The following posts have something to do with Fly Fishing in general and include trips I’ve taken to different parts of the world seeking that next great experience. Included are all the local trips as well. These posts are not specific to location.
“The great charm of fly-fishing is that we are always learning.” – Theodore Gordon
Friday November 21, 2015 – I took a day off of work to fish the Lake this morning. It was incredibly beautiful today with nearly perfect weather conditions. How lucky I am to live near this fabulous fishing opportunity that is only an hour from where I live. Two days ago, Steph and I were about…
I get a little bit nervous when too many things go my way. I got pretty lucky today at the lake and landed a second fish over 2o lbs in two weeks. The euphoria over last weeks fish had me on the fly tying bench last week tying up all sorts of giant flies flies.…
Today was a memorable day at San Luis reservoir for me. After years of pounding the lake with flies, I finally beat the 20 lb mark with a big striper from the Bay of Pigs. The day started off pretty slow as it had last week. I decided to only cast 7 inch flies. The…
My friend Ken Oda fished San Luis last week on Saturday the day before my last report. He observed some interesting striper behavior in the Bay of Pigs. Getting on the water at 7:30 am he saw birds working midges but later that morning around 11:00am, shad and stripers started midging in the shallows. Fish…
I was dreaming of that 40 lbr that Captain Santucci caught on San Luis Reservoir a couple weeks ago. His words resonate in my dreams “now is the time to fish San Luis before it fills” if you want a giant fish. Armed with HUGE flies, a T-18 shooting head on a 9 wgt, I…
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,…
It was easier to fish together when we were kids. Wayne and I finally got a day together on the delta with renown guide Steve Santucci. I think we were due for some luck and the weather gods blessed the day with perfect weather and good fishing. We started our day driving to the…
When I think of redfishing, I think of the big bulls of fall in Louisiana. I think of fishiing the Louisianna bayou and eating some of the best delta oysters in the world buying them by the bag off the oyster boats. I think of beignets and great restaurants. I think of Mardi Gras, Trombone Shorty,…
I haven’t fished the main lake in a year, Ive been avoiding it because I don’t recognize it now that its down to about 17 percent full. Full of hope and memories of phenomenal October Days in the past, I woke up at 5:00 and got on the lake before sunup hoping for a topwater…
I was really hoping to fish the big lake today if the wind and the boat ramps were doable, but it was not to be. At 5:00am the winds were near 20mph and with each hour, it seemed as if it were escalating. At 7:00 the wind shifted and dropped to near zero. I…
Many factors come to play when designing the perfect fly for a destination, the most obvious being what the endemic baitfish look like and what are the fish keying in on. In designing a fly for San Luis, the obvious bait fish to copy is the two to three inch long delta or wakasagi smelt. There are…
So is there truth to the idea that a full moon is bad for fishing? Some great fishermen believe that the days around the full moon are sometimes good, but most believe the days of a full moon mean that the fish feed all night and don’t bite during the day. Personally, I think that…
Ashland to Almaden in 3 Minutes…. This last weekend, we hung out in Eugene visiting my son who is in his senior year at University of Oregon.. We watched the Ducks put the hurt on the Georgia State Panthers. On our way up to Eugene, we stopped at his roomates parents house located ten minutes…
Steph and I had an interesting day at O’Neill Forebay today. Every year it seems, there is day in the year when I stumble into the nursery and today was the day. The day started out early at 6:30 when I arrived at the gate and found nobody at the ranger station. The…
After a marathon two days at Disneyland with Gina, I managed to get up this morning at 5 AM to give O’Neill Forebay a ride on Labor Day. The winds really laid down all weekend and I couldn’t resist a still morning. I was hoping for some topwater and when I arrived at…
The idea of catching a 30 inch plus has always been slightly beyond my expectations . I have a hard enough time catching 25-28 inch fish. The prospect of catching a “yard long” trout is reserved for my first trip to Kamchatka, Jurassic Lake or Alaska. I knew that there were fish that size in…
After closing all the rivers August 14th, on August 21, due to cooler weather, all rivers were reopened EXCEPT the St. Mary River downstream of the St. Mary Reservoir and its tributaries. Those St Mary’s Rainbows have a lot of time to grow till next year, unmolested by anglers for perhaps the rest of the…
I wasn’t expecting much today, with the full moon last night, but the winds stayed down and the day turned out pretty good. I truly enjoy fishing with Steph and Vaughn and it is more fun when we are in different boats. It’s difficult to fish hard when you are steering the boat for…
I haven’t fished the Forebay for a long time. While I was in Alberta, I started to think that trout pull harder than stripers. I don’t know what came over me. Today, the stripers had something to prove. They were in prime shape and fought as good as I can remember. They treated my eight…
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…