Lower Sac: , by Luke Geraty: Cracking the code leads to BIG fish!: 3 stars I just spent a day and a half with some great guests, Tom and his wife Cheryl. Tom and I have fished together before and he decided to come back for more, only this time he brought his wife. After we gave Cheryl a casting lesson and went over a few of the minor details related to fly fishing, we were floating. Guess what? Cheryl IMMEDIATELY caught a 20 inch trout and we were off to the races! Our first day we fished from 2 until 6:30pm and the fishing was pretty good, ESPECIALY after we cracked the bug code. Lately there's been a decent grab on caddis but I can't say it's been really consistent. Seems like it's been a fish on this bug and a fish on that bug but nothing that I can say is THE fly to use. That changed, and after finally figuring out the bugs to use, it was game on (both days!). There was definitely a bit of a "bite" going on from 3 until 5:30pm that first night, as we got consistent grabs on those tiny flies we were using. Unfortunately, landing 20+ inch fish on tiny bugs is a lot easier said than done. But despite losing a few of the big fish, we got some really nice ones to the net, as you can tell by the photos. On the second day we started early and put a fish in the net pretty quick. I rowed up to the top of a riffle and told Tom to cast and he and Cheryl both said, "Even though it's really shallow?" Yep. Cast right there... BOOM! Game on. Fish will move into shallow water to eat and when they eat, they EAT! The rest of the day was average, with grabs here and there but it didn't get good until the end of the day for the last three hours. We hooked a number of BIG fish again and Cheryl put one in the net that was just a tad over 22 inches long. We took a photo of it when it was sitting in the net resting and getting its energy back right before it took off. All in all we were successful because we (1) had a great time, (2) Cheryl and Tom came super prepared with the White Claws (ha ha), (3) we put some great fish in the net, and (4) Cheryl killed it! I was so proud that she went from NEVER having cast a fly rod to hooking and landing a bunch of fish. In fact, by the middle of the second day, she was coaching (guiding?) Tom and letting me know where to take us (and she was right!). What a great day and a half! They are already planning their next trip in October, so you better book today or there may not be any spots left! Tom with a gorgeous Sacramento rainbow trout 22 inches of trout pig! Cheryl learned how to cast a fly rod AND catch big fish! Pelicans are still hanging around. Another of Cheryl’s numerous fish. Tom caught this immediately on our second day! Guides like to drop in on photos of big fish; I like to drop in on photos of small ones! Next 10 open days for Luke Geraty: Dec 18, Jan 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15, 22, 24, Feb 5 |