Don't Lose It I'm Not Tying Anymore for Another Year!

March 19, 2024

It rained the day before we headed out, not sure how it was going to affect the fishing but it was worth giving it a go.  I had tied a Dagur's Sweet Home Alabama fly for myself and one for Luc.  It's a fly version of an Alabama rig (A-rig).  I told Luc when I handed it to him, "Don't lose it; I'm not tying anymore for a year!"  It took me about twenty minutes to tie one of those flies.  Not because it involves any difficult techniques but because it's a bit fiddly to work on.  Getting the arms to align properly is the biggest issue.  Also I have to switch from a tube vice to a traditional one in the middle of the process.  Personally I find the whole process annoying and not very fun.  I'm sure if I started tying more of them I could become more efficient at it but I'm not sure that's going to happen anytime soon.  Unless, of course I find the fly to be killing it then I could be motivated to tie more.

With spring around the corner and daylight savings now in effect, we are starting earlier than our previous outings which means I'm waking up at 5am to at Luc's by 6:30.  As it warms it's only going to be earlier so I better get used to the lack of sleep.  From the start I was rigged withe the A-rig attached to a shad colored Diamond Hair Minnow.  I thought it would be an epic day after his first cast, Luc was already on a bass.  He would get a few more after that.  I would get a few strikes on my set up but failed to connect on any.  Once we moved from our first location the day became a slog.  After a couple hours of unrewarded casts Luc broke the monotony with a crappie.  From there we moved to deeper water and we began to get on fish.  After not connecting on several strikes I decided to abandon the A-rig and simply fish the Diamond Hair by itself.  Luc managed another bass and while I was watching him land the fish I started to roll cast my fly out of the water and saw a bass aggressively charge the fly.  I was pissed.  Few cast later  miss another strike and while lifting my rod to start my next retrieve I get slammed.  Finally I'm on for the day.  Fished for another hour or so before calling it a day. 

Alone the following day, Luc tried the A-rig I tied for him.  He managed to get a very nice one early in the day when he metered a school of shad but for the rest of the day he went blank after giving the new fly a serious try out.  On his next outing he would blank on the fly. 

For the both of us the jury is still out on this fly.  I rarely tie tube flies and my Renzetti tube vice is only about a year old so I don't have much time behind it.  I had forgotten the vice comes with multiple pins of various diameters and lengths.  I tied my A-rig on the smallest pin which means its the shortest length.  On my next ties I'll use the larger ones so I can tie it longer.  One of the main issues I think is that the arms are too close to my fly.  I'm think I should use a smaller fly to accommodate for the issue.  More testing is needed.

Three Rivers One Day

 December 5, 2023

Three tributaries in one day. First one I fished for little more than an hour before I gave up on it because it was so canopied movement was simply too troublesome. I knew there's fish in there as my buddy had fished it in the summer with great success. I fished it until the growth was so bad I simply couldn't go any further without so serious bushwhacking. The second I was curious to see how it was doing after the fires and then the winter flooding. The last time I was here it wasn't promising. All holes were covered in silt and it didn't look like a freestone. Today it looked a thousand percent better. It was low but the river is healthy. Silt for the most part is gone. There is holding water for fish. Bug life abound. Unfortunately no fish. I've been told by a friend when I was driving home that I needed to go further. I only made it half way before quitting and heading back. I wasn't going to get skunked today so I had committed to going over to the next tributary where I knew I get a fish or two. While hiking down a county employee in his truck stopped and we chatted he asked if I would a ride back down the trail. I accepted because with short days now I wanted as much time on the other water as possible. He dropped me off and I headed toward my car. While unpacking I realized I left my gopro in his truck. I race down the road to see if I could catch him. I knew I had some time as he still needed to unlock and lock the gate. I caught up with him at the gate and got my camera back. I was told about a section downstream that was fishing well. I tried to get into the area but found no easy way in so I gave up after looking at a few options. By this time it was nearing 3pm. I'd have about two hours of light or so. If I wanted to prevent the skunk I needed to get on the water soon, so I abandoned this area for another I knew held fish. I normally do not fish the next area as it easy access and trash, both in liter and human form, is excessive. But with no time to hike in I would have to fish here to save me from the skunk. I was fishing fast and probing all day. Much quicker that I normally do. I didn't want to waste time on dead water. I eventually came up to a big pool. I stood perched on the man-made boulder dam and threw a cast in. Because the boulders were unstable I looked down to see my footing when I looked back up my fly was gone. So I lifted the rod and I was on. Bent my 2wt and ran me ragged. Gave me multiple jumps and would not come to the net. Ended up at least 12 maybe 13inches. Surprisingly big for this part of the river. Managed a few more before giving up for the day. Got out of there before the sundown.

 

Honoring a Friend

September 6, 2023

In July I lost a fishing buddy; his family tasked me with handling his fly fishing estate.  As compensation I could keep anything in his collection I wanted.  There were a few I items I wanted, such as his Helios ZG 9ft 4wt or his Sage TCX 6wt, but after Roy said he wanted the 4 and I knew a friend had lost his TCX in a boating incident, I decide those items should go to another home.  The last time I fished with Steve, we fished a local mountain and he brought his Superfine 150 Anniversary 7ft 4wt so I decided this would be the rod I'd keep.  An added bonus is the rod would most likely be used more than the other two options as small local mountain trout streams are within an hour or so from my house.

I wanted to honor my friend so I headed up the mountain to fish his rod and hand tied flies.  I debated where in the mountain I wanted to fish.  There was a section Justin likes to fish that I've never tried.  Generally I like to head further up.  After parking at the lot I noticed a rather dodgy character in his car so I decided to fish my usual jaunts and headed further up the mountain.  Mist and light rain filled the air but after I reached a certain altitude it was sunny and clear. 

When I reached the parking lot there was broken glass in my spot.  Not an encouraging sign.  California has become such a shithole you can't go anywhere without the threat of your vehicle being broken into.   People have told me that they keep their doors open, literally open, wide open, just to encourage would be thieves to not break their windows.  Of course car is left empty of anything worth stealing.  This strategy has one flaw, it makes it easier to actually steal the car not just the contents found within.  Personally I just don't leave anything within sight or leave anything that may appear valuable in the car.  Fishing alone and having all day to fish I began fishing immediately opting not to hike in as I usually do.  Armed with a small stimualtor I began probing the water but to no avail.  I then switched to a larger one so I could see it better but after a few casts it was failing to stay buoyant I switched again to a foam ant.   Again switching because I was having a hard time seeing it.  This time I changed to something I knew I could see, a size 10 Royal Wulff. 

Once I switched the fishing picked up.  Water was still fast but at the same time very skinny.  You had to pick your spots and most pools were gone.  I caught more fish than I could count.  Many of the fish actually took when the fly submerged.  The most memorable fish was the last.  Ended up being a tank of a fish, around 13 inches.  While I've caught larger fish in this watershed in the past, this is the largest I've caught in over a decade. 

After catching that fish, it was time for a stream side lunch.  Since Steve was Japanese that a pork katsu sando was appropriate for the occasion.  Once finished I thought I did enough and decided to head back home.  I think Steve would have been proud.

Daturi Wrightii. "Jimson Weed." Causes Hallucinations.

Romnea Coulteri.  "Fried Egg Poppy" or "Matilija Poppy."

Aguilegia Formosa. "Crimson Columbine" or "Western Columbine."

Shadow of it's Former Self

Time to Hang It Up

Decided to check out our favorite local creek one last time before the summer heat plays havoc to the place.  All I can say is the place is done.  The jewel of SoCal local fishing is no longer.  Foolishly the Forest Service has graded the road to allow easy access into this area.  I don't understand the logic.  The roadside is littered with weekend idiots who trash the place.  Graffiti is on every rock.  This area, for the most part, was pristine.  Soon the knuckleheads that trash the lower section will migrate toward this area and in no time it'll be a shitpit like much of the LA mountains.  It's already started as I've seen more tagging than before.  The fishing has also declined considerably.  Not one fish over 7 inches today.  All were 5-7 inch range.  What a sorry state.  It's sad to see.  It's not going to get any better either.  Water levels are low and summer is just around the corner.  This place is fucked.

April Fool's Day Fishing. Fishing with a New Glass Rod.

April 1, 2022

Not long before this outing I received a new old stock TFO FSG 3/4 glass rod and I wanted to take it out.  Initially the intention was to fish the local mountains on a section of river that has been recently opened.  When we arrived at the base of the hill though we were disappointed to learn that the only road into the area was closed for construction.  We had come up with Plan B and only two real options existed.  One Double back the way we came and fish another recently opened river or continue north and fish the area I scouted just weeks ago.  I decided on the later as I planned on taking my dad to the former in a few days.  So with another hour drive we headed northbound.

I really wanted to check to see if the bass I saw three years ago was still there.  When we arrived there were two or three cars already parked at the trailhead.  I saw two spin anglers fishing downstream and making their way back up.  Once we finally prepped and started to head out they were ahead of us.  This wasn't good as there are only a few good access and fishing points in the whole system.  It's largely overgrown so this maybe problematic.  Fortunately for us they verged into the first easy access point and we never saw them again.  Having only been here twice before I'm not too familiar with the best spots so I entered in a few areas I had normally bypassed.  Well I bypassed them for a reason they simply are a pain to get into.  After a couple attempts and drawing a blank on the creek we decided to just hightail it to the pools that we've fished in the past.  Starting with the bass hole, it proved devoid of fish.  Fished a few areas and I managed only two fish, missed one.  My buddy with one a a couple misses.  The water was low, silty and had a green color filled with moss.  I won't be returning any time soon.  An absolute disappointment.

Westside Story Preview: Wild Trout and Wildflowers

 March 18-20, 2022

The Postponed Trinity Trip Part One

 January 30- February 5, 2022

Sunday was a travel day to put as much miles on our way to the Trinity as possible.  There was no agenda and no destination.  Plans was we would decide on the road where to stop for the night as we traveled whether motel or camp somewhere. Along the way on the long ten hour drive north we decided to stop at Red Bluff to camp at Sycamore Grove. 

January 31, 2022

The following morning we would stop at Redding at The Fly Shop for supplies and information.  Rather than make breakfast we'd save clean up time and travel to the shop where we'd  ask for a recommendation for a decent breakfast spot.  They recommended El Delicioso Burrito which is located within a 76 gas station.  We went through the drive thru and ordered the machaca burrito which was excellent.  This was good place for a quick meal.

With intel from The Fly Shop we headed out to the Trinity.  This late in the season and without rain for a few weeks we knew this wasn't going to be easy.  To add to the challenge I wanted to fish the swing on my new spey rod.  The first location was one of the few spots on this river for swinging.  I'm rather new to the two handed rod, I only really learned how to cast one in November of 2019 when I picked up a Winston Derek Brown Special 15 foot 10 weight.  Seventeen years ago I had bought a Rio Windcutter set that has sat in my drawer ever since.  I "learned" how to cast with that set up.  During covid lockdowns I bought up an 11 foot 6 weight Winston Boron III TH on sale and thought it be a good smaller river steelhead rod.  Since that November I hadn't practiced my Spey casting at all.  So just before this trip I headed to the casting pond and tried to remember how the hell to use this thing.  Given the situation, I needed to pick up some appropriate line.  Originally I had a 420gr Airflo Rage line but I was told I'd need a skagit line to cast the heavier tips.  So I picked up an Airflo Skagit Scout 450gr and a T8 MOW tip.   I would practice with this set up until we headed out for the trip.  At the first location I struggled to cast properly and I would say only 20% of my casts were "acceptable."  Despite looking a fool I continued to fish with the rod.  I knew my chances of catching a fish were slim but I needed to get the experience.  One fish was bumped but no none were hooked.

After sometime we headed to the next location to swing.  This area was deeper and probably not the most ideal for that purpose but I didn't care and threw my line out anyways.  We tried but without any luck.  After this we headed to the cabin at check in which was a bit of a clusterfuck since there was a miscommunication but no harm no foul.  We finally got our cabin and made dinner.

February 1-3, 2022

At the shop the employees told us the the river below Junction City was closed to fishing due to the fire clean up.  There were no signs indicating as such nor did any of the "locals" in town knew anything about that. One of them told us a fishing spot where his buddy caught 18 not long ago.  It was a spot that Sandy at The Fly Shop told us about.  It would be one of our first destinations.We'd nymph this area and get a bump but again no hook up.  For the next few days we'd fish various locations with both single and double hand rods but bumps would be all we could manage.   This trip was originally concocted in December but we couldn't manage it because of the foul weather had closed the roads to the Trinity.  So we planned it a couple weeks later in mid January but my fishing buddy caught covid (for the second time).  Despite feeling fine we choose postpone because I didn't want to catch it from him from sharing a long road trip and a small cabin.  When we spoke to our neighbor at the campgrounds, who is one the construction crew working the roads, he told us that we should have been here three weeks ago.  Precisely the time we originally had planned.  Typical.

The Trinity really needs to be floated just to cover water.  Fishing by shore is a pain and requires a lot of time in the truck moving from spot to spot.  This is made worse by having to wait for the pilot car to escort you through the clean up areas.  It really makes for a frustrating experience.  I don't care for this type for fishing and prefer to be on the water to get a fully immersive experience.  On the last full day we'd take a break from the hard fishing and head over to Willow Creek because Chul wanted to check out the Bigfoot Museum.  What should have taken 30 minutes resulted in a two hour drive.  We were on a tight timeline as it closes at 4pm.  We arrived in town just after 4 to a closed museum.  I'd later learn that they weren't open anyways for the winter unless you make an appointment which we didn't.  So it didn't matter.

Before leaving for the trip I miscalculated how many meals I needed to bring and was a dinner short which meant we needed to find a restaurant or market.  So we needed to head into a town anyways.  We had dinner at Gonzales.  The carnitas chimichanga was excellent. 

On Thursday we'd fish in the morning until lunch before we would head east to Reno to fish Pyramid Lake for a couple days.  We'd hit spots that we had bumps and some new spots to nymph and to swing. 

We quit around lunch and we headed to Trinity County Brewing Co for burgers and beer.  The burger was excellent but according to Chul the beers were not.  He ended up pouring out the first beer order after a sip and didn't even bother finishing the second.

After lunch we headed back to Redding and toward Reno where we'd stay for a the next two nights.  Drive was nice with views of Mount Shasta and Lassen along the way.

We'd reach the Sparks in about five hours and after checking in at the Western Village we needed to resupply for the next couple days' lunches.  We'd hit Sawasdee Thai Restaurant as it was next door to the market.  Dinner consisted of chicken green curry and spicy roasted duck with fried basil.  Both were excellent.  I ordered them spicy level 4 out of 5 which was hardly spicy. 

To Be Continued. Part Two: Pyramid Lake.

Local Oct 22. Nov. 1, 12, 17. Dec. 2, 11, 16, 22, 2020

October 22, 2020

Fishing was excellent on dries.  So good we tried throwing mini articulated streamers at them and they took it.

November 1, 2020

Decided to check out a piece of water we hadn't checked out in ages.  Back then we were sight casting to browns in gin clear water.  When we arrived the water was merely a puddle and doubtful any fish survived.  In addition even if fish had made t through we were unable to fish for them anyways as the area was closed due to the yellow mountain frog.

So instead we got off the mountain and made an impromptu trip to a nearby creek we hadn't fished in ages.  Once a nice fairly secluded area to cast to a mix of browns and rainbows.  The parking lot was filled and the creek was a joke.  It was crowded.  If that wasn't bad enough graffiti and garbage now lined every corner.  Fucking covid lockdowns certainly ruined everything.

November 12, 2020

Called Jim to see if he wanted to fish a local before he moved to Idaho.  He wasn't available obviously so I went out alone.  Ended up hiking around 12 miles with great results.  Fish were all healthy and on the bigger side for locals.

  November 17, 2020

Another 8-9 miles today to try out a brand new TFO trout finesse 6’9” one weight. Not bad for an entry level rod. Even better when they are on sale for $145. Must have landed at least 50 fish today.

December 2, 2020

More time spent in the local.  Caught more micro dinks than in previous trips.  Few fish in the 6-7 inch.  A couple fish in the 10 inch range. 
 

December 11, 2020

Fished Location X to see how it was doing.  After taking Luc here earlier in the year and not seeing anything we weren't expecting much but to our surprise it was excellent.   Chul and I planned on hiking in further than I did with Luc.  We stopped at one of the pools a couple miles in and I threw a cast.  Within a handful of drifts a spectacular local trout came up to take.  I yelled over to Chul and he was more excited than I.  After landing it we were stoked that the fishery was back.

More quality fish would be found throughout the system.   We fished all the way to the end and it only got better.

I'm glad our favorite local fishery is returning to it's former glory.  Let's hope the trend continues.

December 16, 2020

A few years back we checked out a fishery on the other side of the mountain range.  At the time all the local fisheries were in their prime and 'big" fish were just about everywhere.  So when we checked on this fishery we were disappointed in the size of the fish, despite getting some in the 10 inch range.  The numbers were good but we were spoiled at the time so we were disappointed. When we arrived the road was closed because of the fire damage.  So we had made it all the way out here for nothing.

 December 22, 2020

Went out again to another local.  Fishery was fishing well but the larger fish seemed not to be there.  Could have been fished out or they just weren't taking what we were offering.  This would be the last outing of the year as just after this Chul got covid and I went into quarantine.