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.”
It’s been almost a month since I last fished the home waters, and apparently, the lake took it personally. Everything’s different now—water’s way up, temps are lounging in the mid-60s like they’re on spring break, and algae is smothering everything like a bad cologne. The wind has officially become sentient and moody, changing directions hourly…
Dodging the Storms and Chasing Stripers Saturday March 15, 2025 – It’s been raining for three days straight, and tomorrow promises more of the same. But today? Today was one of those freakishly perfect days—sandwiched between storms—when the wind disappears, the sun comes out, and everything feels just right. I wasn’t the only one who…
March 5, 2025 – Somewhere in the Wild Bureaucratic Hellscape of California Another bout of rain looms on the horizon, but the real storm already passed—an eight-day exile at the hands of California Parks and Recreation. Banished. Quarantined. A punishment so absurd it could only have been conceived by a government agency with no clear…
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 -California’s water managers have come up with yet another genius plan to save us all: stop boats from moving between O’Neill Forebay and San Luis Reservoir for eight days. Why? Because of the newly discovered Chinese golden mussel, an invasive species that’s now calling O’Neill Forebay home. Never mind that O’Neill…
Monday February 24, 2025 – February striper fishing these days is a roller coaster—a transitional circus of nature gone mad. The rains have come down like a curse, swelling both Forebay and Lake to surreal levels. Water turbidity is off the charts, with murk reducing visibility to a mere 1–4 feet, and a bitter cold…
January 24, 2025 -Fishing on the Forebay today turned out surprisingly well, despite there being no current flowing through from Check 12, the dam, or the powerhouse. I would have thought that by now water would be rushing south to Los Angeles, but there wasn’t enough current anywhere to swing my Clousers for stripers. Instead…
January 19, 2025 – Fishing the Forebay in January is usually slow. Cold weather, chilly water, heavy rains, and muddy conditions are the norm, but today was anything but typical. Maybe it’s because there’s something in the air—a feeling of renewal, like a rebirth of a nation. Or perhaps it’s special for a more personal…
Wednesday December 4, 2024 The mission for the day was simple in theory: catch one keeper for dinner. But in reality? A gamble, a twisted roll of the dice. December fishing is a schizophrenic beast—either the jackpot of blitzing action or a cruel exercise in futility. Vaughn and his merry band of misfits had taken…
Sunday November 24, 2024 – The first major atmospheric river of the year swept through the Bay Area this week, and as in past years, I made an effort to hit the Forebay after the first big rain. Fortunately, today’s weather cooperated—flat water and sunny skies made for an ideal day on the water, even…
It’s really frustrating that rebanding is no longer allowed, especially now that they’re inspecting boats as they leave. If the goal is to prevent mussel contamination in other bodies of water like the Forebay and the lake, inspecting boats on the way out doesn’t make much sense if. your not rebanding. I timed my inspection…
Monday Nov 4, 2024. – Is it too soon to start slinging Christmas cheer? Hell, it’s the day before the election. The stakes are high, my nerves are fried, and it’s all too surreal to face alone. So, I dialed up my favorite aging Republican fishing buddy, Don, an 86-year-old Stanford PhD in Electrical Engineering…
Friday November 1, 2024 – Someone told me the stripers were going wild in Portuguese Bay all day, so I thought I’d give it a shot on the Friday morning after Halloween. I headed out to the back of Portuguese Bay on San Luis Reservoir, hoping to hook a few big stripers blitzing on shad.…
My last fishing day in October was, as usual, very satisfying. October and November are prime months in the forebay, with large schools of shad moving through, drawing in aggressive stripers eager to chase flies. Today’s action was consistent—I found fish nearly everywhere I looked. Most were smaller, around 15-17 inches, but I did manage…
After a solid day on the lake Wednesday, I thought, “Why not press my luck again?” But this time, I took my game to the forebay, aiming for an earlier start. The plan was simple: hope the powerhouse current was flowing and let the October-November fish fiesta begin. With the shad population going wild and…
Monday October 21, 2024 – It was one of those days where the universe seemed hell-bent on screwing with me. Saturday had me in a sour mood, hunting for fish like some kind of desperate maniac and coming up empty-handed. The only glimmer of hope came in Portuguese Cove, where a brief blitz yielded…
October 19, 2024 Well, all good things must come to an end, and my October streak hit a brick wall today while fishing with Dan Blanton. The weather was absolutely perfect, and I was sure we were in for another great day on the water. After three successful days on the lake and Forebay, I…
After researching the pumping station I refer to as “the Powerhouse,” I hoped to find an online resource that would explain when the pumps are activated. It made me realize that, after all these years, I actually don’t know much about that specific pumping station. Does it really generate power, or is it simply a…
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” September slipped through my fingers like a greased eel, a mad blur of missed opportunities and restless nights. One measly day of Striper fishing—that’s all I managed in the entire damn month. My dreams were haunted by visions of the lake and Forebay, those elusive, shimmering playgrounds of aquatic…
Monday October 15, 2024 – This year has definitely been the year of the crawdad. It seems like the minnows have taken a break at Big Lake, or they’ve been dodging my sonar for the past 10 months. I did see some fish activity today, though—it’s possible I spooked a school of shad near the…
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 Today, I had the pleasure of fishing with my good friend Steve. Steve is a retired San Jose police officer and Air Force veteran. He worked on F4 Phantom aircraft, much like my son-in-law Ryan does with transport planes. I’ve been waiting all year for a day like today. It’s been…