|
Today was my last day with Burt and John. Yesterday was a hard act to follow, but we had a lot of fun on Fall River today. We started out with about two hours of humbling dry fly fishing. There were tons of small baetis on the water and the fish were chowing them relentlessly. It was tough to get a fish to look at our bugs, but we got a few grabs. The game changed when we switched to nymphs. Burt and John both hooked some really nice rainbows, most of which broke us off in the weeds. We landed a few nice fish up to 16 inches, though. The nymph grab was pretty good with a small beadhead baetis or micro mayfly.  Burt caught this one right by the dock |
They're Chrome, they're phat, they're here! Swung this beauty up this morning using traditional flies and traditional methods.No bobber's required...saw quite a few others on my scouting mission. I can show you a little less traveled Trinity if you're up to it ( there are no secret spots on the Trinity) using traditional methods with both single handed and two handed rods. If you would like to book a boat ride and bobber trip I can do that too! I don't discriminate. |
John & Burt had a pretty incredible day today on the Pit River. Our first spot was loaded with fish. They were hooking fish every 2nd or 3rd cast for the first 45 minutes. They were all nice 15-17 rainbows, too. We had a couple slow periods during the day, but overall the fishing was fantastic. We caught fish on rubberlegs, prince nymphs, small pheasant tails, and small copper johns. Our rivers are in prime shape for fall trout fishing now. Come up and see for yourself!  Burt's big fish  John with a nice one  Burt with another big rainbow |
I fished with Bob & Don from Livermore on the Lower Sac today. We floated Posse-Anderson. We didn't get a lot of fish today, but there were some really nice ones. The best was a 19-20 silvery buck rainbow that looked like a mini-steelhead. There was very little traffic on the river today. Best flies were a flasback PT, tan poopah, and olive S&M nymph.  Don's big fish |
The flows on the rogue have finally stabilized, providing ideal conditions for late summer steelhead fishing. Tom April and I had a great morning today, when we encountered 4 adult steelhead. Tom hooked 2 nymphing without an indicator from the boat. I got one to eat a skated dry and got another to eat a small intruder style fly swung on a light tip. The flows are perfect for both speycasting anglers and nymphing on the move between swing runs.
We only saw 2 other boats today and got to fish everything we wanted to. The regs this time are fly only and no split shot...love it! |
I spent the day guiding Steven, Don & Lee at the Nature Conservancy Preserve on the McCloud River. Fishing was a little slow, especially in the afternoon. Don caught the best fish of the day in the morning, a 14 rainbow. We fished nymphs with and without indicators, dry flies, dry/dropper, and streamers. It was nice and cool down there and we only saw 2 other fishermen. Our best flies were Eng Things and Princes in a size 14. We had a good hatch of size 16 tan mayflies from 3-5pm.  Found on the river: BEST FLY EVER! |
On August 31st of every year we randomly select someone who has signed up for our email newsletter in the past year. Our lucky winner this year is Marvin Nao from San Francisco. Marvin signed up for our email newsletter when he went to Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lakes last winter. His prize is a 3-day trip for two on the Lower Sac, Trinity, and Eagle Canyon. Marvin has already selected his dates and is very excited about his upcoming trip. |
The Shasta-Trinity Fly Fishers will be holding it's 2nd annual Fly Fishing Fair at Caldwell Park in Redding on October 8th, 8:30am to 2:30pm. Come see Andrew and Katie Harris - we'll have an Eagle Canyon/Confluence Outfitters display at the fair. There should be a lot of exhibits and attendees. Go wade the Lower Sac when you're done with the Fair! |
Fall River continues to fish extremely well. The nymph grab got good around 10:30 and was red hot until about 2pm. We hooked dozens and dozens of fish in that time frame, most of them over 15. A small (size 18) baetis beadhead nymph was the ticket. Lots of the bigger fish got into the weeds, but we landed a lot of 15-18 rainbows. The weeds are pretty thick right now. You just need to find lanes to fish. Don't try to fish all the water - just pick and choose the deeper lanes. We saw good hatches of callibaetis mid-day but we stuck with the nymphing. Karen finished the day with a 20 rainbow.  Karen's big fish  We had a lot of fish like this today |
Today was day 2 with Pete & Karen. We spent the day fishing about 1/2 a mile of our private stretch of Battle Creek. This was a great place to spend a really hot day. The water is 58 degrees and the canyon is heavily shaded, so it felt nice and cool all day even though it was about 100 degrees in the valley. The dry fly fishing was very good today. Pete and Karen both had countless fish go after their flies. We landed wild rainbows up to ten inches on grasshoppers, parachute adams, and black elk hair caddis. |
I guided Pete & Karen from Santa Monica on the Lower Sac today. We had a great time floating from Anderson to Jellys. Fishing was a little slow in the morning, but by 11am the bite was good. We hooked a lot of fish from 11 to 2pm, then suffered through a brutal slow period for a couple of hours. From 4-6 fishing was good again. We had some good dry fly fishing in the afternoon with a parachute Adams size 18. We did well with prince nymphs, jimmy legs, and an HBI size 16. No big fish today, but lots of rainbows from 10-15. |
Starting in 2012, Confluence Outfitters will be working with Flywater Travel hosting trips to the finest international travel destinations that the angling world has to offer. Our waters in California and Oregon provide superb angling opportunities, but the beauty of fly fishing is that it provides a good excuse to travel to some of the coolest places on Earth. The confluence team is well traveled, and would love to host you to some of the finest angling venues that the world has to offer. Check our website soon for our upcoming hosted trips.  a perfect bonefish flat  destination travel is not all about fishing  Bonefish are insanely cool |
Well, I just got back from an eventful 2 week trip to Eleuthera, which is a small island of the Bahamas. We had superb fishing, snorkeling, and lounging with cocktails on deserted white sand beaches until we were rudely interrupted by Hurricane Irene. Luckily, no one was injured, but it was sad to see the destruction inflicted by Irene on this wonderful island community of incredibly friendly people. It makes me look a little differently at high water steelhead conditions. Life is short, book a trip, and go fishing! Steelhead trips are booking up fast, so call Marisa and book a trip with the A team.
I will be doing a hosted saltwater trip to Christmas Island next year, for easy bonefish in a hurricane free environment. If you have never fished the flats before, it should be on your list. Contact me for details.  A nice bonefish, pre hurricane  main st. post hurricane  sight fishing in the flats...epic |
It is hopper time on Battle Creek. I fished about a half mile of our private stretch of North Battle Creek today and rose countless wild rainbows to grasshopper patterns. In pools with good visibility I could watch fish move four or five feet sometimes to eat the hopper. No need for a dropper right now - the fish really want to eat that dry. I tried a few different types and the fish definitely liked the brownish hoppers the best. The creek is in great shape right now. Flows have finally dropped to fishable and wadable levels. The water temp was 58 degrees - amazing on a hot summer day. I saw about ten spring Chinook today, which is more than I've seen in a single day before.  They like the Dave's Hopper  Chernobyl Ant-type hoppers are working great! |
We started slow today on Fall River but more than made up for it mid-day. I guided long-time client Lloyd and his son-in-law Gio. Around 10:30 the nymph grab started and it was great! We found a pod of big fish and hooked quite a few. Lloyd landed several 16-18 rainbows and lost just as many more. Gio hooked his share of big fish and landed his first Fall River rainbow ever. In the afternoon we tried a different spot and Lloyd landed a huge rainbow about 3 pounds. There are tons of big fish around on Fall River right now and they're very grabby. Come up and see what it's all about!  Lloyd with a real big fish  Lloyd & Gio |
I spent the day with Harry and Dave from Sebastopol. They wanted to learn some new water on the Upper Sac, so we fished four different spots between Conant and Ney Springs. Today was not a big fish day. We did well with a prince nymph and micro mayfly nymph in the morning, then the rubberlegs worked well in the afternoon. The highlight was catching some small wild rainbows on dries in the later afternoon. Water temps are great right now, about 53 in the morning.  Dave on the Upper Sac |
I got out on the river last night with Katie and her brother Clint. We floated from Anderson to Balls Ferry. We spent most of our time swinging nymphs with our spey rods. Clint got his first spey casting lesson and was doing an off-shoulder double-spey in no time. He set the hook so hard on his first fish that it flew out of the water about ten feet! Katie hooked the best fish of the day on a 6wt spey rod. I got to throw a few casts, too. In about an hour of fishing we got at least a dozen grabs. It was a beautiful evening and we didn't see another boat or fisherman the entire float.  Clint Mackey swings it up  Katie Harris with brother Clint in the background  Andrew swinging a nice riffle |
We are pleased to offer a new private water destination! Sand Creek Ranch on the Upper Williamson River in Oregon has some of the best spring creek fishing in the West. This ranch has historically been off-limits to the public. Just recently opened to paying guests, we think Sand Creek Ranch will be a popular destination for dry fly enthusiasts. We are offering a 3 night stay for just $600 per person, minimum two guests. Rates include accommodations and exclusive fishing priveleges. When you book this ranch you will be the only party on 3.5 miles of prime spring creek water. The guest house is right on the river in the middle of the ranch. This is a great place to relax with friends or family in total privacy while you enjoy excellent spring creek fly fishing. Check out our Sand Creek Ranch web page for more details (http://www.confluenceoutfitters.com/fd_sandcreekranch.aspx). |
I've spent the last three afternoons playing around on the Lower Sac with friends and family. I confirmed that you can indeed catch fish on the Lower Sac without using a bobber. On Monday night I did really well side-drifting nymphs from the boat. That was a lot of fun because you feel the grab and you're tight to the fish right away. On Tuesday we did a lot of wading. Scott Saiki caught some nice fish high-sticking while wading and from the anchored boat. The highlight was last night when I caught four nice trout on my 5wt spey rod. There are a lot of caddis around right now so Fox poopahs and natural bird's nests are working well. There is a good baetis hatch in the last hour, too.  Andrew with his 5wt spey rod  No bobber needed to catch this fish  Scotty high-sticking from the boat |
Confluence Outfitters is excited to offer two women's fly fishing weekends this fall! If you are new to fly fishing or if you are looking to brush up on your basic skills, come and join us for a fun filled weekend of fly fishing during the most beautiful time of the year. We will be covering all the basics from gear and tackle, to learning how to cast, to on stream techniques that will empower you to fish successfuly in all types of situations. Our female instructors (Vanessa Downs and Brooke Matteson) have years of experience teaching and guiding and are committed to helping you have a great time and become independent on the water. There will be some fun classroom type sessions and lots of time on the water. Dates: Sept 16-18 and Oct 21-23. Women's weekends cost $650/person. The program goes from 3pm Friday to 3pm Sunday. We provide dinner on Friday night and all lunches. Guests stay in our lovely Hat Creek Retreat on the shore of Cassel Forebay. Each program is limited to six guests.
|
|