h1n1 and that is about it....

Came down last weekend with h1n1 on saturday night...Brutal...fevor like the worst shroom/acid trip ever. Was in bed until tuesday and started coming back to life on wednesday and stumbled into work to clean up the mess on Friday. Hung out this weekend and watched football and tied flies still pretty worn out and tired. Should get back on the river this coming weekend. Reports to follow.

Lower Yuba

Guided the Lower yuba this weekend and fishing was still good. Had to work a little harder for the numbers. Not every run did a fish eat an egg. We had to change flies up, switch egg colors, and try some different lines but we scratched out some good numbers and a few over 20" plus a clip fin. River was crowded with wade fisherman pounding the reds. Heavy rain is forcasted for mid week and should mix things up nicely...move some salmon up the rivers and give the fish a new perspective after getting pounded for the last few weeks. Next weekend back out on the river...for today back to teaching.

Feather, Pizza, beers, redman, Yuba

Lets do this in order:

Feather: Took a chance on hopes of early season success on the feather Saturday with two great clients. Put in at the River Park in Oroville and floated down to Palm Ave. No other boats on the river and didn't see one wade fisherman out there. Usually the first part of October is really good fishing in the upper river if you are one of the first guys through the run. Fishing was good. We hit 6 adults and landed 4 with one that was pushing 30". Good numbers of Salmon down to about Robinson and then they thin out pretty good. Didn't hit one fish in the high flow even though the flows are great fishable/wadeable levels in the high flow. All fish came on eggs and caddis pupa. Good fishing for kinda early in the year with no rain but I wouldn't rush up to fish the feather yet.

Pizza: had pizza at Woodstocks in Chico, CA Saturday night with Steph, Ollie, and my clients. Had some meat concoction that my clients ordered...I had no idea that you could accomadate that much meat on flat surface. Steph opted for the vegitarian pizza.

Beer: I am not a big drink and guide guy but .... when your clients bring their own cooler full of beer ... you know your having a few through out the day just to stem their alcohol consumption and keep them landing fish. Also a few shared bud lights through out the day take the sting of loosing 30" steelhead at the boat...look but don't touch is a bitch whether it is a hot stripper or pig just over the gunnels that you watch swim away.

Redman: I love it. Promised my wife I would quit. And aside from this last two days I have....I think.

Yuba: Fished the Yuba on Sunday. Fishing was really good. Caught a few nice 18-20" fish with a bunch of 14-17" fish. Lost one big steelhead right above Daguerre so there are some nice fish on the way up. Consitant action down the river with good numbers of salmon on redds, pairing up in the riffles, and dropping eggs. Most fish came on caddis pupa and eggs...tough time getting fish to the eat the stonefly. If you are wade fishing the Yuba make sure to stay out of the redds. DFG has marked all of them with orange paint for those that don't know really what to look for.

Lower Yuba over the weekend...

Guided the Lower Yuba River over the weekend. Fishing was good and on the verge of getting really good. There are a few fresh redds in the upper river but no salmon sitting on them. This is usually all the trout need to get the river's egg bit going though. Most fish in the upper river were eating eggs but not right behind redds usually in the water below the few redds. A few fish were eating stoneflies and dark caddis patterns in slower water. Lower in the river there were no fresh reds but a few pods (10-15) of salmon holding in deep holes - Which is a good sign. I will say there was far less redds than have seen previous years, but that doesn't mean anything at this point yet. I would expect that the egg bit will go off in the next 5-10 days. Fall is officially here.

Friday night Stripes

So I have been having some engine trouble with my motor and it is in about a million different pieces as I contemplate repairing...tagging it for scrap metal and buying a new one...or spending today and everyday this weekend sitting in the gutter drinking coors light and cussing at it. One of my good buddies who I fish with a lot decided to take pitty on me and take me out on his boat this friday. Fished a small section of river that I have never fished before...We hooked about five fish and I farmed a big one...came tight to the fish which flexed the rod (10wt) through the cork...thing started to move to the middle of the river...I fumbled with the line as I attempted to drive the 4/0 hook into his Cranium...came up again and I could feel myself pull the hook out.... then saw a massive boil as the fish swam a way....Damn!!! I Blamed my buddy as we were in the middle of a heated debate about some element of baseball...both being baseball nuts. Any how may head out to the feather today to poke around for some early steelhead...may stay home and swear at my motor...who knows....

Labor Day Weekend

As I brace for a the coming fall guiding season a three day weekend with no guide dates is something to cherish. Fishing wise I spent an evening on the Sac chasing stripers amidst shot gun blasts from dove hunters and monday I drove up to the north fork for a little trout fishing.

Striper fishing was fair got one nice keeper and a bunch of dinks. The flows have droped and cold front has moved threw so I think fishing is going to be slow until the weather heats back up mid week. The north fork on the other hand fished great. I always try to get up and fish it a few times in september as it has a great Isonychia hatch. While I rarely hit the actual hatch the fish eat the nymphs with abandon once the bugs are moving around. Caught fish in every pool and bucket I fished and most fish came on my Isonychia nymph. Average size was about 14". Most of the fish were in the fast water and deeper plunge pools. Here's some pics of the river if you have never been there.

New Flies

Usually about this time every year I get the sample run of my flies that are to come out the coming year. I have been a comercial tier for Idylwilde fly co. now for a number of years and am always humbled to think people actually pay money to buy my flies at fly shops around the country. If you talk to other tiers that work with other companies when they get their samples they began a laundry list of issues with the flies... materials are not the right color, this is to long or to short, this is to bulky, this isn't tied in right, etc. I have about 30 some patterns out now and I can't remember a time my sample didn't come looking perfect but actually better than I tied them....kinda sad when someone ties your own patterns better than you do.

Thought I would post some pics of what the new stuff looks like. The caddis patterns I have been working on for two seasons now trying to incorporate some new materials. Both have fished great for me on the L. Yuba, L. Sac, and other Nor Cal Waters. The mayfly nymph is a pattern I came up with while fishing a couple Sierra Rivers that I fish big dries and droppers on. It is also a great fall or winter baetis attractor pattern. Pair it with an egg or more match the hatch style fly like the S&M or Military Mayfly. Also keep an eye out for Kevin Prices top water bass bugs that are coming out through Idylwilde.... they are sick and VERY innovative. I have fished them for 2 years now off and on as he has developed them and I haven't found a better top water assortment of flies...

*Mind you I am not a photographer and these were really quick snap shots.

Hogan's Starling Darling Caddis

Hogan's Short Shuck CaddisHogan's Tungsten Bead Exploding Baetis