I have been away from the river for almost two weeks and I found myself going a little stir crazy. I finally made some time to hit my home waters of the Lower Stanislaus River last Thursday. I have had a lot of stuff on my mind the last two weeks and thought that going fishing would help me find the answers. I found some answers but not while fly fishing...All I can say is "appreciate where you are at." I was so focused on finding some answers while fishing that I was not focused on what I really love to do...fly fish! I found myself slipping and falling all over the rocks and I was constantly untangling my leader from making poor casts. I missed a few strong takes from some nice rainbows too. The last thing was I lost my footing and tripped in the water so my chest wader started to fill up and every pocket in my fishing vest got wet.
I'm sharing all this information with you because if you live in the "past" or live in the "future" you are not LIVING! Living is the "present" moment, that is all we have. Fly fishing for me is therapeutic in itself. I realized that just focusing on fly fishing and being one with nature allows my mind to be free from clutter. It also releases our natural "feel good" hormone Serotonin! If I'm focused on what is wrong or what is lacking in my life then I'm in constant stress mode. Everyone knows what you focus on "good" or "bad" only gets bigger. My big "eye opener" came once I made my way back to my car. I was having a little snack when I noticed this couple who maintain the bathrooms show up and they told me about a fisherman who had gone missing on this stretch of river. I walked back to my car and realized that life can be taken at any moment. Fly fishing keeps me "present." It grounds me and allows my mind to clear. Fly fishing recharges my battery and fills my cup so I can give freely to my wife and my kids.
Whatever it is you TRULY love to do...DO IT!! That is the best way to give to yourself. Every once in awhile I loose myself and every time it gets easier to come back to reality. So, find your PASSION and do it for YOU!
Even though I had a few challenges today I was able to land 5 fish. (did you really think I would get skunked on my home waters...Ha!) I started out fishing the lower pool and hooked into a small rainbow that must have broke water about 5 times. This little guy had a lot of fight in him. He is going to be one that will be fun to catch when he grows a few more inches. I caught another one at this hole and got him in the net. He was about the same size as the first one, about 8 inches. I scaled the rocks down to the next pool where my lack of attention had me miss a nice strike. I had a few more takes but didn't get one to stick. I walked down stream about fifty yards where Patrick & I always pick up a few trout. I switched my set up to a bead head pheasant tail nymph with a midge emerger pattern size 18. This set up seemed to get a few more fish excited. I caught 3 more trout at this hole before I fell in the water. I was able to get a little footage. Check out the video below.
The next trip will be to Bridgeport, CA. Patrick & I along with the Stanislaus Fly Fishers will be in search of the large Browns & Rainbows that inhabit these fisheries. We will be posting some great photos as well as some cool videos because I just got my underwater case for the flip.
Please feel free to comment on my blogs or just let me know if you ever want to experience fly fishing...I'm always ready to hit the water.
See you real soon...Back on the Fly!!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Bring on the BASS!!!
Last Tuesday Patrick and I and a few of the Stanislaus Fly Fishers hit the waters of Kistler Ranch again in search of the elusive large mouth bass or lets say the bass that eluded us last time. We jumped into the canoe around 4:30pm and headed across the pond. Patrick and I both tied on our own variation to the Marabou muddler and started fishing. (Picture below)
Well we finally calmed down and started fishing again. We headed to the far end of the pond and fished the weed line and open water. It was tough positioning the canoe because of the wind. We decided to just drift into the weeds and work the weed line instead of trying to fight the wind. We had a few takes but didn't get a bass to hold on.
We decided to get off the water for a bit and enjoy our burritos and beer before heading out again. We noticed a few of the anglers on the pond tossing some subsurface flies. I decided to tie on one of my "Crafty Shrimp" patterns. I tossed my fly out into open water and started stripping it in. After a few cast WHAM!...I had a bass on... and he came off...totally bummed. The bass fought for a bit then did a last ditch effort, pulled hard then was gone. It felt good to feel the bass on the other end even though I didn't land him. We fished for a while and still no real consistent action. We let the wind push us again into the weeds and worked some open pockets. Patrick was working the muddler in open water this time and hooked another bass. This one had a little more girth on him and put up a little better fight. We had the same reaction as the first one...lots of hoopin' & hollerin!"
I got the excitement again to put back on my muddler. There was a nice 3' opening in between all the weeds that I just knew a bass was holding. I tossed my fly right in the center(perfect cast) and let the rings settle before I made a soft tug on my line. The fly moved about 2" when a bass came and took my fly down. I felt the tug... I set the hook and the fight was ON...then it was off...I lost another one. I pulled him out of the heavy cover he was in and I thought for sure he was coming into the boat. Patrick had the net in hand but the bass spit my fly. Bass 2... Me... ZERO!
We kept working the same area and I had a few more takes and had another bass take my fly but this one came off right away. Patrick on the other hand was making perfect casts along the weed line when bass #3 took his fly. This was the last fish of the night.
Patrick with Bass #3 and a great sunset in the background!
Well, even though I didn't get my picture taken with a bass, Patrick and I had an AWESOME time as always doing what we love to do...Fly Fish!! Our next outing will probably be back on the lower Stan so stay close because we'll be...
Back on the FLY!!
Within about a half an hour Patrick landed his first Bass. I was watching Patrick to see how he was working his fly when I saw the bass take the the fly off the surface. WOW...what an awesome sight! Patrick gave a nice hook set...FISH ON!! You should have heard us when I put the Bass in the net. We were like two kids in a candy store, We were "High Fiving" and celebrating! Another angler turned around and I think was expecting to see a "trophy" bass but no, just two guys getting excited about catching fish.
Well we finally calmed down and started fishing again. We headed to the far end of the pond and fished the weed line and open water. It was tough positioning the canoe because of the wind. We decided to just drift into the weeds and work the weed line instead of trying to fight the wind. We had a few takes but didn't get a bass to hold on.
We decided to get off the water for a bit and enjoy our burritos and beer before heading out again. We noticed a few of the anglers on the pond tossing some subsurface flies. I decided to tie on one of my "Crafty Shrimp" patterns. I tossed my fly out into open water and started stripping it in. After a few cast WHAM!...I had a bass on... and he came off...totally bummed. The bass fought for a bit then did a last ditch effort, pulled hard then was gone. It felt good to feel the bass on the other end even though I didn't land him. We fished for a while and still no real consistent action. We let the wind push us again into the weeds and worked some open pockets. Patrick was working the muddler in open water this time and hooked another bass. This one had a little more girth on him and put up a little better fight. We had the same reaction as the first one...lots of hoopin' & hollerin!"
I got the excitement again to put back on my muddler. There was a nice 3' opening in between all the weeds that I just knew a bass was holding. I tossed my fly right in the center(perfect cast) and let the rings settle before I made a soft tug on my line. The fly moved about 2" when a bass came and took my fly down. I felt the tug... I set the hook and the fight was ON...then it was off...I lost another one. I pulled him out of the heavy cover he was in and I thought for sure he was coming into the boat. Patrick had the net in hand but the bass spit my fly. Bass 2... Me... ZERO!We kept working the same area and I had a few more takes and had another bass take my fly but this one came off right away. Patrick on the other hand was making perfect casts along the weed line when bass #3 took his fly. This was the last fish of the night.
Patrick with Bass #3 and a great sunset in the background!
Well, even though I didn't get my picture taken with a bass, Patrick and I had an AWESOME time as always doing what we love to do...Fly Fish!! Our next outing will probably be back on the lower Stan so stay close because we'll be...
Back on the FLY!!
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