Happy New Year And A Big Thank You!

2012 brought great success, tail spinning disasters, big fish, big smiles, and lessons learned the hard way. This year was by far my most successful year in the books regarding my guide service. Most of you may think guiding is all ice cream and cake but behind the scenes are massive campaigns with networking, marketing, and public relations. Not to mention the countless hours of tying flies, researching, organizing, writing articles, and problem solving be it a complicated fishery or a boat motor. It's a job that I don't just love but know I was put on this earth to do; sharing the knowledge. The picture above says it all!

I want to first thank all my clients who ventured in the deep canyons and combed the fertile stillwaters with me whether the fishing was red hot or mediocre, no matter the venue I will always provide the very best to them in service and adventure. Next I'd like to thank my Dad who made my fly fishing knowledge what it is today, and the rest of my family and friends for their support. To all the fly shops, magazines, lodges, restaurants, cafes, hotels, newspapers, fly fishing clubs, sponsors, fly fishing reps and manufacturers, my website designer, mechanics, guide friends, the bugs, the fish, and to all those I have forgotten - THANK YOU!!!     

In the grand scheme of things 2013 is just another year, a set of numbers that click away with each passing of the moon. Yes, we are all a little older, but a bit wiser too. May this year bring all of you good fortune, happiness, good health, and plenty of hook ups! See you on the water.

Upcoming Presentations - Yuba River & Eagle Lake

Looking for more information on the Yuba River and Eagle Lake? If your near these two stops I have scheduled please come by and learn more on these two magnificent fisheries as I unlock the secrets so you can have better angling success on your next trip!

On January 8th I will be in Modesto at the Stanislaus Fly Fisher's monthly club meeting presenting "Fly Fishing the Lower Yuba River". The general meeting starts at 6:00pm and is followed by my super informative power point program featuring the Yuba watershed, access points, techniques, tactics, entomology, and the flies that produce!  This river is a moody one and I'll share my insight on what works best for all the seasons including some special hatches that take place here. You'll walk away with some more ammo for your next quest to this grand tail water. For more information click here; http://www.stanislausflyfishers.org/Home.html

The following evening Ill be in the hub of great trout fishing at the Trinity Shasta Fly Fisher's monthly club meeting in Redding on January 9th presenting my best power point program; "Eagle Lake". If you have never fly fished the ancient shores of Eagle Lake you will most certainly want to after you see my program. The history of the lake and its connection to the great Lake Lahontan is reason alone to come check out and learn about the Eagle Lake Rainbow trout. You'll be introduced to a variety of access points to fish, and the unique habits of these magnificent trout. Flies, tactics, and techniques are thoroughly covered as well. The general meeting starts at 7:00pm followed by my stellar presentation. For more information click here; http://shastatrinityflyfishers.org/

Knowledge is power!

Lower Yuba River Report

Photo by Ralph Cutter http://www.flyline.com/

The flows on the Yuba river are way down after running so high from the huge amount of rain a few weeks ago. During the peak of the storm flows were at 34,000 cfs and Englebright dam was spilling over the top in dramatic fashion. Right now the flows are stabilized at 1,300 cfs and the river will be clearing in the next week, look for the resident rainbows and migrating steelhead to be on the bite again. Yuba County Water Agency just announced that the regular winter flows will be released from Englebright until spring. These flows range from 900 to 1,300 cfs and depending on the size of storms or lack of will determine the flow schedule. For anglers this means you will have plenty of spots to fish from the bank and you will be able to cross the river in select spots.  Right now your best approach for fly fishing is using san juan worms, micro spawn shrimp in pink, jimmy rubber legs stonefly, red copper johns, Hogan’s red headed step child, and Skwalla stone fly nymphs. These flies are best presented under an indicator and a dead drift in the deeper holding water below riffles and runs.

Frank Rinella with a beautiful wild steelhead. Photo by Clay Hash http://www.flyfishingtraditions.com/

The new year on the Yuba brings the best winter dry fly fishing in the state, it happens every year and more and more fly anglers are catching on to this great game. Since the Lower Yuba is located on the edge of the central valley temperatures are very comfortable for this time of year, especially when the sun is out. Skwalla stoneflies, pale morning dun mayflies, and gray drakes become the focal point for the trout. As we get into late February we can look forward to the March brown mayflies hatching well into April. Presenting dry flies to selective feeders is very challenging on the Yuba, it’s not easy and to be able to hook into a few nice fish is really satisfying; you’ll earn every one of them!

For information on flow schedules click here; http://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/yubaStages.html
For general fishing information call Tom Page of Reel Anglers fly shop in Grass Valley - 
(530) 477-5397.

Product Review; FoxFury Headlamps

All headlamps are not created equal, in fact when it came time to choosing one for a climb on Mt. Shasta in Northern California, I opted for the best. To be successful for a summit bid on big peaks a true alpine start is the only way. This start requires the climber to be on the route just after midnight to allow enough time to summit at first light and to get back down before conditions get sketchy with avalanches and rock fall later in the day. Climbing at night is very spooky, it's creepy venturing upwards into the unknown and your headlamp is a key element in your safety. FoxFury makes dozens of models for professionals in all types of occupations, mostly police, fire, and military work. I chose the Performance Outdoor / Work headlamp. It offers 20 LED lights that cast 62.0 Lumen (779 candle power) and a range of 100-150 feet with a generous amount of peripheral vision. Enough to clearly see the route ahead and hidden dangers that other headlamps would miss.

For fly fishing it has become an indispensable tool when doing missions at Eagle lake at O dark-thirty, lighting my way to the bountiful buckets before the other guys are waiting for first light. It's also my best buddy when rigging the boat in the dark and making sure everything is safely in its place. I highly recommend this headlamp and the customer service provided by FoxFury is the very best; They want you safe out there no matter the job! Check out their website here; http://www.foxfury.com/ and look over the complete line.

Don't be stuck with inferior lighting and suffer like a caveman waving a low power torch, Illuminate your next adventure with FoxFury!

Tying The Emergent Sparkle Pupa

Gary Lafontaine left a legacy in the fly fishing world when he departed way too early from this earth. It did not matter what project, fly, or idea he worked on, it was always done Gary's way; thinking outside the box with every detail accounted for and a method to the madness. There is one fly pattern that he created that could be considered his masterpiece, the fly that replaced every other caddis pattern past, present, and future; The Emergent Sparkle Pupa.

This is an easy fly to tie but there is one key element to it that Gary preached, and that was tying it sparse so it held the air bubbles just like the natural had when emerging to the surface. It's also the translucency of the fly that pulls reluctant fish off the bottom to consume on this sparkling creation. There are some basic color combos to this fly like yellow underbody/brown overbody, bright green/brown, ginger/tan, dark gray/gray, and orange/brown. Don't be afraid to experiment. I tied a combo of an amber underbody with a clear antron overbody and cleaned house on the Madison River in Montana around the West Fork area.

My two favorite ways of fishing the Emergent Sparkle Pupa is to cast down and across current and swinging it into pods of rising fish, or greasing the entire fly and feeding it with a fly first drift to individual fish down technical feeding lanes. Even fished poorly this fly catches more trout than any other caddis pattern and that alone may explain its popularity with fly anglers.

RECIPE:
Hook: Tiemco 100 or standard dry fly hook #6-20.
Underbody: Finely chopped sparkle blend touch dubbed.
Overbody: Sparkle yarn/Antron.
Wing: Deer hair.
Head: dubbed fur or marabou fibers.