What to use?

[J.R.]

Even though I've been tying and fishing for about three, maybe four years, I still have no idea what to use when I do get a chance to go fishing. This is due to my busy schedule as a high school student. Usually the only time I get to go is about mid-June, and just miss, I'm guessing, the Golden Stone hatch, since there is an abundance of nymphal shucks littering the shore line. I usually get depressed about missing this opportunity and have no idea what to use, since this is the only insect activity I observe at this particular spot. I would really appreciate some advice. :(

Thanks, J.R.

[Darian]

J.R.,..... In addition to asking others or reading about what to do, there're a couple of things you can do to enable an easier decision as to "what to use".... :)

First, make a catch net. :? This net can be made by attaching a rectangle of window screen to wood sticks or poles (one on each side). An alternative to this is a large aqaurium net. Either of these nets may be inserted into a flowing stream bed (upstream of your position) to catch nymphs or whatever that're drifting downstream with the current. once this is done, you can look into the contents of the net to see what's available in a particular river or stream. 8) 8)

Second, buy a pocket size notebook to keep a record of what you've caught (insect and fish) and observed.... 8) It's important to enter all of the details you observe (e.g. date, weather, time, water temp., water clarity, insects observed (air and/or waterborne), number and type of fish caught, etc.). 8)

After doing this for awhile, you should end up with some information that'll assist you in making a decision about what to use on a particular water at any given time. The best part of this is that you gain a written history of things and places that will become more valuable to you and others over time..... :) :) :)

Best wishes for a lifetime of good memories.... 8) 8) 8)

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hi J.R.

June and October are the biggest months for trout fishing in Nor Cal.

See if you can get up to the Upper Sacramento River as soon as you get out of school. I would go camp for a week up at Castle Craggs Camp
Ground. You need a 9' #4 or 5 line rod with a floating line and waders and boots.

Save your money and have Fred Gordon take you out the first or second day for an all day class on fishing there.

After that week you will be a fly fishing trout commando.

Maybe you can get some guys from this message board to go along?

[OregonSalmon]

Hey Kiene...how come the kid doesn't have to buy a canopy!!! Sorry fellas, that is a decades old inside joke between Billy and I.
Al Gore's internet (which he never claimed he invented) is a great source for patterns and upcoming hatches on specific water. Westfly.com is a good one. I think the Fly Shop in Redding posts their suggestions on their website.

Darian's suggestion, the old timer's way, is a great one also. Jot down the basic conditions ie. water flow, temp, bugs in the air, bugs used, success... I always threatened to do that at your age but instead of ten minutes of effort we were too busy drinking beer and smoking pot. How have I survived this long...a question for the ages.

Bill's suggestion is a great one also. Guides are expensive at your age, but a day with Fred Gordon on the Upper Sac would have paid an unbelievable rate of return over the years. Based on his rate, divided by the pathetic minimum wage, it would take about 50 hours of labor. That 50 hours of labor would have saved countless gallons of gas, time, and skunkings. Knowledge is power, especially over the finned beasts.

[Adam Grace]

Galen, I too have been advised by Bill to buy a canopy for my truck :lol:

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

My basic advise to young fly fishers has always been to buy a nice little used Toyota pickup and then put a canopy on it so you can sleep in the back. This has been the standard 'commando' rig for years.

An old VW bus was in the running in my day back in the '70s.

I like small station wagons too.

Gas mileage is a big concern now days.

PS: Geller had a nice little pickup once but before he could get the canopy on it, he drove it off the dam on night at Davis Lake, opps.

[J.R. Hubbard]

Great name!

GET A GUIDE! I fished cluelessly for about a year before I forked out the money for a guide. I fished witha guy named Bill Lowe on the Yuba and he taught me enough in one day to fish the rest of the season and get by. As time went on I have fished with him another 30 or so times and fish with confidence just about anywhere I go.

A good teacher will take you a long way!