Well, it has been a while since I have added to this blog due to fishing trips including trips to Bailey Creek Lodge(more on this trip later) and Alaska.  Hopefully, I will be more attentive from now on!

Pat and I have just arrived back from a two week trip to Alaska; a combination fly fishing, photography and sight seeing expedition.  Pat’s requirements for this trip included seeing grizzly bears along with fishing for trout and sockeye salmon. She more than fulfilled her requirements!

Copper River Fresh Run Sockeye

The first week of the trip we spent at Legend Lodge in Intricate Bay on Lake Iliamna, fishing the Copper and Gibraltar Rivers.  We arrived at the lodge late due to low  flight ceiling levels that would not allow the float plane to land.  We did arrive early in the afternoon, however, and were promptly hustled into jet boats for the ride to the Copper.  The Sockeye had just started migrating into the river the prior day and a short ride up the Copper put us into schools of “Red’s” as the salmon are commonly known.  As most fly tying anglers are inclined to do,  I had tied a lot of “recommended” flies. The guide took one look at at them, shook his head, and tied on a #4 hook with gold dumbbell eyes, no body, and a hunk of orange glo-bug yarn.  The same thing happened to Pat!  We were instructed to cast over the line-up of fish and slowly draw the flies through them.  If a fish hit, we set the hook hard toward the bank and then the fight was on (Slight digression here, as we just had to remove a rattlesnake from under the foundation!).  I had heard that Sockeye salmon would not hit a fly and that you had to guide the fly into their mouth.  Wrong!  I spent time sitting on a grass bank, out of sight, watching salmon swim by less than 10 feet away and casting the fly into the schools.  Aggressive fish (one out of every five) would attack the fly when it got within a foot of them.  Some of the fish would go so far as to turn and take the fly as it passed behind them.  We caught a lot of salmon but, frankly, after the first few it was pretty easy, so Pat and I went trout hunting with the other jet boat and guide, leaving the “Reds” to the guys that wanted to fish for them.

The Copper, one of Trout Unlimited’s 100 best trout streams, is a beautiful river with spruce, willows and grasses along the banks.   There are many gravel bars and most of the lower river is easily wadable, even for old dudes, and it is full of rainbows, char and the occasional grayling.

Grizzly with salmon

The first and second days of the trip were the best for catching larger trout.  There were multiple rainbows in the 19 to 22 inch range with a lot of smaller fish in the 14 to 18 inch bracket.  As the sockeye continued to pour in and began to fill up the river, they dislodged the resident trout from their normal lies forcing them to the banks.  It takes a while for the rainbows to acclimate to the change and while the fishing was good the rest of the trip, the fish size decreased into the 12 to 16 inch range.  Later in the week, we saw numerous rainbows over 24 inches huddled along the banks but they didn’t seem to be interested in eating.  I would like to take this trip again in early June or early September, when the rainbows are not being disturbed by migratory fish.  However, this trip was set-up with the prime purpose of seeing grizzly bears up close and personal.  Boy, was that achieved!

This trip was very different from fly fishing here in California.  A lot of the fly fishing at this time of year is dry fly fishing, one of my favorite occupations.  One of the flies that Jack Johnson, the lodge owner, recommended that I tie up was a red-bodied Adam’s in sizes #12 to #14.  Against my better judgement, I tied up five dozen in the various sizes and was I glad, as probably 80% of the fish we caught on dry flies (rainbows and char) ate that pattern.  I probably have less than a half dozen left!

The other thing that threw me was that, for the most part, dead drifting a dry didn’t work very well.  These fish wanted the fly skating across the river.  There were some terrific strikes on this technique.  At times, you couldn’t let the fly hang down river as you did something else, because a fish would promptly hammer the fly.  Stimulators, elk hair caddis, and Goddard caddis all worked well using this technique.

Indicator nymphing with big stonefly nymph patterns and small droppers didn’t work all that well.  We did pick up a few fish, but dries were the most consistent rainbow takers.

Pat and I also used articulated leaches, regular leeches and wooly buggers in sizes #4 and #6 in black, black and purple, and purple.  Both the rainbows and the char nailed the leeches and wooly buggers.  I did try a small leach pattern in brown with a red glass bead head developed by Don Liljeblad for the Lower Yuba. Unfortunately, the Sockeyes found it irresistible!

Grayling, Gibraltar River, Alaska

We did take a trip over to the Gibraltar later in the week.  Unfortunately, the river had flooded out over the spring leaving a big log jam above the mouth and very little fishable area.  Pat and I walked upstream and caught a few grayling on dries while the “boys” caught salmon in the lower pools.  We didn’t spend much time there as the wind came up and Lake Iliamna began to get big waves, so we took off in the jet boat for a rough ride back to the Copper for the rest of the fishing day.

Well, there were plenty of bears to see.  Late on first afternoon, we were chased off the riffle and pool area we were fishing for salmon by a sow and her four cubs (I am not sure if the word late is correct.  This is definitely the land of the midnight sun.  It stayed light enough to read outside until after midnight, perhaps beyond, but I was sleeping).  We saw bear along the river every day we were there and most were what I call close encounters.  I can’t say that we felt any danger with the exception perhaps of the first afternoon’s encounter when it was obvious that “Mom” wanted us out of her water.  Even then, no rifles were uncased because she only threatened us by just slowly walking toward us leaving us plenty of time to get to the boat.  As the week progressed, the bears became much less concerned about the people, because they were able to fish and eat all night.  By the end of the week, the younger ones would quickly disappear into the brush as we approached.  Needless to say, I got a lot of great bear photos!

Dall Sheep, Denali National Park

The last part of the trip we spent in Denali National Park, the site of Mount McKinley.  Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions (low ceilings and rain) we joined the crowd of 80% of the people who don’t see the mountain on their visit.  Pat & I didn’t get any fishing in during this part of the trip, however, we did get to see all of the big five mammals in Denali ( Caribou, Grizzly Bear, Dall Sheep, Moose and Wolves).

Bill Sunderland and I spent last Friday and Saturday at the Fly Fishing Show in Pleasanton.  It was smaller than last years show, as most of the major rod companies failed to appear, but over all, the show was good.  It’s always fun to see everyone again and reminisce about old times and the past years fishing exploits. It is also fun to make new friends and to talk about going new places.

Frank Pisciotta, Marty Seldon, Bob Leonard

Bill spent both days signing his well received new book “FLY FISHING THE SIERRA NEVADA”  at the California Fly Shop booth along with Captain Mike Costello signing his new book “FLY FISHING THE CALIFORNIA DELTA”.  I have a proprietary interest in Bill’s book because I tied the flies that were featured in it and both Pat and I appear in his chapter on the North Yuba!  Mike’s book shows you how to fish the Delta, the kinds of fish available and the flies and tackle needed.  I will do a full review later.

Bill Sunderland (left) and customer

I spent a lot of time talking to people who are familiar with Alaska fly fishing.  Pat and I will be in Alaska fishing the Copper and Gibraltar rivers in July.  The trip has a double purpose in that, not only are we going to fish, but we are going to fulfill Pat’s dream of getting a chance to fish with the bears.

The tenth international Wild Trout Symposium will be held September 27th-30th, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone, Montana.  Originated in 1974, this symposium offers exposure to the latest information on status, science,technology, philosophy, and preservation of cold-water-wild salmonid.  Obtain additional information at www.wildtroutsymposium.com

SKWALA STIMULATOR

HOOK:  Tiemco #200 size 10

THREAD:  Olive 8/0

EGG SACK:  Black 1/8 inch foam

RIBBING:  Small copper Ultra Wire

ABDOMEN:  Yellow Sunburst Caliente or yellow synthetic dubbing mixed with a small pinch of pearl Lite-Bright

ABDOMEN HACKLE:  Black Saddle

WING:  Black Web Wing

OVER WING:  Bleached Elk

HACKLE:  Black Saddle

LEGS-ANTENNA:  Medium Black Rubber

THORAX:  Black Caliente or black synthetic dubbing mixed with a pinch of pearl Lite-Bright.

1. Cut piece of black foam 1/4 inch wide.  Round off one end, this will imitate the egg sack.  Tie the foam in over the hook barb with the rounded end extending back 1/4 inch.  Clip off the waste foam.  Tie in the ribbing and then dub the abdomen up to the 2/3 mark.
2. Tie in the black saddle by the butt (fibers should be no longer than the hook gape) and reverse rib back to the ribbing tie in point.  Use the ribbing to tie off the saddle and then bring the ribbing forward through the hackle to the end of the abdomen.
3. Clip the hackle ribbing flush with the top of the abdomen and cut a piece of Web Wing about two inches long (the width of the hook gape). Round one end to represent a folded stonefly wing and taper the sides to a width of approximately 1/2 the hook gape ( this will enable you to get the wing set properly).  Tie in with the rounded end of the wing extending about 1/8 inch beyond the egg sack.  Cut off the excess Web Wing.  Stack a small bunch of bleached elk and tie in on top of the Web wing tie off.  Trim off the excess.
4. Tie in black saddle hackle.  Cut two pieces of black rubber leg, each about two inches long.  Tie in one on each side of the thorax area from the end of the wing to just behind the hook eye leaving the center open for the dubbing and hackle.  The rubber leg material should extend along the body to the bend of the hook in back and in front about abdomen length; trim if necessary.  Dub the thorax and wind the hackle 4 to 5 times over the thorax and tie off behind  the antenna.  Whip finish behind the eye and cut the thorax hackle level with the body hackle.  This enables the fly to sit down in the surface film.

Skwala stoneflies do not cover a wide area of California but, thankfully, the Lower Yuba River has a substantial population as does the Truckee area.

The Skwala Stonefly is similar in appearance to the golden stone of early spring and summer but is smaller than the golden. The abdomen is a dirty yellow with a slight olive tinge (Why I use olive thread).  Also, the wings are dark gray unlike the golden stone’s light brown.  The hatch on the Lower Yuba can begin as early as December but usually doesn’t get started in earnest until early January.  You can fish this hatch into mid-April before the fish begin to lose their interest!

The adults are best imitated by a Stimulator type pattern in size #10 3x long.  Early in the emergence a bushy pattern will work but, as the hatch progresses, it is important that your imitation sits low in the surface film.  If you watch the female adult on the water, you will see that she looks like a black stick with moving legs.  The low riding artificials should include the female’s prominent black egg sack.

There are a few things to remember when you are fishing a dry adult pattern.  The adults hide out in the streamside willows and brush during the coldest part of the day.  The egg-laying flights don’t start until the temperatures are warm enough for the females to fly.  This normally happens in the early afternoon.  By fishing a dry fly alongside the willows and brush in the warmest part of the day, you will be fishing effectively.  You can tell when the fish begin to feed on the females.  The rise is an explosion, especially early in the emergence in January.  Later in the emergence, the rises will not be as explosive but will be heavy swirls.

As of 2/1/10 the flows are 1000 cfs with the visibility approximately 2-2 1/2 feet and improving daily.  The water temperature is in the low fifties.

Pick a Fly-Any Fly

There are still a few Skwala stoneflies egg-laying during the warmest part of the day along with PMD’s, BWO’s, and a few early March Browns.  The hatches are sporadic and you can go all day only seeing a few bugs and only one or two fish rising.

The best bet, if you don’t see any working fish, is to nymph a small brown stonefly pattern with a red San Juan Worm as a dropper about a foot off the nymph.

Swinging an olive crystal bugger with a #16 tan Bird’s Nest off the back on an intermediate line has also been productive.

Saturday was TENKARA DAY!   Tenkara is the traditional form of Japanese fly fishing.  There is no fly reel and no line as we know it, instead the line looks more like a ten foot furled leader.   The line is attached to the tip of an 11 to 13 foot 10 section telescoping graphite rod via a lillian braid.   The set up appears to be perfect for small streams.

Originally I wanted to try the system on the North Yuba in the pocket water first but, we got a late start, so we went to the Bear River in the meadow off Highway 20.   The Bear, in this section, is a tailwater composed of long pools with some  shallow riffles and medium deep runs bordered by willows on both sides.  Having never used the Tenkara system before, I would have preferred to practice on a more open river but you play the hand you are dealt.

After setting up the rod, Pat and I walked down the meadow to one of the more open areas.  I carefully slipped into the water and began to cast using a size #14  elk hair parachute caddis.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well the 13 foot tenkara rod handled in such close quarters.  It was great fun catching 8-10 inch beautifully marked  and colored browns.  Each movement of the fish is transmitted through the light flexible rod.  I must confess, however, that several times I found myself reaching for the line to make a retrieve  or feeling for the reel handle to land fish.  All in all,  it was a very satisfying experience and I am looking forward to doing more fishing with the Tenkara system.  More to follow.

Tenkara fishing on the Bear

Well, this was an interesting weekend!  I talked to Frank “The Hammer” Friday and was told that the fishing on the Little Truckee was good.  Lot’s of Baetis and the browns and kokanee were spawning in the riffles dropping eggs that the rainbows were greedily gobbling.

Pat and Maddy

Friday, Pat,  I and our two new dogs went up to the Little Truckee to fish with Frank.  The fishing was as advertised, except the weather was clear and warm which slowed the BWO hatch.

We did get a couple of nice rainbows in the 18-19 inch bracket on size 20 baetis imitations.   Frank hooked a larger brown on a size 20 black midge hung below an egg pattern but lost it after a short fight.   I really didn’t fish that hard.  We are trying to train our two new rescue dogs to be good fishing companions.  A great deal of time is spent with them which takes away from the fishing experience.  After a while, you get tired of trying to fish with a dog attached to your wading belt!

Rainbow from Frustration Pool

NORTH YUBA

The flow on the North Yuba is 130 cfs with a water temperature of 46 degrees in the late morning.  The water is low and clear.  The fall color has peaked for the most part except around Bassett’s Station.

There are a few October Caddis in the late afternoon, but the main emergence is over for the year.  Both adult and pupa patterns will still work  in the deeper runs and heads of pools in the afternoon because the fish recognize them.  During the morning and early afternoon, we have been using October Caddis cripples with small B/H dark nymphs( #14-#18) on 5x eighteen inches off the bend of the cripple.  Most of the fish are coming to the dropper.

FLIES:

NYMPHS:   Turkey Bead-Head #12-#16, Golden Stone Nymph #8-#12, B/H Prince #14-#16, Copper John #12-#16,Green Glass Bead Caddis #12-#16, B/H Hare’s Ear #12-#16, FBB/H Pheasant Tail #14-#16, Biot B/H #14-16, October Caddis pupa

DRIES:   Parachute Adam’s #14-#16, Elk Hair Caddis (olive, tan, brown and black) #12-14, Flying Ant #12-3x long, E/C caddis #12-#16 in tan and olive, parachute ant #12-#14, beetle patterns, Little Yellow Stones #16-#18, October Caddis adult #8, October Caddis Cripple #8

The flow on the North Yuba is 120 cfs with a water temperature of 48 degrees in the late morning.  The water is clear.  Flows should not get any lower for the rest of the year, especially with the storm that is predicted for Monday of the coming week.

The October Caddis are emerging now and there are good flights of egg-laying caddis in the afternoon from four-thirty in the afternoon until dark.  Both adult and pupa patterns will work  in the deeper runs and heads of pools in the afternoon.  During the morning and early afternoon, we have been using October Caddis cripples with small B/H dark nymphs( #14-#18) on 5x eighteen inches off the bend of the cripple.  Most of the fish are coming to the dropper.

FLIES:

NYMPHS:   Turkey Bead-Head #12-#16, Golden Stone Nymph #8-#12, B/H Prince #14-#16, Copper John #12-#16,Green Glass Bead Caddis #12-#16, B/H Hare’s Ear #12-#16, FBB/H Pheasant Tail #14-#16, Biot B/H #14-16, October Caddis pupa

DRIES:   Parachute Adam’s #14-#16, Elk Hair Caddis (olive, tan, brown and black) #12-14, Flying Ant #12-3x long, E/C caddis #12-#16 in tan and olive, parachute ant #12-#14, beetle patterns, Little Yellow Stones #16-#18, October Caddis adult #8, October Caddis Cripple #8

For the dry fly-fisherman who enjoys the warm days of early summer when hatches are prominent and the fish rise steadily, winter can be a long dreary experience. Happily, the Lower Yuba River can make those winter days fly by with good fishing and plenty of hatches to keep things interesting. This is the chronicle of one of those hatches.

Over the past few years, western anglers have begun to awaken to the presence of an early hatch of medium sized stoneflies. The Skwala stoneflies do not cover a wide area of California but thankfully the Lower Yuba River has a substantial population as does the Truckee area.

The Skwala Stonefly is similar in appearance to the golden stone of early spring and summer but is smaller than the golden. The abdomen is a dirty yellow with a slight olive tinge. Also, the wings are dark gray unlike the golden stone’s light brown. Like all stoneflies, the Skwala nymph prefers fast moving, well aerated, cold, clear water with a rock and cobble bottom. They become more active as the water temperature begins to pass 45 degrees. The emergence on the Lower Yuba can begin as early as late December but usually doesn’t get started in earnest until early January. You can fish Skwala patterns into mid-April before the fish begin to lose their interest!

Skwala Adult (top view)

The emergence begins as the nymphs start moving towards the banks. They are, as are most stoneflies, poor swimmers once they are dislodged from the bottom, which happens frequently as they migrate. Fish will look for them in the drift along the banks. Any golden stone nymph imitation in size #8-#10 will work as a searching pattern. However, be carefully that you are not wading where you should be fishing.  If you are interested in seeing the nymphs, you can overturn a few rocks at the water’s edge. When the migration is in full swing, there should be plenty of them for you to view.

Skwala Adult (bottom view)

Nymph fishing is best done with a two fly indicator system. The top fly is a stone nymph imitation with a small mayfly or caddis pupa dropper hung 12 inches either off the eye or bend of the top nymph. I will normally tie in a five inch piece of 4x monofilament to the end of a nine foot 4X tapered leader. The split shot are attached above the knot. The knot will stop the split shot from sliding down to the fly. You will need enough lead to get your fly to the bottom. The dropper monofilament can be either 4 or 5x.

The adults are best imitated by a Stimulator type pattern in size #10 3x long. Early in the emergence a bushy pattern will work but, as the hatch progresses, it is important that your imitation sits low in the surface film. If you watch the female adult on the water, you will see that she looks like a black stick with moving legs. The low riding artificial should include the female’s prominent black egg sack. The hackle on the adult pattern below has been cut on the bottom to allow the imitation to settle into the surface film.

Low riding Dry Fly Pattern

There are a few things to remember when you are fishing a dry adult pattern. The adults hide out in the streamside willows and brush during the coldest part of the day. The egg-laying flights don’t start until the temperatures are warm enough for the females to fly. This normally happens in the early afternoon. By fishing a dry fly alongside the willows and brush in the warmest part of the day, you will be fishing effectively. You can tell when the fish begin to feed on the females. The rise is an explosion, especially early in the emergence. Later in the emergence the rises will not be as explosive but will be heavy swirls. As there can be several different insects beside the Skwala stoneflies hatching during late January through April, you will need to watch the rises to be able to identify whether the fish are feeding on stoneflies, caddis or mayflies.

While we are on the subject of the adult, it might be well to mention that the Rocky Mountain area has a hatch of Skwala stone flies. However, these bugs are a different genus and are olive in color. The Skwala stone flies of the Lower Yuba and the Truckee are predominately yellow with only a tinge of olive. In my opinion, many of the patterns that appear in the fly shops are Rocky Mountain based and are much too olive. I normally tie my adult patterns with olive thread which lets the olive color bleed slightly through the yellow dubbing.

Although the Lower Yuba is a year around fishery with great early March Brown, Pale Morning Dun, Baetis and caddis hatches, I look forward to the Skwala emergence to begin brightening up my dreary winter!