Ted Fay had a big effect on fly fishing trout in Nor Cal.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

http://m.sfgate.com/outdoors/article...ts-5425867.php

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

At the bottom of the canyon in Dunsmuir, I watched Ted Fay, the old master, thigh-deep in the river with his fly rod. Fay was like Rembrandt with a brush as he painted the river with short casts.

He became a legend in the fly-fishing world for inventing a system that uses two flies at once and very short casts. Back in the day, near the mouth of Castle Creek, I saw him catch 10-fish limits on five casts that were no more than 20 feet long.

But what I remember best was how he merged with the river, the open, friendly way he shared his secrets, and that he became the heartbeat of American fly-fishing.

When he took me under his wing, Fay was an old man and I was just kid, but we hit it off. For several years, we took many trips and fished the best of California's rivers.

His legacy continues with the start of each trout season. This year's opener is Saturday, more ceremonial than anything with so many waters now open year round.

To mark the day, an exhibit called "The Golden Era of Fishing" will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the new Dunsmuir Museum. The exhibits feature a series of photos and a history of the river from roughly 1850 to 1950, and includes a rare vintage photo of Ted Fay.

Even though Fay was a small man, his shadow is still cast across the canyon that frames the Upper Sacramento River, from Box Canyon Dam, at the foot of Mount Shasta, on downstream across 38 miles of river past Dunsmuir, Sims and Pollard Flat en route to Shasta Lake.

Fay was inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in 1982, and more than 30 years later, guides on the Upper Sacramento continue to honor Fay's techniques as well as carve out their own niches.

Fred Gordon, an artist who knows every boulder and pool, is the Godfather of the River. Jack Trout is the dynamic historian who pioneered fly-fishing raft trips. Wayne Eng is the fly-casting guru. In all, 10 guides ply these waters, still the best easy-to-reach blue-ribbon trout stream in the Western United States.

They all live and work in the shadow of Ted Fay, 30 years after his death, brought together by the river, the trout and the Ted Fay Fly Shop, still open in Dunsmuir, the longest continuous operating fly shop in California. Bob Grace runs the show these days. Though the store has been expanded at a new location in downtown Dunsmuir and the stock upgraded, the Ted Fay-designed weighted nymphs are still top sellers.

"People come into the shop and they want to talk about Ted Fay and the flies he used," Grace said. "Plus, he was quite a character. You hear these stories about him, how he caught all those fish."

"I still use his techniques and flies today," guide John Rickards said. "A lot of things work, but it's great to use the Ted Fay classic flies, patterns and techniques. All that still works. We talk about Ted Fay all the time. Every trip. We are big supporters of the Ted Fay Fly Shop. The lineage. Bob Grace is a part of that. There's some real history here."

"In the north state, you can't go anywhere without seeing Mount Shasta, and on the rivers, you can't go anywhere without hearing about Ted Fay," said Trout, who, like Fay, is captivated with history of the canyon and the river.

In the Upper Sac canyon, Interstate 5 is perched nearby and there are many spur roads that lead to trails routed down to fishing spots. In Dunsmuir, you can see trucks with fly rods mounted on their hoods, where fly-fishers can make a quick stop, cast for 20 minutes, and then get on with the day. Trout, an outfitter, runs raft trips on which you can fish all the spots you can't reach from shore.


On Monday, with Scott Fitzgerald of Santa Rosa, Trout launched his raft from Pollard Flat and oared down the river to Vollmers. The river was running at 600 cubic feet per second, low for April, but ideal for fly-fishing. With an overcast layer, the fish started rising at about 11 a.m. and didn't stop biting. On Tuesday, the river came up from storm runoff, but should be in good shape again by the weekend.

Like, Fay, his hero, Trout has learned to fish bubble lines, foam lines and pocket water, where the big elusive rainbows hold and feed. On Monday's trip, this is where a dozen were caught right on the surface on dry flies, including three beauties over 15 inches, all released, of course.

For the best prospects right now, position yourself below the spots and then cast upstream; it's pretty much zilch these days downstreaming the fish. The bite is late, best from midday to dusk. "No reason to be on the river until 11 a.m.," Trout said. "Then the fish bite the rest of the day right up to dusk."

For fly patterns, the best success has been on PMDs, light cahills, and for nymphs, very small flies, No. 16 and 18 Pheasant Tail, Caddis nymph and golden stone.

Some 40 years ago, Fay used a 7 1/2-foot leader with 5X tippet for short-line nymphing; 6X leader for dry fly. The same works best today.

Fay's invention was to use a weighted nymph, like his favorite, the Bomber, then tie a 10-inch dropper from the hook on the Bomber to a smaller second fly, like a No. 16 Copper John. Instead of long casts with a lot of back-and-forth, he would cast only 15 to 25 feet, just above where he figured the fish were holding. He then would keep his rod perfectly in line with the fly in the drift of the river current. When the line stopped (most now use strike indicators, which are like bobbers), he'd set the hook. That was all the bite you'd see: the fish stopping the fly in the drift.

On one trip, we saw a bear go into the river and fail in its attempt to catch a trout. Later in the day, we returned to the exact spot and then Fay caught not one trout, but two at once, on his first cast. "That bear ought to hire me," he said with laugh. A winner's laugh. I loved the guy. Everybody did.

"Every trip we make in this canyon, we feel the legends of the past," Trout said. "You feel the ancient Wintu, the first explorers, Joaquin Miller, and if you fish for trout, you feel Ted Fay everywhere you go."

If you want to go

-- Ted Fay Fly Shop, 5732 Dunsmuir Ave., Dunsmuir (Siskiyou County); (530) 235-2969, www.tedfay.com.

-- Golden Era of Fishing: Historic trout fishing and river exhibit, opens 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; Dunsmuir Museum, 5750 Sacramento Ave., Dunsmuir (Siskiyou County); (530) 235-2249, www.dunsmuirdepot.com.

Guides

-- Fred Gordon, (530) 859-2673, www.fredgordon.net

-- Jack Trout Fly Fishing, (530) 926-4540, www.jacktrout.com

-- John Rickard, (800) 934-7466, www.wildwatersflyfishing.com

-- Craig Nielsen, (530) 926-5763, www.shastatrout.com

-- Rick Cox, (530) 964-2533, www.mccloudflyfishing.com

-- Alan Blankenship, (530) 925-7990, www.threeriversguideservice.com

-- Steven Bertrand, (530) 235-4948, www.flyguide.wordpress.com

-- Wayne Eng, (530) 235-4018, www.wayneengflyfish.wordpress.com

-- Chuck Volckhausen, (530) 859-3474, www.wildwatersflyfishing.com

-- Forrest Brizendine, Jack Trout Fly Fishing, (530) 921-5507, www.sacriverdriftin.com.






Trout Opener

Opening Saturday: Most of the state's trout streams; all lakes in the Eastern Sierra.

Opening Memorial Day weekend: Eagle Lake.

Open year-round: All lakes in Bay Area (except for San Pablo Reservoir) all reservoirs in Northern California, most rivers below dams.

- Tom Stienstra


Tom Stienstra's Outdoor Report can be heard at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. Saturdays on KCBS (740 and 106.9) E-mail: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com

[Larry S]

Great info, Bill. Amazing how the river came back after the train spill.
Best to you and Marilyn,
Larry S

[Jimmie]

Great post, Bill! I love the Upper Sac; have been going there for nearly 20 years. I am proud to call Bob Grace a friend.

[wineslob]

Sadly, I won't be able to go out this Saturday. Probably the first time in 30 years. However, next weekend is booked.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Call or stop y the Ted Fay Fly Shop in Dunsmuir right on the Upper Sac.

Bob Grace, the owner, is a real fine gentleman.

He knows the Upper Sac, Upper Klamath and McCloud Rivers well.

Should be good early this year.

.

[JohnD]

Bob is a great guy. I always stop in Ted Fay when I'm in the area.

[Dan LeCount]

Ted Fay learned a lot from a member of the Wintu tribe named Ted Towendolly. Towendolly actually started the weighted nymphing and Ted Fay expanded on his theories. The Black Bomber was actually Ted Towendollys pattern. Ted Fay and later Joe Kimsey added more patterns to the traditional series of wets used for the upper Sac. Here's a good old thread from 2005 about this stuff -

http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthre...-Ted-Fay-Flies