Perch, perch and more perch

Last week we did a trip up to a lake at the California/Oregon border. It was Mike, Mace Andy and of course me.

In one of my books it says "If every person you knew caught a hundred yellow perch a day, every day from this lake you still could not put a dent in the population". After three days of nonstop action we now believe this statement to be true. I am not sure how many perch we caught, but it was pretty ridiculous. Overall the size of the fish are pretty small and we blame this on over population. It sounded like a good opportunity to keep some fish and make tacos. The electric fillet knife was humming away as we made tiny fillets for the best tacos I have ever eaten.

A nice bag of fillets.

I was shocked how good these tiny fish tasted.

All of the toppings for our tacos came from Mace's garden.

Mace frying up some tortillas.

The three stooges getting ready to eat.

Mike brought his boat and we used him as a taxi service to take us to different parts of the lake. We just loaded our float tubes in the boat and he would just drop us off where ever we liked.

Here comes our taxi.

One of Andy's first bites, he set so hard on the tiny fish it came flying out of the water, came unhooked and landed in the back of his float tube. We thought he swam away, only to find him three days later disguised as fish jerky in the back of Andy's tube.

Look closely, you can see a stowaway.

I think if it wasn't for the mixed bag of fish, we would of got bored catching so many perch. Along with the perch, we also caught: crappie, bass, green sunfish, golden shiners and some really nice trout.

We had the best campsite on the whole lake. We had a beautiful spot right on a creek that held wild rainbow trout. The creek was only a few hundred yards from the main lake. This made it extremely easy to just hop in our tubes and start fishing.

After three days of catching hundreds of tiny, but delicious perch. Andy and I had to get back to work. Mike and Mace needed something that would actually put a bend in there rod, so they decided to spend three more days fishing for striped bass. They did very well.

Fishing with three classics.

I talked Christy into taking a day off from work and join me for some pond fishing. The fish for the day would be bluegill, green sunfish and small bass. We woke up to overcast skies and I knew it would be a great day for some top water action. The pond had about a mile hike in and the surroundings were absolutely beautiful.

I have been spending quit a bit of time lurking over at the Fiberglass Manifesto blog. It is a great site and has really renewed my interest in glass rods.  I felt this would be a great day for me to fish with one of my classic glass rods.

Classic number one: An early grizzly 1 piece glass rod.

I scored this rod as a Christmas present from one of my customers when I had the fly shop. It was given to him by a relative that worked for Fenwick when they were located in southern California. It was brought to me as a blank, still in the original wrapping. I had it hanging around for some time, but could no longer resist and had my friend Jeff build it . It came uncut and you are supposed to add ferules. I decided to keep it a one piece. It is lighter as a one piece and casts great. I matched it up with a Hardy Perfect reel and a double taper four weight line. I really did forget how much fun glass is to fish with. In the future I will be fishing a lot more with rods from my glass collection.

Classic number two: Hardy Perfect.

The highlight of the day was hearing Christy scream when she got out of the water to grab her coat. There was a huge rattle snake sunning itself. I do not know who was more frightened the snake or Christy. The snake took off looking for cover, and of course he hid under her coat.

Classic number three: What can I say.

After Christy's scare we figured we tormented these fish enough and it was time to get a few cold beers.

On the trail home we ran across a California King snake. I had seen plenty of rattle snakes in my day, but never a king snake, so that made the trip even more special.

My first king snake, that I have seen in the wild.

A new species added to my list.

Andy and I have both purchased new two weight rods this year. We have some new and amazing trips planned this year. We will be traveling all over the state fishing tiny creeks looking for unique and rare fish.

We hit a small creek this week and I broke mine in already with a super rare (for California) Redeye Bass.

Its funny how many people think they are catching redeye bass when in reality they are just catching spotted bass or smallmouth bass that have red eyes. This is a perfect example of a true redeye bass (Micropterus coosae).

Stay tuned for more tales of our two weight adventures.

Local Ponds

The  creeks are not quit ready yet. We have been having a blast catching bluegill and small bass from our local ponds.

 

Even my sister Barb made it up to catch a few small bass.

Christy managed to fool this monster on a dry fly.

This redear sunfish couldn't resist the red midge.

A nice bluegill, one of my favorite fish to catch.

Marvins first bass of the year.

One of the many bass we caught that day.

Andy getting worked by a big bluegill.

Andy with his first green sunfish.

My new home

Just in case anybody is wondering where I have been. I got a new job working at the Orvis in Roseville. Its a great gig and I am really working to promote fly fishing in the community. We are having a special fly fishing day coming up with refreshments, seminars and great sales. I will post all the info down below. If you are in the neighborhood come by and say hi.

Orvis Days Troutfest

April 28^th & 29^th

Why battle the crowds on trout opener when you can join the Orvis team for 2 days of fun filled trout seminars. We will be covering a variety of topics and have plenty of refreshments on hand. No registration is required for any of these events but feel free to call us at (916)783-9400 with any questions.

Fly Fishing Small Streams

Saturday April 28^th 11:30 a.m.

The Sierra Nevada’s host hundreds of miles of small streams, many of which hold wild trout. Small stream fishing is a great way to beat the crowds and catch a lot of fish. Join Orvis Fishing Manager Jason Cotta as he talks about how to fish these little gems. 

Native Trout of California

Saturday April 28^th 1 p.m.

            California boasts 13 different species of native trout. Join native trout expert and Orvis employee Frank Seifert as he talks about California’s different species of native trout, where they live, how to catch them, and how they have evolved. This is a fantastic seminar for those that are pursuing the California Heritage Trout Challenge.

Fly Fishing the Lower Yuba River

Saturday April 28^th 2:30 p.m.

            The Yuba River is a great year round fishery located just an hour and a half outside of Sacramento. The Yuba River holds resident rainbow trout, as well as runs of steelhead. Orvis associate Mike Folden will be covering fly selection, equipment, access points, and presentations to catch fish on the Yuba all year long. 

Stillwater Basics

Sunday April 29^th 1 p.m.

When spring run turns the rivers to chocolate milk, try your hand at fishing a few lakes. Stillwater fish fight hard, grow big, and once you know how, can be relatively easy to catch. Join Orvis associate Frank Seifert as he talks about everything you need to get started fishing for still water trout.

Reading Moving Water

Sunday April 29^th 2:30 p.m.

Finding fish in moving water can often times be very challenging. This seminar is designed to help take the guess work out of fishing rivers. We will be covering how to read and fish moving water, allowing you to consistently catch more fish.

We also have some great fly fishing classes:

Orvis Roseville

Upcoming Classes, Schools, & Seminars

Free Fly Fishing 101

Now’s your chance to learn fly fishing basics in one of our free fly fishing 101 classes. Free fishing lessons on fly casting and outfit rigging. Registration is required and class size is limited so call to reserve your spot today! Cost: FREE!!!

Event Dates
May 5 May 6 May 12 May 13 May 26 May 27		June 2 June 3 June 16 June 17 June 23 June 24

Fly Fishing 201

If you’ve already completed Fly Fishing 101, you’re ready for the next step. Join us for a short outing on local water for a chance to catch your first fish! Registration is required and class size is limited so call us and get signed up today. Cost: $20

Event Dates
May 19 May 20		June 9 June 10 June 30 July 1

Warm Water School

April 14^th Location: TBD

Join the Orvis team for this great on the water school that will teach you all you need to get started in the world of warm water fishing. This class will cover tackle, techniques, fly selection and fisheries to target bass, bluegill, and crappie. All equipment and a sack lunch will be provided. Location TBD with a max of 8 students. Cost: $100

Nymphing 101

April 21^st 2 p.m. In-Store

Join the Orvis team for this free in store seminar that will teach you all you need to know about nymphing for trout and steelhead. This seminar will cover equipment, rigging, fly selection, and presentation. Eighty percent of what fish eat is sub-surface making this a great opportunity to learn the skills you need to improve your catch rate.

Please call Orvis Roseville to sign up for any of the above events.

Orvis Roseville

(916)783-9400