I have not fished them yet so I can’t say how they fish but hey they look cool so we can only hope.

I also ordered a bunch of new material from Hareline. Some new to me dubbings, new colors of 3 tone rabbit strips, new hooks to me, and some other stuff that I will share as I use it and come up with some ideas. Most of the new hooks and material I got from Hareline will be for striper flies so it may be a while until I get around tying with them.

I also just finished up an article on fly design for I think (not sure when it will publish) the Nov/Dec issue of Cal Fly fisher where I talk about crossing over striper fly tying principles to trout flies so look out for that if you are interested in fly design and tying.

Tunes…

I have been listening so the new The World is a Beautiful Place and I am no longer Afraid to Die album Harmlessness…these guys are really cool. I couldn’t even tell you how many people are in the band…multiple guitar players, cello, violin, male female singers, drummers, horns, keyboards…all melt into a very math rock, emo, catchy loud quiet mix on epitaph records. The video below will give an idea…lots to digest.

The Irish…

Yes we beat USC…stressful week and game. I was feeling pretty comfortable with a 24-10 lead and then in a matter of minutes it was tied up and with in minutes after the half we were down 31-24…But man team 127 has heart and never gave up! Coming back to win 41-31 and sealing with win with 2 big interceptions. This team doesn’t quit man and is undeterred by failure and mistakes, they just keep battling. Now we have a bye to prepare for Temple who is 6-0 and is going to be a really big game for us. Atleast I have 14 days before my blood pressure climes into the unhealthy range again.

Tuesday...

So, fall is in the air! It even rained a few days over the last few weeks in Northern California. The bottom line though is we are still in a drought and that is a reality if you got out to the river. I have still been guiding and chasing fall stripers on the Lower Sac but have been sneaking out a bit to explore the Lower Yuba, Feather, and Lower Sac for trout and steelhead in my free time and talking to some of my buddies that have been out. Here is some reports and more random yet incredibly useful and simulating content…

Lower Sacramento River Striper fishing: Fishing has been good. Weather is warm again and fish are back on the feed. When the temperature changes or pressure fronts move through fishing can slow down. Flows have come up a bit just over 6000cfs at Ord Bend so about 1000-1500cfs from where they were a few weeks ago. Most of fish are moving into the shallows to feed midday when the water temps warm up. Salmon are moving through but not holding in any way so they are not pushing fish out of the deep water in any consistent way so covering water is key as fish are not always up in the shallows eating in every spot.

Feather River Steelhead – I have not been on the feather lately but have talked to a few buddies that have been out there. Salmon numbers from what I have heard are LOW in the upper river and as one buddy said he had to really look for them and if you weren’t you didn’t see them…bummer to hear as most years by this time we are seeing the “oil slick” of black backs in the riffles from HUGE pods of salmon getting ready to cut redds in the riffles. A few friends have hooked a few fish up there but most of the fish I have seen pictures of seem to be hold over spring/summer fish nothing that I would say, or my buddies are claiming, to be fall fish. I think it is going to be a late year on the feather and may be a very poor year if we do not get some water.

Lower Yuba River – The Yuba is scary LOW like 550cfs low…The river down by Marysville is 410cfs which I can’t imagine gives salmon much water to move up river. I have not been over to the Yuba for awhile…Most of my buddies that have been are just going out for the evening/last hour or so of light fishing. I know last fall when the river was super low the first few weeks of October were stupid good fishing during the egg hatch. I have a feeling it will be that way again if enough salmon made it up or are going to make it up. I have a hard time going over there when the flows are this low as it is chaos with other guides and wade fishermen as everyone is competing for the same water. Last year I spent most of my early October on the Lower Sac between Red Bluff and Los Molinos but this year I may be over there more as the water temps are warmer in the Lower Sac and fish will blow through early in the year.

Lower Sacramento River Trout/Steelhead – The flows have come up to 7200cfs coming out of Keswick but the temps are still a bit warm. I have not heard much but Late September Early October is traditionally prime time for trout and steelhead in the lower river from Red Bluff to Los Molinos. This year I will most likely spend most of my October down low on the Sac doing float trips or running the jet boat getting out to swing or nymph some specific areas. I know more and more salmon are showing up as salmon fishermen are starting to catch more and more fresh fish moving up river in areas that I am spending most of my time striper fishing.

The Irish – Injuries are insane so far this year…obviously the most important Malik but wow what a few weeks of Irish Football. VT and GA Tech games were amazing…obviously the VT game may be a season defining win for us. GA Tech was no where near as close as I had imagined. Triple option teams traditionally give ND a headache and the defensive discipline to defend against them is not something that we always show. I think the biggest take away from the first week is how good our defensive and offensive line is.  We literally destroyed all of our oponents so far this year upfront and all moderately athletic former high school football players that played line know that games are won on the line! Next week against UMass is a bit scary as it could be a trap game between GA Tech and Clemson.

The Giants – Lets be honest season for the gmen is over…while we are not mathematically eliminated reality is we are…No way I have a right to be pissed, 3 World Series Titles in the last few years gives me no room to bitch. That said it was tough to watch us dwindle and fade due to injuries when I think we had the roster to compete. Ya, we were a bit short on pitching, but we had enough to make a run into the playoffs I think, and for sure win a one game playoff as a wild card. All in all though a lot of positive things came out of this season…Duffy, Panic, Byrd (sign him), Blanco (renaissance at the plate for the most part), Kelby Tomlinson, Aoki ( when not hurt finally gives us a lead off) Heston (pitcher/ace of the future maybe) …Another great season from Posey, Bumgarner, and Belt!

Music – Got the new Wonder Years CD No Closer to Heaven…I am really digging it. Good mix of pop, punk, hardcore, and dare I say emo in a catchy, relateable, mix of like 15 songs! I actually bought the physical CD from Target of all places. I really miss buying physical CD’s. I wish I lived closer to a dimple or Amoeba. I have also been digging out some my old Appleseed Cast CD’s mainly Mare Vitals and Low Level Owl v.1 and v.2…Mare Vitals is by far one of my favorite albums. The drumming of Josh Baruth is AMAZING on this album…Great fall, winter is coming, album.

Happy Tuesday!

So Fall is seeming a bit closer…the mornings have been a bit chilly and the heat of the day doesn’t seem to last as long each day. Though I can’t say it hasn’t been scorching hot over the last few weeks at times but it has also been really nice out on certain days. There was a bit of rain nearly half an inch in some places this last weekend in Nor Cal so that helped cool some water temps down but for the most part it is still summer…..

Lower Sac Striper 

Lower Sacramento Striper fishing…I have been exclusively striper fishing and guiding for stripers sense mid June. Fishing the last few weeks has been good. The smaller fish are not as prevalent which can lower numbers for the day but good numbers of keeper size fish and fish in the 5-10lb range are a regular on most days with the chance at true pig on most days. We have been fishing all depths of water from 12-15’ to 1-2’ so the ability to switch up lines and sink rates is key. More and more salmon are entering the river so the deeper water is not producing like it was during July but that is a good thing as the weeds and shallows are holding more fish allowing us to fish lighter lines and flies while sight fishing. That said longer and more accurate casts are a must in this type of fishing. Top water fishing can be good for those that can cast the big top water flies….5/0 pole dancers are not easy to chuck.

Lower Sac Top Water Striper!

T-Bone Fly .... Striper applications?

Great shot of the Tubbing and how to add bulk without weight

Flies…I have been mainly tying striper flies and messing with big but lite and easy to cast striper flies. Fly Men Fishing company has some really cool new products to build flies around this prinicipal. Blane Chocklett of “Game Changer” fame as well as a lot of the Musky/mid-west guys have been at the forefront of this idea as Musky require some BIG flies to get interested. Fly Men is selling Fish-Skull® Chocklett's Body Tubing™ a braided tubbing that Chocklett adabted to fly tying to create large bulky musky flies that are not heavy or stacked with material. The braid is like smaller finer version of the braid used on the Stick Jackets that everyone uses to store rigged rods. I have been messing with creating some big bulky top water and bait fish patterns. Even messing with some articulated flies like many of the Musky/Pike flies guys like Chocklett and Brad Boehen are tying in the mid west. I have always been skeptical of articulated flies with stripers as I am unsure that the joints used to attach on the shanks like the “Chocklett Big Game Articulated Shanks” by Fly Men will hold up if the hook is the last in line. I think the key is to have the hook infront … like the game changer but we will see. I am going to experiment with some fish this weekend and see what works or doesn’t.

New Gear….I have been fortunate enough to have a ton of new gear in my boat over the last month. Here is a quick run down.

Scott Meridian 8’10” 2 piece. This is the new Saltwater fishing rod from Scott that is replacing the S4S which is one of if not my all time favorite fly rod for striper fishing….so I was pretty bummed to hear they were going to be getting rid of one of my all time favorite rod lines BUT I trust head rod designer Jim Bartchi so I knew he wouldn’t get rid of a rod line unless he has created something truelly BETTER. Scott doesn’t just get rid of a rod line every 2 years to get sales like some rod companies. The rod is incredibly light weight and has tons of power but very similar to the Radian in that it has a ton of feel. At first the grip and rod took a bit to get use to but after one session of fishing I was loving it. It is different then the S4S but definatley better in all regards. The tip has more feel and the rod recovers very quickly after loading while casting a shooting head…a bit faster then the old S4S. The grip took me a while to get use to as it is a bit fatter up front but the more I cast it the more I like it. In the end I think and angler would have to do a lot of salt water or striper fishing to justity having a $865 salt rod. That said if you are a bass fishermen, striper fishermen, or guy that travels a lot to salt water fish it is the best on the market. It won best of show and best salt water rod at the AFFTA show this last summer which means is was voted the BEST new product of the entire fly fishing industry this year.

Echo Boost Saltwater 9’ 9wt 4pc is a great new fast action SUPER powerful salt water rod from Echo. Great Price point at $249.99 for anyone that is looking for a bass, salt, striper, carp, or heavy work rod that won’t break the bank but that will perform at a high level. I got the rod with a 10wt floating Air Flo Sniper line to throw the big 5/0 Pole Dancer…literally a big task. I fished it a bit last weekend and I think I need to upgrade to 10wt or 11wt rod with a matched line. I struggled throwing the the big 5/0 pole dancer but I put the 2/0 and some other more medium size top water bugs on it and it launched them. Of all the echo rods this definitely one of my favorite for stripers

Music… Been listening to a few new bands/artists. I bought the New Rocky Votolato CD Hospital Handshakes which is amazing…Just good rock with a bit of a indie/emo/acoustic theme going on – Boxcutters, Hospital Handshakes, Sawdust and Shavings are all great songs. The album kinda starts big and loud and upbeat and then softens up to some all acoustic songs at the end….You Blew It! A great band on Top Shelf Records. Some post hardcore/emo/Alternative leanings with multiple singers and such but good high energy loud soft dynamics music. They even did an ep where they covered 5 songs off of the Blue Album…they are pretty sweet if you like that sorta thing. ….. Moose Blood, great band from the UK and one that toured on the Warp Tour this year. They are on No Sleep Records and also in that post hardcore/emo/Alternative but they are from the UK which is pretty unusual for a band like that. Pretty catchy melodies and some good vocals.

Sports…hard to watch the giants right now. Getting swept by the dodgers and then Watching Vogie get blasted for 4 runs in the first the next night was BRUTAL, splitting in CO gave me some hope but then going 6-1 the first night in AZ was rough…I think injuries and lack of starting pitching is catching up with us and going to make it tough to compete down the stretch. Nothing to be upset about or get to down about being we have won 3 world series in the last 5 years and been in contention all season for the lead in the west. Bottom line who ever comes out of the west is going to struggle with the wild card teams, Pitt and Chi are legit ball clubs.

Notre Dame looked GREAT against Texas so that was a huge pick me up…not sure if Texas is that bad or ND that good. Big injury though in the loss of Folston for the season and Avery for 4-6 weeks with his broken foot…That said man did the O-Line look good! And do we have some weapons at the Wide receiver spot!

UPCOMING EVENTS 

My good buddies Chuck Ragan, Tom Page, and Dave Barbiere are hosting a Yuba Clinic coming up on Oct 3 and 4th! should be a great clinic with a variety of perspectives on fishing the Lower Yuba. I know both days are filling so if you are interested jump on this as it is a great time of year to get tuned up, learn some new approaches, and get dialed in for fall and winter fishing. 

This coming Saturday is the Cast Hope Big Night Out in Chico, CA! Make sure to get your tickets and come out for some good food, beer, music, auction, and fun!

Cast Hope's Big Night Out

Hey Nor Cal mark your calendar! Cast Hopes annual fall fund raiser the BIG NIGHT OUT is coming up Sept 12 in Chico, CA at the Womens Center. Food Trucks (included in ticket price), Auction, Sierra Nevada Beer, and Live Muisc!

Location: Chico Women's Center (592 E. 3rd St., Chico, CA)
Date: June 2 - 5
Time: 5:30 - 8:30pm
Cost: $30/person, Kids (ages 5-10) are $10, age 4 and under are free (Includes dinner) 

Its been a long time...

Man …. I want to apologize for complete lack of posts…summer has been busy with guiding, traveling, and family. Not that that is any excuse as EVERYONE is busy I have just had a really hard time with everything going on to justify spending any more time then absolutely necessary in-front of a computer screen. I will carve out a few hours while watching the giants tonight and killing time in between some other tasks tomorrow to update the blog…here goes.

Fishing

I have done very little trout fishing this summer spending almost all my time on the Lower Sac fishing for stripers. It has been an incredibly good striper year on the Lower Sac and really seems like it will last well into October this year. In June we saw good numbers of trophy fish some up to 50lbs. July saw the arrival of one of the latest and largest runs of shad I have seen in years. Huge schools of fish showed up eating dry flies and hanging up on the surface in the deeper pools. These fish have sense moved up river now and seem to be around Red Bluff. For about 3 weeks we worked our tails off to get a fish over 20” while we would catch huge numbers of 17-18” fish the bigger fish say over 5lbs was nearly impossible to come by. In the last 2 weeks the shad have moved on and the bigger fish are starting to show themselves. In the last few days we have had good numbers of fish from 6-10lbs and a few up to 20lbs. There are nearly no salmon to speak of from Butte City up to the Capay area so the river is nearly empty, but this also changes fishing as there are not salmon and boats to push the fish around.

Fishing should continue to remain good through early October, August and September are going to be great months for big fish. I have only a few days open left through early October and am already taking bookings for next summer if anyone is interested.

Open Dates: Sept 12^th, Oct 3^rd

Printed Word – Check out the Current August issue of California Fly Fishermen and read my article (if you like fine literature and insight on fish it will change your life):  The Other Lower Sacramento: Striper Fishing from Red Bluff to Butte City: The Sacramento River is about more than trout.

Music News –

There has been so much good new music over the last month. The Jason Isbell CD is great with typical awesome songs about life, work, and living…some sad, some insightful, and some just rocking. The new Wilco CD is growing on me…it was free so no money lost but I have had a tough time with the last two Wilco CD’s, just couldn’t get into them.

My wife and I got out to see Built to Spill down in Sac in Late June at Harlows…so cool seeing one of my favorite bands up close and personal in such a small venue. I was right up front and it was a true treat to watch all 3 guitar players play. I have not bought their new CD but I am sure I will very soon ounce I need some new music.

NEW PRODUCTS

It is that time of year again where all the new gear comes out. Simms Fall 2016 line is now up on the Simms website and the biggest news is the NEW Pro Dry Suit, but the new wading jackets are also really cool. The Scott Meridian Rod won best of show overall at the ICAST show a few weeks ago. It is Scotts new high end salt rod replacing the S4S. I should have new 9wt Meridian in my boat very shortly for everyone to try. I have yet to see the new Montana Fly Co. line up for 2016 but I know the patterns of mine that will be coming out will be good and I expect nothing less from the rest of the crew. 

Sports Report

Giants are playing well, I have to say I have enjoyed the July into August Giants. I don’t feel like we are going to make a world series run but I think there will be some interesting September baseball. In the end all I ask for as a fan is that all the games mean something through the end of the season. A tough schedule for the month of August (no team under .500 on the schedule) will determine a whole log how September will look.

Notre Dame…Getting ready for spring practice and opening with Texas. The QB controversy is over and now it is Zaires team…we will see how he does soon.

CAST HOPE

Cast Hope has had an incredibly busy summer…along with our normal array of guide trips we have taken two groups through paces and travel to earn their heritage trout certificates, we have taken a group of Cast Hope veterans on their first “destination” trip to the Umpqua River for smallmouth bass fishing, we are in the middle of our salmon and steelhead project, we have run 2 bass clinics, run two fish fests, and are working on all our fall and winter fundraising as well as guide dates. BUSY BUSY BUSY….

For our Chico people we have our “Big Night Out” coming up September 12. Going to be a great event for local nor cal people to come out celebrate what Cast Hope does, eat, drink, and have fun! Lots of great auction and raffle items as well as live music, beer, food trucks, and desert! I will post up some more information as it gets closer but in the mean time here if the flier.

Cool Event: Sacramento Spey Day Information

Here is more info on this exciting inaugural event, Sacramento Spey Day co sponsored by Kiene's American Fly Fishing Company, and Fly Fishing Specialties:

1. Below is info on where the event will be held, Sacramento Bar, north side of the American River.  At the time of deadline to California Fly Fisher, the exact location was not decided upon for many reasons.

2. The event is for people of all levels of spey casting ability, complete novice to advanced, all free of charge except fee entry of $5 for parking.  Donuts, bagels, fruit, yogurt and drinks are provided free of charge 

3. Hours, 9 AM to 2 PM

4. Everything Spey will be here, leading rod/reel/line MFG companies and owners

5. RSVP's are required to either store, please, for many reasons, so get your names on the list -

Kiene's American Fly Fishing - 916.486.9958, or 916.483.1222

Fly Fishing Specialties - 916.722.1055

If you ever had an interest, question or wish to ask a rod maker a question about a rod you own of his, this is a great opportunity to do just that.

Thank you, and call either shop for more questions.

Tim Au-Young

Last Minute Striper Dates Open

Last minute striper dates 

July 8, 14-16

*These dates are first come first serve so call 530-514-2453 or email hoganbrown@hotmail.com. 

Until just today I was completely booked up for striper season through mid September but with a cancelation and a personal trip falling through I have 4 dates open over the next two weeks. There are plenty of smaller schoolie fish around with all the big boys starting to show themselves as well.  Just last week we landed 2 fish over 20lbs and saw big fish every day we were out. Great time to get out and the weather has COOLED down dramatically! Weather forecast is showing low 90s and high 80s for Chico, CA over the next week.

If Striper fishing isn't your thing Trout fishing on the LOWER SAC has been great down from Barge hole down with plenty of trout nymphing with stoneflies and caddis patterns.