DownStream Fly Fishing 2009

The following is a blog written by Mark Lynn. Mark was one of the many great volunteers at DownStream 2009.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do-


"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do!"


What a great mantra...

and it fits in perfectly with my life of late...

I have some major challenges with which I struggle and deal on pretty much a daily basis.

Yet, I somehow manage to get along and fish on a supra-regular basis.

For me, abstinence from fishing is not an option.

I also find that the less self pity and the more gratitude I indulge in... the better off I am.

The perfect opportunity arose last weekend when fellow AR angler, Ryan Miller invited me to help out at his DownStream Outreach Program.

Ryan grew up with his younger brother, Mark (KOOL NAME@!) who was diagnosed as having Down Syndrome.

As Ryan grew up and metamorphosed into a fishing fanatic... he was diagnosed as having Down-Stream Syndrome and rather than fight it... he became a fishing guide.

Looking back, he realized that his brother actually taught him a good many things most notably, attentiveness, patience, perseverance, and compassion~:)

Mark admired and looked up to his brother and vice-versa I'm sure.

I bet they've fished a good many streams together over the years...

Ryan must have pondered how cool it would be to share his love and passion for the sport of fishing not just with his bro but with many young folks who often, because of their somewhat different appearance and exaggerated behaviors, get shunned by mainstream society.

And hence, DownStream was set into motion.

This was the third year of the annual event Ryan designed to connect special-needs folks with something very real, engaging, and inspirational.

I got a bit lost on the way to the event and not once or twice mind you... but three times. When all else fails, read the address on the directions!

That was what finally got me there.

I hadn't missed much as the band was just starting to move towards the pond.
I decided to just help out wherever needed and try to capture the essence of the day with camera and memory card.

It seems to me that human nature has a tendency towards remorse and sympathy for folks like Mark and Alison, Oscar and Peter, Chele and Sam who happen to have been born with a condition like Down Syndrome. I have pondered the hows and whys of this many times throughout my life and the best I can come up with is that there is a design far grander and far more purposeful than our mortal minds can conceive... a plan, a purpose which defies our limited comprehension and preconceptions of right/wrong, good/bad, normal/strange...

...and anyone with open eyes, mind and heart could surely see that these folks needed no sympathy. I walked the perimeter of "BOW'S END" 1/2 a dozen times during the course of the day...
and everywhere I went I saw only enthusiastic, jubilant, happy, smiling faces.

I think everyone must have read the back of the shirt that day and taken heed to John Wooden's directive:

The clouds and drizzle subsided and the morning sun emerged. There were 20-something students and at least twice that many volunteers.

I saw some old/new friends whom I'd met on my home river; Adrian, Teresa, Jason H., Rob, Charlie G. and also made many new friends during the course of the day.

It should come as no surprise that veteran angler, Mark Miller would put the bends to the first trout of the day... and what a fish! Way to go Mark!!

The program was divided into 4 sections:

CASTING


FISHING




Sometimes, the individuals who least enjoy 'living in the limelight'... are the ones who most inspire and leave the greatest, lasting impressions... Such is the case with Alison. I asked permission to take her photo at the FISH ART station and she was quite reluctant. Later in the day, I watched her fight and land a trout. The volunteers brought the netted fish to her and while we were all focused on the photo opportunity, Alison was concerned only with getting the fish back to the pond as quickly as possible... "Oh poor fish. We need to put it back NOW so it can LIVE!"
Way to go Alison! Many of our fisheries and anglers thereof could use the guidance of your wisdom and compassion...

FLY-TYING
FISH ART


Making repeated smooth casts, tying up the perfect wooly bugger, painting a 'rainbow-whale' and fighting lots of fish demands much energy so by noon time, everyone had worked up quite the healthy appetite.

Ryan gathered up the troops and passed out some fishing literature courtesy of one of the event sponsors.

I left DownStream 2009 feeling as though we had each accomplished something very worthwhile and had learned a bit more about who we are in the process.

String of Reports...

It has been a while since my last fishing report, I am going to give you the best summary possible...

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!

Kiene's Expo

I will be at Kiene's Fly shop in Sacramento from 9 am - 6pm.

Come on by and check out all the sweetness.

On The Water...

I have been guiding on our local waters recently and I am happy to say that fishing has been good.

American: April 1oth marked the first striper/steelhead trip of the season with clients and I am happy to say the we were successful. The weather for the day was not exactly pleasant with heavy rain and colder temperatures. Fortunatly, the muck only lasted a few hours just in time to allow our fingers to warm back up. While stiper fishing we managed to get 3 awesome grabs with clousers and one striper to follow the fly. On the metalhead side, we landed 3 hot, chrome steelhead in the 18-21" class. All and all a good day. I expect to see more steelhead and stipers pour into the river everyday.

Yuba, April 11: The Yuba showed her gentle side to us as she gave up plenty of fat 'bows and a few nice steelhead. Fishing was good all day as fish "keyed" into over a dozen different patters. The river was VERY busy with anglers.

Yuba, April 13: Today she showed her uglier side... We did manged to hook a decent number of trout, however we worked very hard to get them.

Downstream Fly Fishing Updates

DownStream 2009
We are getting closer...

Date: April 24, 2009
Location: 6851 Marysville Road Browns Valley, CA 95918 - MORE
Time: 10 am - 2 pm
Show up times: volunteers: 9 a.m., participants: 9:30 a.m.

Volunteer: If you would like to volunteer, please contact me ASAP
I need volunteers for:

1. Casting
2. Tying
   
3. Art
4. Bugs
5. Fish Pond
   

Lunch: Lunch will be provided If you are a volunteer or are a participant. We will have a full crew of cooks preparing a great lunch.

You are also more than welcome to just come and check it out.

American: Spring cherome

Had a great day with clients on Monday. Floated the top armed with Watchit indicators, various nymphs including caddis and plenty of cooperative fish. We hook a good number of super charged chrome rockets the gave us plenty of action throughout the day.

The fish we are catching are a little different than what the American normally gets. They are not what I would call blue-backs, these guys are all hatchery, slender, huge tails and fresh. Blue-backs are usually wild, football shaped with a distinct light blue color.

It is time to get out there with your favorite caddis patterns and see what's swimming around.

Fishing Report: Yuba, 2 days

Guided the Yuba Tuesday and Wednesday and had some great days. Clients Ken and Peter waged war on the selective trout on the almighty Yuba. I am not usually a number counting kinda guide, however, this time we counted. In two days we hooked 42 rainbows, landing over half of them. Most of the fish were over 16" with at least a dozen fish 18-21". We hooked fish with several bugs including stones, eggs, March Browns, pt's, princes, and caddis.

Dry fly activity was nill, nada, nothing... We did see a salmon fly though, woohoo.

There are some great pictures coming and I will post them soon.

These were two incredible days with great clients to boot.

Stay tuned as my guiding calendar is FULL through mid May. I will be posting reports as often as possible.

Economic Meltdown Special

If you have not heard... get a guided trip for $200!

Read about it

Here are the current available dates: April 16, 21, 22, 23, May 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14

Many of these dates are already being pursued, don't miss out on this deal!

Indicator Clinic

I ran another indicator clinic for Granite Bay Fly Casters and once again had great weather and awesome students. We split a whole day between an indoor and outdoor classroom.

Topics covered included:

1. Looking at direct and indirect indicators
   
2. We looked at a systematic approach to on-stream analysis called the G.R.I.D. (contact me for more info on this)
3. Rigging
4. Casting techniques
5. and how to fish with the indicator
   

I teach this class to groups of any size and individually. It is the most comprehensive look at fishing with indicators in the area.

Thanks to Bill Carnazzo and Granite Bay Fly Casters!

Guided Trips: Deal of the Century

New Homepage

The Facts: We are in the middle an economic predicament

My Goal: Spend as much time on the water guiding as possible

Your Goal: Fish hard, learn something and save money

My solution: Full-day, guided trips for $200 (8-10 hours) - SAVE 50% of regular rate

The Catch:

1. Lunch is up to you, I will have a cooler.
   

2. Please bring flies, tippet and leaders. I will have everything needed to supplement your selection.
   

3. Selected availability
   

4. Selected rivers
   

Trips that qualify for the deep discount are by no means second rate trips, you will get my unquestionable dedication and full attention.

If you would like the full treatment, I will still offer full-day, first rate trips for the regular price of $400

To get started, check out my online calendar to check available dates. When you find one that works, CONTACT me and I will get you dialed in.

DownStream Fly Fishing

I have begun the exciting task of setting up DownStream Fly Fishing 2009! This is an annual event that features both adults and children with Down Syndrome. The event will take place on April 24, 2009 just outside of Marysville near the Yuba River.

It is my hope that through fly fishing, children with Down Syndrome can improve coordination, fine tune motor skills, boost social skills and attain a sense of accomplishment while having fun. Additionally, my goal is to include family members in order to promote family activities in an outdoor environment.

2009 should prove to be our greatest event yet. We have secured a private facility with multiple ponds teaming with eager trout, bass and panfish. Students will have the opportunity to tie flies, learn to cast, get into fish art and hook a fish! We are working on assembling the most talented and qualified volunteer staff possible to coach our students. I am also excited to announce that we are working with Trout Unlimited.

More details to come.... If you are interested in donating ANYTHING, please contact me for ideas.

If you would like to attend please contact me, this will be an invite only event.

Thank you for your support,
Ryan

Guiding on the Swing

I was able to guide quite a bit last week and had a string of great days. One of the more memorable days came off the incoming front. Armed with a plethora of spey rods, lines, tips and flies; client Steve and I combed the clay stained water of the American. We were successful, we managed to get ripped in one of our first runs! Steve landed it, a nice 23" steelhead, she fell for a 3" black tandem tube fly... gotta love it!

Steve did a great job of covering the water, staying in the face of potential grabbers. He managed a few other tugs for the day.

All in all it was a great day, swing on!

Complete Indicator Class...

February 19 marked one incredible day!

In conjunction with Granite Bay Fly Casters, I put on an in-depth, full day class dedicated to insights on fishing indicators. Myself and over 20 members were able to do a two part class where for a few hours we hid in a classroom and dove into the nuances of fishing with an indicator.

After lunch we met on the American River where we were able to attack the common issues related to fishing, specifically casting, indicators and heavy setups needed for larger rivers.

We will be doing this again on March 7, 2009, and although this class is currently full, we may be doing another one due to popular demand. Also, if you belong to an organization that would be interesting in this program feel free to contact me. Look for pictures from our March 7th day!

There's more! In mid April, again with the support Granite Bay Fly Casters, I will be teaching a class dedicated to fine points of swinging flies. This will be an all day event with both classroom and on stream surroundings.

For any inquiries please contact me for more information.

Now is the time to refine-

13 for 20...

American river: one angler, 3 days, one huge indicator, eggs and 20 hookups...

The American still has good numbers of fish in the system. Last week I had one client hook 20 steelhead over 3 days. About half of them were fresh, spunky chromers that took us plenty of finagling to land. We hooked a few fish that were in the 10 pound range and an awesome sight to see.

I have not seen any "blue-backs" yet; however, I know they are out there. This is a great time of year to get out and swing flies, you have a good shot and hooking late winter-run plus ultra hot blue-backs.