Fulfilling a dream...a Delta Day

[AftonAngler]

I have Kienes to thank for this adventure...someone at the shop (I think it was Bill) suggested that I post some of my musky stuff up over on Dan Blantons board and I did.

Well Dan and I struck up a dialog that resulted in an invite to fish...and a dream come true for this Wisco boy.

Thanks Kienes!!

Enjoy...

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Pretty Much Says it all...

cont.

[AftonAngler]

What can I say...it was a superb day? As I was driving down the levee system west of Stockton in the pre-sunrise hour I felt a distinct sense of 'I have been here before'. Getting to Sugar Barge RV Park in Bethel Island was no small feat mind you. The Delta is low country a maze of canals and berms and fields and orchards. Early mornings are foggy and dank. Sense of direction is nearly obliterated.

I was on a mission though - musky boy meets Striper Man. I was getting a chance to fish with a fly fishing legend and a personal idol of mine in the character of Capt. Dan Blanton. AKA Mr. Striper, Delta Dan...Inventor of the Whistler which became later the Flashtail Whistler, also the Sul-Mar-Mac and the Flashtail Clouser Baitfish...

But I am getting ahead of myself! I generally do ya know.

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A hot fly for AA in the Delta low country in late March of 2010

One of my primary hopes for this winter/spring California fly fishing adventure I am presently on was to get a shot at fly fishing for striped bass on the Delta. And what better way to experience this hallowed water than with the man who really put it on the map. Dan invited me to join him for a day at the tail end of his winter season and of course I jumped at the opportunity!

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Capt Dan navigating his Eagle Skiff through the toulees as the Late March sun burns through the morning dankness

I was up at 2am - a jumble of pre-game jitters as I tend to be prior to any big fishing outing. I used the time to tie up some of my patterns - Hang Time, River Pig, Beauford and a new Optic Minnow in Delta colors...chartreuse, green, blue and white wanting to give a special offering of Wisco junk to Dan in return for his hospitality.

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Dan says if he had only one fly to fish the Delta with it would be this one...A Flashtail Clouser Baitfish in his favorite color scheme

I got to Sugar Barge a little past our appointed time and was nervous that Dan might be high strung about it…turns out that he is one of the most Chillin’ Dudes you would ever come across. Despite being an internationally famous fly fishing celebrity who has been in the business since 1961, traveled everywhere/fished for everything/with everyone – Dan is just an engaging and personable fellow.

I take the shut up and listen approach when I get around such seasoned anglers…only talking to ask questions to prompt more dialog in order to pick brains. I was surprised to find Dan continually wondering about what makes me tick as well.

He talks almost non-stop the entire time mind you. I learned all about the history of the Delta, how the Whistler came into being, what having a best fishing bud named Lefty Krey is like, what his second favorite woman (next to his wife) Wanda is like to hang/fish with, what the dipstick politicians are planning to do to the Delta fishery by attempting to make the striped bass a scapegoat non-native species, how to manage a career in the outdoor sports professions, setting up and rigging a skiff properly, why he does not make lunches for clients any longer, the best type of knob design for a reel handle for fighting big fish, how he feels about writing for print media vs. electronic sources, photography, editors, lodge owners, his all time favorite fish to catch (tarpon)…you get the picture. Oh and how could I forget – at nearly every turn Dan has an anecdote about this particular HPS (High Percentage Spot…he has an acronym for just about everything!) at this point in the outgoing tide for this time of the season at this place we now presently find ourselves in the vast, vast maze of water, weed and sky that is the broad and mighty Delta.

Whew! If you are a curious and information hungry angler like me a day with Dan Blanton is like a Vegas buffet for a food-a-holic.

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A day with Delta Dan is full-throttle non-stop fishing fun…better come prepared to fish hard, listen and learn!

Dan is 66 but moves around and has the energy of a man ½ his age. No shit, he is a force. He knows it and likes the fact that he can and will fish your ass into the Delta mud if you let him. Pure Blanton!

“I use to play competitive racquetball…was always around 185 fighting weight…then when I got to be 60 I developed a sweet tooth…why did I get a sweet tooth Brad? Now I got about as many chins as Chinatown…are you sure you want to take a picture of me from down there…O.k….”

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‘I got more chins than Chinatown now Brad’…when a master opens up his fly wallet take notice!

We hit the first spot of about 50 we will run to and fish this day as the sun starts to win the war with the morning dank. We can tell that it will be sunny and hot later. Dan had instructed me that I need to bring layers and was wondering about my bare flip-flop clad feet at this point…”You gonna be alright with those bare feet?” “Ya, I’m a Wisco boy Dan…thick blood!”

He chuckles and tells me the drill ”…we water load the casts with this T-11…better learn how to over-the-boat cast or you won’t be worth shit…oh, I see you can throw…wow, nice backhand…cool, it’s always a treat to get a guy that can cast…man you can throw boy…”

I brought along a 9 weight outfit with a box of my musky flies but I have always defer to the guide as to what to fish and Dan comes fully equipped and then some. I loved his Eagle skiff and the way he had it rigged. Also really liked the LMD’s (Line Management Devices) he favors using…15” pvc pipe cut off at about mid-thigh height with a bottom installed with a pattern of cones…fancy stripping barrels – he has three in the boat and even has a 12” version he takes on all his travels…”Just take the bottom out…stuff your clothes in it and put it in the duffel…”

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Everything Dan has or uses on/in his boat has been well thought out

I strike the first fish of the day – a 12” black bass which turns out to be the only non-striper we get. After that it is all Dan for the next six or so…

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Delta Dan and the first of many stripers he put the hurt on

I’m fishing well…but Dan has about 30 years of striper chops on me. He just has that little extra something for the first couple of hours…and he wonders through a series of adjustments in my situation – several fly changes, a leader re-do, count down longer, count down less, strip this way, strip that way…

I tell him no worries…I’m the black bass guy today, you’re the striper guy.

But then I find my groove and we both enjoy a nice day of striper action!

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Tough, hard hitting and beautiful fish the Delta Stripers are!

We kept loose track and by the days end figured around 24 stripers all 3#-8# class fish boated. I was thrilled…and instantly became a fan and addict. They just drill the fly, fight like fish twice their weight…no shit a 5#er pulls like a 10#er and they have staying power and really put a bend in the rod.

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A fair number of schoolie stripers agreed to this offering

cont.

[AftonAngler]

This is my first experience with tide…first incoming then high and at the days end outgoing…and I am wide-eyed at how it affects all the spots and situations. I’m smitten! It makes the hunt all the more interesting and fascinating.

Along with the pursuit of the fish the Delta is a nature lover’s wonder. Wildlife abounds…from sea lions (yes they have been coming all the way up to Bethel Island now) to otter and beaver, snow geese, specks, ducks of every variety, pheasants, sand hills, blackbirds…oh my!

Plus there is this thing called Mt. Diablo…I had seen it a few times from over on I-5…a big looming and brooding hill above a perfectly flat plane. And now we were just about at the foot of it. A very menacing and interesting landmark in an otherwise very flat and strange place.

But what will stick with me in my memory above all else - above the fish (which are special and wonderful creatures), above the diverse and wonderful Delta and its myraid of fauna and flora and yes even above the ever present Mt. Diablo is a man named Dan Blanton.

Dan is larger than life but not in a way that distracts from his being a true human being. He fishes with a passion and intensity and thoughtfulness I have rarely ever encountered.

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Hooked up yet again to a good one Dan gets bent deep

He is a treasure to fly fishing as the Delta is a treasure to west coast naturalists and wildlife. I was both humbled and honored to get to spend time with such a being.

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Two Delta Lunkers

So yes, at the end of it all I did feel like I had been there before – for the Delta is much like all of the other great fisheries I have experienced only different in the ways that helps us set them all apart in our minds. And I got to fulfill my passion and desire to explore and experience some new stuff on this adventure – new waters, new ways and new species.


It is something I will not forget and will always treasure.

[Charlie Gonzales]

Glad to hear you had a great trip Brad. Dan is a true gem, we are lucky to be able to learn from him first hand.

[mark]

WOW, outstanding post. You had me laughing quite a bit and did some awesome storytelling and picture taking to go along with it.

Seriously cool post ....... thanks for sharing.

[bonneville54]

Bradster,

Nice to see you getting out! Gonna let me buy you that beer someday?

Thurston

[matt johnson]

Really nice post AftonAngler! The Ca Delta is a very cool place. Hope you get out there some more! Matt