|
Great
Dax and I did a fun scouting trip today to one of our local stillwaters. The grab is on in a big way, as you can see from the photos. We caught most of our fish on copper johns and pheasant tail nymphs under a small corkie indicator. Email Dax or Drew for more info on this venue.
|
The Trinity River is about to get a huge flushing flow of 11,000cfs. The river will be ramping up slowly for the next week and will be at 11k by May 4th. It will be interesting to see what the river looks like this summer when the flows drop down to normal levels. You can expect some of your favorite holes to look a little different, that's for sure. |
I enjoyed a great day on the river with Bob and Chris from the Bay Area today. Unfortunately, the fish weren't on the grab. We landed a few, but the grab was dreadfully slow. There are tons of trout on redds right now from the Posse Grounds to Bonnyview- in places you can see them by the hundreds. There was also a lot of algae floating down the river today.  Chris caught this one on a rubberlegs stone |
Mike Corley and I guided a group of four from the Palo Alto area today on the Lower Sac. Nymphing was a little tough today. We did well in spots where we waded or anchored up, but it was slow while we were on the move. Our best nymphs were the brown & black jimmy legs and a size 18 flashback PT. After lunch we got into some really good dry fly fishing. Gabe and Brooke were able to head-hunt for rises and make productive blind casts. It was a mixed hatch of PMDs and callibaetis, but the fish were mainly interested in the callibaetis. |
Andrew, Mike Corley, his dog Max and I went up and checked out our properties on Fall River and Hat Creek today. It was windy and cold, but mayflies were popping and fish were eating them right in front of our Confluence boat docks at around 1pm. So far the extended forcast for opening weekend is overcast and temps in the 50s...perfect conditions for an amazing opening day weekend. I hope I don't have to work. I will be running my boat up and down the river 4 days prior to opening, marking fish. Last year my client Doug Roan had a field day on Fall River...too easy for my taste, but that's cool sometimes. I fished the Lower Sac with Jay yesterday. He guided me into a baker's dozen in just a few hours of fishing. Not a fish under 16 inches...We didn't even use a motor to head back upstream and cane the productive runs again...Jay just rowed me back up there like an old school guide. Thanks Jay!  Doug on Fall River opening day 2010  Good times early season on Fall River  Evenings on Fall River..better than where you are |
The Lower Sac continues to fish well. Despite today being the busiest day I've ever seen boat-wise, the river produced for us today. Jerry and Dave from Sebastopol found fish throughout the day. We did well in the little nooks and crannies on the edges of the river - the spots that most people don't bother to fish. We also had a brief window when the sky was overcast and the fish were chowing callibaetis on the surface. Jerry and Dave hooked several fish on dries while wading.  Jerry with a nice bow  Wading and fishing dries on the Lower Sac |
I had a great day on the Lower Sac with Greg and Larry from Sebastopol. They both landed some really nice fish. There was a solid PMD hatch from about 1pm on and the nymph grab was quite good. We did best on small brown mayfly patterns. Greg even rose a nice fish on a callibaetis dry. The river is down to 6000cfs now and should stay at this flow for a week at least.  Larry with a nice buck  Greg got this one on a rubberlegs  Lots of colorful fish today |
The Lower Sac is fishing very well right now. Flows are down to about 9000cfs and are scheduled to drop to 6000cfs by Friday. There is a really good hatch of pink alberts (pink PMDs) and the nymph grab is pretty silly. We boated over 20 fish yesterday, mostly on small mayfly nymphs.  George with a nice bow  Mike Corley and the Banana (colored shirt) boys |
Steve and his son faced what mother nature had to give in her seemingly bad, windy mood on friday. The guys were patient and quite fierce. Then Baum, vixen she can be... produced several silvery browns well worth the chilly fingers. Good on you fellas!!!! |
Obscene was what my pal Steve said when he hauled in one of so MANY sick fat footballs!
What fun! We were lucky this day with the weather. Scenes included crazy black thunder clouds all around and the greenest meadows of all time speckled with wildflowers. We skated through pockets of small hail and waves of gently blowing snow. Then, gusts of wind that dissipated without comment. Yet mostly we were in the kiss of warm sun. What a day. Steve and his fine son Henry managed to land several linebacker radiant bows. mmmmmm does it sound SICK. Um.... yes indeed. |
It's all about the grab, right?
Captain Dax Messett and I pulled his boat up the Lost Creek Lake a few days ago in search of one of 25,000 recently stocked 12 rainbows.
Given our expertise and how it relates to catching such a prized fish, we were confident.
It didn't take long to figure out the most productive method. And believe me we tried several.
Trolling was the answer.
Olive and Black Buggers and red CJ's were the most effective. Caught one fish pushing 16.
Good times were had by all...
 yes that's a trout  sunny and fabulous  Capt Dax in search of hot trolling |
Red Hot Randy Hamann and I spent the last two days scouting around in northern California. Water may be high in the rivers, but they're not the only game in town. Check out these photos. These fish were all caught on little nymphs underneath dry flies. Most of it was sight-fishing, and we caught a LOT of them. If you want to catch fish like this, give us a ring. |
Flows on the Lower Sac are scheduled to come down to 14,500cfs by Friday. This is the normal summer-time flow, so the river is now totally fishable. Water clarity is excellent and I'm looking forward to some nice weather and a lot of hungry trout. I'll be out Mon-Tues and will write a report then. |
We just had a cancellation that's freed up some openings at Eagle Canyon. We now have the following spots available:April 8-9: 3 spotsApril 12: 2 spotsFishing has been excellent. We had five anglers on Friday and Saturday. According to our host Clint, those two groups landed about 100 fish over the two days. He says the hot flies are small (size 16-18) pheasant tails, copper johns, and prince nymphs. |
Weather today in Medford: Sunny and 75
The Upper Rogue has dropped 2000cfs in the last 3 days, so things are finally shaping up well for those looking at one last shot at winter steelhead before we head into trout season. The forecast is finally looking good for the upcoming week.
Jonny's client hooked a fish on our last day fishing the Applegate, which mercifully closed today for the season.
Nor Cal is pretty much unfishable this week...so if you're itchin to do some swinging, come on up and fish the upper Rogue this next week.
 Swinging on the Applegate  Spey dudes from the 541 |
The release from Keswick Dam is 50,000cfs and looks to stay that way for a while. Lake Shasta is only about 14 feet from the top, so high releases will continue until there is enough room in the lake for spring runoff. Stay tuned for updates! |
We are down to the last three weeks of our season at Eagle Canyon. Here is a list of our remaining openings:
March: fully booked
April 4: 1 spot
April 5: 2 spots
April 7-8: 1 spot
April 12: 2 spots |
The Lower Sac is now at 50,000cfs. Dam operators are trying to make room in Lake Shasta for runoff from the next storm expected Weds-Fri. The Yuba is at 12,300cfs. The Feather is at 30,000cfs. The American River is at 25,000cfs.  Sundial Bridge at 50,000cfs |
Med Peck and Gene Hawley fished with me on the Upper Rogue Monday and Tuesday. We had some high but fishable water. Med had a good grab on monday. Gene educated a couple of willies. Tuesday Med hooked a real steelhead which came unbuttoned as it ran upstream. He couldn't have stripped any faster if he was a hooker on nickel night. It just wasn't fast enough..
Later that day Gene hooked a fish, quietly, with no reaction. I just happened to wake up from my nap in the boat and notice his bent rod. I grabbed the net as Gene casually steered the fish in. Just prior to the scoop, the hooked popped out and he swam away. Needless to say, no fish pics. That's just fine. Med and Gene survived four days (they were on the Klamath, too) of high water, tough fishing, their grumpy fishing guide, and contant heckling. Nice job boys!
We should have some good fishing once this water drops.  These are in the Upper Rogue |
We have less than a month left at Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lakes. We just added 3 more days to our season, so our last day is now April 13th. We have just a few openings left - read below for a list of open days.
March 22: 3 spots
March 23-24: 5 spots
April 1: 3 spots
April 7-8: 3 spots
April 11-13: 5 spots
|
|