Get out yer split shot.

That water is high...

That should do the trick...

bingo.

Fishing the Upper Sac is like that sometimes.

When you get out there, on the water, you give yourself the chance to see things others might never see in their lives. One thing that fits into this category, I’d think, would be an Aquatic Garter Snake catching and eating a rainbow trout.

I’ve actually seen this four times.  I saw it on Hat Creek.  I saw it twice on the Lower McCloud (in the same spot in different years) and today I saw it on the Upper Sacramento River, across the street from where I grew up.

Is that what I think it is?

Well... it sure is... a Garter Snake eating a Rainbow.

Suffocated first...

Down the hatch.

I managed a few hours of fishing today while my daughter was either napping or asleep.

The water continues to be just silly-high.  Places I’ve had locked for high water were under water.  Drifts I’ve come to depend on in difficult times were nowhere to be had.

This willow normally isn't 2 feet under water...

This usually isn't under water in June either.

On a day like this you are forced to look at the river through fresh eyes and let go of the mental map you have of the river.  I don’t think it was a coincidence that as soon as I came to that conclusion I caught the first fish of the day.

Lip hooked with a Mercer Stone.

Purdy.

Dunsmuir Tail

On the journey along the tracks I also took maybe the best picture I’ve ever taken of the Upper Sac.  This particular vantage shows my favorite water on earth.  It isn’t a bonefish flat.  It is my home water.  To the left, I caught my first trout on a fly by myself.  To the right, my favorite riffle.  Of course, there is about 3-4 feet more water in the river right now, but this water is just dear to me.  I want to share this spot with as many people as I can.

This is where my fly fishing life started.

I don’t think I’m going to be getting out on the water tomorrow, but that’s OK.  My dad and I have a day on some private water on Thursday before we head back South.  The weather is supposed to turn with showers showing up on the weather outlook.  I noticed snow still under the trees as we went over the summit to McCloud this evening.  There is a lot of water still to come down.

These are classic rainbows in their native range.

I ended up landing 6 fish today, losing a handful of others.  That is probably about as much as I could hope for and probably better than most would expect, given the rather challenging conditions.  Still… you go fishing in the river you have, not the river as you might want it to be.

I headed off North today with my 3.5 year old and dog.  My wife was on her way to NYC for business, so I went to go spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa.

The drive… well… there was a lot of screaming…

Yelling... a lot of yelling (see the flies in the back corner?)

Eventually, she got tired of screaming and let herself go to sleep.  Luckily, she only screamed for about 2 of the 5 hours.

We’ve had a really wet winter/spring here in Northern California and we needed it.  Driving over Shasta Reservoir and seeing all that water made me happy.  There should be some water left over for salmon and steelhead this year.

A full lake = happy fish

Always love this sight…

Mt. Shasta in her white blanket.

Luckily,  my daughter has grown to love fly shops.  Had to stop off at the Ted Fay Fly Shop for a few odds and ends.

An institution in Dunsmuir.

After arriving at my folks place and watching my daughter run to say hello to her grandparents I made a little scouting trip to see just how high the river was… WOW!  I’ve never seen the river with so much water at this point in the year.  That’s a LOT of water for the Upper Sac.

That there is a whole mess more water than is normally flowing in June.

Still… it wasn’t brown, just high.  When the river is high like that the amount of river you can fish is greatly reduced, but the amount of river the fish can find shelter in is also greatly reduced.  You just have to find a seam and go deep.

Could have used a couple more, really.

Hmmm… what should I throw?

Maybe a stonefly nymph?

Success.

Not big, but pretty.

Few folks would likely even try to fish the river at these flows… but it can be done.  I didn’t even put on waders, just stood on a rock and fished the same water for an hour.  Caught 2, lost 2.  On a normal day that would be a little bit of a slow strike rate, but, given the conditions, I’m pretty happy about it.

This isn’t a fishing trip, it is a family trip, so we’ll see how often I get to fish, but it was fun to see the river when it was angry and still manage to sweet talk a couple trout from her fast flowing currents.

My wife made that comment last night on the phone… “You have bonefish taste and a trout budget.”

So true.

I still love trout.  They are here, which is one considerable Plus they have over bonefish.  Made it out again today for a couple hours on my home water (The Upper Sacramento) in a place I’ve fished at least 100 times, probably more.  Temps were cooler and so was the fishing.  Managed 2 fish in 2 hours, both small.  Did see a golden stone on the water and a great, big massive gray drake, but no noses.  All fish were caught on a 4 wt. and the reel was never in any danger of being tested.

This is about 30 yards from my favorite trout water on the planet.

As I was out there not catching fish and watching my own breath I did think about how when I am getting my arse kicked some place tropical I seldom lose feeling in my toes.

I’m still hoping to get to Belize this summer with my dad, but we have to see how the tax man treats us and a variety of other, mostly financial, factors end up shaking out.

At my one-time local fly shop (I moved), the Ted Fay Fly Shop, I ran into Guide Fred Gordon who spent a couple weeks in Abaco just after I went to Grand Bahama.  Even in the heart of California trout country, I still see constant reminders of  bonefish… see, I have bonefish on the brain.

Some bits and pieces floating around.

• I got out again today… trout, Upper Sacramento, two hours, 4 trout.
• New Flatswalker
• New Bonefish Flat post.
• I’ll be at the Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust… let  me know if you’ll be there.
• Colton Bay Outfitters, a wedding and A LOT of bonefish in Grand Bahama.

Today I got out fishing… no, not bonefishing, but fishing none the less.  I am up visiting my folks and that meant that when my daughter went down to take a nap I had grandparents to supervise and a trout stream about 2 minutes away.

The Upper Sacramento is my home water.  I grew up in this town, even if I didn’t fish it much as a kid (we were steelhead fisherman more oriented toward the Klamath).   Still, I’ve put more hours on this river than any other and that means I still know where to find fish, even in the winter.

A nice looking Upper Sac bow

I got 2 hours… my first 2 hours of 2010 in California… of course, I had 5 days in Grand Bahama already, so, I can’t feel too sorry for myself.

Three fish landed, #16 Bead Head PT was the fly of choice.  Saw some #22′s and some #10′s in the air (mostly #22′s).  The stones haven’t started to move and the larger bugs, I assume March Browns, weren’t bringing up any noses.

This is still the world I know best.  I didn’t second guess my fly selection or my location or my rod/reel/line.  I knew it all.  That just underscores how much I have to learn about bonefish… how they act, what they eat, when and where to find them.

I may never get to know bonefish or any one location as well as I know this water and these trout.  I can try though.

Up at my folks place for a few days.  My daughter went down for her nap, I went down to the river (grandma was at home, I didn’t just leave her there alone!).

Happy to be hitting the water, even in the rain.

It was raining, the parking lot was empty and I had the river all to myself… except for the dog, down by the river, that came down and followed me around  for a bit.

One think I know is that no matter how long I have my bonefish fixation, I’ll never know a piece of water as well as I know this piece of water.  This is my favorite run on the river I’ve fished hundreds of times.  I only had 2 hours, but landed 12 fish.  11 on  a size 14 Eng Theng (like a prince and a PT had a love child) and one on an October Caddis dry (I was fishing a dry/dropper rig).

Nice little Upper Sac Bow

November on the Upper Sac.

The leaves have mostly fallen, the river is empty. Love it.

There were no bonefish today… but I expected that.