Delta 9-10: Keeping up with Sturmer!

[JerryInLodi]

Sturmer came down from Granite Bay to help me harass delta LMB. Sturmer always brings a bag of flies with him as well as lots of food goodies.

The all too familiar "Delta Breeze" was blowing and limited the water we could fish. We started off on the main river, tossing poppers but after one grab in twenty minutes went subsurface throwing clousers, Puglisi style bluegill flies and anything else that sank. We caught a combination of small LMB and small stripers, the dinks I mentioned in an earlier post mixed with a few larger fish.

We looked for bigger fish at Holland Cut and again threw poppers to no avail. Sturmer started fishing subsurface again and would stick a couple of fish on a fly, I'd ask what he caught them on, switch and a few minutes later he'd stick a few more fish, this time on a new fly and I'd change again. Now Sturmer brings a fairly large bag of flies and this went on all day. I went through tippet material like miners use detonation cord with dynamite.

After a few miles we ran out of water and decided to cross the San Joaquin and try the east side. Every time we stopped at a new location we started with poppers only to end up subsurface after minutes without strikes. Sturmer began the quick change again, catching a few fish on each fly and I followed suit.

Finally, about six thirty, exhausted from all the knot tying and tippet trimming, I went back to a popper and started getting strikes. This time Sturmer did the swapping and we cast poppers till dark thirty.

We ended the day with a lot of wet flies, lots of little fish stuck and myself, tired from keeping up with a fly fishing teenager!

Here's Sturmer with the biggest fish of the day.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Great report Jerry.

Sturmer is a 'commando angler' and a great guy.

He gave me one of his foam poppers the other day for a sample.

[Hairstacker]

I went through tippet material like miners use detonation cord with dynamite.

Jerry, you almost made it sound like work. Glad to hear you guys made it out there. By the way, nice fish Sturmer!

[Sturmer White]

Jerry, Bill, and Haystacker.
Thanks for the kind words. A teenager like me needs that kind of support.
Now if I could just find my teeth!
It's nice to be here. At my age it's nice to be anywhere.
Sturm

[JerryInLodi]

Hairstacker, not work but a workout! We did learn a lot about subsurface. Sturmer was bringing in his streamers just under the surface, similar to my greased woolly bugger technique. He got many more strikes than I did, trying to follow the bottom profile with my Puglisi bluegill.

These are really scouting and technique building trips, each one, as is every fishing trip should be, is a learning experience.

Speaking of the same, a newbie club member put an e-mail out, asking for help learning to fly fish. He had practiced at the casting pond for three hours but had never had a line in fishy water. He was scheduled to go on an outing this weekend.

I had him meet me at the boat last night. The wind was blowing but I knew a spot where we could do some casting practice. I headed over and taught him some line control techniques and casting helps. He was soon throwing a popper about 30 feet and was able to throw a sinking line about sixty feet.

It was time for fishing. It was going to be tough. There was no place where it was completely windless. I brought the boat up into the lee of a levee and had him cast into the wind at the rocks. We were way too close but he did tease a strike from a smaller fish but didn't react, he was too surprised. The next fish took the popper without reservation. Fish on!

A few quick strips and the fish was in the boat. Certainly no trophy, I still took a picture. First fish on a fly rod! (I still remember my first fish in detail even though it was 23 years ago.) The next fish was easily over two pounds and dragged his popper deep into the weeds. He got the popper back, and the thrill of a big fish but this time he learned what a LDR was.

He missed two more smaller fish and by this time his back and his arm were starting to hurt. The first lesson was over. Even so, I was honored. I was there and was a part of his catching his first fish on a fly rod. A really good day!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It's great to see how many people are enjoying fly fishing for the warm water species.

I think lots of people have been doing it but it looks like it's finally getting to be more popular now.

Many of us just enjoy getting out and casting so it's wonderful that the bass and panfish seem to like our flies so much.