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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 |
Brannon Santos and I guided a great group of folks on the Feather River today. We had great weather, good hatches, and very little action. It didn't seem like there were a ton of trout or steelhead around. Shawn from Colorado landed one nice steelie about 18 and we hooked three other trout. The pikeminnow and sucker action was pretty good below the afterbay outlet. We had double hookups on the rough fish in several locations. Our best double was at the end of the day when Shawn hooked his steelhead and Brian hooked a sucker at the same time. Shawn was hoping to catch a golden trout on this trip to California. I tried to convince him that the suckers were golden trout, but he didn't buy it!  Shawn with a Feather steelie |
I had a very nice day on the river today with George from Pleasanton. We spent the day on he lower river where we enjoyed great scenery, good fishing and lots of solitude. Fishing was best for us in the morning, with fish coming to a brown rubberlegs and a variety of standard nymphs. George got a nice grab on a caddis dry, too. The highlight of our day came as we were floating through one of the deepest holes. A giant sturgeon came up to the surface and rolled just ten feet from the boat! That was a first for me. It looked about as big as I am! We got a great look at it before it headed back down into the depths.  Lower Sac cutthroat? |
I spent the afternoon scouting our private stretch of Battle Creek with my brother-in-law Clint today. Starting in early May we will be offering private guide trips on this great wild trout stream. The weather was incredible today and the bugs were really coming off. We saw large caddisflies bouncing on the water, some small stoneflies cruising around, and a few mayflies even. The wild rainbows should be fat and happy come trout season. Confluence Outfitters is the exclusive booking agent for this magnificent ranch which includes access to over three miles of the creek. If you've been looking for a place to fish dry flies all day long for wild rainbows, this is it.  Battle Creek is rugged, wild, and full of rainbows |
Clearwater Lodge at the Pit River is offering a pretty sweet deal this year: get an Orvis Helios fly rod for free when you book a 3 day / 4 night fishing package. Your stay has to be Sunday-Thursday and can be anytime during the 2010 season. To take advantage of the special, you must book your trip before June 1st. For full details contact Clearwater Lodge. Gino, Jon and Drew will be guiding for Clearwater throughout the summer and look forward to fishing with you on the great rivers in the area. |
I just completed two incredible backcountry missions. The first was a solo exploratory mission where I got dropped off at a river in the middle of nowhere via boat. Beautiful rainforest river, no people, but no fish either! That's the game.
The next mission was a different story. I was being filmed for a movie coming out in July by Gin Clear Productions called The Source. We searched, we found, we pillaged on drys for 3 days on multiple backcountry rivers. We got some stunning footage, and I am excited to see the final product later this year. It will be avaiable in most fly shops worldwide, and featured in the Rise Film Festival throughout Europe, Australia, NZ, and the US.
Finally some rain and cooler weather, which sould trigger some mayfly hatches and sea run brown movement. Life is good.  Rainbow Heaven  Johannas from Auckland  Nick Reygart...one man film crew |
The last few days have produced more great fish on drys. Clayne finally landed a superb specimen, after getting schooled by the other browns he has hooked over the previous couple days. I will post a photo of his great fish when I get it from Val. Thanks to Val, Clayne, and Logan for fishing hard and keeping at it in tough conditions...you guys are a pleasure to fish with.
I had a great day with Steve and Julie Shea, long time friends from Montana and keen NZ anglers. We had to bounce around to a few different venues until we found the right river, at the right time. Steve landed two monster browns on drys, and had a third one well over 10 lbs eat his dry, but not come tight somehow. Julie hooked a massive brown that eventually broke her off. She made a tough cast into a strong headwind to get the grab though...great shot Julie!
I'm heading into the backcountry for some explatory fishing for a few days...looking for another Church River. The Game continues.  what a fish Steve!  Shey's other big brown |
Ok, I finally had to bust out some nymphs this last week, but they aren't working that great! Most rivers are very low, and the fish are getting pretty spooky...even by NZ standards. We need some rain to hit the reset button. We have had some epic moments though this last week between gale force winds.
My client Val has managed to land a 6 & 8 pounder on drys the last few days, and 80 year old dad Clayne had a truly gigantic fish break him off on a dry as well. He also hooked one on a dirty hair and copper that I tie. We are going to give it another go tomorrow....hopefully in less wind.
Yesterday, Jim from California fished hard, and almost caught lots of fish! We had about 30 shots at feeding fish...but man, were they tough. He will be back next year for a longer period of time, and he is planning on coming up to Clearwater for some advanced casting lessons to ensure better shooting next year. What a fun day though with a great guy. I look forward to fishing Fall River with him in a few months.  Val with a fish of a lifetime  I'm such a lazy brown  sadly, this is not our fly |
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