Christmas Tree Lake 2019

For those of you that live in the polar regions of this particular planet, you’ll have no sympathy for me. If, like me, you live in a desert where the temperatures routinely approach 120 degrees Farenheit in the summer, read on and feel my pain.

On May 26, I retrieved Mark Merrill from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (he lives in Sacramento) and we shopped for the trip’s food on the way out to Superior (that’s where I live). So far so good. The next morning, we loaded up and took off for the White Mountains by about 10:00am. The goal was to get to the Hondah Sporting Goods Store to pick up our Christmas Tree Lake fishing permit for May 28 and 29, plus a floating craft permit for each day, which is now required by the White Mountain Apache Tribe, PLUS a camping permit. All told, this cost us $107 total. I was thinking this better be good.

Jeff Martin and Rick Allen both met us at the Hawley Lake Campground that evening and we all had dinner in camp together, breakfast the next morning too, and we made sandwiches for lunch on the lake.

It was ery cold that night, but it did get a bit warmer each day we were there. The temps on Tuesday morning were well under freezing, and none of us were enjoyng it very much. It was COLD!

We got to the lake about a half hour before Lee Lynch, who drive up from downtown Phoenix. The five of us did not do well, thougha few fish were caught. Mark probably did the best of us having caught 4 fish on a LaFontaine Sparkle Caddis Pupa. Others caught a fish or two on that and other stuff to weird to even talk about. That first day, I got skunked.

The next day, we arrived at the lake by around 10:00am and it started off well enough, but after a fish or two, the lake turned off. I, again got skunked, until the afternoon when I finally hooked into two fish. One on a the aforementioned Caddis Pupa and anther on a black Zebra Midge with a white bead head. Jeff caught a number of fish earlier in the day on that fly, and I was becoming desperate to get the stink off.

There were billions of very small midges hatching, but nothing else. I think the air temperature and of course water temperature were just too cold to promote much insect activity. So, these hatchery raised fish had no idea what to do! Mark figured out that if you could cast immediately into the ring of a rising fish, they would turn and take the fly, whatever it was, almost immediately. They are still used to pellets being thrown in to the water, and in the absence of any actual food to eat, they reverted back to pouncing on anything that seemed like a pellet.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Summer 2019 Plans

As the winter has rolled along, the house improvements have become more visible. But, the fishing has been virtually non-existent! Time to change that.

Later this month, Mark Merrill flies into Phoenix from Sacramento, and we’re headed up into the White Mountains to fish Christmas Tree Lake for two full days. The dates we will be there are May 27 and May 28. The plan is to camp at Hawley Lake for three nights. Jeff Martin, Rick Allen, and Lee Lynch will be joining us.

I have written prior to this about Chistmas Tree Lake, but it is situated at 9000’ on the White Mountain Apache Tribe lands and requires a special permit to fish. The past few years I have attended Fish Camp there, before it is opened for the general public, but the cost is pretty high, and frankly, it’s not worth the expense, unless you want someone to cook for you. This trip is our own “Fish Camp”!

June promises more house projects, but starting on July 1, I drive to Las Vegas to meet Mark Merrill again. We’re headed to the Ruby Lake NWR in central Nevada. I’ve written about this before too. We will arrive July 2 and fish for 3 full days before leaving on July 6.

From there, we are headed to Thermopolis, Wyoming where we have rented an Airbnb and will fish the Wind River. Our plan is to fish there on July 7, 8, and 9. On July 10, we are headed to Missoula, Montana where we meet up with Bill Elk on the 11th. The three of us have rented three separate cabins on Rock Creek beginning July 12. We will be fishing Rock Creek from the 13th to the 17th. Both Bill and Mark fly home on the 18th.

Then, I have another trip into the Bob Marshall WIlderness on thr South Fork of the Flathead River. This trip begins on July 23 and the take out is on July 31. Kim Pomeroy and Rick Allen are joining me for this one.

After that, I have no specific fishing plans except that Jeff Martin may fly into Denver and the two of us will fish our way back to Arizona. I do have a side trip to Boulder, Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park to climb a few of the classic routes there with Steve Terjak.

Once back in Arizona, I will probably take a few days to put everything away and then head to Southern California for more family time. I may fish the salt there a few days though.

As always, let me know if you can meet me in any of these places. I’d be happy to spend some time discussing fly rods, your preferences, and analyzing your cast, so I can hopefully put in your hands, the best fly rod you’ve ever cast.

Silver Creek Report 2/26/19 and 2/27/19

Lee was at my house a little after noon on Tuesday and we headed up to Show Low in my truck. We were fishing by 3:00pm. Due to recent weather, there was about 4” of snow covering the ground, which made for intereting walking into the best parts of Silver Creek. The lower section didn’t seem to hold many fish and we found ourselves at the first large pool rather quickly. I caught nothing and worked my to the upper section, while Lee crossed the creek and fished from the other side. Later, he said he caught a few there, while I caught 5 or 6 in the upper pools. One was a bruiser. Typical of Silver Creek, there did not seem to be that one fly that worked consistently. A long black midge larvae with sparkle for a tail hung under a BWO worked for me. Lee caught his on a Zebra Midge in red. Go figure.

We fished until almost dark and the next day we were on the creek by 8:30am. Lee landed only one fish and I none. The temps were quite a bit warmer this second day and there was a cloud over. Fish were active, but we just couldn’t find the right combination. The only technique that attracted some interest was moving the fly throught the water. I got a few strikes while giving the fly some action and Lee caught his on a casting up-take motion. We left for home at about 12:30pm.

The next scheduled trip is 3/15/19 with Rick Allen. We may go to SIlver Creek again. Stay tuned.

Another Silver Creek Outing 2/26/19 and 2/27/19

Well, it’s been a whiile since I’ve been flinging flies. My buddy Lee Lynch proposed an overnight trip to Silver Creek and I immediately accepted. We’ll fish the afternoon on 2/26/25 and stay over night in Show Low. On 2/27/19, we’ll fish until we drop. Look for my white Tundra with magnetic sign on the tailgate advertising Coast to Coast Fly Rods. See ‘ya on the creek!

Silver Creek

This is getting to be a habit, fishing Silver Creek near Show Low, Arizona. This time it was with a local Superior resident named James Grey. James, in his younger years, was in the music industry, playing bass for various rock and roll bands. He’s brushed elbows with The Allman Brothers and Vince Gill, to name just a couple.

I lost count of the number of fish I caught at 7. This means I caught 7, or maybe as many as 10. I just don’t know. It was a pretty good day though, having landed 3 of the large Rainbows in Silver Creek. The first one went maybe 22”. The last one was at least 6” longer. Taking into account a fisherman’s tendency to exagerate, we’ll call it a 20” fish and a 24” fish. Still, not bad for a small mountain stream in Arizona, even if it is stocked with these large trout.

James did not have as successful a day, but he enjoyed the day nonetheless. On the way home, we spoke of the similarities between fly fishing and playing the bass. An expensive instrument does not make one a better player. Nor does a high dollar rod make one a better caster or catcher. In both cases, the finer tool makes the experience so much more pleasurable. You just have to practice your craft, whatever it is. Spend time doing the thing, whether you’re good at it or not. With repetition comes mastery.

So, a custom fly rod won’t make much difference in your success rate, but you will enjoy the learning curve so much more. If you want to enjoy the process more, contact me. We’ll find a blank to fit your style and budget.

Galveston Bay Redfishing

The trip was to fish for three days in Galveston Bay for Redfish. Mission accomplished. It was also a chance for 4 guys to see if we really get along or not. Mission accomplished. We do.

Jeff Martin and I flew from Phoenix to Houston on November 3, while Rick Allen and John Strayer flew in on November 4. Each team of two had hired a guide for three days, starting November 5.

All trips have “issues” and this one was no different. Most of the problems encountered were logistical, for example; my 2 piece 10’ 7wt. Scott rod didn’t arrive in Houston on the same flight as I did. It was kind of a hassle to get Southwest to track it down for me, but eventually the proper forms were filled out and it was delivered to our hotel later that same night. Not too bad.

Then I had reserved a rental car and on the paperwork the pickup location was listed as “EZ”. Nobody at Houston Hobby knew what that was. We waited for a shuttle with those letters on it, but after 30 minutes I figured it wasn’t going to show. So I tried calling a company named EZ Car Rental (the rental company was not listed on my paperwork). The person that answered could barely speak English and spoke very softly. It was very noisy at the curb, so I had no chance of actually hearing or understanding what it was they were saying. We opted to rent from Budget instead. This turned out to be a good thing, since the cost was actually less than EZ!

We found a nearby Motel 6 and booked a room. The first room had a small refrigerator that leaked water all over the floor, so we requested another room. The new room card did not unlock the door. I went to the lobby and got replacement cards. Those didn’t work either. Next, the manager sent maintenance up and it turns out the door handle had to be lifted rather than pushed down in order to open! Who knew? Once we entered, the room was nice enough but had an odd aroma about it. We decided we’d had enough drama, and elected to stay.

Fast forward to late the next day when we met the other two guys in this adventure, Rick Allen and John Strayer. Rick flew in from Phoenix to Houston Hobby and rented a car. John flew in from Michigan but arrived at George Bush International on the other side of Houston. So, Rick had to drive from Hobby to GBI and then all the way to Galveston.

We met our two guides at the same location the next morning at 6:30am. In the process of putting my rod away for the trip out to the selected fishing location, I broke the tip off the rod. I used a rod provided by the guide the rest of that day, but the next two days I used my back up rod; a 9’ 8wt. Sage Z-Axis with a Tibor Everglades reel. Yup, that’s my backup redfish rod.

I caught one fish that first day. Jeff caught none. Rick and John did no better. John caught one. All of us got skunked day 2. I hooked 2 fish our last day and landed only one of them. Here are photos of the 2 fish

Both guides said that the conditions were pretty tough: way off color. We had a very hard time spotting fish. By the time we saw them, the boat was right on top of them and they spooked rather easily. They told us that it had to do with unusually high tides washing silt into the water and warmer than normal air and water temperatures.

Fly fishing for redfish is not easy in the best of conditions. These conditions were considerably less than ideal. It’s a lot of money to spend to not catch fish and I’m not sure any of the other 3 guys will want to do it again. I won’t give up that easily. I just will watch tides and weather a bit closer from now on.

Another Trip to Silver Creek

So, the week after I get back from Redifshing in Texas, I’m headed up to Silver Creek again. This time with a local guy from Superior named James Grey. James is THE bass player here in Superior, and you can hear him play in many an ensemble from rock and roll to country to avant garde stuff. I’m told he is very good at what he does by those that know more about this sort of thing. James claims to be a novice fly fisher, but I have my doubts about this. I’m prepared to be humbled.

Anyway, we head up to Silver Creek on 11/15. I pick him up at his house at 5:00am. Come on up and join us, if so inclined. I’m pretty sure it will be James catching all the fish!

Galveston Bay

I’m off to Houston this Saturday with Jeff Martin. Rick Allen and his buddy John Streyer fly in Sunday morning. We have an Airbnb lined up for the four of us in Galveston, where we are fishing for Redfish for three days. Each team of two has their own guide on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The weather looks good with a few scattered clouds, maybe a bit of rain, but no hurricane in the forecast! Temps will be in the 70’s, so we should do well. Report to follow.

October 2018 White Mountain Report

I was up early on the 17th and made the drive up to Silver Creek where I met Bill Bendt and Mike Caporaso. We fished together through Friday and stayed at Mike’s house in Pinetop, a luxury to which I could get accustomed!

The fishing started out slow, but by the time we quit for the day we each had caught multiple Silver Creek behemoths. The standard rig worked well - a Simi Seal Leech and a Zebra Midge all suspended under an indicator. Here’s a photo of me with one of these large Rainbows.

The next day we headed over to Becker Lake and fished most of the day. It was a sunny day with virtually no wind, so it was nice, but between the three of us, only two fish were landed. I was only able to hook one for about two seconds, so it was a very slow day for me.

After that, we decided to go take a look at Carnero Lake. It is very low. It may not even be fishable. But, at 9000’ elevation, it sure is a pretty spot.

Friday, the 19th, saw us back to Silver Creek. I only caught two fish the whole day and knocked off early to make my way down the hill. I was home by 6:15pm.

Summer 2018 Fishing Report

As I sit here in Ballard (a part of Seattle), I am beginning to reflect on how truly great the fishing has been for me on this trip up to now. The first stop was the San Juan River, where I fished on July 16 and 17. It was warm on the Juan, but the fish were definitely feeding on midges, as per usual. Both days were great.

From there, I drove to Colorado Springs and stayed with my friend Kim Pomeroy and his wife, Gina. Kim and I fished the South Platte River in Elevenmile Canyon on July 19 and 20. I caught one right away on a black beetle imitation, but from then on, it was small mayfly nymphs (think RS2's) that the fish were most interested in.

From Colorado Springs, I drove to Boulder to hang out with my friend Steve Terjak. Steve doesn't fish, so we climbed one day and hiked with Todd Paulsmeyer into Rocky Mountain National Park another. The main focus was to get a glimpse of a climbing route there. I discovered that there is a plethora of fly fishing choices within the park though. Next summer...

I picked up Mark Merrill at the Denver airport on July 25, and we drove to the South Fork of the White River near Buford, Colorado. We fished there for the next 2 days and caught a number of fish. I got close to a Grand Slam one day by catching a Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Brown Trout, and a Whitefish - missing it by just one Brook Trout! The fish were not picky at all, so almost anything large and visible caught fish - Humpies, Royal Wulffs, Elk Hair Caddis, etc...

From there, we drive to the upper Green River above Pinedale, Wyoming on July 27 and fished there for the next 2 days as well. Oh my, this was a gem! We both caught so many Rainbows we lost count, and one of mine went 20" or better! The camping here is great and if you stay out of the developed campgrounds, it's free! The fish were a little more selective here, but not overly so. Small dry mayfly initiations seemed to do the trick. I used BWO's quite a bit.

Then, Mark and I headed to Rock Creek near Phillipsburg, Montana on July 30. We stayed at some cabins he knew of (but are not well advertised). Rock Creek was stupendous and I again missed a Grand Slam by just a Whitefish! Again, these fish are not snotty about what they rise to, so the big bushy dry flies worked well. This place  needs to be explored more, as the best fishing was further from the campground. A whole wilderness area upstream of the campground awaits. A good backpack trip is in my future here!

Mark flew out of Missoula on August 2 and I met up with Bill Bendt and his wife Teri, along with their friend Bob Bouchet. On August 5 the three of us guys rode into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for 28 miles and were dropped off at the river where Gordon Creek enters. For the next 9 days we fished for Westslope Cutthroat Trout. We caught mostly small fish, but there were enough larger fish mixed in to hold our interest. In any case, it was a great float.

After that, I headed to Seattle to meet my wife and no more fishing for awhile. If you have any interest in the particulars of any of these rivers, just give me a shout. And of course, if you want a truly customized fly rod, you know who to call!

2018 Summer Plans Firmed Up

Well, the summer plans are pretty much set. I depart home on Superior, AZ on July 15 and will be fishing the San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico on July 16 and 17. On the morning of the 18th, I head to Colorado Springs to visit my high school buddy, Kim Pomeroy, who has promised a day or two of fishing somewhere nearby.

On July 21, I head to Boulder, Colorado, to visit with a new friend Steve Terjak. I think we will be climbing a bit while I’m in Boulder. From there, I meet Mark Merrill at the Denver Airport on July 25. Mark and I will most likely head immediately to Meeker, Colorado to fish the White River for at least a couple of days. Our only commitment is that I need to be in Missoula, Montana on August 2. We may get there a couple of days early to fish in the Missoula area.

On Augsut 5, I head into the Bob Marshall Wilderness on horseback to float the South Fork of the Flathead River with Bill Bendt and his buddy (I haven’t figured out his name yet). Our takeout is all the way down near Hungry Horse Reservoir on August 14.

From there, I will be spending a night in Missoula before heading for the Washington Seep Lakes region. My wife flies into Seattle on August 18. From there, no fishing is planned.

If you want to meet up somewhere during this summer’s travels, let me know. I’d love to spend some time fishing with you and analyzing your cast, so I can build you a fly rod, customized specifically for you.

June 14, 2018 Chevelon Report

Rick Allen and I met in Payson as planned and made the drive up on the rim and back into Chevelon. We saw a cow elk on the way and when we finally made it to the top of the trail, it was just short of 9:30am. The hike down is about 1/4 mile and we were fishing by a little after 10:00am.

The lake is quite low. The upper end is basically a series of mud flats with very shallow water. The water year in Arizona has been dismal.

Rick caught 3 fish the whole day and I only got about 4 bumps. The catching really sucked! But, we only saw two other people all day. As I've said before, I've never really done well at Chevelon, but I've had some nice days and the scenery never disappoints. However, the lake is going to need water before I go back again.

Chevelon Canyon Lake

With the fire season upon us here in Arizona, finding a place to fish has been a bit more difficult than usual. We experience closures of the forest every year and this year is no exception. However, the road into Chevelon Canyon Lake is open as is the lake. So, Rick Allen are headed in there this Thursday, June 14.

We meet at the Safeway in Payson at 7:00am. I'm expecting we'll get to the trailhead by 8:30am and be fishing by 9:30am. Last time we did this we caught a number of fish on Simi Seal Leeches, Arizona Peacock Ladies, and Nosepicker Nymphs. I'll go armed with those same flies but will add some Damsel Nymphs to the arsenal. I also think some zebra midges might get some interest too, as long as they are deep.

Report to follow. If you are reading this and want to join us, we will be at the extreme upper end of the reservoir in float tubes. Hopefully, we'll be the ones catching all the fish!

Bear Canyon Lake

Last Thursday, May 17, I had the opportunity to go fishing with my brother Paul Gunn and his friend John English. I suggested we go to Bear Canyon Lake, since I had heard of a guy catching a lot of fish there only two weeks before on a weighted White Crystal Bugger. Paul and John are not experienced fly fishers, but they readily agreed to the plan. We met the night before in a nearby campground and got up the next morning for about a 10:00am start on the lake.

I had brought enough float tubes, fins, and waders for us all. I even tied up a bunch of flies for them, including the supposedly secret weapon. They caught nothing, but got bumped a few times - each of them hooked one but did not land it. I caught only two fish the whole day, one on the Crystal Bugger and the other on a Beadhead Black Woolly Bugger.

That wasn't the highlight of the day, however. As we entered the lake, we noticed a group of folks airing up these huge floating platforms that people can sit on, lay on, etc... Another couple of guys were setting up cameras and lights. My first thought was that they were shooting a pornographic film, but as I kicked over for a closer inspection, it looked like a fashion shoot for swimwear or maybe a commercial shoot. Either way, it was kind of entertaining to watch and listen to the director telling the "actors" what to do.

You never know what you'll run into out there. It's always interesting though. Need a rod? Give me a call. I'd love to discuss what constitutes your dream rod. By the way, I delivered a rod to a guy (Bill Bendt) in Tucson (my wife and I were headed there Friday night anyway). It was an odd request, and I hope the rod does what he wants it to do. It was a 10' 3wt. very soft rod for dynamic nymphing. He says he'll let me know how it goes. This is the kind of request I get all the time - something unusual.

Fish Camp at Christmas Tree Lake

The story this year was WIND - lots of it! It never really let up, but the 21 of us attending, fished anyway. And wow did we catch fish!

The hot location was at the far end of the dam right in the corner. The hot fly was the sparkle caddis pupa once again, though guys caught fish on other flies too. The average size Apache Trout brought to net was right at 15", and the largest fish I heard about was a 20" behemoth. Some guys reported catching Brown Trout here and there.

I caught a few fish on a damsel nymph and we did see a few adult damselflies out and about. Another popular fly was the White Crystal Bugger. I have no idea why this fly works - maybe a bait fish that has lost its coloration???

Everything was fished subsurface and fairly deep. There seemed to be some near surface feeding activity but they kept eating our flies, so nobody switched to an emerger pattern to check it out.

All in all, it was a successful weekend and everyone agreed that they had a great time despite the wind. Maybe next year the fish will be even bigger and there will be less wind.

Mishap Before Christmas Tree

Okay, well I’m getting ready for Fish Camp next week and I had to tie up a few loose ends at the house. One of those dangling chores was to rack a batch of homebrew into a secondary fermenter. All was going fine until the very end when I was cleaning the primary fermenter. I turned it upside down to drain it and it slipped out of my hands, hit the concrete at my feet, and shattered. The result: 6 stitches in my middle finger of my left hand. Crap!

I’m hoping the bandage can be at least streamlined before Friday, so it’s not so cumbersome. The real issue is that this will put a damper on my rock climbing for a while. Crap!

Fish Camp is held by the White Mountain Apache Tribe at Christmas Tree Lake. You can show up as early as 1:00pm of your first day and fish until whenever you want. You leave by about noon on your last day. They provide all the food, heated tents, cots, and of course fishing on the lake, which is renowned for holding very large Apache Trout. The cost is $225 per day, so I paid $450 for a really cool weekend with folks that might be interested in a custom fly rod. The guy that organizes this thing for this particular bunch of fishermen likes to hold give away raffles, so I’m donating my labor for a custom fly rod to the cause.

The Federal Fish and Wildlife Service has two hatcheries in the area, and they plant the lake with some of the older (and larger) brood stock in their hatcheries. Before I knew about Fish Camp, I had to wait until June for the lake to be opened to the public (for a fee). It seemed when I fished Christmas Tree, there were always a couple of guys really intent on catching the Apache Trout world record. It certainly is possible.

I have a friend, who is now retired from the USFWS, who was working at one of the hatcheries that raise these fish at the time I met him. He invited me to come up and help the crew “spawn” the fish. We corralled the males and females, stripped the males of sperm and “mixed” it with the females. We handled numerous world records that day – and those are the fish that get planted. The problem is that once they enter the lake, their steady food supply is gone and they begin to lose weight. If you want a world record, you have to catch one soon after it has been released.

Lee Lynch is coming to get me Friday (May 11) morning early and we’re going up to the White Mountains. We’ll fish Horseshoe Cienega until noon or so, and then we'll head into Christmas Tree. Sunday morning (May13), we’re getting up early again and heading back home for Mother’s Day activities. Nearly two full days of fishing and I don’t have to plan a thing! Heaven! And, I could get a customer or two out of the deal.

Carnero Lake

My wife and I found ourselves invited to Pinetop in the White Mountains in Arizona for the weekend of April 13, 14, and 15 by some friends we've known for quite some time. Andy and Deanne Cary were gracious hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed the weekend with them in one of their two cabins they rent out via VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). If you are looking for another source of a good vacation rental besides Airbnb, try this company.

Andy has fished a bit but hadn't picked up his fly rod for a couple of years, so I asked if he'd be interested in fishing for a day while we were up there. He was enthusiastic, and I arranged for Mike Caporaso to fish with us as well. I had to borrow a float tube for Andy so we could take advantage of the best fishing the White Mountains had to offer. We collectively decided that Carnero Lake might be just the ticket. Sitting at about 9000' and somewhat protected by the wind, we made our way out there on April 15 and were fishing by about 9:00am.

The entry into the lake has not changed much. It is tough getting through the weeds that rim the perimeter, but once out into open water, the tubing was much easier. In past years, the weeds nearly filled the lake but this year, such is not the case, at least not yet. After kicking around for a bit, I found a pocket on the far side, near where a Bald Eagle was perched, that seemed to produce hits. I caught 3 and missed another 4. Mike caught 1 and had many other hits. Andy didn't catch a single fish, but probably had more hits than any of us. The fly of the day was a #10 Simi Seal Leech in black/red with a glass beadhead fished on or near the bottom. A few strips here and there seemed to produce better than anything else.

In the past, I have fished this lake and have done okay, catching the usual 12" stocker fish. But this time, we caught nice sized fish averaging about 16" with at least one going 18". If you're interested in this lake and catching these strong holdover fish, I suggest getting there soon. The weeds are sure to begin choking the lake and the temperatures are rising fast, which will make this lake essentially unfishable before the end of June.

I had just finished building a rod for Mike (a 9' 5wt. Winston Boron III LS) and he took delivery of it on this trip. He fished with it at Carnero and loved it. He was very impressed with how it looked and cast. As always, if you are interested in a custom rod, give me a call or drop me an email.

Pyramid Lake

The trip to Pyramid Lake was a success! We arrived on March 4 and fished the next 3 days, and returned home on March 8. There were numerous fish caught in our three days of fishing, all averaging 3 to 4 lbs., but Rick Allen caught the largest fish of the trip. Here is a photo of him and his 8 lb. fish.

Because of the possibility of hooking into extremely large fish, this is a fairly busy fishery. Fishermen line up with their ladders on beaches and points as early as 3:00am each day to “reserve” their spot on the lake. They set out their ladders, and then head for the truck until 5:30am, when it is legal to start fishing. Here’s a photo of me standing on the platform of the ladder our guide provided.

It is definitely a weird sub-culture of the fly fishing fraternity, and its members communicate with one another when they find a hot spot. A large fish caught by one is a fish caught by all, or at least that’s the way it seemed to me. When we hooked a fish, other fishermen actually cheered for us!

As it turns out, March is a transition month for this fishery. The fish are in pre-spawn mode and start migrating to where they were first introduced to the lake. There is a fairly aggressive stocking program of two distinct strains of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout: the Pilot Peak strain (which was thought to be extinct until it was found about 20 years ago in a very tiny creek on the Nevada/Utah border) is stocked by the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the Summit strain is stocked by the Pyramid Lake Piute Tribe. Interestingly enough, the adipose fin is clipped off of the Pilot Peak fish before being stocked, so they are easy to differentiate. It doesn’t really matter though – both grow to be very large! As a result, the fishing begins to pick up in March, but the size of the average fish caught goes down. I’m told that by April, the fish are virtually everywhere in the shallower water. These are fish that are looking to spawn, so they gain quite a bit of color and their energy level drops. As a result, the fish at this time are not strong fighters. We experienced that in most of the fish we caught. Only one or two of our fish were actually played “on the reel”. Here is Jeff Martin with a fish in full spawning color.

Our guide suggested that the first week of December was an excellent time to be fishing Pyramid. He said that the worst weather is basically the best time to fish it, so as winter sets in, the water temperature begins to drop, which brings the bigger fish out of the depths and into shallower water - within reach of the fly caster. These fish are not spawners and appear more silvery or chrome. They tend to be larger fish and very strong and active.

We brought our own rods and reels based on Nick’s suggestions. I brought a 10’ 7wt. Scott rod I built many years ago. I have a weight forward floating line on one reel for it and installed a 200-grain sink tip line on another reel. I used my rod and sink tip to cast and strip a rig with two popcorn beetles attached. Nick provided another 7wt. line rigged for what is best describes as indicator fishing, where a brightly colored indicator is launched as far out as possible and hung underneath are a variety of flies (mostly size 10 chironomid imitations and about the same size leech patterns). You simply cast and watch the indicator. Jeff and Rick caught a lot of fish that way. I simply got bored with it after about 15 minutes, and switched back to the stripping technique. I caught 80% of my fish stripping popcorn beetles. Jeff and Rick, exactly the opposite, but of course they caught way more fish than me. Call me stubborn!

I can count on one hand the number of times I have hired a guide, so my experience with them is limited. That being said, I must give kudos to Nick and Julianne Jackson of Pyramid Lake Guides. Jeff, Rick, and I booked their all-inclusive services (3 days guided fishing, 3 square meals each day, and accommodations). While we were not aware that the accommodations provided were beds in their personal home in Sutcliffe, Nevada, our initial concerns were abated by their easy going demeanor. Julianne is an excellent manager of the business (chief cook and bottle washer as well as marketing director, booking agent, and website manager) while Nick is up way too early each day to get out on the lake to place his ladders in prime spots for his clients. He knows nearly everyone that fishes the lake, so can usually find someone to watch his ladders while he returns home to fetch his clients. We were very grateful to get the extra couple of hours of sleep! As I said, the fishing begins at 5:30am and continues all day, or for as long as you can stand it. Breakfast was brought to us by around 8:30am and lunch was packed the night before. Dinner was usually an hour or two after returning from the day’s fishing. All food provided was excellent.

Incidentally, Nick and Julianne depart Pyramid near the end of March each year and migrate to Dutch John, Utah where Nick guides on the Green River through the end of September and Julianne works for various lodges and outfitters in the area. In November of 2017, somehow they found the time to get married and go on an Italian honeymoon.

Fishing Pyramid is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires a bit of perseverance, an ability to tolerate misery, and a singular focus to catch very large fish. The typical rod to use there is either a 7wt. or 8wt. and the indicator fishing typically is done using a switch rod setup, mostly because that fishing is done in spots where you have limited back cast room. I did not use the switch rod at all, since I was able to shoot a line with little room for the back cast.

Let me know if you want to fish Pyramid and need a rod built for it!

Summer 2018 Plans

It is never too early to plan the summer fishing trips and Bill Bendt, a friend of his, and me are planning a very unique fishing trip in Montana. The plan is to meet up in Missoula in early August and have ourselves, our pontoon boats, food, and camping gear packed by horseback into the middle of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, so we can float the South Fork of the Flathead River.

We'll float for 6 days and a packer will come into the wilderness to pack our stuff 3 or 4 miles around a gorge too treacherous to float and then we'll float an additional 3 or 4 days to Hungry Horse Reservoir. I've done the majority of this trip with Dave Hutchison back in 1998 or so. We did the initial float in 4 days and packed our stuff out to a trailhead, where our rental car was waiting. We hired someone to shuttle it up there from the pack station.

This time, Bill's wife Terry will be waiting for us at the takeout in their truck.

This is the largest continuous wilderness in the lower 48 states and is home to a vast array of wild animals, chief among them are the West Slope Cutthroat Trout. The South Fork is full of these fish, ranging in size from about 10" to close to 20". In addition, the river holds Bull Trout, but fishing for them is very different than fishing for the cuts. You use sinking lines and heavily weighted flies for the bulls and floating lines and large, bushy dry flies for the cuts.

The "Bob" is also chock full of Grizzly Bears, but in my experience they don't exactly hang out near the river in summer, due to higher temperatures and the number of people using the river corridor. Not that the river corridor is crowded by any means, but the bears get a little snotty about sharing, which is fine by me.

This has got to be one of the truly pristine fishing experiences in the world. If you fly fish, this trip has to at least be on your bucket list.

Pyramid Lake

The trip to Pyramid Lake is set. Jeff Martin, Rick Allen, and I leave the morning of March 4. There is a guide service that has accommodations right on the lake and they will pick us up at the Reno airport to transport us out there. They also provide food and of course a guide. We'll be there for three days - March 5, 6, and 7. When we're done fishing on the 7th, the guide will transport us back to Reno, or Sparks, where we will stay the night. Our flight home is very early the next morning.

If you have never heard of Pyramid Lake, it is the remnant of a much larger body of water that held a type of trout called Lahontan Cutthroats. These trout grew to gigantic sizes and still swim the waters of Pyramid Lake, though now smaller in size. Still, there is a good chance for a fisherman to hook into a 10lb+ trout, and a remote chance to break the mythical 20lb threshold.

There is no outlet to Pyramid and it is fed by the Truckee River, which drains Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River is a pretty good trout fishery in its own right, and it also has a white water rafting run. There is what is called a white water rodeo in downtown Reno every year, where kayakers compete in various skills competitions.

For our first trip to Pyramid, we decided to hire a guide rather then do it ourselves. Subsequent trips we'll be on a budget and if the fishing at Pyramid is slow, we'll explore the Truckee.

March is a good time to be at Pyramid, since this is when the larger trout are cruising into the shallower water within reach of the wading fisherman. The tradition at Pyramid is to wade out as deep as you can with your rod in one hand and a step ladder in the other. You set up the step ladder and ascend as high as you feel safe and start slinging heavy flies on a sinking line as far out as you can. Then retrieve slowly and erratically. Wind is a constant out there, and March can be quite cold. We'll bring our woollies!