The latest arrivals are these nice BH Copper Johns in a variety of sizes and colors.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Friday, February 3, 2012
Update and the latest arrivals
Here is a quick update on the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ fly box giveaway. There are only 3 spots left! This is likely the last chance you'll have to join in on the giveaway.
The latest arrivals are these nice BH Copper Johns in a variety of sizes and colors.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
The latest arrivals are these nice BH Copper Johns in a variety of sizes and colors.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Raw Water Productions
Hey everyone, rawwaterproductions.com is in production of a winter fly fishing film called "No Off-Season". Check out the blog link above. The site is just getting started but looks very promising. The crew is composed of three, Adam Kryder will be involved in direction, production, the editing. Lucas Carroll, production and Matt Smythe Production. Don't forget to bookmark the blog Raw Water Productions
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Latest Update
The fly box continues to fill for the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway. The latest batch of flies came in last week, I was a little busy fly fishing and fly tying, so didn't have the time to really add to the Blog.
Here is the latest batch, the first set are some really nicely tied drys.
This second set has some various patterns of nymphs.
Here is an update on the fly box, nearly the entire side of the fly box is filled! We have only 4 spots left, so if you needed inspiration to join in on the fly box giveaway, here it is...
If this photo does not inspire you to join, I have no clue what will. To participate in the fly box giveaway, head on over to the FLYFISHINGADDICTS forum and register. The ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ This is your chance to win a full GREYS GS Fly Box, that's 408 flies! All tied by the participants! There are only 4 spots left!
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Here is the latest batch, the first set are some really nicely tied drys.
This second set has some various patterns of nymphs.
Here is an update on the fly box, nearly the entire side of the fly box is filled! We have only 4 spots left, so if you needed inspiration to join in on the fly box giveaway, here it is...
If this photo does not inspire you to join, I have no clue what will. To participate in the fly box giveaway, head on over to the FLYFISHINGADDICTS forum and register. The ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ This is your chance to win a full GREYS GS Fly Box, that's 408 flies! All tied by the participants! There are only 4 spots left!
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Pyramid Lake Fly Pattern
I have been busy behind the vise as of late. Today it's raining so it's the perfect day for some tying. I still need to tie up a few dozen more of these Pyramid tadpoles in various sizes. The flies below, Pyramid Tadpoles, are tied on a Tiemco TMC 2457 size 6 hook. It's a pretty simple fly to tie, using only a few materials, foam, estaz, and either marabou or crystal flash for the tail.
I'm hoping to be on Pyramid lake sometime around April. I want to try my skills at catching one of the large Lohontan cutthroat trout that call this huge lake home.
Cheers
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Edit: A few more from today!
I'm hoping to be on Pyramid lake sometime around April. I want to try my skills at catching one of the large Lohontan cutthroat trout that call this huge lake home.
Cheers
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Edit: A few more from today!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
The Blu send off
I drive through Mohave Desert it's still very dark on the highway. The faint light of the sun starting to rise on the horizon. Critters scurry across the the road, from tiny little mice, rabbits, and all the way up to what I now know was a Desert Kit fox. I had never before seen a desert Kit fox so this was very unusual to me. It's kind of cool to see, I wish I had some type of dashboard camera to capture the sighting of the fox. I'm now truly intrigued by the Kit fox.
There are plenty of Highway Patrol cars on the opposite side of the road, I have yet to see any on my side of the road which is a good thing, although I am trying to abide to the speed limits for the most part. As the sun comes up I could see the moon over the top of the Southern Sierras I want to stop and take some photos, but I want to reach my destination so I continue driving without taking the any photos of the beautiful morning scene.
The road along the hwy 395 is fairly straight for the most part with the occasional slight bend in the road. I keep driving and spotted a herd of Tule Elk on the opposite side of the road, again I opt to not turning around for the photo opportunity and continue towards my destination.
For those of you who have driven on hwy 395 know that it parallels the Sierra Nevada. Usually this time of the year the mountains are covered in snow, sometimes all the way down to the base. on this trip I am a bit concerned as there is virtually no snow, well there is some snow but it's like what they have during the summer, not the best for an already drought stricken state. The last few years in terms of snowfall, have been average and way above average, with the way above average snowfall being last season.
This is a shot of the Sierra Nevada from February 2009, this is what it normally looks like during an average winter.
This year the Sierras are pretty bare as you could see from this photo taken a few days ago.
I finally arrive in the Town of Bishop, I stop into the local fly shop Sierra Trout Magnet and pick shop owner and friend David D'Beaupre's brain for a bit of info on the local waters I intend to fish. David grew up in Western Montana and has been fly fishing since the age of 7, the guy is a wealth of knowledge and a genuine nice person. Stop in at the shop if you're ever in the Bishop area.
I get a few flies and I'm on my way to see if I could hook up with some of the local brown trout on the Lower O. It's a winding tailwater with rainbows and browns being the primary residents. Reeds are growing along it's banks and it's often difficult to reach some of the good spots. As I get to the river I spot my buddy Ryan's vehicle parks in one of the parking areas. I park next to him and scan the river to see if I could see him, but the reeds are just to high and the guy could be anywhere on the river.
This is some of my fly fishing gear, I still have more gear inside the truck that I will likely not need. The photo has been de-saturated and the vibrance has also been reduced for my own personal artistic liking.
The tulies are pretty high and dense, below is a photo of what will hopefully give a perspective of what we have to travel through to get to the river. Note that not the entire river is like this, some of the river is actually tule free, but not much, which are usually the most heavily fished areas.
The river has been fluctuating the last few weeks and the fishing has been inconsistent, on some days it's been really slow. This day was one of those slow days. I managed one trout right from the start, I was actually thinking this was going to be a good day since I hooked up really quick, well it was not to be. Had a few hookups with the LDR also know as the Long Distance Release. Here is one of those LDR's... That's what I get for trying to get a shot of the rod bend while try to fly fish at the same time.
I keep looking for my buddy Ryan and finally find him, he's having a tough day on the river as well but actually catches and releases a few more trout than I have. We continue to fish the river with varying results. We loose lot's of flies due to all the underwater branches in parts of the river. It's also one of those days where you find yourself constantly retying your rig. In the photo below, I capture a moment where Ryan is retying his rig.
Here is Ryan working one of the runs, and I bet he's hoping he dose not loose his rig in the branches below the water.
After flogging the water with very little to show for it, we make our way up river to another spot. We spot Blu and Jim, already fishing the not so secret hole. We give them the wave and continue on watch as they flog the water themselves, again the fishing seems to be on the slow side. We stayed for awhile until finally working are way back down river to see if we could all find some willing fish.
This here is Blu aka Staff Sergeant Joe Felix, Jr., this was my first time meeting him, it was a definite pleasure. This outing was a send off for the local Marine who will be assigned for a tour in North Carolina, Blu is currently stationed out of Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside California. Again the photo was de-saturated and vibrance reduced.
The fishing continued as earlier, slow, if not for the great company and the scenic beauty this may have been one of those days we sometimes want to forget. Having good company is always nice and makes for a great time on the water no mater how bad the fishing.
The evening quickly approached, the air temps began to drop the instant the sun set. We all headed over to the campsite where we met yet another member of our group Jon. All together there were five of us total for the night.
Below is a photo of all of us, from left to right, Blu, Jon, Jim, me, and Ryan.
Ryan was going to be the cook for the night making his famous chile, which was quite spicy and very delicious. The chile really hit the spot so to speak, and got me all warm inside. The night was going to be cold, into the teens, I myself was going to head back into town and stay at one of the local hotels, while all my buddies were camping out. Hey... my back is all screwed up and I have a tough time sleeping in the dirt nowadays.
Here Blu sits by the fire warming up and getting some R&R from a hard day of fly fishing.
At about 8:30 pm I said my goodbyes and thanks for a great diner. We made plans to meet up the next morning to fish the East Walker, it's a fairly small tailwater fishery and when we all meet the next day, Ryan and I decided to stay sort of local and fly fish on the Upper O. Reports had this river fishing better than the Lower O. We parted ways and a group of three headed to the East Walker and Ryan and I headed to the Upper.
We got to the river at about 9am and the temps on the truck thermostat read 17 degrees, oh snap! It's cold out there. We made our way down the dirt road, it's kind of trippy when going down these dirt roads, the slower you go the more the truck rattles, the faster I go, and it smooths out the ride. We quickly made our way to a good parking area with some nice water. We suited up and set up the rods. My boots were still frozen from the cold, Ryan's waders were frozen and stiff as well. We make our way to the river, this was Ryan's first time here, he said, "I can't believe how peaceful it is here." That's the Upper O.
The river was flowing nicely at 77 cfs, the banks were covered in frost that lasted all day without melting. It was truly a peaceful scene and this river flows so quietly almost making no noise at all. The silence and stillness is only interrupted by an occasional sound of a shotgun blast from some nearby bird hunter.
We fish the Upper with little to show for it, fishing here was tougher than the Lower O. Had I made the mistake of not going to the East Walker... say it ain't so! We walk down river and spook a few fish, one of good size too. We continue to flog the water and zero fish for either of us. I work my way back up river and look for signs of fish in some deeper pools where fish might be holding. It's 12:30 and I finally find a deep section that looks like it may be holding fish. My first cast yields a decent sized rainbow, and then another. I work the whole thoroughly for at least an hour and come away with about a dozen fish, browns and bows. I had one nice sized brown explode out of the water as soon as my flies hit the water, had him on for about ten seconds before he shook the flies loose. If I would have landed that brown, it would have made my fishing trip if it was the only fish I caught. So much for what if's...
Ryan finally caught up to me, we fished for a while longer and had a slow pick on the fish. I caught what I think is a real nice shot with some beautiful light while Ryan is fishing.
We were looking for the deeper holes and skipping the shallow water and riffles all together. The fish were holding in the deep pools, and we figured it out late in the afternoon. The time flew by, the sun was starting to set and the cold winter air was putting the hurt on my skin. My face and hands are totally chapped, my fingers are burning from the cold. I wish the sun was higher up in the sky, but it's winter and days are short and cold in the Sierras. As the sun sets, it's like someone turned on a switch, instant misery of coldness. How can it get so cold withing seconds of the sun setting, I thought to myself. We call it a day and high tail it out of there. The walk back is not to far maybe about three quarters of a mile or so. As soon as I get to the truck I turn it on and crank up the heater, aaaahhh...
Were heading back to Camp Blu and found another fly fisher waiting in camp, Mike aka RockStarFlyFisherman, I have never fished with Mike and it was unfortunate that I would not be able to stay and BS with them at camp on this night, for I had a long day and was starving and cold and need to get to the room and get some rest as I was to leave early the next day and head for home. I did shoot the breeze really quick but the cold was kicking my ass. I said my goodbye and headed to my nice warm room back in town.
I'm left wondering how everyone else did on the East Walker, and also how they did the rest of the weekend...
My parting shot for you guys is of Ryan with the sun setting. Hope you all enjoyed my quick trip to the Sierra. I had great company and had an awesome time, until the next one.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
There are plenty of Highway Patrol cars on the opposite side of the road, I have yet to see any on my side of the road which is a good thing, although I am trying to abide to the speed limits for the most part. As the sun comes up I could see the moon over the top of the Southern Sierras I want to stop and take some photos, but I want to reach my destination so I continue driving without taking the any photos of the beautiful morning scene.
The road along the hwy 395 is fairly straight for the most part with the occasional slight bend in the road. I keep driving and spotted a herd of Tule Elk on the opposite side of the road, again I opt to not turning around for the photo opportunity and continue towards my destination.
For those of you who have driven on hwy 395 know that it parallels the Sierra Nevada. Usually this time of the year the mountains are covered in snow, sometimes all the way down to the base. on this trip I am a bit concerned as there is virtually no snow, well there is some snow but it's like what they have during the summer, not the best for an already drought stricken state. The last few years in terms of snowfall, have been average and way above average, with the way above average snowfall being last season.
This is a shot of the Sierra Nevada from February 2009, this is what it normally looks like during an average winter.
This year the Sierras are pretty bare as you could see from this photo taken a few days ago.
I finally arrive in the Town of Bishop, I stop into the local fly shop Sierra Trout Magnet and pick shop owner and friend David D'Beaupre's brain for a bit of info on the local waters I intend to fish. David grew up in Western Montana and has been fly fishing since the age of 7, the guy is a wealth of knowledge and a genuine nice person. Stop in at the shop if you're ever in the Bishop area.
I get a few flies and I'm on my way to see if I could hook up with some of the local brown trout on the Lower O. It's a winding tailwater with rainbows and browns being the primary residents. Reeds are growing along it's banks and it's often difficult to reach some of the good spots. As I get to the river I spot my buddy Ryan's vehicle parks in one of the parking areas. I park next to him and scan the river to see if I could see him, but the reeds are just to high and the guy could be anywhere on the river.
This is some of my fly fishing gear, I still have more gear inside the truck that I will likely not need. The photo has been de-saturated and the vibrance has also been reduced for my own personal artistic liking.
The tulies are pretty high and dense, below is a photo of what will hopefully give a perspective of what we have to travel through to get to the river. Note that not the entire river is like this, some of the river is actually tule free, but not much, which are usually the most heavily fished areas.
The river has been fluctuating the last few weeks and the fishing has been inconsistent, on some days it's been really slow. This day was one of those slow days. I managed one trout right from the start, I was actually thinking this was going to be a good day since I hooked up really quick, well it was not to be. Had a few hookups with the LDR also know as the Long Distance Release. Here is one of those LDR's... That's what I get for trying to get a shot of the rod bend while try to fly fish at the same time.
I keep looking for my buddy Ryan and finally find him, he's having a tough day on the river as well but actually catches and releases a few more trout than I have. We continue to fish the river with varying results. We loose lot's of flies due to all the underwater branches in parts of the river. It's also one of those days where you find yourself constantly retying your rig. In the photo below, I capture a moment where Ryan is retying his rig.
Here is Ryan working one of the runs, and I bet he's hoping he dose not loose his rig in the branches below the water.
After flogging the water with very little to show for it, we make our way up river to another spot. We spot Blu and Jim, already fishing the not so secret hole. We give them the wave and continue on watch as they flog the water themselves, again the fishing seems to be on the slow side. We stayed for awhile until finally working are way back down river to see if we could all find some willing fish.
This here is Blu aka Staff Sergeant Joe Felix, Jr., this was my first time meeting him, it was a definite pleasure. This outing was a send off for the local Marine who will be assigned for a tour in North Carolina, Blu is currently stationed out of Camp Pendleton, near Oceanside California. Again the photo was de-saturated and vibrance reduced.
The fishing continued as earlier, slow, if not for the great company and the scenic beauty this may have been one of those days we sometimes want to forget. Having good company is always nice and makes for a great time on the water no mater how bad the fishing.
The evening quickly approached, the air temps began to drop the instant the sun set. We all headed over to the campsite where we met yet another member of our group Jon. All together there were five of us total for the night.
Below is a photo of all of us, from left to right, Blu, Jon, Jim, me, and Ryan.
Ryan was going to be the cook for the night making his famous chile, which was quite spicy and very delicious. The chile really hit the spot so to speak, and got me all warm inside. The night was going to be cold, into the teens, I myself was going to head back into town and stay at one of the local hotels, while all my buddies were camping out. Hey... my back is all screwed up and I have a tough time sleeping in the dirt nowadays.
Here Blu sits by the fire warming up and getting some R&R from a hard day of fly fishing.
At about 8:30 pm I said my goodbyes and thanks for a great diner. We made plans to meet up the next morning to fish the East Walker, it's a fairly small tailwater fishery and when we all meet the next day, Ryan and I decided to stay sort of local and fly fish on the Upper O. Reports had this river fishing better than the Lower O. We parted ways and a group of three headed to the East Walker and Ryan and I headed to the Upper.
We got to the river at about 9am and the temps on the truck thermostat read 17 degrees, oh snap! It's cold out there. We made our way down the dirt road, it's kind of trippy when going down these dirt roads, the slower you go the more the truck rattles, the faster I go, and it smooths out the ride. We quickly made our way to a good parking area with some nice water. We suited up and set up the rods. My boots were still frozen from the cold, Ryan's waders were frozen and stiff as well. We make our way to the river, this was Ryan's first time here, he said, "I can't believe how peaceful it is here." That's the Upper O.
The river was flowing nicely at 77 cfs, the banks were covered in frost that lasted all day without melting. It was truly a peaceful scene and this river flows so quietly almost making no noise at all. The silence and stillness is only interrupted by an occasional sound of a shotgun blast from some nearby bird hunter.
We fish the Upper with little to show for it, fishing here was tougher than the Lower O. Had I made the mistake of not going to the East Walker... say it ain't so! We walk down river and spook a few fish, one of good size too. We continue to flog the water and zero fish for either of us. I work my way back up river and look for signs of fish in some deeper pools where fish might be holding. It's 12:30 and I finally find a deep section that looks like it may be holding fish. My first cast yields a decent sized rainbow, and then another. I work the whole thoroughly for at least an hour and come away with about a dozen fish, browns and bows. I had one nice sized brown explode out of the water as soon as my flies hit the water, had him on for about ten seconds before he shook the flies loose. If I would have landed that brown, it would have made my fishing trip if it was the only fish I caught. So much for what if's...
Ryan finally caught up to me, we fished for a while longer and had a slow pick on the fish. I caught what I think is a real nice shot with some beautiful light while Ryan is fishing.
We were looking for the deeper holes and skipping the shallow water and riffles all together. The fish were holding in the deep pools, and we figured it out late in the afternoon. The time flew by, the sun was starting to set and the cold winter air was putting the hurt on my skin. My face and hands are totally chapped, my fingers are burning from the cold. I wish the sun was higher up in the sky, but it's winter and days are short and cold in the Sierras. As the sun sets, it's like someone turned on a switch, instant misery of coldness. How can it get so cold withing seconds of the sun setting, I thought to myself. We call it a day and high tail it out of there. The walk back is not to far maybe about three quarters of a mile or so. As soon as I get to the truck I turn it on and crank up the heater, aaaahhh...
Were heading back to Camp Blu and found another fly fisher waiting in camp, Mike aka RockStarFlyFisherman, I have never fished with Mike and it was unfortunate that I would not be able to stay and BS with them at camp on this night, for I had a long day and was starving and cold and need to get to the room and get some rest as I was to leave early the next day and head for home. I did shoot the breeze really quick but the cold was kicking my ass. I said my goodbye and headed to my nice warm room back in town.
I'm left wondering how everyone else did on the East Walker, and also how they did the rest of the weekend...
My parting shot for you guys is of Ryan with the sun setting. Hope you all enjoyed my quick trip to the Sierra. I had great company and had an awesome time, until the next one.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Six spots left, and a few more flies...
If you have the time to tie some flies, jump on this fly box giveaway. ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ You could be the winner of a GREYS GS Fly Box filled with 408 flies.
This here is the latest batch of flies to arrive, sweet looking flies for sure!
To participate in the fly box giveaway, head on over to the FLYFISHINGADDICTS forum and register. The ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ still has 6 spots left for anyone who would like to join in on the opportunity to win this nice full fly box. That's right! A chance to win a full GREYS GS Fly Box, that's 408 flies! I will put all the participant names on a small piece of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bowl. I'll then have my baby boy pick a name out of the bowl. The name picked will decide the winner of the full fly box with all the flies tied by the participants.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
This here is the latest batch of flies to arrive, sweet looking flies for sure!
To participate in the fly box giveaway, head on over to the FLYFISHINGADDICTS forum and register. The ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ still has 6 spots left for anyone who would like to join in on the opportunity to win this nice full fly box. That's right! A chance to win a full GREYS GS Fly Box, that's 408 flies! I will put all the participant names on a small piece of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bowl. I'll then have my baby boy pick a name out of the bowl. The name picked will decide the winner of the full fly box with all the flies tied by the participants.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Nymphs nymphs nymphs...
Nymphs are the name of the game... everyone who fly fishes has a favorite way to fish. Some people like to fish the dry fly, others like to fish big streamers. I love to fly fish with nymphs! There is a reason though, 98% of a trouts diet comes in the way of aquatic insects, nymphs! I'm really stoked about the next set, these are like it's Christmas all over again. They are buggy looking little flies, in red, blue, and green, with rubber legs, and gold bead heads. Take a look at these nicely tied flies, I wish I could take part in the giveaway and had a chance to win this fly box. Good luck to all the participants!
To participate in the fly box giveaway head on over to ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway, there are still 6 spots left for anyone who would like to join in on the opportunity to win a nice full fly box. That's right! A chance to win a full GREYS GS Fly Box, that's 408 flies! I will put all the participant names on a small piece of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bowl. I'll then have my baby boy pick a name out of the bowl. The name picked would decide the winner of the full fly box with all the flies tied by the participants.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
To participate in the fly box giveaway head on over to ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway, there are still 6 spots left for anyone who would like to join in on the opportunity to win a nice full fly box. That's right! A chance to win a full GREYS GS Fly Box, that's 408 flies! I will put all the participant names on a small piece of paper, fold them up, and put them in a bowl. I'll then have my baby boy pick a name out of the bowl. The name picked would decide the winner of the full fly box with all the flies tied by the participants.
Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher
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