By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

The midsummer doldrums that hit the Northern California region in the early weeks of July seem to have kicked the bucket, as the fishing on almost all of the local rivers has really started to pick up over the past week. 

The Lower Sac is red-hot right now for big rainbows, with rubberleg stones and caddis pupae producing the most fish, and increasing dry-fly action just before dark. 

The Trinity is on fire for chrome-bright fresh Chinook salmon averaging 10-20 lbs, and the big sea-run browns are just starting to roll in as well.  It's still a little early for the steelhead on the Trinity, but they shouldn't be far behind. 

Low water on the mountain streams slowed the fishing some, but the Upper Sac, McCloud, and Pit Rivers are all still producing some nice fish, the McCloud especially has been displaying some big browns. 

Both Hat Creek and Fall River have been fishing fair with some good Trico hatches around mid-morning and some caddis in the evening.  [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Some times you do really stupid and painful things, like glissading (see video below) down the backside of the Gore Range. Last weekend Jeff Rogers and I slipped, slid, fell and basically punished our bodies for a half day of fishing. For this stupidity I received a couple of stitches on my left knee, my shin is a giant scab, and my right thigh looks as if someone took a baseball bat to it. Oh, and did I mention it rained all of the first night.   It takes one day to get in to this secret lake and another to get out.  A bit short for a weekend.

Was it worth it? Based on the fact that we caught only four or five fish for this beating, maybe not. On the flip-side we didn't see another human being, the fish we caught were wild strong fish and most likely had never seen a fly. We mingled with mountain goats and camped at perhaps the best campsite on the... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Here I sit on a beautiful Colorado Friday morning sipping coffee on
the patio taking in the fresh smell of nature. What a great way to start the
day, however my mind is still pondering last evening as I was feverishly tying
flies for this weekend’s guide trips. As I tie, I always need to have some kind
of background noise – it was ESPN Sports Center.

A little background is needed – my fulltime job that I call
my career is working in the sports world for USA Hockey. I have been fortunate
to work with the Olympic movement for numerous years and within this industry
you tend to be a sports nut, which is putting it mildly.

Over the past week the sports world has seen its turmoil:

1. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig contemplating his presence at San Francisco Giants’ games to see Barry Bonds shatter one of the most legendary marks in all of sport.

2. NBA Commissioner David Stern having to work through allegations of a referee gambling.

3.

NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell having to deal with the Michael Vick dog
fighting allegations.

4. Tour de France organizers having to deal with more athletes being disqualified because... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

The past couple of weeks have definintely seen a drop in the numbers of
large tarpon both swimming and laid up. While there are fewer fish,
there are definietly fewer anglers fishing them and the fish have been
remarkably aggressive. When the tides have been right we have
encountered guppy and shrimp hatches, with the tarpon (ranging in size
from 30 lbs to over 100lbs) feeding with reckless abandon. The fish
swimming the ocean have also been aggressive, responding to good casts
more times than not. The key with the ocean swimmers lately has been
leads of 10 to 15 feet, allowing the fly to reach the fish's depth and
then slowly, swimming the fly as the fish approaches. I have found
lighter colors to work best on these fish lately, especially tan with a
chartreuse collar. Additionally, the baby tarpon fishing has been very
good with the fish rolling along the edges of basins early and then
retreating the cover of the mangroves as the sun gets higher in the sky.

The permit fishing, particularly last week, has been outstanding. ... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Fishing Synopsis and Forecast by Terry Gunn 7/25/07

The fishing this past month can be summed up in one word…CICADA!

The hatch began two weeks earlier than normal, around the first of July the fish started keying in on the prolific bug. It began with a bang and as any of the people that experienced this action would tell you…it was nonstop. It is still happening this week but the “wide open” bite has slowed considerably. We are getting most of our action in the deeper runs where the fish are coming off the bottom, in water that is 5 to 20 feet deep, to eat the fly. Long casts are necessary and the best strikes have been while fishing the large dry fly directly downstream of the boat. One technique that we have employed to get the fly away from the boat is to keep the bow pointed upstream and cast downstream then put the boat in gear while throwing slack line on the water which allows the fly to move downstream. I’m not sure how much longer the top-water action is going to continue but the cicadas are still singing and I have seen the action continue well in to August... [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano & Kirk Deeter

Come on, what’s cooler than stuffed squirrels and bluegills…together? Am I alone when I say that every self-respecting angler should have one of these beauties on the mantle?

[ Read Full Post ]