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Fishing was much better on the Lower Sac today. The wind was gone and the fish were back to their usual habits. We had some action early on and the bite got really good right after lunch. Crane and S.J. from Los Gatos caught some nice fish on nymphs before we switched over to dries around 1:30pm. We had plenty of targets and tons of PMDs hatching for a couple hours. Crane hooked his best fish on a long cast with a size 16 limestone cripple mayfly pattern. We didn't land it, but it looked to be at least 16. The nymph grab shut off pretty hard after 4pm.  Crane with a nice fish  S.J. with a Lower Sac bow |
Fishing Report for Clearwater waters:
Fall River: The nymph grab is insane between 11-1pm if you can set the hook quick enough. Some excellent dry fly fishing if you can escape the wind and cast. Good streamer fishing in the morning. Bring a sweater...it's been cold!
Pit River: Big dumb rainbows...get your nymphing on.
The Mac: Flows are just about perfect. Hire a guide if you don't know this river.
Hat Creek: mmm...not so great right now. it will improve steadily.
Burney Creek: I don't know. Should be good soon. Best hatches in the area.
Baum Lake: A clearwater guide could be the difference between hooking 30, or 2 for the day.  What a fattie John!  Clearwater chef Tim, between meals  Fall River last week! Epic fishing though |
Brian and Jim had their 2nd day out in the wind today. I guess it followed them down here from Fall River. The strong and steady north wind made fishing very difficult today. We did two separate floats and had trouble finding fish all day. We ended up with about 5 in the net, which wasn't bad considering the circumstances. We had a fun day nonetheless. It was Jim's first time on the Lower Sac. Our best fly today was a tan Fox Poopah, size 14.  Brian with a Lower Sac bow |
I fished brothers Brian and Jim on Fall River today. I thought we were done with the foul weather after last week, but we had some more high winds and rain today. We got in some great dry fly fishing and nymphing nonetheless. Brian hooked a nice fish on his very first drift. We were dry fly fishing for the most part from 11am to 2pm. Jim landed two very nice rainbows on nymphs and another over 16 on a dry. The weather got super nasty around 3:30pm so we decided to call it a day.  Jim's first big fish.  Jim strikes again  Very cute ducklings |
You know the old saying about fishing in the rain...the fish are already wet, so they don't care if its raining. What about snow? Sleet? The fish on Fall River didn't seem to mind. Doug Roan and I fished Fall river the past 3 days, and had the entire river to ourselves. Doug caught a ridiculous amount of fish, mostly on nymphs. The dry fly grab wasn't happening in the 50mph gusty winds we had on Tuesday. Tough conditions, but what amazing fishing we had. We also caught some fatties on the Pit River, and a few on drys on Hat Creek. Doug is gonna be dangerous when he comes back to Clearwater in better angling conditions.
The weather is looking good for next week. Fishing should be excellent on Fall River and other local waters.  Doug enjoying good weather on Monday  Pit River rainbow  Doug braving the weather on the Fall River |
We took our guide school group down to the Lower Sac today. We drove through some significant snow on our way over the hill, but the weather was great once we got down to Redding. Our guide school students learned how to row drift boats today. I'm happy to report that all the boats stayed right-side-up and there were no collisions! We even caught some great fish! Cog and Chris took turns rowing my boat. They both managed to guide their clients into some fish and we only got spun in a circle four times. Chris landed the fish of the day, a twenty inch rainbow.  Chris with his 2nd biggest fish  Cog about to net Chris's fish |
Today was our first full day of the Guide School at Clearwater Lodge. We spent the day on the Pit River. Flows are a little higher than normal due to construction on Lake Britton dam, but fishing was pretty good. We saw lots of big salmonflies and some golden stones too. The guide school students hooked a bunch of nice rainbows. I landed a great brown on a demo cast. We have a storm coming in the next 2 days... Dry fly fishing should be pretty good once the storm subsides.  Andrew with a nice brown  Ryan with his first Pit River rainbow  Golden stone |
Opening day on Fall River can be hit and miss...yesterday was a home run. We hooked many, many, many fish on nymphs, streamers and drys. Superb weather and low angling pressure made Fall River the place to be for my first day at Clearwater Lodge this season. My clients Don and Marty San Luis Obispo were a pleasure to spend the day with. Their relaxed demeanor and willingness to learn technical spring creek skills translated into an insanely productive day of angling.
I have the entire first week of May open, so get to Clearwater...its on!  Don and Marty havin a ball on Fall |
Opening day is here and the fishing is very good around Clearwater Lodge! I spent a few hours scouting area streams today with Darrin Deal, one of our guide school students from Chico. Hat Creek was very busy, but we still found a few fish willing to rise to PMD dries around lunchtime. Burney Creek looked very fishable. We finished up on the Pit River, where the salmonflies were buzzing around. I started off with a size 6 stimulator and pulled a great 17 bow out of a nice pocket right away. What a way to start the season! Darrin put on a nymphing clinic, hooking one nice rainbow after another. Fishing should be great this year on all of our fisheries.  Big fish on big dries - May is the time!  Darrin hooked up on a nice bow |
I guided Dan and Brad from Folsom today. It was Brad's first time fly fishing but he took to it really well. I even tried confusing him by switching back and forth between dry fly fishing and nymphing, and he still did well. Brad landed his first Lower Sac rainbow, a nice 16 fish. Nymph fishing was pretty slow for us today. Fortunately we had some really good dry fly fishing right after lunch. We found a nice side channel where the fish were just chowing down on the PMDs and Callibaetis. What a treat!  Dan casting dry flies to rising rainbows. |
Another amazing season in New Zealand is in the books. Dick Galland, founder of Clearwater House on Hat Creek brought a group of extremely keen anglers down. What a superb group of skilled Nor Cal anglers and just all around gentlemen. Jeff, Alan, and Gary were all an absolute pleasure to fish with, and fantastic anglers. Dick is simply one of the most relaxed, beautiful casters I have had the pleasure of watching in NZ, a venue he and I hold in the absolute highest regard. Dick played a major influence on my guiding career and initial interest in New Zealand, so it was very special for me to spend time on the water with him in Trout Heaven.
Much needed rain unfortunately led to some challenging conditions in the Southland when Dick's group arrived. My home dry fly river was blown! We adapted to the situation, and enjoyed some excellent spring creek dry fly fishing, especially Gary who hooked 6! I then joined the group over in Te Anau, to fish with kiwi guide legend and friend Dean Bell. We had some terrific fishing and weather over there to wrap my season up. What a wonderful way to end an idyllic season for me in NZ. I get it more dialed every year. Thanks to Dick and his crew for a memorable week.
Book early for next season in NZ. I have some incredible package deals available, and will be taking limited bookings from Jan-May for 2011. Join the search for moments.
After a week in Australia with Leah, I will be back at Clearwater Lodge for the opening weekend. I'm always excited to be in that part of the world that time of year. I have the first week of May open for bookings. I also have June rather wide open, which is my favorite time to dry fly fish the Fall River and other intermountain venues.  Gary with a stunner  ultra keen angler Jeff Thomson  Special friend, special place |
I'm out in Wyoming with Billy Downs, Mike Peters, Tom April, Jeremy Baker, and Jay Cockrum. We're in Casper representing Clearwater Lodge at the Pit River at the annaul Orvis Guide Rendezvous. Clearwater Lodge is now an Orvis-endorsed lodge, and the owners of the lodge have treated us to a very nice pre-season getaway here in Wyoming. We fished the North Platte today in the strongest winds I've ever experienced. Despite the severe conditions, fishing was pretty amazing. When we could keep our lines on the water, we hooked up regularly on rainbows up to four pounds! There were a lot of them, too. The best flies were small baetis nymphs and midge patterns size 18 and 20. The Orvis Rendezvous starts tomorrow with various programs catering to guides. We'll keep you posted!  Drew with a fish on  Jay Cockrum with a toad  Tom April with a fattie |
I had a chance this afternoon to take a quick look at our private stretch of Battle Creek. It doesn't open until the last Saturday in April, but the bugs aren't waiting! I saw numerous giant stoneflies buzzing around, plus plenty of caddisflies. The wild rainbows in this stream feed year-round, so they should be fat and happy come opening day. Those of you that have already booked a day of private fishing on Battle Creek will doubltess enjoy incredible dry fly fishing. I'm expecting to see giant stoneflies (aka salmonflies) throughout the month of May, golden stones through June, and then grasshopper action throughout the summer months.  Salmonfly! |
Good friend and client Dennis T just forwarded some photos from his recent trips on the Rogue and Applegate with Gino Bernero. As you can see, Dennis is a fish magnet! These fish were caught this past week. The Applegate is closed as of yesterday, but the Rogue is still fishing well for steelhead. Gino and Jon are out guiding the Rogue today. Adult steelhead will be in the system for at least another two weeks. |
Here are some more shots send by Dennis T, who fished recently with Gino Bernero on the Rogue and Applegate. |
I fished with Bill and Bill from Livermore today on the Lower Sac. These guys toughed it out in some of the strongest winds I've seen in a while. We did a short float and did a lot of wading, since fishing from the boat was nearly impossible with the high winds. Bill V got off to a great start with an 18 rainbow on a black birds nest. Bill W followed suit with another nice bow on a Burk's HBI. We took our time working over some of the best wading spots and we were rewarded with several more nice trout throughout the day.  Bill W with his first Lower Sac bow  Bill V with a fish on |
Today was day 2 with Ron from Chicago. Conditions were perfect for dry fly fishing all day today. We had overcast skies and no wind, and the occasional sprinkle. Nymphing was productive in the morning right from the start. We hooked numerous fish on a Morrish Super Pupa, rusty size 14. Ron landed an 18 rainbow and several other nice fish before lunch time, when the dry fly fishing got going. Today was one of those rare days on the Lower Sac when you could actually drift a dry fly blind from the boat or while wading and catch fish. That being said, the vast majority of our dry fly fishing was oriented towards visible rising fish that were holding in feeding lanes. The hatch was a mix of PMDs and march browns, size 12-16. By the end of the day Ron had easily landed a dozen on dries and probably rose 30-40 different fish! We spent about half our day fishing dries. Nymphing was also good in the afternoon in between dry fly spots, with a Burk's HBI size 16 working very well. Hopefully the cloudy and rainy weather coming in the next few days will bring more excellent dry fly fishing.  Ron with the big fish of the day  Ron caught a lot of fish today |
The Lower Sac continues to fish very well. Ron from Chicago got a taste of California fishing today. We spent an afternoon half-day floating from the Posse Grounds to Bonnyview. The bite was on right away. I hooked an 18 rainbow on a demo cast, then Ron hooked and landed a 20 rainbow. We didn't quite get the photo (guide error was involved!) but it was a great fish nonetheless. We had a few dry fly opportunities, but the fish were pretty spooky. Our best nymphs were anything small and black. There are tons of PMDs and caddis coming off right now. Ron landed another rainbow about 17 while wading. We're heading downriver tomorrow.  Ron hooked up near the Sundial Bridge |
We didn't go fishing today, we went catching. The Lower Sac is fishing incredibly well right now. The nymph grab is just outstanding. The action started early and continued through about 4pm. By that time the fish were stuffed and weren't biting any more. Brian Kohlman and I guided some of our regular clients from the Santa Rosa area today. I had Greg and Greg from Sebastopol in my boat. We had to chase Greg's first big fish all the way from the Posse Grounds riffle down past the Sundial Bridge to get it in the net. It was a solid 19 inches. Fish over 16 came one after another, mostly on birds nests, Fox Micro Poopahs, and baetis nymphs. We caught fish from the boat, plus quite a few while wading. Our fish of the day was a 21 inch, 4 pound rainbow caught by Greg G, his biggest rainbow ever.
Come on up while the hatches are cranking and the bite is on!  Greg G with the fish of the day  Greg J with his big fish |
Today was day #2 with Shawn, Justin & Brian. Brannon and I floated from Anderson to Balls Ferry. We had the whole beat to ourselves until about 5pm. Things started a little slow, but by 11am the nymph grab was on. The fish weren't too picky, eating small birds nests, flashback PTs, and other mayfly nymphs size 14-18. We put a lot of fish in the net today. The bite shut off around 5pm. Aside from the incredible nymphing, Justin had a great moment where he hooked and landed a nice fish on a dry on a long cast.  Justin with one of many  Brian the newbie  Justin hooked up |
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