Middle Fork Feather River Report

The MFFR is fishing well but the river is in it's Summer time flows, water temps are in the low 60's in the morning and nearing 70 degrees in the heat of the day.  Fishing early in the morning and late in the evening is your best bet.  Also find shady areas of the river, and fish below feeder creeks that are still providing cold water.  Many fish can be found on the bottom of deep holes keeping cool as well.  There is a decent blue wing olive spinner fall in the am and swinging egg laying adult soft hackles in the riffles has been very productive.  In the evening you can expect caddis in sizes 12-18, and there is a good hatch of pale evening duns size 12.



Steve from Danville, CA enjoyed a secluded part of the Middle Fork this past Saturday, he was all smiles watching his son Eric get into a few. All types of rigs are working now, swinging, high stick nymphing, dry flies, and a hopper with a dropper. Small flies are producing better than the bigger patterns. The hoppers are out and the fish are just starting to key in on them, and don't forget about ant patterns! In the coming months we have two special hatches to look forward to the Isonychia mayfly, and the Oct. Caddis.  Look for a creekin report later this week and best of luck to you out there!

The "Blazing Star" wildflower on the banks of the MFFR.



"What?" "You didn't bring your fly rod!"

That was the response from a few friends when I told them I went to the North Yuba River and the Lakes Basin area without bringing any fishing gear.  I've been guiding and fishing so much that sometimes I need to get away spend some quality time with my sweetie the biologist.  I have so much fun with her identifying bugs, flowers, trees, and so much more.

By not fishing and seeing all this juicy water around me I get the "stoke" back, salivating like a rabid dog looking to kill.  The North Yuba is a real gem and if you have never fished it - Just do it!

I've visited many mountain ranges in North America but the Sierras are some of my favorites with their sharp sawtooth silhouettes.  The Sierra Buttes are breath taking and oh so beautiful!

As I get older I've come to appreciate the finer things in life, like wildflowers.  Each one is so unique requiring different habitats, soils, and the right amount of sunlight.  With all the water we had over last winter and spring there is still so many flowers to see.



If you have never been to the Mills Peak Lookout it's a must do!  The view is out of this world.  From the tower one can see Mt. Lassen, Graeagle, Mohawk Valley, the Sierra Valley, the Sierra Buttes, the Nevada border peaks, and Gold Lake just to name a few landmarks.  Located off the Gold Lake highway it is a 3 mile drive up a good gravel road to the summit, and while your in the area check out the "Red Fir nature trail" - A very impressive old growth stand of "Snow Trees".

"Yep, I didn't bring my rod, but I had so much fun just being out there in the thick of it!"

Pro Guide Direct

I am sharing this gear list with you as it has products that I recommend and you might find useful and fun to have on your future trips. Having lived and fished in the Northern California area for the last 38 years, I feel very confident in these products and I know you will, too.

http://gearlist.proguidedirect.com/RegistryDisplay.cfm?cid=602&id=16142

I also want you to know that Pro Guide Direct helps support me by giving back a percentage of every sale to my business. By purchasing products through Pro Guide Direct you are helping support my guide service, so that I can continue to guide you, your friends and family, and keeping the dream alive. Thank you for your support!

If you have any questions please let me know baiocchistroutfitters@yahoo.com. I look forward to sharing some quality time with you on the water!

Jon Baiocchi.

Where Magic Lives

As you approach your favorite cove on a special stillwater time stops.  Your the only person there, nobody on shore, and no other boats on the horizon.  The lake has turned to glass and as the evening fades colors of light shine like a mirror back at you.  The hatches have started, blood midge, caddis, and the white winged sulfur mayflies.  Pods of rainbows are beginning to rise now.  There are so many fish you don't even know where to cast.  The bugs become thicker, in your eyes, nose, and mouth.  The only sounds are the hum of wings, and splashy rises from fish taking emergers.  Now the fish are rising right next to the boat completely oblivious to you.  They could care less.  You've hooked several rainbows on the dry fly and keep casting until it's so dark, you can't see the fly anymore.  The moon rises above the mountains, glowing, and as you look around still hearing the fish rise you say to yourself, "This is where magic lives..."

Website Updated!

I've updated my website and added a few special pages that offer even more services to the fly fishing community: http://www.baiocchistroutfitters.com/.  When a person or business treats me right and goes the extra distance I like to share that with other people so they can receive the same benefits as I did.  My web designer Christine Elder http://christineelder.com/ is one of those.  Christine created all of my business marketing materials including my website, logo, business cards, brochure, and car door magnets.  She also walked me through the process of promoting my business through a blog so I could update it on my own, anytime.  Her attention to detail and savvy advice are priceless!  If your're looking to increase sales and exposure for your own business I highly recommend Christine - She takes it to the next level and beyond!  For more information on her services and to contact her please use the link above.

MFFR Fishing Report



The Middle Fork Feather River is in great shape for trout fishing from Clio all the way down to the wild zone.  I guided Matthew in the Graeagle area yesterday and the water temps ranged from 63-66 degrees from 9am to 1pm.  The upper section of the river above Two Rivers is stabilizing into the normal summer time flows but as the weeks progress we will see warmer water temps.  The fish will seek out feeder creeks, and shady areas traveling many miles to seek out cooler water temps and the perfect home.  There are so many bugs out right from dawn until dusk.  Mornings are showing a BWO spinnerfall (size 18), mixed in with caddis (sizes 12-18), and my favorite summer time hatch the little green stonefly.  This stoner should not be confused with the yellow sally stonefly, it is a special stonefly in that it hatches mid stream and does not crawl on a rock to split it's exoskeleton.  They are a size 12 with a lime green body and clear wings, the most effective way to fish this hatch is with the nymph.  Evenings are producing hatches of yellow sallies (size 16), caddis as mentioned above, and a few golden stone adults (size 6) ovipositing.

Matthew displaying a typical wild rainbow from the MFFR, this was his first time fishing a river and learning the varied methods that catch trout.  He's a real troutstalker when it comes to stillwaters as he caught and released a 4 pound brown out of the Graeagle mill pond on Sunday!  He did well yesterday with a hopper and a caddis emerger dropper, stripping a black wooley bugger, and high stick nymphing with the little green stonefly.  The river is going to fish well mornings and evenings all the way to the fall season.  Summer is fading fast so come on up and enjoy a beautiful day on the MFFR!