The SoCal Fly Fisher

Latest Update

2012-01-22T11:35:00.000-08:00

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

Pyramid Lake Fly Pattern

2012-01-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

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!

The Blu send off

2012-01-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

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

Six spots left, and a few more flies...

2012-01-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

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

Nymphs nymphs nymphs...

2012-01-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

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

Midge Emergers and the Klinkhammers

2012-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Received another shipment of flies for the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway! These are some really nice flies, the fly box is starting to take shape and there are already seven slots filled. That's already 107 flies in the box, this will be a pretty awesome box for whomever wins.

Midge emerger

Klinkhammers

Daisy chained on a wire, thought that was pretty cool.

6 spots left, and plenty of time still left to tie some flies if you want to get in on this fly box giveaway

Cheers and enjoy!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

More today

2012-01-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

More flies that is...

Some beautiful size 22 Emergers arrived this morning.

These flies are great on the Kings River, I nice tail-water out here in California.

Until the next set of flies come in!

Cheers
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Flies continue to arrive

2012-01-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

As the title stated the flies continue to arrive. The fly tying participants continue to join in on the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway, though, there are still a few spots left for anyone who would like to join in on the opportunity to win a nice full fly box.

Here are the new arrivals, some nicely tied soft hackles in various colors and styles.

Cheers and Happy New Year!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

CP's Caddis Larva

2011-12-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

Been really busy the last few weeks, I received another set of flies last week for the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway. Like the other sets I already received, these flies did not disappoint.

Have a wonderful New Year everyone!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

A few more arrivals

2011-12-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

Had a few more flies arrive this morning for the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway. These little nymphs are buggier than well an actual bug. I wish a had a name for these little guys, but I don't, all I know is that they are nymphs and can mimic a small stonefly nymph with their biot twin tails.

Here are the little nymphs, I tried to put them in a more natural looking environment, some rocks in the back yard!

Someone is definitely going to score if they're picked as the winner of the fly box.

Until the next set, Cheers!

The SoCal Fly Fisher

Behind The Vise

2011-12-18T20:49:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months since I have been behind the vise. Today was new pattern day for me. I tied up a few different patterns with high hopes of hooking into a few big carp down at the LA River. The LA River is a pretty interesting place to fly fish, you have one of the busiest freeways, the 5 frwy, running parallel to the river. The place is just a short drive from my house, about ten minutes on a good day.

The cool thing is you have these huge carp that call this river home. I get broken off often on this river, the carp can get pretty big, and pull like a mini freight train.

Earlier today I was thinking I had not fly fished for carp in quite some time, I thought I should tie up some new patterns to try out. Nothing to special in terms of carp patterns, I tied a variant of an Egan Headstand, a new worm cluster pattern, and a bunny strip pattern. I took a few photos, 'cause we all love to see what the patterns look like, well I do anyhow.

Here is the variant of the Headstand, I have never used this pattern but there are many local fly folk who swear by them.

This here is what I called the Foxy Brown, she's so sexy looking isn't she... It's just brown rust colored bunny strips, sort of mimics the small crayfish.

These last two are worm clusters, as I was browsing online, I happened to come up on a blog with a guy with a similar pattern, and on the end of the hook was this nice fat carp with the fly in it's mouth.

Hopefully these pattern will work out for me on my next trip to the LA River.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Edit: Let me give credit where credit is due, the worm cluster was inspired by the Worm Ball aka Great White Hope. I have Barry from the prairieoceanflyfisher.blogspot to thank for the nice up close photo of the fly. I would also like to say thanks to Gregg who reminded me of the name of the blog.

The first batch has arrived

2011-12-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

The first of many flies arrived this morning. Ariel aka fflutterffly on the FLYFISHINGADDICTS forum was the first tying enthusiast to send out the flies for the ~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~ giveaway. She whipped up some nice Mercury midges in white and olive.

Mercury midge white with a crystal bead and copper wire.

Olive Mercury midge also with copper wire.

I had conformation from another participant that his flies were done as well.

For those that might be interested, there are still 8 spots open. I'm quite sure these will fill soon enough, the due date for the flies is around mid April 2012. Still plenty of time to join in on the this fly box giveaway! Leave me a message if you're interested or sign on at the FLYFISHINGADDICTS forum to join in on the fun.

Cheers
The SoCal Fly Fisher

A fresh new look

2011-12-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have been working hard on a new look for The SoCal Fly Fisher. I was working on a new image for the header, but all the photos I was working with did not look good to me. The images seemed to be lacking that certain pop, and I just couldn't find any of my photos to work with the header layout. I ended up changing the template of the blog and some of the font sizes and colors. The look seems fresh and I think I'm happy with the new look. I went with just a title and no image for the header, it seems to be working for now, I may end up adding an image later or when I take a decent photo of a fish or what not. Anyhow hope the few readers and lurkers I do have aren't disappointed with the new look.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

~ 24 Fly Tying Enthusiast ~ 17 Flies ~ 1 Fly Box ~

2011-12-08T11:20:00.001-08:00

FULL FLY BOX GIVE AWAY!
408 FLIES IN A GREYS GS FLY BOX!

Looking for 24 fly tying enthusiast.... if you want to participate you'd have to tie up 17 flies of the same pattern to fill up a row in the Greys GS Fly Box that's going to be given away when all flies are in my possession. If we could get 24 participants that would be the limit since there are 24 sections in the fly box. That's a chance to win a full fly box, 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 have my baby boy pick a name out of the bowl and that would decide the winner of the full fly box with all the flies of the participants.

Flies should be tied in a size 14-22 range since the box is small and will only accommodate these sizes. Flies should also target trout, drys, nymphs, midges anything that works for trout. Please no streamers.

Please let me know if your are interested. Hopefully we could get all 24 participants. If flies could be in sometime in April 2012 that would be great. The winner will be announced shortly after.

For more information please register at the following link FLYFISHINGADDICTS.com

Thanks,
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Sierra Trout Magnet

2011-12-06T10:18:00.001-08:00

Christmas is just around the corner, if your not done with your shopping please check out the Sierra Trout Magnet online store for last minute gift ideas. Even after the holidays this would be a great one stop shop for all your fly fishing needs. Check them out!

Happy Holidays!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

December Photo Contest

2011-12-02T12:22:00.001-08:00

Been awhile since I've gotten out on the water, hence the lack of postings. This time of year is usually kind of hectic for me as work gets real busy and not to mention the shopping Holiday Madness. Anyhow I just wanted to give any readers of my blog a heads up. There is a fly fishing photo contest being held for the month of December over at the FlyFishingAddicts.com forum. Winner of the photo contest will receive a nice fly box. Rules for the contest are posted below and also on the FlyFishingAddicts.com forum under the general fly fishing section.

CONTEST RULES

1.Photographs must have been taken during the month of December 2011 This will be on a honor system so play fair.
2.Photographs must relate to fly fishing, a place, person, fish, gear, flies, insects, you get the picture, don't be afraid to think out of the box.
3.Photographs that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization (removal of dust, cropping, reasonable adjustments to exposure, color and contrast, etc.) will be disqualified.
4.No HDR (High Dynamic Range) allowed.
5.One photo per contestant, you may submit a different photo before the month is up.
6.Contest ends at 11:59 pm December 31, 2011 New Years Eve!
7.All forum members are welcomed to submit a photo, even admin and mods and newbies.

The winner will receive a Pit River Fly Box with a few flies to get you started in filling your new fly box.

Happy Holidays
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Rio Bravo de San Felipe

2011-09-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

It was way to long since my last visit to the Rio Bravo de San Felipe, September 2008. I have a love hate relationship with this river, my hate for the river comes in the way of seeing so much trash all over the place from the visitors with a total disregard for the environment. I could spend an entire month going and picking up trash but it wouldn't even put a dent in the problem. The love I have for the Rio Bravo de San Felipe come by way of it's Fall fishing. By far Fall is the best time to be on the river. The summer crowds are gone, the weather usually gets cooler, and the fish are on the chew.

As I make my way towards my fishing destination I notice that I'm getting really close to the one hundred thousand mile mark on the odometer, I own a 2003 Silverado that has been fairly good to me over the past eight years.

I actually pulled over to take a photo of my odometer, I was on hwy 178 near the entrance to the canyon that winds pretty much all the way up, more than likely I would have not been able to pull over to take the not so epic photo.

As I continue up the canyon road I start to see road signs, construction ahead, prepare to stop, single lane ahead, oh no! I continue and as I round a bend I see a line of vehicles stopped on the road.

The line of cars was a bummer, not to worry though, the wait was not as bad as I had expected, maybe about five to ten minutes of a delay. It was worse being behind all the cars as they all slowly moved up the road, being held back by a large propane truck was worse than being stopped. After a few really slow miles, the propane truck found a turnout big enough for his rig and I was back on the accelerator speeding up the winding road.

Finally I make it up to the river for some fall fly fishing. The only thing is that the calender says it's fall, and mother nature says it's summer all over again, 98 degree heat, what is going on... An Indian Summer perhaps, who knows. I loaded up the waders when I packed all my gear, there is no way in Hell that I'm putting them on in this heat. They are Simms breathable waders but even though they are breathable it's insanely hot. I opt to wet wade.

Luckily I have some neoprene wading socks and my convertible Norhface pants. I unzip the legs and I have instant short pants. The water seemed really warm, if I had to guess I would say it was in the high 60's. Very nice for wet wading, probably not the best for the fish.

I get geared up and string up my Hardy fly rod, it's a ten foot five weight specifically designed for nymphing. It perfect for this freestone river, there is so much pocket water and this ten foot Hardy rod helps get the flies in the zone. I tie on a size 14 flash back bead head pheasant tail and a size 16 micro mayfly nymph as the trailer. Both of these flies I'm fishing under an indicator for those that would like to know.

The river was looking fantastic, flowing just under 400 cfs, clear but not gin clear as one would say. There may have been some thunderstorms over the last few days that muddied up the river a bit, it is clearing though and very fishable.

The image above is the first shot I took when I first reached the rivers edge, looks good to me.

I had my DSLR strung over my chest and shoulder and quickly realized that my wading boots were not going to work out on these super slick moss covered boulders. I bought into the hype of the new sticky rubber soles by Simms. Well let me just say that they do not stick to these boulders, felt soles would have been a much better choice.

I flog the water and after my second cast my strike indicator dips, but I'm to slow to react and miss the first strike. Well this seem to be the story for most of the afternoon, I miss strike after strike. As they say in baseball a swing and a miss!

I finally make the connection and stick a fish, it turns out to be a small pike minnow, ugly little suckers for sure. Well I guess I'm not going to be skunked. I keep roll casting as the vegetation is fairly thick on this stretch of the river. My white Thingamabobber dips and it's another fish on, a small but extremely feisty rainbow. I wish I had my camera with me to take a quick photo of this little guy or gal. At this point I opted to leave the camera in the truck, I didn't want to chance it and take a dunking with my camera. The rainbow was very nicely colored, with rosy cheeks and beautiful spot patterns.

I ended my day with four rainbow trout and two pike minnow. Lots of swing and misses, but that's what happens when you don't fish certain waters for long periods of time.

The weather is still a little to warm for my taste, I'll wait a few more weeks with hopes that the heat will subside and we get some cooler temps. I had a great time on this day, it's been way to long since I had been on the Rio Bravo de San Felipe, it did not disappoint.

Some parting photos of the river. These were all taken with a Canon 7D and ND filter to slow down the exposure.

I was trying for the soft water look, I somewhat like these. I think I still need some work on my composition.

Cheers
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Fly Box

2011-08-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Fall is fast approaching, shorter days, cooler nights... yeah, I know it's still August and summer is still in full swing from all the crowds that were hanging out at the beach earlier in the day.

We have been very fortunate to have had a very nice summer here in SoCal, the temps have been very mild and I have been enjoying the nice temps and hope that it stays that way. The marine layer has been rolling in every evening keeping things real nice and cool. Most summers it's only around in the months of May and June for the most part, the weather men/women call it May Gray & June Gloom. Anyhow the cooler weather reminds me that fall is just around the corner.

I have to say Fall is the best time of the year for fly fishing in my opinion. We get these nice cool days, the crowds of summer are all gone. The beautiful fall foliage on the trees, and the trout seem to go on the chew.

I decided to go through one of my fly boxes to see if everything was in order for some fall fishing. Of course I had my camera handy and ready to take a few photos of some of the flies in the box. I snapped off a few to share with all who frequent the SoCal Fly Fisher. I took the regular color photos and converted them to black & white. Hope you all enjoy the images, nothing real special, but I like the way they turned out.

Caddis Flies, these here are fairly large and are suppose to mimic the October Caddis Flies.

Pheasant Tails, these are one of my go to flies and work in almost any river.

Czech Nymphs, are great as well. I high stick with these, and it works just as well as the Czech nymphing technique.

Bead head flashback pheasant tail, these flashy pheasant tail are either hot or they're not. Some days the fish will want all the flash and next day they will not even look at the fly.

Have fun this Fall, it's really just around the corner. If you have not started tying flies for Fall, it's a good time to start, summer is almost over... woohoo!

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

What's in a picture?

2011-07-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

I've spent long hours on the road. The longest time on the road was in August of 2009 on a road trip to Montana. It was a sixteen hour haul from Los Angeles up to Western Montana.

I happened to be off of work for two weeks of vacation time. I had not planned anything and was sort of just hanging out at home. I get a call from a buddy of mine, Mike. He say if I want to go up to Montana, sure why not, I'm on vacation for a few weeks anyhow.

This is my first time to Montana and I honestly have no clue whatsoever of what to expect as far as the fishing is concerned. Well I could lie and say the fishing was phenomenal, but this isn't one of those epic stories of hundred fish day and monster brown trout from the Madison River. This story is about a father and daughter who just happened to become my subject in a photograph.

As my friend Mike worked the river in search of trout, I was on the river bank shooting some photos. I usually would have been fishing, but I had suffered a really bad knee injury that kept me from wading and pretty much sidelined me on this particular road trip. So in order to keep me from going crazy I picked up the camera.

As I'm shooting I notice a man and daughter standing down river from me. It was a father and daughter standing in the river. The daughter looked to be no older than about five or six years of age. I thought it was the coolest... Here I am with the camera and a father and his daughter are fly fishing. I start shooting away, but it's tough to get a decent shot because I'm shooting into the sun. Well it turns out I captured a pretty nice moment of the two.

As the father was wrapping up, I happened to capture a doe wading down river from them. I wanted to say something to them, but I would have had to shout and that just would have ruined the moment. Instead I waited until the two walked up to where I was shooting. I quickly let them know I took a few shots of them and if they wanted to see them, sure, we'd love to see them said the father. I click the camera and push the playback button and show them what they had just missed behind them, the doe crossing the river. The reaction was oh how cool is that. The father quickly asked if I could send them a copy of the photos via email. I got to my truck and got a pen and the father wrote down his email, turns out he was from SoCal as well, San Diego area. I put his email away inside my glove compartment and sort of lost it in all the papers I have stacked in it.

About a year later or somewhere about, I was cleaning out my truck and found a small piece of paper with an email, it belonged to the father & daughter who had wrote it down so that I could send them the photos I had taken of them while on the Madison River on their visit to Yellowstone NP. I totally forgot about where I had put the paper with the email address. I quickly logged on to my desk top and sent out the email with an attachment of the photos I had taken. It's a total shame I can not recall the name of the father and daughter. It was a special moment caught and frozen in time.

What's in the picture?
The love for a daughter by her father. A special moment shared with a perfect stranger who just happened to be capturing it through a camera lens.

I just happen to be reminiscing of special moments while on the water...

The SoCal Fly Fisher

Early Morning Session...

2011-07-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

out in the fog. From the current weather reports I definitely thought it would be clear and sunny, it was not to be though. turns out mother nature switched on the air conditioner for us this morning.

My buddy Mike arrived at my house at about 4:30am, I had already stacked the kayaks up on the rack so it was pretty much just load up a few more things of Mike's and it was off the beach.

This was the first time I have ever launched into the surf this early in the morning, the fog made things a little more interesting. The surf was pretty much nonexistent, flat to perhaps knee high surf. The launch was easy, still even with this small to nonexistent surf I did take a bit of water in the foot wells.

Immediately after setting up a short distance from the beach I get slammed on the swim bait but nothing stuck, good signs from things to come I guessed.

Here's a silhouette of my buddy Mike fishing in the low light and foggy conditions this morning.

Not sure how many fish we caught between the both of us but it was definitely an awesome morning on the water, with calico bass, rock fish and even some mini barracuda made a quick showing, lots of baitfish still around. I made a few macs and even caught a sardine on the sabiki, it was all for not, as none of the fish were interested in the live stuff and wanted either the fly or the swimbaits.

Lots of boaters out on the water this morning, be careful out there with the low visibility, some of the power boaters are still hauling ass even with all the fog. Speed and fog never go well together.

It was a nice morning on the water, the surf landing was even nicer than the launch, flat! Enjoy the rest of the three day weekend guys, have a safe 4Th of July.

Local Kelp Kayaking

2011-06-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to get off work early last night, usually I get off work at around 2am, last night I was off by 11pm and actually got a bit of sleep and was able to wake up early enough to be on the water by 8am, yeah that's kind of late, but I was not planning to fish this morning and I had to load up all my gear in the morning.

Anyhow I fished one of the local kelp beds. Not to many guys out on the water, one other kayak fisher and a few power boaters.

Tons of life in and out of the water, pelicans, seagulls, and terns diving into the ocean after the tons of baitfish that were around. I was also lucky enough to watch a school of dolphin crash through the bait near a red buoy. I also spotted this little crab on the kelp.

I did lots of fishing with not much catching, I had my fly rod with me and a kelp cutter. I totally screwed up though, I somehow left all my plastics for the kelp cutter at home. I was in such a rush that I forgot to pack my swim baits and was left with just my flies. I made the best with what I had, I ended up getting skunked. For those of you that fly fish near the kelp or in my case this morning on the kelp, know it's almost impossible to fly fish in this dense kelp forest, hence the kelp cutter rig. If anyone out there might have some advice on what I could do in a situation like this where the kelp is to dense to fly fish by all means please share.

It was really nice to get out on the water, even with the lack of fish catching. It's nice just to be able to get out on the water and actually share a report.

Catch you on the water,
The SoCal Fly Fisher

More Strips Please

2011-06-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Prepping for another day on the water. I used up the last of my orange rabbit strips. Tied up the same pattern as before, the Cherry Bomb. The fly worked extremely well on the last outing for calico bass. I lost one of the flies to the kelp and another was given to my friend Nick who was knocking them dead with the orange and black pattern. His first cast with the CB got slammed. I was able to get a half dozen flies with the last of my rabbit strips. Hope these workout just as well as the others did for us.

Image information, I did a color drop and de-saturation of the remaining color in Adobe Lightroom 3.

Have fun tying,
The SoCal Fly Fisher

The Wall

2011-05-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Memorial day is about honoring those soldier that have given the ultimate price for our country, it is also time to spend with family and friends over the long three day weekend.

Last night my friend Nick gave me a call to see if I wanted to go after some calico bass along the Wall. He also said he would give another fly fishing buddy George a call, Nick agve me a call back and said the day of fly fishing was on. I told him I needed to check out the weather report since it had been blowing like hell, 15-25 mph winds for the past two days cause of a low that came through Socal. I was checking the weather and even till late last night the winds were still howling, the forecast called for beautiful weather for Monday, light wind with clear skies and temps in the mid 70's. We just went for it even though sometimes the forecast are off, well not this time it turned out to be a spectacular day on the water.

After greeting each other at Nick's house at about 5am, we gathered up all our gear and loaded up Nick's SUV and headed south bound on the 605 towards the LBC. Upon our arrival at the launch ramp we were met with an already packed parking lot choked with empty trailers from all the boaters who were already on the water.

Nick has the boat launching wired down and we were quickly on the water on our way to the Wall.

As you can see from the image above it was going to be a beautiful sunny day, luckily I applied plenty of sunscreen before we hit the road. Nick and George we prepared with their Buffs.

Loaded and ready to go!

As we got to our destination Nick tells me to take the first cast and it turns out the calico bass were waiting for a tasty fly to come along, 'cause I nailed this little calico right off the bat. the fly if choice was non other than one of the cherry bomb flies I had previously tied, they work!

Nick also hooked a nice fish.

George was ready to get a fish on as well.

George meet Mr calico bass. I think this was the biggest fish of the day.

It was wonderful day to be on the water. The high winds from the previous days didn't phase the fishing whatsoever. The calico bass were on the chew all morning. The fishing seemed to shut off at about 11am, we still had a few fish coming on board but they weren't the type of fish we were looking to catch, mostly mackerel and one lady fish. The ocean was alive with life, seabirds diving into the water after the tons of bait fish that were around. Sealions on the rocks and we even spotted a pod of dolphin. Wonderful day indeed! It was great fly fishing with you guys (Nick & George).

The parting up close and personal calico bass shot. Check out the sharp teeth on that calico. Thanks for reading and I'll catch you all on the water.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Che... Che.. CHERRY BOMB!

2011-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've typed anything up on The SoCal Fly Fisher, life just got really busy as of late. I've been out on the kayak a few times with only one calico bass brought to hand. On one of the days on the water I didn't even get as much as even a tug on the line, not to mention I didn't bring along the camera on any of the two outings, at least I could have provided some wild life shots of a whole bunch of pelicans the reside on the L. A. Harbor break wall.

This brings me to fly tying, if I'm not fly fishing and not real busy I actually get to tie up a few flies for when I do get out on the water. The flies below are pretty much tied up for calico bass, although I'm quite sure that any type of fish in the ocean would be more than willing to take a bite at any of them.

Big Calico Bass Flies

My friend Jon Nakano is very inspiring when he puts up his paddle-board fly fishing reports. The guy goes out on his paddle board onto the big blue Pacific and fly fishes for calico bass or for whatever is on the bite. Jon has the paddle board fishing down to a science, he always puts up some amazing images of huge fish.

Well I bring up Jon, because I seen this fly he tied up recently, he called it the Cherry Bomb! The name came to him because of the calico he had on was so big that the fly rod looked like it literally blew up. Yes I know it just broke, but if you would have seen the images the rod, it did look like it blew up, hence the name Cherry Bomb for the fly he tied up.

Below are some closer images of the flies pictured above. These flies are fun to tie and very easy to tie as well.

The fly above is a very close if not the same pattern as the Cherry Bomb tied by Jon

Hook: 2/0 Mustad 3407DT
Eyes: Dazl-eyes 7/32
Tail: Saddle hackle black
Body: Crosscut Rabbit/Zonker orange
Weed Guard: 30lb mono
Thread: Ultra thread

Same fly just in solid black

Again the flies below are the same type flies as the Cherry Bomb, they just vary in colors and some in length.

I'm itching to get out on the kayak and cast these big flies to a willing calico bass or some other toothy critter from the ocean. It's so much different fly fishing the ocean than a lake or stream, the fish tend to have more fighting strength/power for their size. I'm hoping I could put up a report for all the people who frequent my blog.

Have fun tying these flies if you choose to try the pattern out.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

The Double Hall Ball

2011-03-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

All the rain storms we have been having the past few weeks have really put a damper on my fly fishing. So what's a guy to do when he cant get out on the water? Well you go to The Double Haul Ball out at the Long Beach Casting Club.

The Double Haul Ball was held last Saturday March 26 at the LBCC, even with the rainy weather forecast the event had a great turnout. The who's who of fly fishing the surf were on hand. This event was strictly on how to fly fish the surf in Socal. Some people pay to learn how to fly fish the surf, this was totally free!

Fly fishers of all levels on hand, from the newbie to the seasoned casting instructor.

On hand were lots of certified casting instructors giving out free casting lessons, come on free casting lessons from a certified instructor, this is awesome!

Andre getting a first hand lesson on casting by one of the certified instructors.

talk about hands on lessons from the very best in the business.

This event will in all likelihood dramatically reduced my learning curve when it comes to sight fishing for corbina.

Al Q had a great power-point with a whole slew of what I would consider the best Socal saltwater fly fishers sitting at the front of the room giving there point of views on how much work and dedication it actually takes to stalk the corbina on the fly.

You could actually see the passion Al Quattrocchi has for this sport.

We had some excellent fly tyers on hand as well.

James Dwyer tying up a clouser.

Dave Valadez at the vice with a cool shrimp pattern.

Below Jeff Solis is giving a demonstration on how to keep a low profile when sight casting to corbina.

Non-stop information was being feed to everyone on hand, here Jon Nakano explains why it's better to target a group of corbina versus a single.

Before the event James Dwyer stopped of at Lowes for some quick supplies. He taught some of the attendees how easy it is to make your own stripping basket for just under ten bucks.

The only thing missing from the event was the saltwater and the corbina. I had a really great time seeing some friends and rubbing elbows with some of the best fly fishermen in Socal. I must say that these guys have cut my learning curve for when I go stalk the corbina in the skinny later on in the year. Thanks to all of you that put this great event together.

Cheers!
The Socal FlyFisher

CCG Smelt

2011-02-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

Couldn't sleep this morning and decided I needed a smelt pattern for the saltwater. This is another Clear Cure Goo fly I tied up. It's pretty easy to tie up saltwater yak hair, flashabou and a bit of krystal flash, the eyes are 3D adhesive, covered up with CCG for durability. I tied this smelt pattern on a 2/0 Mustad hook (3407DT). It should work great for the big grumpy bass we find in the local bays or off the jetties. I'm also thinking a big ol halibut will find it quite appealing.

Have fun tying!
The SoCal FlyFisher

Clear Cure Goo

2011-02-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

I ordered a kit from Clear Cure Goo, the stuff is a bit pricey but it's an alternative to epoxy which I think really blows when it comes to working with. The Clear Cure Goo kit comes with UV LED light and two tubes of of CCG, a thick syringe & thin syringe for different applications. So far I love the stuff, it's so easy to work with. Below is a Deceiver I tied using the CCG around the eyes, I built up a sort of head which looks pretty good.

I'm still working on some more patterns, I will likely post when I'm done with them, hopefully they'll be stuck to the lip of a big ol fish.

Cheer,
The SoCal FlyFisher

Non-Fishing day

2011-02-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

I had an incredible day yesterday and I didn't even go fly fishing. I spent most of the day with my fly fishing buddy Nick at the Long Beach Casting Club and then at the Fly Fishing Film Tour.

We headed out to the LBCC not really knowing what to expect since neither he or I had ever been there. We managed to find the place with relative ease even after I had forgot the direction at home, I remembered what street it was on and where to get off, come on who needs a sticking map anyways.

Upon arriving we spot a few guys we know and start shooting the shit. Meet with a few new fly fishing buddies as well. This shindig was pretty cool, the LBCC has a really cool casting pond, it's marked with bars and some spots on the bottom, sort of like targets for the casters.

Here Mark practicing his casting as we walked up towards the pond.

Blu was also on hand and practicing his casting as well.

We chatted with the guys for a bit before heading inside the club to check out what was for sale and who was fly tying. Some of the fly tiers I recall seeing at fly fishing shows.

Maria Rivas was on hand tying up some nice flies and telling us about her recent trip to Christmas Island, lucky lady for sure.

Also on hand was Naomi Okamoto, very nice lady and excellent fly tier, I really wish I had my macro lens with me I would have taken some photos of her really great looking flies.

Naomi Okamoto

We sat down and talked with Lee Baermann, a really cool guy. Talked about fly fishing in the surf and fly fishing down in Loreto, Baja California Sur. Man did he get me pumped up about heading down to Baja.

Here's Lee with one of his Bull Candy flies. If you had to guess why it's called the Bull Candy, it's cause of all the Big Bull Dorado it's caught.

There was some awesome and very talented people on hand, I could actually say that this was better than some of the fly fishing shows I have been to, sad but oh so true.

Check out the sick looking work on these fly rods, I'd be afraid to fly fish with them, it's artwork in my opinion and should be displayed as art.

and a closer look...

Simply beautiful art and craftsmanship.

The Fly Fishing Film Tour was off the hook! I can't wait till the next time these fellas are back in town. If you have a chance to catch the film in a town near you do it it's fun and very well worth your time.

It was a total blast and fun filled day for a fly fisher in socal, between the LBCC and the Film Tour it's likely the most fun you could have on a non fly fishing day, well I know there are other things that could be more fun but this was a great day!

Cheers!
The SoCal FlyFisher

Friday

2011-02-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

A really quick morning session in the surf on this fine Friday morning. Met up with Bernard for a short time, he caught a couple of perch before he had to head off to work. The surf was up a bit, reports from the previous day had flat calm seas. Oh well, as a saying goes, should of been here yesterday. We fished an incoming high tide, for me I had only two very small barred surf perch for the couple of hours I flinging flies. Hooked what felt like a nicer sized perch only to have him shake the hook loose.

Look around to see if there was any signs of leopards, but didn't spot any fins on the surface.

Had fun for the short time out, good to see Bernard for the short time as well. We could have had better surf conditions, but sometime you just have to get out whenever you can even if conditions are not the best.

Catch you on the water,
The SoCal FlyFisher

Watch out for those Clousers!

2011-01-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

Spent an afternoon with my girlfriend and our baby boy at the local beach. It was a beautiful 70 degree day. Lots of gulls flying around, very little wind, a perfect day. The two stayed on the beach while I went out into the surf and chased sharks.

Oh my, fly fishing in the surf can be quite dangerous at times. While fly fishing the surf on Wednesday, as I was standing in the surf I see what I'm targeting, Leopard Sharks, not one, an entire school of Leopards just feet in front of me! Now I'm not sure as to how many people have actually been bit by one of these sharks, but it's just the thought that it's a school of three to six foot sharks cruising back and forth just feet in front of me.

Another hazard you have to watch out for is from lousy fly casters! You say who is the lousy caster? Me... Well sometimes it's windy out on the Socal beaches, but wait on this day the wind was very mild and almost not an issue at all.

The first near miss was when the fly came from behind and hit me just above my ear. This was a clouser minnow shooting through the air! Oh well that was a close call, I keep casting and managed to hook into three Leopard shark, one of which was a small three footer that was foul hooked on one of it's pectoral fins. The other two sharks headed for the Santa Barbara Islands and I never seen them. Those are the big boys, I had both on for a short time maybe about ten to fifteen minutes before breaking them off. It's quite cool to see the line just disappear off the reel in a matter of seconds. How often can you say a trout took you into your backing and nearly spooled you, never.

I kept at it, casting with a double haul and making fast strips, the action had slowed down a bit, but the sharks kept breaking the surface every few minutes. As I was casting something went wrong and along came this clouser minnow flying at me at break neck speeds, well maybe not that fast, but it came flying at me nonetheless. I feel the fly hit me right in the crotch! Oh shit, that was close... I look down and see the clouser stuck in my waders. The fly went completely through my gortex waders, I'm going to need a patch. I start my walk back to shore and could visualize the image if I would have walked into the hospital with a clouser minnow impaled into my manly-hood... Ouch!

So as you can see it can get down right dangerous fly fishing the surf, here is the money shot of my near mishap.

Clouser in the crotch!

Aside from almost being impaled and eaten by a school of leopard sharks, we had a pretty great time.

Watch out for those Clousers!
The SoCal FlyFisher

In the Surf

2011-01-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

Played hooky from work today, well not really I requested two of my floating holidays, so I still got paid for last night and tonight, the best part of it all I went fly fishing the surf!

The morning here in SoCal was pretty much uneventful, not as much traffic as I would have thought on the 10 freeway heading west bound towards Santa Monica. I made it to the beach in about 15 minutes which is pretty awesome if you have ever been in Los Angeles traffic.

Arriving at my destination in the dark morning hours I start to suit up with my waders boots and pullover kayaking paddlers jacket. The kayak jacket keeps me pretty much dry if I get blasted by a wave, plus it helps keep the ocean out of my waders. As I'm getting my gear ready I see the fantastic sunrise, I wish I would have brought along the DSLR to snap a few photos, but alas I'm here to fly fish and not photography.

I string up my TFO TiCrX 6wt, I paired it up with a Galvan spooled up with WF 200 grain sinking line and 12lb fluoro. I started off with a chartreuse and white clouser and only get a few bumps for the first hour in the surf. I start thinking to myself, it's going to be one of those days. I decide to cut off the clouser and substitute the fly for a Surf rat. This little red attractor pattern is very reliable.

The new fly produces my first fish of the morning, and it's on my second cast with the surf rat, this could be a good omen. I come up with a tiny little barred surf perch, it's almost as small as the fly, maybe about two and a half inches or so bigger. Well at least I'm not going to be skunked on this fly fishing session.

I start to pick up perch on every two or three cast. Varied sized barred surf perch, nothing to spectacular. I even put one in the stripping basket.

The bite slows down as the school seems to have moved somewhere down the surf or out to deeper waters. I walk down the beach looking for structure or nervous water. I spot a good deep hole with the nervous looking water as well. I make my cast and come up with a nicer sized BSP, I'm really having fun with these slabs.

The hole produced some really nice fish, I stayed until the bite completely shuts off for whatever the reason may be. I truly had an awesome time fly fishing the surf. With gas prices going through the roof, the surf here in SoCal is perfect for a quick morning session on the fly.

2011 is proving to be a fishy new year thus far. I hope this fishy streak continues for the rest of the year.

See ya in the surf!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Locals Blown Out

2011-01-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

Made the decision to take a drive up to the local creek late this morning. The weather forecast called for rain and snow in the mountains at higher elevations. I packed my Sage 2wt SPL series rod paired up with a nice Ross reel. I brought along a small assortments of nymphs and midges in a small fly box. Man I was ready to hook up into one of these pretty rainbows that call the local creek home.

As I'm driving up the winding road, I notice that there are lots of cyclist making there way up the mountain as well, I have to slow down a bit, some of these guys think they own the road and are not sharing like a normal cyclist would. I pull up behind a gold colored Suburban and he's nearly stopped on the road. Oh no, that all I need is to go even slower. I get a view of what is slowing the vehicle down, another pack of cyclist taking up the entire lane. I am not one to honk and hardly ever do, but today was different, these guys were taking up the whole lane going up. I give a quick honk and see the guy driving the Suburban look in the rear-view mirror... Low and behold the pack of riders yield the right of way and form one single file on the way up. The guy in the Suburban took off like a bat out of hell up the road and I never seen him on the road again.

On the way up I'm noticing the reservoirs are muddy looking, usually they tend to be on the green side. As I get to the first bridge I could see that the East Fork is flowing kind of fast and looks quite silty. I keep driving and finally get to my desired parking area and there are only a few cars parked. I take a look at the creek and see some fast moving muddy torrent, bah!! I didn't even set up the fly rod, I grabbed my camera bag and walked a bit and took a few photos.

This first image is the muddy fast flowing West Fork. It's definitely not fishable in these conditions.

I walk over to the North Fork and see that it's flowing a bit fast but on the clear side. I've fished the North Fork on several occasions and have always come up with the tiniest of trout, so I'm going to have to pass up on fishing this creek. I opted instead to take a few photos.

Capturing the North Fork with a slow exposure.

I jumped back in the truck and drove up towards San Antonio Peak, the road was full of rocks and in one part some small brush. The drive up was pretty much uneventful other than spotting the rear end of a small Bobcat, I just got the tail end of it as it trotted over a dirt pile and into the brush.

This is a view from a sort of saddle where two roads meet.

As I'm getting higher in elevation the temperature is dropping, back on the WF & NF it was 51 degrees, here the temperature is going from 41-39. I finally get to this parking area where the view of the mountain is obstructed by clouds and what is starting to look like snow. I get off the truck and sure enough, it's definitely snow. It's a light snow with small flurries, non seems to be sticking to the ground though. I take a quick photo and jump back into the truck and head back towards home.

My parting shot obstructed by clouds.

I didn't get to fly fish on this outing, but I was rewarded with some pretty stunning views and it definitely beat staying home.

Cheers, The SoCal FlyFisher

THANK YOU!

2010-12-31T09:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2010 has come and gone in a blink of an eye it would seem. With 2011 less than a day away, it looks as though 2010 will end with some seriously frosty conditions. This morning it was 37 degrees in Los Angeles, brrr.... That's pretty darn cold for SoCal!

Winter is probably the worse time of the year for me as far as fly fishing, I don't get out much. I have to get by passing the time reading blogs or fishing forums. It helps brining back the motivation for another year of fly fishing. I'm so looking forward to 2011 and some warmer weather, you gotta remember this is SoCal, it's hardly ever cold here.

Reflecting on my fly fishing ventures this past year, I met up with some like minded fly fishermen and had an awesome time fly fishing the surf. I fly fished for carp in the LA River with a few friends, and a whole bunch of times on my own. Spent some quality time with the family up in Yosemite, fly fished a bit for not one fish, but I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes. Spent a few days on the local creeks in the San Gabriel mountains, which can sometimes be heartbreaking due to all the graffiti and trash. The time spent in the Eastern Sierra was pretty nice. When all is said and done, I had a nice year of fly fishing in 2010.

Thanks you all who frequented my blog in 2010. It may not be the best blog in the world, but it's about fly fishing, and fly fishing rocks!

Here's to a Fishy 2011!
Cheers, The SoCal Fly Fisher

Emerging Caddis

2010-11-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here is another Emerging Caddis, I been trying to come up with a easy to tie caddis with not to many materials used, this one is not to bad. Looks good to me anyhow, if the fish like it that would definitely be a plus.

I used a natural latex nymph stretch skin for the body. The under body is a UV light olive ice dub, wrapped with the nymph skin to try and create a segmentation. The thorax is also ice dub in a peacock color. The wing-case is the same stretch skin in a natural latex. Legs & wings is partridge. It also has a few wraps of lead adhesive tape. The hook is a large size 8 barbless Czech Nymph Partridge Flash Point hook.

Caddis

2010-11-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

Spent a little time last night behind the vice, a simple to tie caddis pattern was in order. The caddis actually work quite well, last week on the river was very productive for me with this caddis pattern. I looked up some information on the pattern and found lots of variations with different names relating to these fly, here I'll just call it a caddis pattern.

There are a couple of different variations I tied up, very similar in tying other than the under-body on a few of them. The under-body on one has silver tinsel and other are just rapped with thread,one of the files has a small bit of dubbing, but I still need to work on the right amount to get a nice tapered look.

This one here is the one with some dubbing on the under-body. I used a light cahill color with small Body Glass in a light olive from Orvis. This ribbing is also known as D-rib or vinyl rib, easy to get at your local fly shop or online dealer.

The one right above is actually not tied correctly, if you look closely at the ribbing, it's actually backwards with the flat side is facing up, doh... I think it's time for a pair a glasses.

These here are very easy to tie with minimal materials used, thread, dubbing, D-rib, hook and a small bead, perhaps some tinsel if you'd like a bit of sparkle to the fly.

Cheers!
The Socal Fly Fisher

KF Emerger

2010-10-31T17:35:00.001-07:00

I decided to take a break from tying with biot, me and it just don't work well together. I was watching tying videos earlier today and was looking for something simpler to tie. I watch a video from HopperJuan aka Juan Ramirez out of Colorado Springs, Co,. The video had HopperJuan tying up an KF Emerger. It's actually quite easy to tie and looks buggy enough to tie up a few to keep in the new fly box I bought. I pretty much spent my weekend behind the desk tying flies. I have a long way to go to fill the fly box, but my goal will be to try and fill the box with only flies I tie & flies I receive via fly swaps.

Hook: Tiemco barbless size 18
Thread: Black 6/0 Uni-thread
Body: Black dubbing (it's supposed to be fine dubbing, I don't have any)
Thorax: Black dubbing
Wing: Pearl Krystal Flash
Rib: Fine gold wire

Have fun behind the vice,
The Socal FlyFisher

Browns & Bows

2010-10-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

This day starts of cold in the morning, but is warming up quickly, looks to be a beautiful day on the water. Far from my freeze tubing session on Crowley the previous day. After a nice big breakfast at Denny's I head up the highway toward the Fly Shop aka Sierra Trout Magnet I walk in and get all the low down on the hot flies. I pick-up the recommended flies and a much needed new 5X leader. I'm set to go and head towards that serpentine river to try my skills at fooling some brown trout.

At first sight it looks as though there are going to be plenty of people on the river, turns out I was wrong. I had plenty of room to work and actually had a really great day, seldom seeing anyone at all until I was back at the truck.

I started the day out stringing up my Hardy Marksmen 5wt, this rod is like new condition, 'cause I have not been out fly fishing as much as I would have liked. Sort of been chasing after the carp or hitting the surf close to home. Anyhow, I tie on the size 16 "The Ticket" and a gray poly wing emerger, flies recommended by the fly shop's Trace. I quickly get them caught up on some underwater structure most likely branches, well that was a quick four bucks. Okay, let's try this again, this time I tie on a bead-head pheasant tail of my own and a size 20 green caddis I received in a fly swap awhile back. These flies prove to work well, actually only the small caddis fly was working. I hooked and landed quite a few small spunky brown trout, all on the small caddis again.

I was tiring of hooking nothing but dinks, fun if you happen to be using a 2wt or smaller, but as stated above I was using a 5wt. I tried retying, again using the recommended flies by Trace. I kept looking for openings in the high brush and tulles. Getting a little tough to find access with all the vegetation growing wild. I manage to find some good deep areas that look fishy. I cast and on the first drift I hook and land a great looking brown trout. The river current is flowing at 193cfs and make the fish seem way bigger than what they really are.

This was my best brown trout of the day. Not the biggest of browns, but a very respectable brown for this section of the river. Most fish here tend to be on the smaller side with a few decent sized browns mixed in.

A closer look shows the small fly the shop recommended, size 16 "The Ticket"

I caught four rainbows which was cool, this river is known for all the browns so rainbows are a cool treat. This was my biggest rainbow caught in some really fast flowing water. At first I thought my hooks were stuck and then the fish swam straight down river, the current flowing so fast was not helping matters any. I walked my way down along the bank winding line in while walking, I was picking up line on the fish real quick, before I knew it I was reaching down with my net and trying to get him released. Took a quick photo and sent the rainbow on it's way.

I had and excellent morning on the Lower O, when you loose count of how many fish you catch & release you know the fishing is great.

While sitting at my truck for a noonday snack and drink, an old-timer pulled up, I waved hello and he did the same. As he started to string up an old Fenwick glass rod, he asked me if I would like to see something. I thinking to myself he's going to show me some cool flies he's using or something like that, nope. The old-timer puts the rod down and walks towards me and say come here let me show you. Okay, I'm thinking what is he going to show me. Look up at where that cave is. Do you see what's on the rock just the the right of it? Nope, we get closer and asked can you see now, nope you need to look really good to see them, aha! I see them, I see them! Oh so cool, petroglyph on the rocks. So cool, I had never seen any and so close to where I had just parked.

Some pretty cool stuff, perhaps left behind by the local Indians way back when. Thanks to this friendly fly fisher I was exposed to something new and pretty cool.

After a bit more fishing and having to battle the afternoon winds I called it a day and headed home. I shot off a few more photos on my way home and the fall colors are just about done. The leaves on the trees are just about gone and those that aren't are turning brown and black.

I had an excellent time of fly fishing, until the next time.
The SoCal Flyfisher

Crowley Lake Freeze Tubing

2010-10-29T08:33:00.001-07:00

I made my way up to Crowley Lake before the lake closed for the season on October 31, with hopes of hooking into one of the huge fish that inhabit the lake, I set off on a solo mid week road trip.

The weather was not as predicted, it was supposed to be in the thirties over night, well it was obvious as I drove through Bishop and the rest of the high desert it was going to be colder than what was predicted. I was thinking to myself, shit! I only brought a fleece pull over and a few fishing shirts.

As I start to make my way up the 395 towards Crowley, the temps kept dropping lower and lower. At the top of Sherwin Summit 7000' the temp is 11 degrees... I'm going to freeze my ass off! I finally get to the lake and it's warmed up all the way to 15 degrees, this is at 7:30am!

I begin to look through my truck and find that I have a flannel shirt under the seat, thank god for lost clothing. I layer up with a t-shirt, fleece and flannel shirt. Not bad, I actually feel quite warm. I get out and start pumping air into my float tube. That should get me a little warmer and it does. I string up the 6wt TFO with full sinking line and tie on two streamers, a black woolly bugger and olive matuka as the trailer. Am after big fish with big appetites.

I see steam coming off the lake which looks kind of cool. There are two other guys getting ready on the opposite side of the lake. Turns out they were fishing with midges under an indicator for most of the morning for not much, not even a bite. I was stripping my streamers the entire morning with hopes of a big fish. I had about a half dozen takes and only one hookup with a small rainbow landed. Tough fishing conditions for sure with cold cold air temps.

The trout I finally hooked had tons of fight in it and I really thought it was a big guy, but it turns out that the trout was just full of fight.

My overall fly fishing experience on Crowley Lake was pretty good to say the least, no one around me was hooking fish. I had some very solid takes and only one fish to hand, I'd say the morning went great considering the cold air temps. I'll go back when the lake reopens in the spring.

After my morning on Crowley, I headed up the road a short distance to fly fish on the Upper Owens, not to many people were fly fishing this section, which by the way is perfect in my book. Now the fishing is usually easy pickings for me in this area, for whatever the reason the fish were spookier than I could remember. I caught four very tiny rainbows and that was it for an afternoon of fly fishing. I manage to see two very large trout that spooked with my shadow. I wish I could have hooked one instead of spooking them. That's what happens when you're not a sneaky fly fisher.

I stayed until the sun started to set, the wind started to pick up something nasty, with some brutal wind gust, that was about all I could take as the temps dropped as soon as the sun dipped behind the mountain peaks. With winds and cold temp and not having the proper gear, I high tailed it out.

Headed towards Bishop for the night, I had to get some much needed rest and a really hot shower to thaw out.

Cheeeerrrrzzzzz!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

The October Caddis Swap

2010-10-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

Man oh man! Today I was over at the Fisherman's Spot out in Van Nuys. I stopped in to get myself a new fly box, a small C&F Design for midges and smaller sized flies for the local creeks.

Anyhow, I get home and there on the living room table sits my mail. Yes! It's the package for the October Caddis fly swap. Nicely stuffed with my Altoids tin I use to put my flies for the swaps in. By the way the Altoids tins work great for smaller flies when you participate in Fly Swaps. I open the package and take a look at all the cool looking flies, all hand tied by the ten fly tyers who just so happened to be so lucky to participate in this swap. I say lucky because there were some awesome fly tyers involved in this fly swap.

Here is a list of those who participated.

FLY TYERS

Our Swap Master ~ StevenOjai ~ Steve StevenOjai's Fly Fishing the Sierra
Flutterfly ~ Ariel
Bernard
Ashtree1 ~ Robert
Phelps Bro ~ Jeff
Wildman ~ Jim
Eric
Brontoflyfish
Tyingfool ~ David
Yours truly ~ Benny

The flies came out as expected, awesome looking. Some excellent fly tying to say the least. I'll start in no particular order with some photos I took earlier today.

Burlap Pupa Tied by Borntoflyfish

Actually we were all treated to some extra flies by Brontoflyfish, which was avery nice treat and a very nice gesture.

October Caddis tied by Brontoflyfish

Sweet looking flies for sure Brontoflyfish, they'll definitely get some use.

Emerging Sedge Pupa tied by yours truly ~ Benny

I catch fish with these, Graham Owens has a similar pattern and I just developed my pattern from looking at his. The fly has caught plenty of trout and some how is always evolving in one way on another.

Orange Stimulator tied by Tyyingfool ~ David

Nice pattern that will imitate a stonefly, hopper, or caddisfly, the Orange Stimulator has proven itself to work in a variety of dry fly fishing situations and demands a spot in every trout fishing fly box, another sweet fly.

McKenzie October Caddis Wet tied by Ariel

This is the first time I will have the opportunity to fish the McKenzie October Caddis, from the looks of it, it will not disappoint.

Metallic Caddis Pupae tied by Ashtree ~ Robert

These some sweet little flies that I'll definitely hang as droppers on a big ol stimulator.

Carmel Caddis tied by Wildman ~ Jim

This little guy here was actually created by flyfishing guide and film maker Mikey Weir. Again a new pattern for me, but from what I have read thus far it's an excellent pattern created to imitate glassasoma caddis on the Carson River.

Sloan's Paralyzer October Caddis tied by Swap Master StevenOjai ~ Steve

Just the name alone on this fly tells you it's a mother of a fly. Bernard posted a link with a photo of Gordon Johnson from Yosemite Rivers holding nice fish he nailed with this exact fly. Aren't we all so lucky to be in this swap.

October Stimulator tied by Phelps Bros ~ Jeff

Another cool little fly to add to our arsenal. Jeff ties some sick flies and if he's using this fly it's in all likelihood this fly will get the fish.

CDC October Caddis tied by Eric

I fished with Eric on numerous occasions, but I have yet to fish his CDC Caddis. I'm quite sure this fly will get everyone on to some fish. If you frequent the FLYFISHINGADDICT Forum you'll know that this guy is always out fly fishing and always posting reports with some nice quality fish.

Noctober Caddis tied by fly fishing guide and master fly tyer Bernard Yin

Last but definitely certainly not least, let's just put it this way, if Bernard say the Noctober Caddis will catch fish, it will catch fish. There is a photo on the Sierra fly fisher Blog where you could see a nice rainbow with this fly hanging from it's jaw. Again how lucky can this group of fly swappers be...

Fortune has come my way in the way of a great group of guys and one gal, who volunteered there time and efforts to tie up what I think are some awesome flies. This swap just so happens to be just in time for a late October Caddis Hatch this year, the warm weather we have had earlier in October seems to have benefited us fly tyers. Thanks to the perfect timing with the swap Steven, big time kudos to you for hosting.

Cheers, and I'll catch you on the water,
The SoCal FlyFisher

Tying Bench

2010-10-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you have been lucky enough to visit Southwestern Montana and stopped in at Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn Fly Shop, you'll know that he has an awesome fly tying bench setup. He has the coolest bobbin holder, I believe it's an Elk antler, I could be mistaken though.

My tying bench is actually my computer desk, and I'm actually ashamed to even take a photo of what it looks like. My tying area looks like a disaster area, although I do know where everything is located, just in case I need to whip up some flies.

I was going through photographs and found the shot of the tying bench so I thought I's share with whomever happens to stop by.

From my tying desk,
The SoCal Fly Fisher

California Heritage Trout, McCloud Redband Rainbow Trout

2010-10-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

I often reminisce about fly fishing, going back through photos with dates of when and where I caught and released a fish on a certain date. I look at the photos by dates on my desk top, every digital image has all this data store with it, this is genus.

On October 23, 2006 I was in Northern California fly fishing on the McCloud River. It was one minute past twelve when I snapped a photo of this beautifully colored McCloud River Redband.

The daytime temps were cold, cold enough for me to be wearing a fleece mid day. The McCloud River is likely one of the most beautiful places I have ever fly fished. The water is so clear and some areas of this river have a somewhat odd blue glacial look to it. You can see the color of the water behind the fish pictured below. The water sort of reminded me of the Yucatan minus the tropical temperatures.

I really don't feel like making the drive all the way up to Mount Shasta, it's a really long haul from Los Angeles... wish I had some sort of sci-fi teleportation device to just send me and my dog, along with all the necessary fly fishing gear.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

October

2010-09-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

This the best time of year to be on rivers throughout California in my opinion. You have this huge bug coming off the rivers in certain parts. I schedule vacation in October to try and catch this awesome hatch. October Caddis are big and they come off the river in droves. This just so happen to be around the time of year big browns start a migration out of the lakes up river to find suitable spawning areas and partners.

I recall a few years back, I was on the McCloud River in Northern Cal and I hit the hatch perfectly, there were very few rising trout, it was just an awesome experience to witness this hatch.

So this brings me to this posting, I joined a Fly Swap on the FlyfishingAddicts forum, pretty cool guys and a few gals on there. It's been quite some time since I've participated in any fly swaps. I actually used to host quite a few, that got old real quick.

I decided to tie a Sedge Pupa, my rendition of an October Caddis. It's a fairly easy to tie. Here are a few that are almost ready to hatch, sort of an emerging sedge.

Hook: Partridge Flash point Czech Nymph size 8
Under-body: lead adhesive tape
Thread: Black 6/0
Body: UV Light Yellow, Brown Nymph skin, .006 mono for segmentation
Legs: Partridge
Wings: Swiss straw brown
Head: Dark Hares Ear
Antennas: Two Peasant Tail Fibers

I'm quite sure all the guys who receive these sedge pupa, will be more than happy when they fish them. I used this pattern the last time I was in the Kern Flats area and they were quite deadly, it wasn't October but they still enticed plenty of trout.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

The LBC

2010-05-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Had the pleasure of spending the morning with some online friends that all share the same passion, we all have the fly fishing bug.

We all decided to meet up in the LBC for some early morning fly fishing action. That's exactly what it was, early morning action. The yellowfin croaker were on the chew from about 5am to 6am... it was as if someone turned off a switch on the fish or something of the sorts and all action just stopped.

No matter, the short lived bite was fine in my book. It was really nice to just be able to hang out with some online friends, some faces were new to me and others were familiar faces from previous meet and greets.

Ray doing his double haul

Some of the guys wondering why the bite just shut off. Left me scratching my head...

When the bite shut off we decided to make the drive down the road to one of the back bays to see if we could get a little action going. I wish I could say the fishing was wide open, it wasn't though. The fishing still remained slow and the only action was when Justin hooked into something fairly strong and quickly was broken off.

Justin just before he hooked into something big and toothy

Here is a close look at one ugly little Gobi or small Sculpin, I'm just not sure what the heck it is. This is the only fish photo I was able to take on this morning.

Fly of choice for some of the guys was this version of a clouser minnow.

It was quite a nice group of fly fishers, as you can see from the photo, we had plenty of elbow room.

I'm definitely looking forward to wetting a line or just hanging out with all these cool cats in the near future. Guys, if you ever read this, I had a blast hanging with all of you. I wish the fishing could have been better, we all know that's just fishing.

Cheers!
The SoCal Fly Fisher

Golden Stone

2010-01-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Golden stonefly, this one was caught on the Upper Kern River on a June trek in 2007. They'll usually hatch around May-June. The problem fly fishing during this time of the year is the high runoff, so it could be a hit or miss due to the high flows.

The SoCal Fly Fisher

Hit The Surf

2010-01-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

Been quite awhile since I've hit the surf, no I'm not a surfer. I mean fly fish in the surf. when I do go it's with good friends. Last time I was out with my buddy Gabe. Good fly fisherman and a good friend.

On one particular day in no particular month we set out in search of Corbina. This day would prove unsuccessful. Those corbina are really spooky fish and tough to entice.

We searched up and down the beach with not much, not even a bump if you will. The day was on the warm side but for what ever reason the beans were a no-show. I put my rod down and brought out the camera and shot a few photos. Nothing better to do than to shot some stills when the fish don't wanna play.

Old school hand lining!

Gabe in B&W

The SoCal Fly Fisher

The Local Fish'n Hole

2010-01-09T18:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes fly fishing in SoCal requires getting into places you wouldn't see in any fly fishing magazine. The target for the day is carp in the concrete river. Many a fly fishers travel a long ways to get into this local fishing hole. The prize catch of a ten or fifteen pound carp really gets the blood pumping and not to mention really puts a hell of a bend onto a fly rod.

It's a easy ten minute drive from down town LA, or it could be an half hour depending on traffic, what would you expect it's Los Angeles.

Once on the river you'll be greeted by all the wonderful trash some of the angelinos toss onto the streets. From the streets it makes it's way down storm drains and into the concrete river bed. It really is sad to see so much trash down in the river bed. I guess some people are just to lazy to put trash into a waste basket.

Now lets get back to the fly fishing. I roll with a 8wt with WF floating line. My leader is pretty much straight 8 lb mono. The fly of choice is a yellow egg cluster. I have no clue who started using it first but the fly works great.

Many people laugh or are grossed out by the thought of fly fishing in the concrete river. All I could say is then don't fish it and leave the fish to those that will. This is not a River Run Through It, better said, is on the teeshirt from the Fisherman's Spot that reads, A Sewer Runs Through it, the LA River.

Catch you on the water,
The SoCal FlyFisher