Lower Sac: , by Luke Geraty: Ronan’s first wild trout on the Sac!: 3 stars Kevin Kay and I just spent another couple of days with Craig and his buddy John. I've had the pleasure of doing a number of trips with these guys, including the McCloud, the Lower Sac, and the Trinity. Craig's been bringing his buddy John and son Peter and on this trip Peter brought his buddy Ronan. Father and son trips with their buddies make for a great time! Given how tough the conditions have been on the Trinity, we decided to fish the Lower Sac both days and despite the river still being fairly colored up, we put a number of REALLY nice fish in the boat. As far as a "river report" goes, yesterday the fishing was much better in the morning and slowed down in the afternoon. The fish were eating rubber legs and egg imitations, so not much has changed in regard to what we're using. I threw some various nymphs on throughout the two days but none of our fish were eating those. I did, by the way, see a few PMD's fluttering around, which was nice. There hasn't been a lot of bug activity on the Sac for awhile. Both of our boats also saw a few fish rising and eating on the surface, so it might be worth bringing a dry fly rod soon enough, especially if we continue to have these 80 degree days in December. Did I mention that we could REALLY use some rain? Speaking of that, the water is super low (3,020cfs at Keswick), so in addition to the water clarity issue, you really have to be aware that water that you THINK is 8 or 9 feet deep may actually be 3 or 4 feet deep! So I was changing up my weights throughout the day. The longer slow runs don't seem to be fishing as well as the faster water. Anyway, back to our guests... I can't say enough about Peter and Ronan! Those two young men really did great. It was Ronan's first time fly fishing with indicators and multiple flies and if you know anything about that, it can be a train wreck! It's not for the faint of heart and I can tell you that there are plenty of adults who have been fly fishing for DECADES who still struggle with casting. Not Ronan... he mastered the cast and was mending like a pro by the second day. I was really honored to be with him when he hooked and landed his first wild rainbow trout! He'd hooked a few fish and they kept shaking off... but he kept with it and was rewarded with a beautiful fish! I was so proud of him! And Peter has become a pretty good angler, hooking and landing fish throughout the past two days. Take your kids fishing! Seriously! All you really need is to be patient, help them learn how to cast and mend, throw in some candy here and there, and these trips can be super successful! After all, it's not just about catching fish, right? Ronan’s first wild trout on a fly rod! John putting in some work! Ice cream break! Craig with a nice fish! John putting ‘em in the net from the back of the boat! Another successful group trip! This was a biiigggg fish! Peter crushed it! First fish of the day! Next 10 open days for Luke Geraty: Nov 19, 26, Dec 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13 |