Feeding Frenzy

If only Tuck got in on the carp action today... the water was up and the fish were in a feeding frenzy.  They were scattered throughout the river with tails sticking out of mud clouds.  If it weren't for the sewage smell of the water, the scattered garbage and the sound of car horns, this would be a pristine fishery.  It is actually quite scenic, minus the above mentioned unnatural elements.  The river is relatively free of underwater obstacles and the carp can run free without tangles. 

4lb carp. First carp of the day.

The 8lb fluorocarbon proved its worth today as I got more takes without breaking off.  The first carp was about 4lbs and ran like hell right off the bat.  It gave up relatively fast and decided it had a second wind when I tried removing the hook.

Another young LMB.  Where are the parents??  These guys can scrap regardless of their size

  Again, I was slaying the young LMB left and right.  Maybe I'll have to fish a streamer to connect with a bass of substantial size.

The largest carp I've caught to date.  My size 11 rubber boot is not even half the size of the fish.

 I noticed a huge tail tailing out of the water about 30' in front of me.  With the wind blowing, it was going to be a tricky cast.  It took about three casts until I was able to place the fly a few feet in front of its nose. I stripped the line tight and slowed my retrieve to a crawl.  It wasn't long until the carp shifted over the fly for a take.  The line went tight and with a soft strip set, the giant launched like a rocket.  The reel was screaming and spinning out of control.  My fly line quickly unloaded and the carp must have been 80' away before I knew it.  I looked down at the reel and it was near the backing.

Beached carp

 After at least 10 minutes of fighting, the tired giant came in for landing.  Sometimes I forget how lucky we are here in southern California.  We have such a variety of fly fishing options it can be head spinning.  But out of all the options, my passion for casting dry flies on a mountain creek cannot be substituted or forgotten.

Bad Roads and Sore Feet = Good Fishing

A robust wild socal rainbow

I trekked deep into my local mountains in search for "big" socal wild trout.  One of my favorite things to do besides fly fishing and fly tying, is studying topographic maps.  I've always had a fascination with maps and would find myself getting lost in time following trails and watersheds.  Sometimes I find some untapped fisheries in our local mountains that hold some fine fish for our small creek standards. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to wander the trout streams in my local mountains and cast dry flies.

Erika and I explored what has become one of my favorite local trout streams.  The trout are surprisingly large for the size of this creek and willing to take dry flies.  We both fished 3'wt's and I started with a size 12 foam hopper  and Erika proudly used her "ugly ant" fly.  I approached a large pool and with the first cast, a fat rainbow leaped for the hopper and missed.  On the second cast, it was more wary however it eventually took the fly.  The trout nose dived and the fly came unbuttoned when I tried setting the hook.  I consistently missed hook sets with this fly and I eventually changed to a size 12 PMX.  Erika was having a hard time hook setting with her foam bug as well, and maybe the trout were just biting the foam and letting go.

My new toy

I picked up a few new toys at the REI sale and one of them is the Steripen Adventurer.  Since I was getting tired of carrying multiple bottles, I thought this would be a efficient way of hydrating myself.  I have a sweetwater mechanical filter that I use for backpacking, however it is far too bulky for day hiking.  The Steripen kills bacteria, viruses and protozoa with UV light, and it only takes a mere 30sec to treat .5L.  Since it has been three days since I drank the treated water without suffering from Montezuma's revenge, I'm going to say it works...

One of the many beautiful spots along this creek

It is surprising where trout can be holding in this shallow pocket water.  While there are some pool's that may be 6' deep, most of the larger fish that were caught were in shallow runs.  I caught and lost a rainbow at least in the 13" class and it bullied me into a tree branch where it went free.  Erika was fishing a pool just upstream from me and had a large trout take a black caddis.  She was stunned by the size of the fish and failed to set the hook.  We fished upstream and I sighted another trout at least 13".  On the second cast, the fish slowly sipped the black caddis  and dove.  I told her to set the hook and the fight was on! This fish pulled like no other socal trout she has fought, without much room to let the fish run she had to hold the line tight.  The trout eventually broke the line at the knot and I could see the look of disappointment in her as the trout disappeared into the pool.

This rainbow has a strange forked tail and quasi motto humpback

We had a great day exploring the socal back country.  The weather was perfect and it would have been nice to camp for the night.  Were going to return with Charles this weekend and find the big ones that got away.  There is still at least 5 miles to explore upstream and it gets me amped thinking of what may be lurking ahead of us.

Some native flora along the trail:

Calochortus spp. One of my local favorites in the lily family.  There was a significant population in the area.

Manzanita on steroids.  I wish there was someone in the photo for scale.  Among the largest specimens I have ever seen.

Leptodactylon californicum.  A plant the polemonium family.

The forest is dominated with Alder, Big Leaf Maple, Califonia Live Oak, Sycamore, and Incense Cedar

A Warning Sign

Crossing paths with a fat rattler.  Is this a warning sign?

After getting worked fishing for Carp, Charles and I made an impulse decision to stalk trout in our local mountain creek.  I admit, that I have over-indulged my fly fishing cravings lately. Despite a mere four hours of sleep and eight hours of working third shift, I pushed myself to my utter limits.  It was a long day to say the least.  . 

We arrived at the creek around 2am, and the first thing we cross is a fat southern pacific rattlesnake. It's been years since I have seen a rattlesnake while fishing or hiking, and every time it's been a close encounter.  It appears that they are out and about, so be careful when hiking through grasses and other vegetative ground cover.  They may even be stretched out across a trail.  It is difficult to notice these things when fly fisherman are so focused on the hatch and rising trout.

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I wanted to check out a small tributary where I had sighted some large rainbows from just a few weeks ago.  We fished a few small pools and pocket water and immediately I realized that this fishery has changed..  The water level was the lowest that I have ever seen it, and the abundant trout population that this creek once had is  now somewhere else. 

Another rainbow falls for my beetle pattern.

Charles and I shared a large pool and we both got healthy 8-9" rainbows right off the bat, although there was a champion in the 12" class reluctant to rise.  We moved on to where I last sighted the 14"+ trout from my last visit.  I approached the shallow pocket of water with ninja like stealth, and it was going to be a challenging cast just like the last time.  Fallen tree debris choked out this pocket, leaving a mere slot to lay down a cast with a short drift before the fly snags a twig.  My first cast was perfect, it layed down soft and clean and I lifted the line just in time before it snagged.  No take... try it again... the second cast was a little more sloppy and I got snagged.  We approached the pocket and noticed they were no longer home.  I lifted and removed the branches and did not observe a single fish spook.  We worked the entire run until it reached an impassible waterfall and not a single take was to be made of the work.  Since we were pretty much at the end of this trib, we decided to hike back to the main fork of the creek.

Hatched stonefly nymph

The water was still pretty low on the main fork, so we concentrated on the larger bodies of water.  Time was dissolving and hours felt like mere minutes.  I can tell when I get weary when my casts lay down like puddles and I begin missing every hook set.  On the other hand, Charles was on fire.  He caught two browns and one being a straight up champion trophy fish for this small socal creek.

What a beauty! Even a respectable brown on the lower O.

Seeing that beautiful brown got us amped.  I suspect there is a fat hook jawed carnivore male cruising the depths of this particular pool. I have seen an ominous form with a fat brownish yellow tail slowly cruising the depths, with no particular care for dry flies.  Maybe a 4" rainbow trout streamer will wet his appetite?  I'll have to come back to find out.  Our adrenaline pushed us to fish until twilight, nearly six hours have passed and we didn't even know it.  Little did we know, the LA county sheriff's lock up this road at 8pm and we were lucky enough to be rolling up just as they were locking up.  An hour later and we would have been either hiking home or fly fishing in the midnight light. 

Right of Passage

One of a dozen juvenile bass caught while carping

Now that my carp challenge with Tuck is over, I was long overdue for that cold beer that he owed me.  Even though the fishing today was lousy, It was rewarding enough to be with some good fishing buddies to drink a cold one and share stories.  The plan was to meet Tuck around 10am however I got there earlier to do some scouting with Charles.  The morning was slightly cool, overcast and breezy.  The overcast weather made the water dark and sight fishing for carp was difficult.  I knew this was going to be a recipe for a carp challenge. 

I fished a section while waiting for Tuck and I was immediately getting baby bass to strike like mad.  Nearly every cast produced hits from these little monsters.  They fought hard for there size and this was the first time I have ever seen this many bass come from this water.  Now if only mom and pops would show themselves.. there is a rumor that a fly fisherman has caught an 8lb LMB here.  I'd like to put that rumor to the test.

The invisible man with a 6lb carp.

The wind was ripping the surface of the water by the time Tuck arrived.  I gave him some rubber legged prince aggravator flies that I tied the night before and we headed down to the river.  We worked section after section with no results.  Only a few carp were sighted and the water was lower than it has ever been.  The lower water level created sand bars and islands which made wading and casting easier, however the carp seemed to have dissipated like ghosts.  It wasn't long until Charles connected with his first carp of the day.  The fish weighed in at 6lbs and gave him some hard pulling runs.   Tuck and I moved downstream to get in on some action of our own.  I sighted a tailing carp and presented my aggravator several times before it finally gave me a take.  The carp took my fly hard and broke my tippet in seconds.  This was a re-occurring theme for the rest of the day and I lost about four carp due to old tippet or bad knots.  I don't know what the deal was but it was frustrating enough for me to buy a new spool of 8lb fluorocarbon at the end of the day.  Hopefully this does not happen again!

Unfortunately, Tuck didn't even get a mere look at any of his well presented flies.  I guess you have to earn your right of passage on this river.  It took me about four tries to finally land a carp and I had to go through hell to get it.  Even carp master Charles was having a hard time on this particular day.  Your time will come Tuck, and hopefully we can drink some cold ones and hear of your adventures in British Columbia when you return.  Good luck buddy, we'll see you in a few months.

Tuck casting to tailing carp.  And wet wading in sewage water... I hope all your shots are current dude.

Cliff Hanging and Fly Fishing

Charles hanging on to his life.

We headed to the San B mountains again looking for those local river titans.  This time Erika came along and boy was she in for an adventure this time!  We arrived to the trail-head around 10:30am and the sun was already blazing.  We had to hike back to the truck to get a few things and Charles headed down to the creek to warm up.  We returned and Charles was not in sight, so we fished a section that he would have had to pass when hiking downstream.  I tied two patterns for this specific trip.  A black stonefly and my DC Black Magic Beetle.  I started the day with the size 14 stonefly and quickly got a 10" rainbow to take it.  Erika was fishing my old 3wt and she was practicing her cast while waiting for Charles.  It wasn't long until the three of us were united and we hiked up to the main trail and trekked north.  

Our first challenge of the day.  Passing the slot canyon.

The plan was to hike past our original drop in point from last weekend.  We hiked about one mile further and found a reasonable trail down to the creek.  The trail was overgrown with grasses and other vegetation and it just looked snaky.  Surprisingly, we hiked the entire day without startling a single rattler.  It was nearly 1pm by the time we reached the creek and Erika and I ate lunch while Charles worked the pool.  I assessed the situation while eating, and I knew that there was only one way to the other side of this pool...  The pool appeared shallow, however once Charles walked further into the pool he was quickly waist deep.  The deepest section looked at least 10' deep.  We decided to head downstream to fish some pocket water before one of us died swimming across the canyon.

Erika swimming towards me.  I'm proud to say she's my girl!

Empty sandwich bag? check! in went all of my water sensitive items.  I wet waded into the pool to acclimate to the cold water.  Luckily, I was wearing my Simms headwaters vest today because the rod holder saved my life.  I clipped my rod and Erika's to my vest and watched Charles take a leap of faith.  He frantically side stroked across the pool with one hand elevating his rod and waist pack above the water.  Once he found a hand hold, he stuck to it like fly paper.  Poor guy... Erika and I looked to the other slot and found rope draped over the boulder.   Thinking that he needed help I was going to take the easier route but the sediment below was like quick sand and I backed out.  I went back to check on Charles and he had already made it to shore.  It was my turn and I took one deep breath and prayed that all the weight in my vest would not sink me.  I dog paddled across and surprisingly I felt somewhat buoyant.  I may have had air pockets formed from my pockets and freezer bag that helped keep me afloat.  I suggest when submerging zip lock bags, they should be orientated seam side down.  Pressure compresses the bag and pushes the remaining air to the surface, breaking the seal.  I looked back and saw Erika swimming towards me, all that I could make out was a safari hat and her fear struck eyes.  She hates cold water and swimming and I have to commend her on her valiant effort.  I bet she never saw that moment coming.

One of the hundreds of beautiful riffles and pools.  All the work pays off.

Looks like Kermit.

My Black Magic Beetle in its final stage.

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 Once we got across to the other side, we fished some beautiful pools where we must have pulled at least a dozen trout.  Most of them were dink to average sized trout for socal creekin'.  We continued on in search of the river giants.  We came across a few fly fisherman that were fishing downstream as we were fishing upstream.  Great.. It looks like the rest of the creek upstream has already been worked! We hiked about 1/4mi past them in hopes that the fish have resumed feeding.  I switched to my beetle pattern before fishing a slow shallow run.  Within a few casts I got an aggressive take from a trout of reasonable size.  It banged the fly hard and pulled the line with admirable spirit.  After a few good runs and aerial flips it came in for landing.  It looked to be a healthy 11-12" rainbow.  

We were running out of steam when we reached a section where Charles and I began last weekend.  There were some great sections that I would have loved to re-fish since I missed some big fish the weekend before.  Erika and I were running out of water and we decided to hike out.  The trail out from this canyon was about as easy as it was going to get.  During our hike in, I added way-points of access points in and out of the canyon on my GPS.  This information will be invaluable in the future.  In the end, we stopped for beer and pizza at The Cottage to re-fuel on burned carbs.  It was a brutal day... We didn't find the trout titans that we were looking for, but it sure gives us a good reason to come back for more cliff hanging and fly fishing.

My beetle fly and its living counter-part.

A large black cricket (size 10) was observed on our way out.  It's no wonder why big black bugs do well here.

 

Iris douglasiana basking in nature's glory.

Curse of the Carp is Broken!

4.5lb carp on a fly

After several failed attempts of catching a carp on a fly it was beginning to feel like a curse was set upon me.  There was always some type of elemental factor that would challenge me.  Wind, rain, flood, you name it.. I've even nearly sank chest deep in quick sand too.  And finally... I broke the curse!

I set out on another carp adventure with Charles, this time I came with my Sage DS2 5wt paired with a Galvan OB3 reel and RIO mainstream floating line.  I used some old leader in the back of my truck and cut the line back to where it tapers into 3x.  With a triple surgeons knot I tied some old stren 6lb mono that I found floating around the garage.  My leader was approx 9' in length and I used a modified size 12 prince nymph with a black marabou tail and black rubber legs. After rigging up I headed down to bank to find Charles.  The wind was picking up and sighting the carp was getting difficult. He pointed at some bubbles on the surface of the water, which indicated the presence of feeding carp.  It took about 30 minutes to adjust my eyes to locate the carp through the wind chopped water.  Casting the 5wt line was like throwing spaghetti noodles and my timing had to be in sequence with the ebb and flow of the wind gusts.  

Charles was working a fish to the left of me and I found one feeding about 20' in front of me.  I cast my fly several times making sure to not overline the fish.  The fish did not seem interested however I kept trying.  I followed the fish as it slowly swam into deep water.  I cast just a few feet in front of it and the carp finally accepted the fly.  The line went tight and I remembered not to lift the rod tip too soon.. this is no trout... with a slow strip set I felt the hook sink into the carp's lip and its tail whipped out of the water.  Charles looked over thinking I had fell in the water again.  The fish was on and it pulled my line across the river.  I quickly got the fish on the reel and tried adjusting my drag only to discover the OB3 had some issues with the drag clutch.  The drag was not fine tuning but it worked good enough.  After going back and forth what seemed like 10minutes or so, the mighty carp was beached.  Charles weighed it in at 4.5 lbs and it was more of a fight than any local trout will give.  About 15minutes later I connected with another carp, however I got trigger happy and set the hook too quick.  The carp took the fly harder than expected and broke my knot as I set the hook.  

I will be going back next week so Tuck can have his shot at catching a Carp before he leaves to Canada!

First fish on the DS2 and working it hard

  

DC Black Magic Beetle

My final version of the Black Magic Beetle.  The trout seemed to respond well to this pattern. The takes were ultra aggressive.

Original design.

Bottom view

 I was inspired from yesterday's exploration to tie up some beetle patterns.  There was a considerable population of darkling beetles crawling around the rocks along the creek.  These bugs must be a good source of protein for the trout.  This is my experimental fly and it will probably evolve when I get a few materials that I think would make it better.  A few parts that I would like to change are the antennae since all I really had were marabou fibers.  These fibers will probably tear in no time.  I will have to find something more durable.  I'll probably add a small bright indicator behind the thorax as well. I cant wait to try it out. 

Hook: TMC2312 (I used size 12)

Thread:  UTC 140 black or brown

Body: Micro UV Polar Chenille UV Black

Abdomen&Thorax: 2mm black fly foam

Legs: Round rubber legs

Antennae:Black Krystal Flash

Indicator: Hi-vis fly foam.  I used orange and it is highly visible on the water.

There is no Place Like Home

I've returned to one of my favorite local trout creeks in the SB mountains for an epic day of fly fishing with Charles.  This day was one of the best days I have ever had on this creek despite losing my dr slick zinger with my floatant and nippers (this particular zinger design is terrible).  I always lose something when I'm at this creek and last time I lost my fly box.  At least nippers and floatant are relatively inexpensive.  The weather yesterday was warm and sunny, by afternoon the temps slightly dropped and the wind began to stir up.  The runoff has reduced and water clarity has returned.  There was a buffet of insects hatching which made dry fly fishing highly productive.  I saw some large terrestrials such as hoppers and darkling beetles, even some skwala stoneflies.

I started with a size 18 black caddis which produced countless quality fish.  However, most of the fish caught early in the day were dinks, nevertheless they were colorful and pretty.  A small pool just upstream from where we began fishing held a rather large rainbow hunkered down in the depths.  This fish was reluctant to rise for a dry fly.  I was in the process of tying on a nymph dropper and unfortunately it spooked for whatever reason.  The trout looked like it had mass and with a flash it was gone.  

We came across a larger section of water and I switched my pattern to a size 14 stimulator with a size 16 ice hare dropper.  This combo is straight up deadly.  I had multiple takes on the dropper and lost a massive trout from an undercut.  This may have been a brown trout as I was able to see it for a moment before the fly came unbuttoned.   I have yet to catch a brown trout on this creek.  We trekked on and found a large pool where we stopped to fish the inlet. Charles was casting dry flies here and connected with at least a dozen fish.  I was scouting from a slippery granite ledge where I had sighted a large trout hunkered behind a boulder.  I told Charles where to cast, however the big fish was not interested to rise for that particular fly.  The fish vanished and I suspected that it swam upstream just on the other side of the boulder.  I cast my stimulator into a small foam lined pocket, and with an explosive take the fish was on.  This was a big fish for socal creek standards.  It was pulling hard on my Sage Vantage 3wt and fighting on the slick granite with tree branches hanging above my head was sketchy.  It is moments like these where you just wish there was a net at your side.

13-14" rainbow.  Trout in this size range are relatively large for socal creeks.

As the day went on, we caught more fish than we could even count.  I was bummed that the last fish of the day may have been the largest.  Just as we were climbing up and out of a rock wall, we noticed a big take that ended with a tail whip in a pool right in front of us.  I cast the stimi about 3-4 feet above the last take and as it drift down another explosive take ignited the fly.  After a brief moment of feeling the weight of this fish the fly came unbuttoned.  I cant complain much as we caught many quality fish and fishing was on fire that day.  We were addicted and pretty much fished until the sun began to set.  We will be back... before the inferno of summer shuts this fishery down.

The Last Cast

Rainbow on the last cast

Sometimes the stars align and the fishing gods bless an angler with superhuman potential to catch fish.  And sometimes they don't... I spent four days in the Tahoe basin to test my angling skills on the Truckee and the Little Truckee river.  Flow rates were not outrageous, the LT was 250-300 and the Truckee was 300-400 near the town of Truckee.  However, the water was cold and the fish were lethargic.  Despite  significant mid-late afternoon hatches of BWO and caddis, the fish were not looking up.  There was even a small green drake and salmonfly hatch on the Truckee.  The fishing was technical and indicator nymphing with small nymphs (18-22) was one of the few ways of getting the grab.  When lobbing a multi nymph rig got tedious, I switched to streamers with a sink tip line.  I tried everything that I am not good at, and I quickly realized my angling weaknesses...

I met up with my fishing buddy Bill this past Sunday on the Truckee just outside of town.  Bill was already on the water when I arrived and I could see him casting near a bend in the river.  Erika and I entered the river downstream from him and fished the seams.  I was fishing a double nymph rig with a size 8 black stonefly and size 16 pink beauty.  We spent the next few hours nymping this section, working the river in a grid and as methodical as possible. Erika got one take from a dink which failed to connect, and I left the river without a single bump or take.  We all left without a fight on the first day, granted we only had time to fish a quarter day before leaving to south Lake Tahoe. 

The Truckee

Our second day on the Truckee was with a guide.  Our guide was a passionate high stick nymph fly fisherman and only fished for trophies.  I wanted a 20"+ trout on this trip and I was hoping this guide would help me find them.  This was my first guide ever and I suppose he did what a guide was supposed to do... except bringing his own truck!  If I were a guide, I would have already rigged rods for each person and at least provide a vehicle with rod carriers so no time is lost on the water.  He didn't even let me use his brand new Orvis Helios.  Major negative points for this guide... however on the positive side, I did learn some useful nymphing techniques.  We hired him for a full day (8hrs) of instruction, however at least two of those hours were spent driving and rigging.  The first half day was basically casting practice as nobody caught anything except for a Mountain whitefish.  While demonstrating, the guide connected with a whitefish and let Erika fight it.  This was her first "strong" fish that she has ever fought on a fly rod.  Before leaving this section of the river, Bill landed a 14" brown trout which was his first fish of the trip. 

Bill and his 17" rainbow.  This trout had talon scars across its back and side. 

The second section that we fished was more productive and Bill was able to land a hefty 17" rainbow with some guidance from the guide.  We stomach sampled the fish and found many dark baetis nymphs in the 18-22 size range.  This fish was also heavily scared with battle wounds likely from a raptor.  Shortly after, Erika connected with a solid 14" rainbow that pulled harder than any trout she has caught before.  She set the hook, played and landed the fish all on her own.  I am proud.  My spirits were crushing under the pressure to connect with a fish.  I needed something.. anything.  We moved to another section and I became fed up with lobbing nymphs.  It was streamer time and it was my last hope to catch the trophy.  I used a size 8 olive krytal bugger and began casting like a machine.  I was focused, anticipating that 22" king brown to hit my bugger like a locomotive. After nearly two hours of dedicated streamer casting, there was nothing.  Not a bump, not a grab, just nothing.  At least I never gave up.

The Little Truckee

The next few days were spent fishing the LT.  Flow rates were perfect (200-300), air temp was warm, and the water was extremely cold.  Without a thermometer I would guess the water temp was in the low 40's F.  The LT is a incredibly beautiful river.  Everything about it is picturesque fly fishing scenery.   I sighted a large trout feeding on emerging nymphs in a deep slot behind a fallen tree.  This particular trout was incredibly red, like a sockeye salmon.  The size of the fish had me awestruck (in the water it looked to be a 20incher).  Submerged tree limbs made this particular a challenge.  There were 100 ways things could go wrong.  After three casts I fooled the big boy to take my fly.  The trout sank like a submarine and nearly pulled the rod out of my hand.  All I could do was hang on, I let it run and applied pressure to keep it away from the submerged tree.  With every lift it countered with a pull.  I had no net, and a maze of structure to work the fish out from. I wanted to work the fish downstream to fight it away from all the obstacles, however it did not want to cooperate.  With every effort on my part, the fly finally gave up and came unbuttoned.  The line went limp and utter disappointment struck me.   We hiked downstream and worked our way back up, the fish were holding in deep slots and holes behind back eddies.  I sighted at least three giant trout hunkered down deep.  Nothing that I offered them seemed to get their attention, these fish were just picky and lazy.  I came up with a plan that I would try the next day.

I caught this rainbow on my last cast of the day.  Literally the last cast.

I decided to fish with smaller nymph patterns on my last day on the LT.  The flies I started with was a size 16 red copper john as the point fly and a size 18 flashback PT and a size 22 Z-midge.  I rigged three flies all approx. 18" apart from one another.  Two bb split-shot were used to sink these flies into semi deep slots and I added another to get in into the deeper slots.  After hours of fishing and not catching, I switched up my flies yet again.  I must have went through nearly all of my small flies in my box.  With one last attempt, I tried my size 16 pink beauty with a size 18 copper john/prince mutation.  This fly is basically a prince nymph with a thin black wire body instead of peacock hurl.  I was just about ready to throw in the towel, but I just could not live with the fact that I would return home without landing a single fish.  The tree tangled hole where I lost big boy the day before was open to fish.  With a single last cast something magical happened.  My indicator sank and I set the hook.  Great, I thought to myself... I must have snagged the tree.  The line remained tight for a moment and it began fighting back.  The fight was on, and this rainbow was a hefty 17-18" fish.  Not quite as large the rainbow from the day before, but I will take it! This fish was easier to manage out of the tree tangles and luckily I had a net that day.  Erika helped net the fish before it ran back into the maze of branches, and finally I felt fulfilled.  The fishing gods must have played a cruel joke on my for this trip.  What are the odds of catching and landing a fish like this on the very last cast before flying back home?  Maybe I have picked on too many dinks back home and this was my punishment.  Oh well, it was a fun trip and it is always rewarding to be in good company with Bill and my patient and loving girl.  She did remarkably well, and I am proud of her progression in fly fishing.  

It was hard to leave the beautiful blue water of Lake Tahoe. 

Tranquility

With nothing more than my Sage Vantage 370-4 and a single size 16 olive EHC, I made a quick retreat into the tranquil mountains.  This is one of my favorite local creeks, mostly because it holds some rather large trout.. if you can find them. This was more of a scouting mission than a dedicated fish exploration.  I wanted to see if the champions of this creek still existed.  I fished a few small pools and runs along the way and caught some nice trout.

blogspot keeps rotating my pictures for some reason.  Otherwise, this is a beautiful trout that leaped to take my caddis.

As I approached the pocket water where I caught the 13incher with Tuck, I noticed something that sort of looked like a rock but could have been a trout as well.  It was a difficult cast with fallen trees and branches in my casting path.  With stealth and low profile I approached the water with caution.  As I peeked into the hole I noticed several large shadows move in and out of their feeding lane.  This had to be a short gentle cast, and with trout this large they had to be old and wise.  The first cast was clean yet no strike.  The second cast got tangled on a twig, and my chance was blown.  No matter how careful I was, the sound of snapping twigs and branches echoed in the canyon.  I waited about 20min for the trout to resume feeding, however it never happened.  I had to beat the traffic rush, so I decided to trail run back to my truck.  At least I had a tranquil time and I much needed retreat before heading out to Tahoe.  By Sunday afternoon, I will be on big trout water with wild Bill. 

Never Give Up

Sometimes you need to emerge from the ashes and rise a champion. With the last defeat at Lake MV, I was demoralized to return anytime soon. The water was green with algae bloom the last time Charles and I fished here. We invested at least three hours of fishing that day and my one juvenile bass came unbuttoned a few feet from the boat. This time we came prepared with a topographic map of the lake and an arsenal of rods for top water and sub surface fishing. 

I was fortunate enough to purchase the Sage DS2 5wt that Charles built a decade ago. He had just finished the epoxy and it looks good. This rod is paired with a Galvan OB3 and RIO mainstream WF5 and it balances and casts surprisingly well. I used it for top water with a roughly tied Gurgler pattern. The top water action was not happening and it wasn't long until I switched to my 6wt to throw a size 8 olive clouser with large prismatic eyes. The water was clear to the bottom of the shallows (15-20') and juvenile bass were scattered. An occasional monster bass would come cruising by but stayed tight lipped. There were also a few steelhead size Nebraska Tailwalkers that cruised through the shallows however none were eager to take a fly.

We arrived at our favorite cove approx. 2pm and fished here until nearly 4pm.  The bass were active and striking between these hours although it was difficult to get a solid connect.  I fished the underwater structure using various strips and pauses, retrieve rates, etc.. the most productive was quick short strips.  I landed the first bass of the day, it was a dinky 10" bass that fought like a bass twice its size.  I was really surprised it was as small as it was... however from my experience fishing for trout, the little guys never give up.

As we were about to leave this cove, the trolling motor was puttering out.  It is frustrating to have a boat out and have it die in the heat of battle.  Precious time was being lost as this was the most productive hour of the day.  Shortly before limping back to the boat dock, Charles connected with a nearly 2lb redear sunfish! Unfortunately this redear and the juvenile LMB were the only fish at hand for five hours of hard fishing.  After switching out trolling motors we used the map to fish some new territory.  Only a few weak bumps were produced despite fishing the drop-offs and other fishy features.  On the way out, we gave one last fight and we found where the monster sunfish were holding.  Despite every attempt to fool or anger these fish, their mouths remained glued shut.  

Once the weather becomes warmer and more stable, hopefully the fish become more active.  We only had a two hour window when the fish were aggressive.  At least we fought hard and you just never know when that 8lb bass is going to strike your fly.  Until then... I wont give up on this lake.

Death of a Dragon

Since childhood I have admired wild animals, particularly fish and reptiles.  I enjoyed the process of designing terrariums and aquariums that reflected their natural habitat.  I've owned Green Iguanas,  Day Geckos, Dart Frogs, and several south American Cichlid fish species.  Watching and admiring these animals served endless hours of curiosity.  However, I have never been attached to a cold blooded animal until I got my first bearded dragon.  I got my bearded dragon five years ago at the North American Reptiles Breeders Conference which was held in Anaheim. He was a red x yellow sandfire cross, which is a captive bred variety known for vibrant colors. He was merely the size of my palm from nose to tail when I first got him. 

Even when he was young, he would look at me with human-like curiosity.  It is hard to remember that he was this small.

  In his youth he had unlimited energy.  He ran back and forth and followed me as I would walk by.  In many ways, he was more like a dog than a lizard.

Master Chief in his adult form.  Erika called him that because of his quite but strong attitude.  He feared nothing.  Even my cat feared him ever since he tail whipped her in the face.

As an adult dragon, I would let him roam free in my home.  Often times, I would find him basking in the sunlight between my screen door and the shutters.  He would even climb to the highest point of the screen and hug it like the bark of a tree.  The Chief would love jumping up on the couch to climb up my back and perch on my shoulder.  He would ride on my shoulder just about anywhere I went.  Those moments will be missed.  If there is anything that I have learned from fly fishing, it is the respect for wild animals and their wild habitats.  Wild animals should stay wild and condoning a domestic life for these animals are no longer of my interest.  Goodbye old friend, you lived a strong five years.  

May your spirit live on in the wilds of the Australian outback.