It’s raining today, so I figured I’d spend some time at the vise, tying flies and contemplating my life choices. My cousin Wayne and I are both practicing dentists and retired commercial fly tyers—though at this point, our fly tying skills might be more reliable than our dentistry. Maybe it’s our age, or maybe we’ve just…
People often inquire about the most effective fly patterns for fishing in San Luis Reservoir. For years, my response was quite straightforward: Clousers. However, during a recent fishing expedition with Dan Blanton, I posed a thought-provoking question: Does being a skilled fly tyer enhance one’s prowess as a fisherman? Dan’s response was that you can…
Im lucky to share my home waters with some pretty amazing fly fishermen. One of the greats on San Luis and the Forebay is Lee Haskin who I had the pleasure of connecting with at the Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show last week. With Lee’s permission, I was able to Film him tying his iconic…
July 25, 2021 – I receive many emails and texts asking what fly Im using in the Forebay and in the Lake. The truth is that I dont really have more than 6 flies in any style that are identical. One of the aspects of fishing the forebay and lake as my “home” waters is…
The “Hex” mayfly is the second largest mayfly in North America (the largest is Litobrancha recurvata) and is know to reach as much as 1.5 inches in size. They live in muddy lake and river bottoms and hatch right before dark. Female Duns have lighter yellow bodies and smaller eyes than males and are typically…
When I think of Selective Trout -smart trout that test your knowledge of entomology, your skills as a fly tyer and your fly casting skill – I think of Railroad Ranch. Its always been Railroad Ranch. Railroad Ranch gets its name from the Oregon Short Line Railroad which purchased the Thurmond Ranch Homestead in 1997…
Over the last 50 years of fly fishing San Luis Reservoir, I tried hundreds of different fly patterns on this particular fishery trying to get the edge. Many of the old timers feel they have cracked the code on fly patterns for San Luis. The many really talented San Luis Reservoir fly fisherman Ive come…
Thanks to my friends for the advice on saving the next 30 lbr should I be so lucky. Ken Oda and Steve Santucci have caught and released lots of 30 plus pound stripers. Both agree that if a striper doesnt revive with towing, using a deep water release is the the next step. Not alot…
Remember the days before digital photography? I remember unboxing the Kodac DC 40. In January of 1995, Kodak released the DC40 camera which was the first digital camera for the consumer market. In 1998, I lost my server to a lightining strike and lost a large portion of my photography backups but I know backups…
I know that a trolling motor should last more than three years but the fact that you cant upgrade the Ipilot features on the anything older than a 2016 pushed me over the edge with the idea of upgrading the Ulterra instead of fixing it. Instead of fishing today, I ran over to the local…
The weather pattern this week was strange with showers in Jun. The last couple weekends that I have been back from Europe have been busy with a Bathroom Remodel as well as the Wedding of our neighbors son Eric and the graduation of our niece Megan from Leland. Ive kept my eye on the fishing…
“You fish — then you die — or you don’t fish and die anyway — your choice” Unknown I met Jim 14 years ago at my daughters soccer games. He was the grandfather of Mia’s teammate and we shared a passion for fly fishing. He moved to the Villages in San Jose from Bodega…
The Fly of Choice in the Delta last week was a Chartreuse 5 1/2 in Clouser. Steve likes them, and I like what he likes. I thought I would take this weekend to replenish my flies. I also like this fly in San Luis, and caught some personal best stripers on it. The recipe is…
For years I thought that I could improve my golf score by buying expensive drivers I felt that feeling of anticipation as I unboxed my newest Fly Rod acquisition – The Echo Boost Beach 8wgt. The Boost Beach is a 12ft 2inch overhead casting two handed rod developed by Tim Rajeff for overhead casting…
These last couple weeks at Oneill Forebay have me exploring size 1 and 2 Craft Fur Clousers that have proven to be exceptionally effective this season. I have had past success with bucktail closers in the same size and color, but I am beginning to believe that the Craft Fur actually has a better…
Last weeks session with Dan Blanton on Oneill Forebay left me experimenting with flies that have action on the pause. He used a fly that featured a brass rattle tied to 80 lb mono that rear weighted a three inch flashtail clouser. The end of the mono had a burnt knob on the…
It’s never too early to prepare flies for a big trip especially when the trip calls for ten dozen flies minimum. My trip to Bolivia for Golden Dorado is not till next fall but I may be tying flies for three people. Hopefully I will get some help from my friends in Africa and can…
This weekend’s unsettled weather shut down my plans to fish San Luis this weekend for stripers. Dan Dee, an old San Luis fisherman, was in the bay area and was hoping to get a day with me on the Lake. Instead , we decided to go over to Bass Pro Shop and hang a while.…
A new day in retail Almaden Flyfishing has begun with the opening of one of four California Bass Pro Shops two miles from my house and 5 minutes from my office. I attended the grand opening last night joining a huge crowd. Jimmy Houston led the crowd in a prayer along with celebrities Dwight Clark,…
One of my favorite people to fish with, Waynes father in law, John Leonard, is one of the most accomplished and experienced fly fishermen I know. Using the Phantom 3 in 4k mode with a polorizing filter, I was able to catch a glimpse of what makes us return to this unique river year after…