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Katie and I just got back from a great camping trip on the Smith River. It was a nice family trip but we managed to catch a California Heritage Trout, too. We found some nice coastal cutthroat on a small stream in the Smith River drainage. I also spent some time fishing the South Fork of the Smith, which was surprisingly fun. In the summer it's a great little trout stream, teaming with small rainbows. I had fun catching rainbows (future steelhead?) on dries while Mackenzie played with her Dora rod and purple Fishy.  Coastal Cutthroat  Andrew fishing with Mackenzie  Katie fishing with Madison |
Just finished up two days with Donald Norene and his buddy Marty. We ran around the upper Rogue lookin for summer steelhead. We found them. Day one we had four encounters, two of which resulted in netted fish. Donald landed the first one fishing the Deathstar, some t-14 and an olive Dirk Wiggler. It was a nice hatchery hen.
Later that day, Randy hooked a couple fish briefly and then landed a nice wild hen on a floating line and little fly whose name I can't remember.
Randy had the only fish day two. It was a fiesty wild little feller.
The upper Rogue continues to be the best steelhead fishery around. We didn't have to fight for any water. There have been a few other fisherman around, but overall the river traffic has been light. If you want to hook a summer steelhead on a swung fly, come fish with me on the Rogue!
Here's my open dates in September and October: Sept 1-10, 13-15,21,22,28-30 Oct. 4-6,19,22-24,27,30,31.  The Donald with fish  Yes that's a Dirk Wiggler  Marty got it done |
I took Mitch from Bend out on the Upper Sac and McCloud today. We fished the Upper Sac near Dunsmuir in the morning. Conditions were perfect, with water temps around 50 degrees in the morning. The fish were in their happy place until Mitch came along. He hooked and landed lots of fish, with one about 18 and another fat 16 bow in the mix. Big rubber legs nymphs were the ticket in the morning. They were all beautiful wild rainbows. It was an excellent morning of fishing.
The Upper Sac was a hard act to follow. We fished Ash Camp on the McCloud in the afternoon. Mitch started off with a small brown and hooked about ten more rainbows up to 12. Smaller nymphs like Morrish Anato Mays worked well.  Mitch with beakie |
We had a truly amazing day on the Pit River today. I fished with Gareth from San Francisco. Keith at Leland's sent him up to fish with me so he could learn how to fish nymphs. Hopefully Gareth isn't spoiled for life now! After today, he would expect to catch a fish on almost every cast.
We fished the lower end of the river and didn't encounter another fly fisherman all day. The fish seemed well-rested and the cool spell we're having seems to agree with them. I have never seen so many fish come out of these holes before. Gareth hooked dozens and dozens of fish. He hooked a dozen just in one hole right after lunch. Most of them were 14-16 and we had a few in the 18-20 range. Naturally, the largest ones got away. They didn't seem overly picky when it came to fly selection. We even had one eat our bobber.
On a related note, flows on Pit 5 have definitely increased. I'm not sure what the flow is right now, but I really like it. I would guess it's around 300cfs, maybe a little more. A lot of formerly marginal spots are now really good. Some formerly good spots in the narrower sections of the river are now too fast to fish, but there is a major net increase in fishable water. Hopefully the flows stay the way they are right now.  Gareth caught a bunch like this  Fish on! |
Gold Ray Dam on the Upper Rogue has been breached. The dam is half removed and is accidentally ahead of schedule. A coffer dam gave way yesterday that was supposed to be in place for two more weeks while they dismantled and removed the rest of the south bank end of the dam. Some workers were stranded briefly waiting for a boat rescue. The dozer pictured in the right of the photo is stuck for now. A few salmon and steelhead were found stranded in the fish ladder and were put back in the river. The early breaching won't slow progress or cause any major change in the plan for removal according to the workers.
The Rogue now has over 150 miles of free flowing river. I should have a chance to check out some of the new water above the dam soon. Stay tuned.  Still some work to do  New channel on south bank |
I am currently relaxing back home with family and friends in Western Pennsylvania...A much needed break from my endless guide season, but I can't complain. I get to fish some of the best fly fishing venues the world has to offer year round. You should too!
Word on the street is that Gino and Jonny are going to hit the lower Klamath for a multi day camp trip while I'm gone...I did it a few years ago with G...truly Epic trip.
Looking at my calendar, I have very sparse availability this Fall. Here is what I have left:
Sept 16-19...Clearwater/Trinity
Oct 5-8...Clearwater...Fall River Dry Fly
Oct 14-16..Clearwater...Fall River Dry Fly
Nov 5-7...Trinity
Nov 10, 11, 13-14...Trinity
Nov 18-24...Trinity
Dec...Trinity
The Fall River Frog hatch is over by the way...you missed it.
The Source...New Zealand is out. I'm biased, but it is the finest fly fishing film I've ever seen...seriously. Bug your favorite fly shop to get it in stock if they don't already.
 fall colors on the Trinity  September Steelhead on the Trinity  October in Nor Cal is my favorite month |
My wife and I spent last weekend in Hood River, Oregon. While she was in a business meeting, I had a chance to sneak out and fish the Klickatat river in Washington. My Simms sales rep Eric Neufeld gave me directions to some sweet water on the Klick. His directions were spot on. My Sage TCX 7126, also known as the Death Star, 12 ft of T-14, and a huge pink Dirk Wiggler, was the magic combination for the 9lb hen that was holding in a boulder strewn mid-river slot. She grabbed the fly early in the swing, grabbed it again ten feet later, and then finally committed to chowing it shortly thereafter. It was my first Washington steelhead on a river that boasts some classic glacial tinted swing water. Unfortunately my camera was in the truck. Can't wait for my next visit to the Klick.
Yesterday I was out in the Predator sled with my good friend Brian Sohl. Me and the Sohl Man cruised up the Rogue to one of our favorite swing runs. The Sohl Man started at the top of the run with a black Morrish POM skater. While I was having a nature moment, I heard him yelling my name. I hustled to the boat, grabbed the camera, and ran up river just in time to get these pics. The Rogue steelhead is not well known as a surface oriented fish. That might be changing. I have heard of a number of fish caught on the surface already this year. We will have good water conditions (temps) til about mid Sept condusive to fishing skaters and traditional wet flies. I am having encounters with steelhead every day I go out. The Rogue is the best early season fishery in our region and will continue to get better.  Sohl Man steelie on surface skater  Head shot with POM skater |
I spent the last two days fishing with Lloyd from Livermore at Clearwater Lodge. We fished Fall River yesterday. Lloyd caught fish on streamers, dries, and nymphs. Fall River is fishing really well right now and there is hardly anyone on the river. There is a good spinner fall in the morning, followed by a good PMD hatch from 10:30 to 12:30. After that it's time for water boatmen, leeches, and nymphs. Today we started off with an excellent morning on the Pit River. Lloyd hooked a lot of 16-18 rainbows and put a couple in the net. Our best flies were a pumpkin rubber legs size 6 and an olive caddis pupa size 16. Lloyd landed a great 16 rainbow on Hat Creek in the afternoon.  Pit River bow  Lloyd with one of his big rainbows |
I spent the morning fishing our private stretch of Battle Creek with friend and fellow guide Mike Corley. This stream is just amazing. Here we are in the 2nd week of August and the water temperature is only 58 degrees! Needless to say, the trout were very happy and eagerly ate our dry flies and nymphs. Battle Creek isn't a big fish destination. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in numbers. I probably hooked fifty fish in about two hours of fishing. Wild rainbows up to 10 inches rose readily to our grasshopper patterns and devoured our dropper nymphs. The section of stream that we fished today is easy to wade and would make for an ideal introduction to fly fishing for a teenager. Mike and I wet waded and never felt hot at all until we left the shaded canyon.  Battle Creek Rainbow  Do you see what I see? |
I just finished up a double half day and a full day on the Rogue. It was two days of a two handed rock star summer camp dawn til dusk steelhead spey guide extravaganza.
Started off with annual crew of Scott Humphrey and his posse of Jill and Donald. We piled into the raft and floated one of my favorite beats on the Upper Rogue. Donald managed to land one steelhead on our first run of the day. It was his first steelhead on a spey rod. Nicely done, Donald!
That evening I took out John Kryzanowski, a Fly Water customer, for a spey lesson/evening session in the jet boat. Our lesson got interupted by the yank of a big steelhead. Unfortunately it was short lived. John and I had a great casting session though.
The next morning John and I were out again and ran up to a sweet piece of water. I warned John on about his tenth cast that he was about to hook one. He hooked one a couple casts later. It peeled of some line and popped off. A little futher down the run he hooked another, about a twenty incher. A little feller, as George Cook would call it, we were happy to get it to the net.  Donald with head shot of first Steelie  Scott Humphey preparing to launch  John with a 16 ounce Silver Bullet |
I got smoked today by two steelhead on the Upper Rogue. I ran out this morning at dawn in search of a grab. The river was kinda busy for a Wednesday. When I arrived at the ramp this morning there were already 5 jetboats and one driftboat on the water. I met a guy launching his boat and his comment was hmm, I wonder why it's so busy this morning? Must be some fish around, ey? I took that as a good sign.
I fished a full floater through the head of this nice run only to find a mega willy grab. After getting back from a trip into the woods, I switched up to a medium sink 10 versa leader because the light was getting on the water. I tied on a version of a Green Butt Skunk. I fished it for a hundred yards and the willies wouldn't touch it. I was losing confidence in the fly. I wanted to change it. I gave it one more cast and midway through the swing it came tight. I medium sized hot steely peeled off some line, did a couple jumps, and then ran to the nearest snag. I reeled in a nice stick.
A little further down river I hooked another steelie. It pulled off about 20 feet of line and popped off. Same fly.
Saw Gary Anderson and Al Perriman on the river. Gary reported that he hooked one.
No fish pics. Maybe next time. |
I took Frank and Jeff to Fall River today. Jeff did very well on streamers, hooking lots of fish on a brown bouface leech. Frank had similar results. We hooked our largest fish on nymphs today, with the beadhead pheasant tail size 16 being the best. Jeff landed a fat 19 rainbow that was pushing 3 pounds! Frank landed some nice fish plus one large dragonfly that flew off with his flies and indicator.  I need a new hat!  Frank's big fish  Dax and client fishing dries |
For those who actually spend time on Fall River, the hex hatch is still producing superb dry fly fishing opportunities, and epic sunsets. If you have yet to experience one of the most amazing hatches known to man, book a trip at Clearwater...we know what is going on around our local waters. Or, refer to speculative blogs and fishing reports posted by out of town anglers.
 sunsets and hex hatches |
I had a really nice day on the McCloud today with Frank and Jeff from the Sacramento area. We fished the Ah-di-na area. Frank found about five fish in the first hole he fished. Action slowed for a while before lunch, but we did very well from 1-4:30pm. Our best flies were a HBI size 14 and a brown S&M size 14. Water temps were around 52 degrees in the morning and 57 in the afternoon. Fishing seemed to get much better as the water warmed in the afternoon. We spend about 3 hours in the Nature Conservancy Preserve and had the whole place to ourselves!  Frank with a fish on  Lots of these ate our flies today |
I took mother/daughter team Melinda and Lindsey out on Fall River today. The river was a ghost town - only a couple boats on the entire river today. We had fun casting dries in the morning and then tried some nymphing in the afternoon. We did best right after lunch with a copper john size 16 under a corkie indicator. Lindsey hogged all the fish, but Melinda had an 18 rainbow right up to the net before it let her go. There is currently a good PMD spinner fall in the morning and a decent PMD hatch from 11-2. The water boatmen are active, providing some welcome dry fly opportunities during the heat of the day.  Lindsey's fish was camera-shy |
Early steelheading is fair to good on the upper Rogue for those getting out early and staying out late. I will be guiding the upper Rogue for early summer fish for the next few weeks. Getting out at first light is key and most effective. This is the time of year when our steelhead will destroy a swung traditional fly on a floating line. Hook your first steelhead of the season on the Rogue! My available dates are.. July 26-28,30,31 and August 2,4,6-12, 15-20.
The lower Rogue will start fishing well for fall Chinook in late August. We are anticipating a good Chinook run this year based on ocean surveys and the current success of bay trollers. Our fall kings will continue to run into late September when they are joined by their Coho cousins. That is a great time to be on the Lower Rogue for the chance at the Trifecta of Steelhead, Chinook, and Coho. My available dates are August 22-25, Sept. 7-10, 13-17, 20-23.
Our lower Rogue tactics are all swing related with two-handed rods (spey rods). We use my Willie Predator jet boat to navigate the river and hit the prime spots. If you have never seen the lower Rogue, this is a great opportunity to see some amazing swing water and have a chance at hooking the fish of a lifetime!  Lower Rogue King  Early Rogue Summer Steel  The Taxi on the Lower Rogue |
Thanks to David, Haustin, Tom & Doug for coming to the 2nd Clearwater Lodge guide school of 2010! Gino and I had a great time teaching you the ins and outs of being a fly fishing guide. We wish all of you the best with your guiding careers!  David guided me into this great sucker!  Haustin on the Lower Sac |
Gino and I have a great group of aspiring guides in this year's 2nd guide school at Clearwater Lodge. We've already been to the Pit and Hat Creek and spent a day casting and learning entomology. Tomorrow we're back on the Pit River, which has been fishing well. We did well yesterday with prince nymphs, small pheasant tails, and micro mayflies. There are plenty of 9-12 fish plus some nice 15-17 fish, too.  David on the Pit  We have the bugs  And the crayfish |
I had a great two days with the Lawson family recently. I fished with Bob, Barbara, and their daughter Shannon. We fished the Pit, Hat, and Fall rivers systems during our two day set. This was their second trip to Clearwater this summer and they are already planning to come back this fall. We had some memorable moments both fishing and wading. Barbara saw her backing twice on Fall river fish. Bob encountered a couple giants on the Pit which cost him a few flies. And Shannon filled in the gaps in one of our Hat Creek honey holes where she hooked and landed some nice trout and a giant sucker. I look forward to seeing them again soon at the lodge.  Shannon and D.G. on the Pit  Shannon with monster sucker  Fall River fish into backing |
Katie and I spent a rare day together without the kids on the Trinity River today. We floated the lower river to see if any fish were around yet. Flows are really nice right now, around 1500cfs and the water was a nice cool 60 degrees. The water is dropping steadily and the river is becoming more fishable by the day. We swung a few prime spots with our spey rods, but didn't connect. We did see 20 or so salmon and steelhead swim underneath the boat as we floated, and we also bumped into Dax and client Dennis T, who were on a scouting mission of their own.  Katie swinging a nice run  Andrew & Katie |
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