San Luis Reservoir and Oneill Forebay are my home waters. The pages beneath, chronicle my trips to these waters with photography and video over the last years. With the advent of GoPro Cameras and advances in video editing software, I’ve tried to capture the feel of fly fisihng these bodies of waters through the seasons having fished there since the 70’s. As many have pointed out, it seems the fishing was better years ago. As tribute to the great fishermen who loved this body of water who are now gone including my father–I say fish for the moment. There are links in this blog to Len Bearden’s 1991-92 fishing diaries giving me a reference to “the way it was” 25 years ago. Someday these blog post will also be considered the old days so till then – YOLO. I try to fish there weekly when work allows.
“…On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”
Saturday Sept 24, 2023 – It’s been a couple of weeks since my last Striper fishing outing in the local waters. After an incredible week in Alaska, battling massive salmon, I needed a couple of days to recuperate. Last week, I returned to reports of fantastic fishing from all the regulars frequenting the lake and…
Following the success of last Wednesday, a day subsequent to the full moon, I felt a renewed eagerness to revisit the , full moon late bite hypothesis. Remarkably, the moon was nearly full again last night. Over the past two days, strong winds have swept through the area. Notably, yesterday saw wind gusts reaching…
Wednesday, August 30, 2022. Recently , Its been tough fishing on the lake and forebay. Between the wind keeping us off the lake and the hot temperatures pushing the fish deep, Feeding a dozen fish in a day is a great day. The last couple times out, I just couldn’t crack the code. I was…
Wednesday August 23, 2023 – After last weeks no hitter, I wasn’t planning on fishing the forebay again today but Brian had fished the forebay yesterday and he told me he got 4 fish in 1 1/2 hours. So, I started fishing the power station at around 8:00. Water was coming in and there…
Wednesday August 16, 2022 Sometime I have a day where nothing seem to be working out. I am headed to Meridian Idaho tomorrow for the weekend to hang out with my sister and mom. With the wind conditions ideal today despite the 104 degree highs, I figured I might get a few hours of…
For me, returning to the fish San Luis Reservoir or the Forebay is like scratching a nagging itch – an urge that’s relentless, demanding satisfaction. This compulsion doesn’t care where I am at in the world and I long to get back to my home water even when Im fishing somewhere else. Rain or shine,…
July 24, 2023 – I was hoping to fish today but got “Wind Blocked”. Instead, my buddy Vaughn inspired me to write poetry instead….. Ode to the Red Light In a lake where winds prevail, Amidst the gusts, a tale unveils, Of anglers bold, with hearts afire, To chase the striped bass, their heart’s…
July 21, 2023 -Today was a truly unforgettable day spent fishing with my good friend Ken Oda. We took advantage of the predicted calm winds, making it an ideal day to go out on the water. Meeting at Dinosaur Point around 9:00 AM, we set off towards the Trash Racks. Although I had anticipated the…
July 19, 2023. After setting a record with Dan in the Upwelling day before yesterday landing 93 fish in one day. I was anxious to get back out if another calm day came up. I was eager to return to break that record if another calm day presented itself. Whether it was wishful thinking or…
July 15, 2023 – Two hundred and fifty feet down and a football field out from the trash racks exists a fishing phenomena I call “The Upwelling”. It occurs when water is pumped into the lake from the forebay through the massive pumps at the base of the trash racks. On a calm day like…
June 23, 2023 – Just a couple of days ago, I couldn’t help but think that you can never have enough of a good thing. Well, that turned out to be a jinx. It seemed like the wind was finally going to calm down and give us a break for a couple of days. However,…
Today, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, serves as a poignant reminder of life’s blessings and my imminent retirement. After 40 years of running a private practice, transitioning from four days of clinical work to just two has brought about noticeable changes. This year, I’ve taken up fishing the lake and forebay on Wednesdays for the first…
Saturday June 17, 2023 – A few weeks ago, my friend Steph and I had an amazing day fishing on the lake, and ever since then, I’ve been eager to get back out there almost every day. Today was the first day in three weeks that the “Red Light” warning for the lake and Forebay…
Wednesday June 7, 2023. – The lake has been good for the last couple weeks for those fishermen brave enough to go out in unpredictable winds. As of late, The three phone apps that I use to predict the wind conditions on the lake are WindAlert, Windfinder and Windy have been wrong. In the…
Saturday June 4, 2023 After my fishless day at the Forebay last week, I had a hunch that things were about to change. The sonar showed a significant number of fish, and the weed growth was slightly behind schedule. Once the weeds reach their peak, it’s a sign that the bait will flourish, and…
May 15, 2023. It was great to get back out on the lake after three weeks off . As predicted , the lake went off these last weeks while I was in Spain. I was planning on exploring the full lake alone yesterday but invited Vaughn at the last movement. After a long recovery…
Friday April 14, 2023. The next three weeks are going to busy for me with a Henderson Springs trip next week and a long awaited Cruise to Spain, Morocco and Portugal following that, it may be mid May till I can fish the forebay again. I fished hard the last couple weeks almost every other…
April 10, 2023 – After an exceptionally good day two days ago, I was optimistic that the forebay would be even better today. There was a huge amount of pressure on Easter Sunday according to Tim Anderson who was also on the lake today as was Brian. It was Tim’s third day in a row…
Saturday April 8, 2023 – I have always held the belief that sharing fishing reports comes with a great deal of Karma. Whether it is writing this blog, offering tackle to those who are learning, or simply sharing what you have learned at the dock, Karma operates on the principle of cause and effect. This…
Wednesday April 6, 2023 – As part of my five-year transition into retirement, I’ve decided to fish on Wednesdays this year. Last week, I had some success fishing at the Forebay and was excited to try the lake today. What struck me immediately was how full the lake was. Even in 2018, after a severe…