August 2010 Craig had a cancellation on Sunday so after playing on the computer during the morning he decided to get out of the office and explore a few creeks for trophy trout while circumnavigating Mount Shasta with a fly rod. While most anglers consider a twenty inch Rainbow or Brown Trout on one of [...]
First Published in California Fly Fisher Magazine, June 2010 There was a time when a campground with running water and flush toilets on a fishing trip represented the lap of luxury to me. Toss in a stove to heat the beans and hot running water, and dare I say, a luke warm shower and life [...]
For many anglers, the summer heat, or the summer doldrums, often means few hatches and small fish. The prolific springtime hatches have come and gone. The rivers have become creeks, the water is crystal clear, the fish are spooky, and the most accessible runs have been fished over hard. By late summer, trout have seen [...]
Ten Fly Fishing Guide Tips for Springtime Success on Northern California Freestones: Fly Fishing in Northern California: The McCloud River, The Upper Sacramento River, The Pit River(click on any pic for more photos of local streams) Fly Fishing in springtime is often when the bounty of freestone rivers can be most apparent. The weather is [...]
First Published as a Foraging Angler Column in: California Fly Fisher Magazine, August 2009 I concluded my previous Foraging Angler offering “Dining in the Shadow of Shasta”with a promise to reveal some secrets regarding dining in Dunsmuir. I’ll begin this column by sharing with you the biggest secret of all. The overall quality and value [...]
Last season, for California Fly Fisher, I queried a number of local upper Sac guides on their expectations for the first-ever winter season, opened under special regulations by the Fish and Game Commission on November 16, 2004. Then, the locals’ theories on winter fishing the upper Sac were pure speculation. We now have a year’s experience behind us. While one winter of fishing doesn’t bring certainty, the locals did come to understand a bit about the winter fishery, while managing to get in some quality fishing.
First Published in California Fly Fisher Magazine, April 2008. I believe in magic. Deceiving a fish with an artificial fly is all the evidence required and I consider fly rods the wands that allow anglers to perform this bit of magic. Some rods are best suited for performing particular magical acts. Rods with smooth classic [...]