Yuba-Ku 7-24-2016 Yuba on fire!

Sparrow, swung pulses.
Big flash, rainbow kype-jawed.
Oh, what a monster!

Yesterday I fished the Yuba River with no expectations, just really going to field test this new ‪‎bamboo‬ quad ‪‎spey rod that I've been making over the past few months‬, to this date I revised the mid and tip section three times. Each time making the rod faster and faster. It really likes a 435 scandi head with a floating poly leader, effortless casts to about 90 feet. Well I guess with the results I think I'll go ahead and take off the masking tape wraps and put some silk on her! I just can't settle in on the color.... I sort of like the idea of Black against the auburn cane,sort of how my buddy Dave does of his switch rods, but then again I like the dark olive translucent wraps I've been doing on the single handed 6wt Quadrates. What do you think?

A new small brewery opened down the street from my workshop here in Oakland so my buddy Jacob who is a rod maker had a few of their IPA's while talking tapers.... a very good time!

Yuba-Ku 4-16-2016

Drifting dry, mend.
Lurking shadow bolts then rises.
One fly, one fish.

Lavender and green, lupine beckon.
Along the trail, memories of change.
River of change, rushes.

Again and again,
rhitogenia morrisoni, flavor of the moment.
Oh the bend of cane.

With friends, we hike,
new and old, we become,
share the stories, freshly squeezed!





It was just a fabulous day on the Yuba, tough fishing as usual however. I don't know if i could stand it any hotter around 90 degrees. Fishing was very slow going all day until the last few hours we were there, then I was able to raise fish. Most often just prospecting with an attractor fly to the soft areas along the fast water.
The flows being at that spring/summer run off level, seemed to have willing trout in the soft water near the banks under and along the willows. Abundant Salmon fly's and a few sporadic march browns were fluttering about, as well as some very dark caddis. 12 foot long leaders help get the floating line out of the range of the willing trouts view. The trout are there you just need to have your "A" game on for every approach and cast for every spot. A slight miss-step into the water and you'll see the fish of your life, a dark shadow, bolt into the deep water.

Yuba Moire, April 2015

Swifts and Swallows,
dart up then around.
Swoop the spinner fall.

Ripples on the surface.
Moire tapestry, rocks and stones
camouflage my spotted friend.

An insect potpourri.
Pick your poison.
Morrisoni still on the menu.

Isoperla fulva pop.
In the willows their mating dance,
Grass moon apogee.

Ephemerella infrequens
not unlike tippet,
frequently becomes ephemeral
on the spool!

Subtle slurpers,
ease into feeding lanes.
You valiant gift.

Epic spinner fall,
set to the sound of slosh,
at dusk, my April closes.

yuba-ku 1-30-2015

Under waxing gibbous moon,
mossy rock bottom, we cross prudent.
With Kman in tow,
leaky wadders.

Riffles of rises full.
From the rock of power, Skwalas!
Virgin quad's first fish.

The Kman and I had a great day once we got to the fishing. We spent the first half of the day fucking around with batteries for the video equipment for the movie he's making. Even at the flows of 580cfs the crossing to the "Rock of Power" was dicey with all the equipment. The riffle was pretty quite until that last hour did it not fail to produce. lots of fish landed on my skwala dry and best of all, got to break'in a new splitcane Quad 4 piece rod that handled 60 foot casts pleasurably. After the long hike back to the car headlights glinting we packed up and headed to the brewery for an IPA to celibrate getting some good footage!

Yuba-sonnet-ku 1-16-2015

Yuba Rock of Power ode to Howard and Jim

Siphlonurus surface skate.

Crouching leopard, rainbows porppus.

subtle emergence.

Cast and mend,

fureld leader spider's web.

Flossed in the jaw,

palmerd hackle hooked tight.

A great day casting drys in my favorite riffle we all know about, there are no secrets, just spots we all love to share. Along the hike up river I ran into two new friends Howard and Jim, who after comparing the days notes told me they had seen fish rising were that rock is up there. Well all I can say is thanks for the tip! luckily I had plenty of size 16 gray drakes to feed the fish. Earlyier in the day I was quite content landing fish on Skwala drys along the bank up river from the boat launch. But the afternoon was silly crazy fun. Lets keep in touch maybe we can meet up and share the Rock of Power soon!

Yuba-Ku 1-2-2015

Slow slow, slow, tiny tug.

No ring, no rise.

Quite as a tomb.

Baetis tenuous in the drift.

Still no rise.

Cobbled river bed, ankles ache.

In the slot,

Sudden wink, kype jaw rises.

Mano a Mano.

Yuba-Ku 12-26-2014

Along the edge, We,

searching, fish watch hidden.

Luna and I.

Wind, skittered surface,

Along soft edges, they gather.

Tiny gray sails.

High ride the riffle,

my Baetis dry drift, mend.

Moon over Pisces.

Follow the green,

you'll find chrome.

Laughing river flow.

Yuba Begin Again 12-1-2014

No dataclysm here,

Only in the raw.

Either your catching or not.

No magic rectangle held in your hand

can tell you the code.

Only an observant eye can have

a chance to crack it.

It is nature,

adjusting to its moment.

Only ego must observe and adjust

to become ever present in its flow.

Nature has no ego.

Openning day on the Yuba proved to be spectacular, the day was perfect. 30 fish to hand 10 of which were on BWO drys between 11am-2pm. The rest were on beads and red copper john's, a number of times two at a time. Todd and I both found and hooked twice the 28 inch stellie the biologist had reported being in the river, However our 3x tippets and 4wt split cane rods had no traction on her. In the late afternoon Todd and I hiked back upstream to the fiffle we located her in, but this time she was busy cutting her red. We just sat on shore and watched letting her be, just enjoying the sight of such a beutiful fish.

Yuba-Ku 8-2-2014 Dawn Patrol

Walking cobbles twilight
dog days of Sirius spinner fall.
Pink Alberts dominate.

No waxing Grain moon.
Along rivers edge, cast, land,
on Dawn Patrol.

Yuba-Sonnet April-2014

drawing by Mary Marsh

photo by Roger Williams

photo by Roger Williams

From Rose Bar to Blue Point,
cobbled path friends hike,
along a river rainbow,
Isoperla incite.

Yuba knows no ego,
flowing to sea,
its only desire to go.
I see,

Rises in view.
Rises to my fly,
trout feed true.
My Princess reel screams to cry.

This river on fire.
While Osprey kite,
trout feed without tire.
Into my net, trout with kype.

We all find bounty,
casting to rises.
Landing and releasing.
We revel in our prizes.

photo by Roger Williams

photo by Roger Williams

Yuba-ku 4-19-2014

Like a circling Osprey, discerning.
Turbid water boils.
Stone fly's of pale yellow,
emerge from riffles..

Under the Grass moon,
Salmonoids rise.
From bridge to their lies.
Hiking, I anticipate them.
Splash.
I cast,
Splash.
Another charges,
then into my net,
landed.

On broken water,
again and again, we,
fish and I, repeat.
This sacred dance countless times.

Alpenglow on Celluloid

Yep thats right, I've found myself being the subject of a low budget film. It's being deveolped by a couple of guys about West Coast Fly Fishing. Today was the third day shooting, but not out on one of my favorite streams. This time its in my rod shop in Oakland. I thought being a film "actor" playing myself was going to be easy. i was wrong.... i'm totally whipped. A little of this... plane some rod strips... bla bla, and Bobs your uncle! WRONG! try CUT! Can you do that slower? CUT! Can you do that twisted this way? Cut! We really want the sound the plane makes as it goes across the cane! OMG! but its cool they're really cool guys really excited and that makes me excited. Here are some film stills that they just gave me.