No Scales, Just Bamboo.

I haven't gone fishing for a bit. the weather has just been too good, but sometimes thats kinda bad for fishing. My home river has been in that summer stretch when the fishing is best super early or early evening. With the temperature hitting easy 90's on the river i just as well as stay home and focus on my rod building. Last year a good friend retired from building rods and gave me all of his equipment as well as three bundles of bamboo. since January i've finished three rods. one is a short spey,switch rod, another is a medium fast single handed dry fly rod thats a taper from Wayne Cattnach, and finally a Paul Young parabolic para14. not sure if i like this para 14 its very soft and one of my rod R&D casters thinks its crap. Where as he thought the Cattnach sir D taper streched out to 7'6" 5wt was nice.
I think tomorrow ill try the para 14 out as a nymphing rod rod, next to the Cattnach with dry flys up on Beaver Creek for the day
Theres some basic issues in the building process that i haven't been able to figure out as of yet. I'm getting some twisting in the tips from the binder. a number good of friends suggest using a lighter weight on the feed cord when binding the tips. But also a number of friends said they always get some twisting and need to do some straightening after the glues dried. all in all however i feel pretty good about these first three prototypes.
heres some pics of them and work in progress in my shop.

Yuba-Super bowl flies 2-2-2013

Since my last post i've recieved at least a 100 emails regarding the flies I was using last weekend and what they look like. So i'll go ahead, by popular demand, and post pictures of the flies for everyone.

They're quite simple in design and in no way are of my own invention. Some are simple hybrids of typical traditional flies available at any good fly shop. The first fly is my variation I used for the Skawala stone-flys that were out and about when the sun was gleaming. I took Ralphs very productive EC Caddis, size 12, eleminated the hackle then simply added legs. If a fish would reject the fly I would then simply cut the legs off and wait until i saw the fish rise again and then sttart re fishing that area, and often the fish would readily take the fly on the first cast.

The other "dry" fly I used my dear friend Arata "Charlie" Kobata designed. He calls it The Little Brown Fly. This fly we're using as a BWO emerger. At size 18 and fished with lots of frogs fanny right on top its nice to have this 3 feet behind the Skawala when its casted farther than 20 feet from rivers edge.

The wet fly that was quite productive on saturday swung through the Foundation Hole up river, is a simple Royal Coachmen wet fly, except I changed the lead wing to a Teal feather that i think picked up on the few early Rhithrogena Morrisoni that I saw in the tailout.

Yuba-Ku 12-15-2012

Yuba-Ku 12-15,16-2012

Bear tracks from Rose bar.
Animal guide, I follow.
Riffles of plenty.

Mountains of Blue oak.
This wilderness, a mistress of illumination.
Maze of willows.

Rivers edge.

Walking streamside,
endless Pliocene cobbles.
My sore ankles.

Swallows dart, Baetis dance.
Morning risers, dawn briskly.
Venus ascending.

This water,
from peaks and passes, draining,
through the placer vein.

meat and potaoes:

Yuba River, saturday UC property. sunday above Parks Bar/Timbuctoo
weather, saturday am partly cloudy, pm light showers. Sunday am/pm showers
Water temp 48 degrees, air temp 56 degrees
Flow 1300cfs
water visability, 2-3 feet, fishy green tint
Hours fished, 9:30am til 4:30pm
bug activity; random stone fly shucks seen, BWO hatch 11:30am-1pm
5wt single handed rod, 5wt graphite switch rod, 6wt bamboo spey rod
scandi lines various poly leaders.
19 fish landed swinging rubber leg stone nymph
7 fish landed on Baetis CDC dry fly/emerger

McCloud River, Emerald Cathedral 10-28-2012

Columns of light cascading,
Emerald green blue,
Dappled variants
Red bands splash.

Turning Dogwoods and Maple,
Willows
Oak
Fir
Cedar
Indian Rhubarb
Moss covered stone,
Tangled branches canopy, reaching.
We add filament and fly’s above, the diaries of our casts.

Sun climbs to zenith.
Canyon walls, a shaded envelop.
Fecund fresh,
this river cathedral.

Splashy rise,
of golden butter hues,
black and red freckles.
Your mighty tug.

Morning air crisp,
The mountains breathe, deep calm.
Even the Dippers are witness to the rivers truth.

Fire-ring tales,
dancing fish, lost fly’s,
Warming feet and soggy socks.
These old leaky waders.

Like minded friends,
Together trouting,
Like Aries and Triangulum,
except light years away.

Clouds parting.
Of volcanic legacy.
Under the Hunters moon.
Caddis flutter and entice.
This river of wonder.

October Shreders

These are going to shred! I'm getting ready for my annual hallowen trip to the Mac. This year i'm join friends of the GPFF club on the river and I really have focased on developing a true set of game changer flies for this river.
My go to caddis dry fly isn't neccesarily a dry but an emerger or spent caddis. I've had great success all over california with it. My R&D river of choice has been the A game Yuba River near Smartsville. hands down, these "Rainbow Trout" are as strong, witty and forceful as any Stealhead you'd meet and on top of it they all seem to have graduated with PHd's from an Ivy-league college.

Often sometimes I swear they seem to just want to humiliate you off the river. Fish seem to swirl flys just to see if there's line connected, often this is percieved by the fisherman as takes with no fish at the other end...
Anyways, these flys ive been tying for the Yuba have been specificaly targeted as Rhyacophila and Hydropsyche hatches. However for the McCloud I hybridized the patern to fit the Dicosmoecus syntax of Puppa and Emerger stages this fall on the "River Cathedral".

Yuba-Ku 8-31-2012

Mars and Saturn Set.
Fruits of the rise, Salmonoids tail dance.
Once in a blue moon.

Steak and Eggs:

Yuba River, below Parks Bar Bridge
Clear and sunny weather, windy
Water temp 52 degrees, air temp 85 degrees
Flow 1000cfs
Hours fished, 10:30am til dusk
Zero bug activity
9'5wt single handed rod and 5wt graphite switch rod
13 fish total, 4 on dry fly, 9 on swung soft hackles
Successful flies: Black and orange Stimulator size 8,
Partridge and pheasant soft hackle size 14,
Partridge and copper soft hackle size 14,
Golden Stone nymph size 2

Yuba-Ku 5-13-2012

Teal and cream,
swinging to the swallows swoop.
spotted rainbow friend.

Riffles woosh then glide,
from snowmelt,
              rolls then boils.
In my hand,
             she,
                  spring bright.

Steak and Eggs:

Yuba River above Parks Bar bridge, east side
hours fished; 8:30am until 4:30pm
6wt 12 foot Bamboo spey rod, and 5wt graphite rod
Wet flies, Nymphs
Blue Note size 18, Teal and Cream size 14, Tasty Bite size 4
11 trout landed, sizes; 1@22", 1@19", 3@ 18", 5@16, 1@12
5 trout on soft hackles, 6 on nymphs
river flow; 2300 cfm
water clarity; Gin clear
water temp 50 degrees F.
air temp 85
bug activity; pink PMD hatch 9am until 11:30am & lady bugs in afternoon.
slightly cloudy

Putah-ku, 5-4-2012

Riffles run 454.
Planting moon rises like isoperla.
Putahs guarded secret.


Regulus and salmonoids,
        converging,
                 my rod's bent,
like the Alders sway.

Steak and Eggs;


Access 3,  
fished for 6 hours
landed 5 fish, one 19 inches, two around 12 inches, two 5-6 inches
flows 454 cfm
method; high sticking and swung at end of drift.
flies, size 18 zebra John, size 16 yellow birds nest, size 4 hot wired red worm.
weather; sunny slight breeze, high stratus/cumulus clouds.
water clarity;  clear/slight green tint  10 feet visibility.

Yuba-Ku 3-25-2012

Sap moon veiled,
like fish along the edges.
Surprised.
River my cappuccino.





















because everyone wants meat and potatoes:

Started at hammond grove at 8amish hiked and fished up river as far as top of long island.
Dry fly fishing and Bobercating.
River is cappuccino 18" visibility in the soft spots.
6 fish landed dry fly with master kobata's minimal stone fly dry
2 on copper johns
All fish caught less than 10feet from shore.
Water level and flow seemed good.
Fish were all hot and feisty.