Updates from the Bank!

-I haven’t been fly fishing in a bit. Lately I have been focusing more on striper fishing with ol Pops but I am really jonesing for a fish on the fly. Aside from my trips with ol Pops I haven’t even been fishing much at all. I have been getting off of work, working out, watching a bit of tv before I go to sleep and repeat. I haven’t gotten to try my hand much at some bigger bass on the fly with my 8 Wt. 

"helmet" buggers

regular beaded bugger

-I haven’t even been back to Putah to try for some bass. As you may recall I found success at Putah with my largemouth on a fly goal but couldn’t get into anything too big and ended up losing my beaded black wooley buggers. I ended up buying some new ones and I realized they weren’t the same as the ones I had success with. In fact, these beaded heads were actual beads as opposed to the “helmet”  beads with which I had success.  I don’t know if there is any difference or if those “helmet” buggers have an actual name but I decided to go on a hunt for the helmet buggers and after striking out at a couple of places, finally realized that I must have purchased them at Sportsmans warehouse in Rocklin. I went out there yesterday and I was right so I ended up buying enough to hold me down for a while. I guess I’ll have to field test both the bead and the helmets to see the difference. 

- I have heard elsewhere that a lot of people use circle hooks for catfishing so I bought some. So I took them on a river fishing trip and found success with circle hooks while striper fishing. These hooks are smaller but I decided to look for larger circle hooks. While at Sportsmans warehouse I also found some size 5 circle hooks so I’m excited to try them out on the stripers.

-As for 2047, I have heard legend of some big bass in there and I plan on going out there with pops and probably Rigo to give it a try. Like I said before we have been fishing there for at least 20 years and never even seen a bass or caught one by accident so if I happen to catch one it will definitely be a milestone. 

-I also have yet to visit the bee hive and butte pond lately which means my Largemouth bass and crappie count hasn’t even begun yet. I purchased some honey bee and yellow jacket looking flies specifically to see if the largemouths will grub them down. I also really want to see if the Sarges crappie fly will slay the crappie at this hole. 

-If I don’t completely break down and head out to putah tonight, my next fishing adventures will be this weekend and then next Wednesday I will be heading out to fish with “Magic Mark” from Northern California Trout (haha you like the new nickname, buddy?).

Spring 2014 Totals

As of this moment, I am 107 fish into the year. This is without many Largemouth trips or trips to the bee hive. What can I say, spring was good to me! I can’t even compare this to last spring, I think I was barely into double digits. I feel like I’m learning a little more about fishing by putting everything I learned last year into practice this year. Yes this spring was panfish heavy but I like the various other categories I dipped into as well. I am specifically proud of my striper total which is starting to look like it once did.

 I really think it’s time to start focusing on more of my fishing goals; specifically my trout, largemouth and striper goals. Also, Salmon season is opening up soon and this year I WILL be getting into my first five kings, this is a promise! Anyway, These are my fish totals for Spring 2014.

Carp/ PM = 02 pikeminnows

Pan Fish = 29

Catfish = 02

LMB = 08

SMB = 04

Trout = 00

Striper = 15

*Steelhead= 00

*Salmon = 00

*Sturgeon = 00

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Total: 60 Fish

Never Guarantee Fish...

I went fishing with a buddy I met on the sniffer named Nathan. Nathan was a pretty nice guy. I met him at his place in Gold River and we hit the south Fork of the American River. It was some gorgeous country but we may have been there too late in the day. It was about 10:30 when we arrived at the fishing hole and the sun was already blazing. 

We hit the American at Chilis Bar. We hit a couple of holes at the actual park but had no luck. Nathan had one strike but he didn’t swallow the fly. We made our way up the bank which was kind of hard for me but I made it. We fished a few other holes but didn’t have a bit of luck. The area was beautiful but we had absolutely no luck there. What’s funny is that Nathan actually “guaranteed” me trout at this spot. When he said it I kind of chuckled. I thought that was a bold claim when he made it but apparently he hadn’t heard that the superstition is real! You can NEVER guarantee a person fish unless they are store-bought and fishermen don’t buy fish! 

By the time we left fishing hole #1 I was spent so we had some in n out and hit fishing hole #2 which was one of Nathans secret fishing holes for bass. He told me that most of the fish at this hole are small but I was just excited at the prospect of caching some bass!  He ended up catching a handful of bass with an extremely fast stripping technique. For some reason, as much as I tried I could not strip my line as fast as he could which resulted in not catching as many fish. He told me that at this pond, that was the technique that caught the most fish.

A bit later I did get into one small (and I do mean small!) largemouth on a foam bee. I had no poppers because I thought we were only fishing for trout but if I did I’m sure I would have caught some more. It definitely made me want to return to that fishing hole with my spin fishing gear and hopefully get into some of the bigger things that pond had to offer. 

Not the best trip, but its always good to fish! 

Total Fish: 1 Largemouth Bass

One Year on the Fly

I just realized that as of yesterday I have been fly fishing for an entire year! It was on May 22^nd that I decided to take a trip that changed my life. I met Mark out at his place, we drove to cat creek , I held a fly rod in my hand and the rest was history. 

I knew from the moment I first held the fly rod in my hand that I was hooked! It was one of those things I feel I was destined to learn. I knew one day I would learn how to fly fish I just didn’t know how I would pick it up or how I would learn. Then Mark came along and it was over. 

Today, I enjoy fly fishing more than I do spin fishing. I will never leave spin fishing behind because love all types of fishing and want to try all of them, but fly fishing has a special place in my heart. 

As of right now, I have caught bluegill, green sunfish, crappie, rainbow trout, and smallmouth bass on the fly rod. I promise that Largemouth will come soon.  And although I love catching fish, to me it’s more about learning the correct processes and flies with which to catch these fish. 

Another thing that I love about fly fishing is that it has made me more interested in catching Trout. Prior to fly fishing, I caught trout but I didn’t think they were all that great, especially when comparing them to bass and striper. But when I started fly fishing I realized the fight that they had within them when they are fighting on a fly rod. For the first time, I came to enjoy and appreciate trout.

Josh Rickard says, “One of the best reasons to fish trout are the places they thrive in,” and I completely agree with him. I have been to some beautiful places looking for trout and when I find them, it makes the entire experience even better. You know what’s even better? I have so many more beautiful places that I will discover while searching for these beautiful fish. 

In conclusion, I’m just one year into fly fishing and I know the future will bring me many more adventures, fly rod in hand. I will see beautiful places, catch more fish and enjoy every minute of this sport that we love.  This post is dedicated to fly fishing and all of my fellow fly fishers!