Local stuff ....

[David Lee]

Hit the water last Friday , and again yesterday .

Did good Friday , though I used powerworms (not that it doesn't count .... but it's a little closer to bait than fly) - landed 9 to 4 1/2 Lbs. , and farmed a few ....

Tuesday I used fly gear out of the Tube for my first trip since November . Difficult conditions (cooler water , stiff breeze , sissy Winter legs and arse) . Started w/ the 8 wt. Craw and couldn't buy a hit (no surprise , it's more of a Summer/Fall fly) , switched to a small Hair Bug , same lack-of-love ....

Wracked whats left of my brain for similar situations from the past - my go-to fly for neutral/negative Bass has always been the All Black Clouser tyed skinny (two clumps of bucktail a little fatter than wooden matchsticks w/ Black flash , about 2 inches long) . I used a floating line and a 12 foot leader - found fish on secondary weedlines between 4 and 8 feet deep .... just kind of crawling the ABC around w/ the odd twitch . Landed Bass of 16+ , 15+ , 13 , and 10 inches , didn't drop any . Also landed a 11 inch Crappie and dropped one slightly larger . All takes were 'ghost' hits - just an extra hint of weight on the line .... easy to miss if you didn't pay attention .

Nice to be out again . This year is shaping up to be one of the best for Bass and Sunnies that I've seen , as far as conditions go . Damselflies should start any time now , and as the waters clear things will get interesting fast !!

D.~

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks David,

Had several reports on warm water fishing lately.

One friend who is retired and fishes many of our local larger reservoirs for some years now in a power boat said that Lake Berryessa was good for him this week.

He was using a fast sinking line and a #10 cone head or bead head black Crystal Woolly Bugger.

I see that some of the ponds are starting to go too.

I think we need to get out during the next warm period.

[David Lee]

I think we need to get out during the next warm period.

While I hate fishing close on the heels of a passing front , this really is the best time of the year to find BIG Bass relatively shallow (within NORMAL fly range , minus leadcore heads ...) - Blue skies and a rising barometer never bode well for a hot bite .... but even if you get only a couple of hits per trip , I like having a shot at larger than average Bass .

The fish I'm targeting locally are not yet on the spawn , so there's always a chance I might stick a monster coming shallow to nest !!

Stay tuned .... the next few weeks will be interesting .

D.~