Good Gino just forwarded some photos from the Trinity River. It looks like his guest Bill connected with a great fish in their first run this morning. Nice fish Bill!  Bill swung this one up this morning |
Good I just finished up two days with the Diablo Valley Fly Fishers on the Trinity River. We had a great time and despite what everyone has been saying there are actually some fish in the river. I floated two days and only saw one bank angler and one other boat, which was part of our group! I have rarely seen the Trinity River so devoid of other anglers and guides. We found fish right away both days. Yesterday we found quite a few fish spread out throughout our drift. Today they were a little harder to find but we got into a great spot after lunch where we hooked three nice adult fish. There are a lot of small fish this year. It seems like there are a bunch of 2-3 pound fish and then there is another age class of 5 pound fish. In October I hooked into some huge fish and I don't know where they went but I will keep looking!We have rain in the forecast starting Wednesday and we are all curious to see what will happen with the Trinity and Sac. With tens of thousands of acres of burned, barren landscape in both drainages, we are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Stay tuned...  Getting ready on a cold morning  Our first fish of the day today  Rob with one of his fish |
It's always a nice adjustment after spending the summer in Alaska to return home to Northern California and to the numerous steelhead rivers that make this such an exciting place to live as an angler. For me, nothing compares to swinging one of my favorite runs close to home in hopes of getting that big handshake, and the river I find myself on more often than not during the fall is the Trinity. I cut my teeth learning the hard lessons of steelhead fishing on this river, and I always feel a certain nostalgia when I walk into a spot or step into a run that has become like an old friend. This fall has seen a return of exceptionally low water for all of our rivers and the Trinity is looking a lot like I remember it from a few years ago during the drought years. With that in mind, I tied up a few bugs for swinging the Trinity when it's low and clear. Hope you enjoy! Looking ahead it does look like some rain will finally make landfall during Thanksgiving week. Hopefully it'll be the first of a few storms, but any measurable rainfall should be enough to get fish on the move at this point. I've heard a few good reports from guys fishing Kings in tidewater. Both on the Smith and Eel Rivers. It's definitely been a departure from our past two fall seasons for King fishing here on the coast with the absence of rain. Fingers crossed we luck out with a wet December and get a good shot at swinging up a few before the new year. Either way, it's almost time for winter steelhead! Stay tuned.  The perfect specimen that makes it all seem worth it.  A simple soft hackle tied on a sz8 Alec Jackson.  Flash body and copper wing with fall colors mixed in on this mini intruder. Tied on a 35mm Partridge  Rear assembly  A variation of the timeless Royal Coachman.This old school pattern still makes them cross their eyes |
Okay The conditions on the Trinity remain the same, LOW-CLEAR-COLD, there are fish spread throughout the system,with a heavier concentration in the upper river, Lewiston...The forecasters are becoming more confident about some precip coming in around the 20th, hopefully enough to raise the flows as well as the water temps...regardless, if you put the time in you'll find a fish or two-Tight Lines  John M. swung up this healthy hatchery buck Saturday |
Okay I had the opportunity to guide a great group of anglers from the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club. The fishing remains tough with these low and clear conditions. Today was Kathy’s first time steelheading and everything fell into place as she hooked and landed her first steelhead! I had a great two days working with, and getting to know everyone.  Kathy's first steelhead! |
Good I had a great day with my guests Fred and his nephew
John. After a very cold start, it warned
up nicely as John hooked and landed a nice pre-spawn salmon. John had the hot rod today - after landing
the salmon, he hooked into a very nice hatchery hen that gave him quite a
fight, and then he was hooked up again on a small wild adult. Fred had a brief hook-up, but lost the battle
after a few headshakes. The fish gods
were kind to us today during the maiden voyage of my new NRS raft!  John with a nice hatchery hen  John with a small wild adult  John with his salmon |
Good I spent a fun day on the Trinity with Steve and Gary from Sacramento. Fishing has been tough, but the silver lining has been really light fishing pressure. We had our float pretty much all to ourselves today. Steve and Gary both landed a couple of nice adult steelhead today. It was fun catching fish, enjoying good company, and soaking up some fall sunshine.  A beautiful fall day on the Trinity River |
Slow I just finished four days on the Trinity. My guests choose to swing flies with two-handed rods all four days and it was tough fishing. My guest Marna hooked a fairly fresh salmon that gave her quite a fight the first day, and my guest Jeff had a brief hook-up on Saturday, but spit the fly after 3-4 good headshakes. Nymphing may provide a better opportunity, but I know they are working very hard to find fish. Rain is in the extended forecast for next week – let’s keep our fingers crossed! |
Good Gino guided guests John and Francis the last two days on the Rogue. John forwarded these two photos. John says: "Great day on the Rogue."  Rogue steelie close-up  Guest John with a great fish |
Good Gino forwarded me this photo from his trip on the Upper Rogue today.  Marna on the Rogue |
Good Spent a great fall afternoon with Father and son Stephen and Jonathan on the Lower Sac. We drifted a lower section of the river and had the water all to ourselves. We had a good morning with lots of opportunities. Fishing got a little slow as the wind picked up around 11, but things heated back up at the end of the day. Jonathan landed his first Lower Sac fish and both guys had encounters with big fish that will leave them hoping for a rematch! Great Day!  Such a beautiful back drop for Stephen's First fish on a fly rod!  Jonathan Having a ball |
Great My two days with Pat amazing! Sunday, the fish were pretty tightlipped, but all the fish she landed were really big! She had an epic battle after hooking into a really hot fish that had her well into her backing within seconds! Figuring she wouldn’t top landing another fish like that, she called it a day. Today the grab was on all day! She consistently landed fish in the 16-19 inch range all day. It is always a pleasure guiding her on the Sac! |
Good I had the pleasure of spending the past two days with Ted,
Jim, and their sons. The weather was
unusually hot for this time of year, and the water is very low and clear, but
we managed to hook into some really nice fish both days. Friday, Zack hooked into a really nice fish
right away, but it broke off during a run. Zack connected again with a small hatchery adult after lunch. Today, both Ted and Tommy hooked into a few
nice fish throughout the day. Being so
early, I am encouraged and look forward to the rest of the season on the
Trinity!  Ted and Zack |
Good We didn't get the photo we wanted today but we managed to connect with several exceptional Trinity steelhead today. Two were in the 10-pound range and the rest were over 5 pounds. These fish tail-walked, cartwheeled, and made blistering runs that are more characteristic of fish caught closer to the salt. These are encouraging signs for our Trinity steelhead season that is just getting under way!  Wading the Trinity |
Red Hot I fished up in Redding today with regular guests Steve and Rick from the Bay Area. The fishing in the morning was amazingly good! We fished egg patterns in the salmon redds all morning and connected with many fish in the 18-21" range. The fish were in great condition and many were in the three pound range. The big fish really come out this time of year - about a dozen of the fish we caught today would easily be the big fish of the day any other time of year! There are respectable numbers of king salmon spawning and there is also a really good caddis and baetis hatch going on. We caught a couple fish on nymphs in the afternoon, but today the fish were pretty focused on eating salmon eggs.  Steve and Rick caught a lot of fish like this one today |
Good The Lower Sac Swing fishing has been good to Great, with a mix of Wild Bo's to 4lbs and a mix of hatchery and Wild Steelhead to 6lbs. There coming on both the Swung fly and Tight Line Nymph techniques, most days offer shots at rising fish with the DryFly as well.At times we're working hard for them and some are coming more easily, bottom line is they are there for the wading angler looking to put in the effort.Tight Lines-  Battle Creek Steelhead...  another Nice one Jon !  Headed back to the Salt ...  Dues Paid ! |
Great Steve and I had an awesome day fishing the Balls to Jelly's float today, catching all the trout we wanted and a salmon in the Barge Hole as a bonus. Beautiful weather, good company and great fishing makes for big smiles on the river!  Steve with a Barge Hole Salmon |
Great The nymph bite continues to be consistent throughout the day. My guests David and Karl, another father-son team had a great day! Other than a few brief lulls, they had solid fishing all day. The long range forecast is calling for beautiful weather this week, but there is a possibility of rain next week – which is much needed as we transition from the Sac to the Trinity.  Karl with a nice fish |
Good The Lower Sac is fishing pretty good for Rainbow's and Steelhead on the Swing and offering fairly consistant hatches durring the day for the Dry Fly Angler, I use a jet boat to access the River for Wading Anglers and it's countless Bars and Brakes ! The Trinity has steelhead from top to bottom with lots of pressure, especially on the weekends, some anglers are getting em , some anglers are paying there dues. I would rate it as fair. Flows on the Trinity are scheduled to drop to 300cfs out of Lewiston on Tuesday...LOW and CLEAR...the ever present Steelheading mantra of "we could use some rain to stir things up" is currently in FULL effect.Tight Lines-
 Battle Creek Steelhead  Working Towards the Sweet Spot |
Good Today my guests were father-son duo, David and Corbin. This was their first time fly fishing and we had a great time considering the extreme wind. They worked hard and both hooked into some really nice fish throughout the day. David and Corbin were “hooked” on fly fishing by the end of the day! |