A couple of months ago, we discovered a fantastic new jazz venue near Yosemite—The Yosemite Jazz Train. Originally, we had blocked this week for the Soma Jazz Cruise, but after River was born, we decided to skip this one. Our annual jazz indulgence this year was the Dave Koz Cruise to the Holy Land, which…
September 21, 2024: It’s been just over a week since I returned from Alaska, and the itch to cast a fly rod has come back strong. Today was the first calm day on the lake in a week, and by the time I backed the trailer down the Dinosaur Point ramp at 8:00 a.m., it…
Sept 3-12 2023 This year, I missed out on much of my destination flyfishing due to unforeseen circumstances. I had planned trips for Tarpon in Destin, Florida, Dorado in Mexico, and Redfish in the grass flats of South Carolina. Unfortunately, I had to cancel trips to Pyramid Lake and Wildhorse Reservoir as well. As…
I heard from my cousin that our friend Dave Inks died last month. Its been years since I last talked to Dave. Dave was one of my mentors when I worked at the Millpond in the 70s and 80’s. Dave Inks, a renowned figure in the fly fishing community, passed away on August 31, 2024,…
Vaughn and I planned an action-packed day of topwater bass fishing with Delta guide Bryce Tedford, focusing on the thrill of catching largemouth bass on the surface. Vaughn is particularly passionate about this type of fishing, and after an incredible session with Bryce on Wednesday, I was feeling optimistic about our chances today. Captain Bryce…
After last week’s disappointing fishing trip on the forebay and hearing a great report from Brian about the lake, I was really looking forward to a successful day on the water. I set out a little early to fuel up the boat, but soon found myself stuck in standstill traffic on Highway 152 near San…
Tuesday August 6. 2024 – I’m not entirely sure what cosmic crime I committed to earn last week’s mess, but I’m feeling the desperate need for some kind of divine intervention. The world is spiraling into chaos, with a war escalating in the Middle East, and the stock market took a nosedive that felt like…
It’s been crazy hot these last couple of weeks at San Luis Reservoir. The heat has been so intense that even Dan Blanton canceled a trip due to concerns about heat stroke out on the lake. This prolonged hot weather has made it one of the longest heatwaves on record for the reservoir. Two weeks…
… If I could stick my pen in my heartAnd spill it all over the stageWould it satisfy ya, would it slide on by yaWould you think the boy is strange?Ain’t he strange? The call unexpectedly blasted in like a lightning bolt out of a clear sky. My old neighbor Tom was on the line, offering…
The air conditioners in the house crapped out just in time for the longest, hottest goddamn heat wave in the Bay Area’s recent memory. Instead of sitting in a tub of ice water with my wife all day like a couple of desperate lunatics, I decided to hit the lake again. At least there’d be…
Having missed my annual Dorado escapade in Mexico last week, I was itching to cast a line somewhere, anywhere, to satiate that primal urge. So, I set my sights on the Lake and Forebay, which had been getting hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July. The mercury was rising, and the wind was…
After more than five decades of fishing the forebay, my hopes were high for today to be unexpectedly good. Just two days ago, Frank had reported the best day on the forebay this year, with 10 solid catches and a screenshot of a school of large spawning stripers. That was all the motivation I needed…
June 21, 2024. The winds had been a howling, relentless beast at the lake for the past week, a savage, unpredictable force that gave me the strange luxury of catching up on house chores and accounting. Yesterday, in a fit of idle curiosity, I checked the wind forecasts. I wasn’t expecting a window of calm…
June 10, 2024 – God knows I love a great buffet. For an overweight guy who enjoys a good French Michelin Star restaurant, I’m not sure why buffets appeal to me so much. Today, while fishing at the racks, I had an epiphany. The day started off like a D-Day invasion at the Forebay, with…
June 5, 2024 I’ve only had the chance to fish the famous Henderson Springs Hex hatch twice over the past several years, and it’s haunted me ever since. So, when the opportunity arose to book the small cabin with its six bedrooms during the peak of the Hex hatch, I jumped at it and invited…
To my Children, In-laws, and Grandchildren, June 6, 2024 On this 80th anniversary of D-Day, let me remind you of how significant this day is to your very lives. On this day, Nicholas Gray, grandfather to Mia and Mark, father to Gina Gray, landed on Omaha Beach, Easy Red Sector, in the first wave of…
Memorial Day Weekend 2024 – It’s trout season, comrades! Time to swap those massive stripers for some wild-eyed trout for a couple of months. Memorial Day weekend was supposed to be a pilgrimage to Wildhorse Reservoir in Nevada with Wayne and Michael. But the universe, in its infinite wisdom, had other plans. When we called…
It’s a savage task, wrangling old comrades for a day on the water when the piscatorial gods are as unpredictable as a three-legged mule on a greasy slope. These jaunts are fraught with complications—not least because the ravages of time have clawed at my friends, leaving them speckled with ailments and age. But these old…
Monday May 6, 2024 – Just two days ago, the weather at San Luis Reservoir was dreary with rain, wind, and cold, and I wasn’t optimistic about today’s prospects given the iffy wind forecast. However, upon arriving at the lake, I noticed the inspection station had been permanently relocated to the front gate, equipped with…
Nearly a decade ago, the late Jim Cramer introduced me to the wonders of Henderson Springs, and since then, it’s become an integral part of my annual trout fishing tradition. Thanks to Jim, I was welcomed into a circle of fly fishermen who quickly became some of my closest companions on the water. In the…