Most of my guiding has been on the Yuba. In short, she has been up to her usual antics of letting us feel the high of hooking good numbers of fat, crazy rainbows. Then almost in the same breath, BAM, something changes and she shuts us down... All in all the days have been good with a few fatties a day, plus brief periods of insanity. We are working very hard for every fish and changing flies to find the magic bug.
In the last week we have hooked fish on over 20 different patters. Some to note are little yellow sallies, oregon cheese eggs, march browns, and midges. The staples are working too, just remember to change it up once in a while.
Observations: Not much surface activity over the last two weeks. It may be different above the bridge.
April 13, Yuba: Clients Bruce and Sallye put up a good fight against the tough side of the river. Overall, fishing was slow. The morning started out ok, first cast, BANG, fish on... That was misleading- We managed to hook some nice fish on various bugs, however, found ourselves working very hard to get the grabs.
April 14, Northern California: NORTH WINDS. Those are never good out there... No fishing today, I watched the snow fall in Nevada City while getting an awesome root canal done, good times.
April 15, Yuba: The North Winds (yes, capitalized... it's that important), were still up around 15-20 mph and things were cold. 25 degree start when I launched the boat and that wind was COLD. Morning started off ok again, we hit a few in the first run after a few bug changes. From there is was quiet for some time. It wasn't until about 2 that the wind died down and the fish decided to eat. He found a spot the gave us 6 fish, BINGO. Again, we hacked out a good day and worked hard for our fish.
April 16, No fishing today, finished up root canal, AWESOME!
April 17, American: In depth class for Granite Bay Fly Casters on how to swing flies. The day was great, 20 students, all day and man did we do some casting. Somebody even hooked a fish... :)
April 18, Kiene's Expo: Very well done, good times had by all. Thanks to Bill and Marylin for a great expo. Additionally, it was great to see some old friends and clients.
April 19, Yuba: Similar story, with a twist. Had a husband and wife team out there waging war against the picky eaters. This day was HOT (weather), we needed to dip in every once in while to keep from fading. Fishing was ok, we picked up a few here and few there, I can live with that. By the afternoon Sophia was bombing casts and ripping lips of those trout, it was awesome. My favorite moment was when all hell broke loose from what I would call a steelhead. This fish ate with vengeance and in no time was inverted, 2 feet in the air. The fish gave us a serious whooping, I liked it.
April 20, Yuba: Another great husband and wife team saddled up... This was Janet's first full-blown day of fly fishing and we hit a good one. The weather was nice, warm with a cool breeze. Fishing was constant with a grab here, a grab there, a fish here and a fish there. We did managed to hook 12 or so for the day. Janet rocked the casting, rocked the mending and was determined to land one. Despite all out efforts we did not convince one to get it in the net. NEXT TIME!
Thanks to all for booking trips with me, I appreciate your business and enjoy sharing days with you!
I will be off the water this week as I finish and prepare for DownStream 2009! We still have room for students and a few more volunteers. Contact me for more info.
On the fence about where to fish, what flies and techniques to use?Don't be confused-
When in doubt, FISH!
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