Topwater Time

[John H]

It might be topwater time. My buddy Vaughn Willett has me convinced the topwater bite is on the verge of busting loose, so I gave it a try in the Delta this morning. It was not great, but some fish were caught, and it was a good start. I hope to get to the Delta several times this summer but would also like to get to Clear Lake. I would like the wind to get good and flat before I go to Clear Lake, but it might take some kind of epic heat dome for that to happen. I will suffer some heat if a few big bass are willing to come to the surface and get caught.

It might not quite be topwater time, but it is owling time. I found owls in three locations this week. They had owlets that were out of the nest but hanging around getting fed by the adults while they grow out their feathers and get ready to kill some rats on their own. One of the adults I saw had an eye missing but was raising an owlet and apparently thriving. Good on him I thought and very inspirational. I am having some back problems and if he can get it done with one eye, I should be able to get it done with an aging back. The force of life is all about perseverance and does not go down easily. I got a turtle and bluebird picture also. That is what is happening.




You can see the talons well in all three of these pictures. They have four on each foot and can form them into a diamond shape when they grab their prey. I imagine there is no getting out of that.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks John.

Love those owls.

What kind of turtle do they call that one?





______________________________________

Andy Guibord and I were very fortunate to fish with Captain Kevin Dorin and learned his top water fly fishing method for the Delta.

KD told us that May was his favorite month for topwater LMB in the Delta.

A friend of ours, who fished with KD a lot, told me the best day he ever had in the Delta for LMB on topwater was in August.



Captain Andy Guibord learned KD's method very well and can take people down to the Delta.

Andy told me the best day he ever had in the Delta for topwater LMB was when the water was like glass all day long.

We just bought our topwater spun deer hair bass flies from Umpqua.

Andy also knows the flies well and even how KD "tuned them up".

KD used Russ Peak line dressing to keep his hair bugs floating.


Andy Guibord usually works on the weekends at Fly Fishing Specialties, and if you come in, he will help you with anything related to fly

fishing for anything. Andy has traveled with group and fished in many locations around the world.



There is LMB fishing all over Florida. If there is water, it has bass and panfish in it.

[EricO]

Just outstanding pictures John. I love your bird pics. Ever see many hummingbirds or are they
difficult to get on camera due to their speed? I have a literal war going on at my house up here
in Colfax...a couple "bully" males and a bunch of females fighting for two feeders.

Some of them hit wings during their fight. Aggressive little suckers!

Eric

[John H]

Hummingbirds are fierce and very territorial from what I have seen. Same as you have seen they tear around the yard fighting and chasing each other. If one is at the feeder another will dive in on him and the chase is on. I have gotten some pictures. You have to wait and catch them when they hover to feed. There is a whole travel industry set up around hummingbirds. Fly to Costa Rica, stay at a lodge and shoot hummingbirds on feeders they have set up with multiple flashes synced to your camera. Not very sporting but you are guaranteed to come home with a great picture. Crazy but true.

That is the western pond turtle. I think that is all that is around here but I don’t really know.

[DLJeff]

If you can find the flower bushes they're feeding on and stake them out you can get some nice shots of hummers. They seem to return to feeding pretty quickly after you get established. Backyard feeders work too but I prefer to not get the feeder in the photo. We only see Rufous and Anna's hummers in our yard but we are supposed to see Calliopes here too. In my opinion the key to good hummingbird photos is getting the light from the right direction so the iridescence shows.

[John H]

Very nice. The feeder shot is okay but once you have that you want the flower shot. I have staked out fuschia in Oregon and gotten a few shots. Anna’s and rufous same as you see. Here in Davis I have only seen Anna’s.

[EricO]

I was really hoping to see some Rufous up here in Colfax. Thought they were more common as you get to the foothills. But so far, only Anna’s buzzing around here. Just love watching these hyper little birds do their thing.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

My cousin lives in the Coast Range between LA and San Diego, in Vista, and he gets the wily Roadrunners around his property.

[DLJeff]

You should see rufous hummingbirds around Colfax. They migrate south to north in the early summer (and vice versa in the winter) and I would think they'd pass right through Colfax. They do seem to prefer higher elevation. slightly cooler temps so they might not stick around long. I bet they're around just difficult to spot, like our calliopes here. We have western bluebirds here but I have not seen a single one around the yard. But go up the butte above us, hundred feet of elevation and I see them regularly. Same with magpies. Lots of them along the Deschutes and the ranchs on both sides, but rarely around our house. I don't know why the maggies don't range this way.

[John H]

We have a lot of western bluebirds here. They are cavity nesters and people tend to remove all the trees, especially the old ones with cavities, so the local birders put up a lot of nesting boxes. 20 years ago, there was one pair nesting in Davis. Now there are many. Tree swallows also use the nesting boxes. I found a box floating in Putah Creek, salvaged it and put it up at Berryessa in a spot I can see it well. I will see if anything nests in it next year. I saw bluebirds nesting in a cavity near the spot where I put it so I think the chances are good. I found another box a few weeks ago, fixed it up and hung it up near the Creek. I should build some but don’t have a good saw. A small table saw would be perfect.

Here are owl shots I got last week. Young owls with adult feathers partially grown out. They really like to bury themselves deep in the trees and hide out. I need to go look for something other than owls but I am not sure what.



You have to like eye level owl shots. You don't get those much.