The Trout Hugger

The Shark Hugger

2012-01-14T21:00:00.001-08:00

Playing in the surf this morning with fishing buddy Al Q had this specimen make a showing. Returned the animal to the ocean to be free and grow larger. I have a soft spot for these fish. I don't like fishing for them but they are really beautiful. Remember too folks, leopard sharks are very much considered harmless.

What about U2?

2012-01-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day in Santa Monica. Bono was nowhere to be seen.

Getting Board

2011-12-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

Pondering fresh ways to appreciate water, I recently was lucky enough to sample some stand up paddle boards. My buddy Alexis Rovira (Kiteboarder Mag. SD) raves about these and Mikey Wier (Burl Prods. / Patagonia etc.) suggests we do some fly fishing using these. My first trial run rocked hard and I am sold! Thank you Poseidon Stand Up, Santa Monica.

Falling for Fall

2011-11-13T16:14:00.001-08:00

One heck of a summer has just passed. I barely picked up the guitar however got in more stream time than ever I could imagine. Work at Sierra Fly Fisher ebbs as the season cools and I prepare for some final hunts before returning to La La Land. The Samurai is running well and I thank George at Yosemite Smog and Electric as well as the guys at Elite Auto; both in Oakhurst, CA. This, of course, is critical since the car is what gets us to the stream most of the time. I got to meet some amazing people and made many new friends despite a super tame social life. Many days passing with minimal contact with anyone other than clients and anglers. What remains impressive is that I am not sick of it all (fly fishing). Netflix is a huge help and today I watched a documentary on the making of Queen's "Night at the Opera". What a moment that band had. My return to "civilization" will also mark a renewed enthusiasm for all-things-web and some surfing for crying out loud! I am excited. To the Sierra Nevada? I'll be back!

Ventura County River Art

2011-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Art as a statement is beautiful. Courtesy of the LA Times and, of course, some people with creative cojones.
Article: www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dam-scissors-20110919,0,947381.story

Summer Blog Entry #1

2011-07-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my, no blog entry since May? This is bad. The year-after anniversary of my Flying Jeep incident has passed without incident and I have been reveling in an unusually solid guiding run in the Sierra with Sierra Fly Fisher. High water, critters abounding and great times with an amazing variety of anglers has made this a summer to remember. I'm on break visiting friends and family in San Diego with Rebecca. I'll be posting much more soon.

Grape Flavored Trout Beer

2011-05-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Today's overdue entry celebrates craftsmanship from good ol' Bakersfield. A recent session at my friend Jordan's studio had me play on one of these delightful beasts. We worked on music that was, dare I say, as twangy as any bizarre Ventures + B-52s coupling.

On the trout side of the discussion, a recent trek into the local hills of So. Cal. with Chad Simcox showed the fisheries thriving and even now (May) still in a pre-spring mode. This means chilly waters and insect life not yet at a fevered pitch. Despite this, no complaints.

Carnival Perch

2011-04-09T01:58:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen this at my facebook profile and/or at the Fly Fishing Addicts forum however it deserves further sharing. I was lucky to be frivolously fishing near the pier when this perch cooperated for the shot. The fish was released unharmed.

Fishing and Hipocrisy

2011-01-12T08:32:00.001-08:00

Quite a title eh? One form of hypocrisy of which I am guilty of is as follows: I swear by what I call the "under one's nose" rule. In other words, a great fishing spot might be right under everyone's noses. Some of my largest trout in So. Cal's trickles have come from such waters. Well, my soapabox is laughing at me. I live very near the ocean but I almost never fish it. I appreciate it immensely as a surfer. Sometimes in summer, I ride my last wave in and playfully chase corbina as I run through the shallows. What am I thinking? These are fascinating game fish! Recently, upon the urgings of some friends, I started to dabble with some local beaches and I am so glad I did. A quick casting fix with a possible fight is now a daily staple.

My first session in years and on my 3rd or 4th cast I tangled with a gargantuan leopard shark. He eventually broke off but what a kick. Thanks Arvin for the picture and the encouragement. Thanks Dave Wratchford for the secure knots!

That and other sessions have been sprinkled with these hard fighting and fun fish (Barred Surf Perch).

Cthulhu Evidence in Palermo, Sicily - Nov. 2010

2010-11-22T12:19:00.001-08:00

My Last Day of Fishing

2010-11-08T23:54:00.001-08:00

... for a while that is. As fall kicked-in and my guiding run slowed, I treated myself to the usual ritual of a "treat to self" day of angling. The weather was getting weird but that's not always a bad thing. Helicopters abounded and I later learned that this may have had to do with the Oprah goes fly fishing in Yosemite episode. I think this is fun and applaud her although I wonder with no self-serving interest why she didn't hire a Yosemite regional guide? No no no, it didn't have to be ME. It just might have made sense if it was someone who regularly works the region. Seems to make sense? I would love to be enlightened here. Anyway, on grand finally days, I often experiment with techniques as well as seek out a few spots where I have seen lunkers. The lunkers didn't cooperate but the fishing wasn't bad at all. What I call "flossing" as well as "pendular drifts" were super effective on the Merced. Some areas where dries normally work were very dead. I even broke out the ol' Rio Indicator Line and used it for high-sticking as well as high-drag, swung nymph drifts (sort of a sloppy Czech method without the Christmas tree of nymphs) and it worked like magic! It was one of those days. Like all good days, I finished it with some Chili Fries at Happy Burger in Mariposa. The staff there is fun and the food is all-American nuttyness. As soon as I wrapped up this trip, it'd be all about preparation for Europe and a meal like this would be a mere fantasy. That, of course, isn't to say that food in Italy, Greece etc. wouldn't rock! ;)
* Entry posted from a hotel room in Novi Sad *

Summer to Fall (off the mountain)

2010-10-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, the time flew. Between great fun with Astra Heights at cool events such as Venicestock and guiding in the Sierra with Sierra Fly Fisher, I also worked on flying my jeep off of the roadside in Yosemite. Oh and don't let me forget Nicaragua with Rebecca, Quinn and Megan followed by a wonderful trip with Alexis and Jeanette to Mexico then a trip with Noah Snyder and Jim Lowe into the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana. 52 miles round trip on foot! So summer had all sorts of lessons learned such as highsticking the Merced at low elevations for hidden pockets of unusually strong wild bows to correcting a vehicle's direction to avoid rolling it! *See photos below* As many of you may know, Oprah recently went camping in Yosemite National Park. She apparently did some fly fishing too. I work seasonally in the Sierra and often enter the park. In the middle of summer, after a fun day of guiding, I went off the road. I walked away unharmed. I am very lucky.

That very evening, a rather brazen tow-truck driver pursuaded me that using his pulleys and chains, he could "stretch" the vehicle back out to a functional state. I was too exhausted and upset to even protest. The next day I used the jeep on a guiding run and the following day I drove it to LA! Feeling the little jeep's spirit, I began plotting the salvage process.

Jesse, in Corona, has a yard full of parts and this began the "healing" process. This photo below shows him pulling a hood off on an old Samurai for my wounded Sammy. I also had a favored mechanic inspect the frame, alignment and state of the hubs along with many other essentials.

A few weeks later, with all parts in hand, I had the vehicle taken to the doctor.

And, alas, voila! The happy jeep is rolling again looking sexy.

Now, you thought it'd be so easy? Of course the National Park Service's law envorcement division hit me with a ticket...(no I was not drunk). Did you know that they have a cute little court house right in the heart of Yosemite!!!???? Click on the image below for a slightly larger look. I ain't joking.

After my hearing, I got the fine reduced and they also offered traffic school. I am about to wrap up my online course. I am re-visiting important lessons such as "Don't stall your car on a railroad track".

This entry is being posted as I waltz again into the phonebooth of rock and emerge on Monday in Berlin Germany as a member of a great band The Fuzztones. I'll be roll-casting a guitar cable in Italy and Greece to name a few. Never a dull moment and 2010 is far from over.

Mini-Streamers for Mini-Predators

2010-06-23T00:13:00.001-07:00

This heavily shaded local stream is truly fascinating. Some areas are rife with bows while others host just browns. The size of the fish can sometimes vary seasonally as well. Larger fish seem more cagey and hunker down while the frigid shady zones are not yet warmed by the onset of summer. Seemed like the smaller fish reveled in this. Some pools held nothing (hint hint) others coughed up a fish. Dries and an occasional baby-streamer rocked the place. Little yellow sallies were coming off in numbers but some fish were welcoming larger protein. I had one follow by a monster who held off from taking the streamer. Last time I saw an image like this was a few years ago, also locally, and the fish took on the second cast (not common with big browns from my experience). This fish appeared almost as large (17" inches+?). Anyway, this Nessie didn't cooperate. Not one to complain (a big fat lie). It was a good day and I needed the workout.

Nature Wins

2010-05-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Just like a plant forces its way through the asphalt, one local stream has gone "richter" with quality fish. Plants are in bloom and I grabbed some wild onion for an experimental omelette. Life is good in the So. Cal. mountains this year. Thanks Noah and Rob for good company.

The Price of a Brown

2010-05-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is an homage to one of the most bizarre and remote So. Cal. waters I know of. I have been there very few times and timing can be key to avoid overgrown jungle-like bushwhacking, bugs, snakes and summer heat. It's also one of the most obscene workouts I know and my buddy and I pondered whether or not we'd ever return. Recent training for a run (race) had me a bit better off fitness-wise than I feared but it was still a brutal trek of off-trail terrain and elevation issues. Let this serve as an indicator that 2010 is going to be an amazing year for So. Cal. trout fanatics.
Take a close look at this shot. Click to enlarge. This adorable trout stream has a line of PVC in it. Middle of nowhere. Not cool.

The "Black Diamond Trout Society" tradition lives on as we scrambled down impossible banks to find fat butter-bellied browns.

Be careful and go get 'em!

Blinded Me with Science

2010-02-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Technlogy, like a thermometer, has me salivating. We've had a good year and the locals are going to be great! Observe the dleightful daily dance as one of our local streams ebbs and flows with snowmelt. As this smooths out and the temps warm, one of our beloved friends will be rejoicing; The Trout!

The Beatles Go Fishing

2009-12-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

That one lyric: Rain, I don't mind

A recent conversation with a local fish had it giddy like a little school-trout...

Shasta Soda

2009-11-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

An overdue visit to the Shasta/Upper Sac/McCloud area had me marveling at moss, dripping ferns, fall colors and fading indian rhubarb by the side of streams rich in spring water. Last time I was up here was around 1977 or 78 on a fun road trip with my dad which, despite me being just a kid, was memorable and the beauty of the region has stayed with me ever since.

This trip was real treat from a scenic perspective if not from an angler's perspective. Also, I brought back numerous bottles of the water from that region. No wonder Nestle had their sights on this area for a water-bottling facility. This area is oozing yummy water from crags of dark volcanic rock and moss. Frequent light rains punctuated our trip and kept everything slippery as #$%^& but also seemed to keep the fish happy. Fungii abounded.

Day one had a big brown flipping me the fin as it migrated upstream. A long hard day of flogging with a few bows had me sitting streamside when suddenly this beast surfaced in front of me. It was one of those porpoise-like surface visits of a fish that was clearly migrating. It was amazing to see. I could count the spots. It reminded me of seeing salmon move up the Klamath way back when. The fish was just a few feet away and was a few feet long I might add. I later saw huge browns on redds and even had a nice one almost land on my feet as it tried to jump a plunge by which I stood. Oddly, as the trip wore on, the allure of this European invader was quickly replaced by an appreciation for the magnificent native strain of bow for which the region is legendary. Hard fighting, plump and willing to take a massive "Noctober" caddis pattern that Joe and I were developing. Since it gets dark early, we had ample time to sit around and tie each night while still getting a good night's sleep. This may be THE biggest secret of fall fishing: time and energy management is taken care of by the elements themselves. You actually get some rest in! Perhaps one of the best slaps I have ever been dealt was when I shared this "Noctober killer" fly with one of our team ("Nish" as we like to call him) who went on to catch a nice brown on it! Boy, the trout gods were on a roll! My face still stings. I have included the photo below.

In addition to the generosity of Jimmie Morales and the great company of several guides-on-hiatus, we were treated to some streamtime with historian, photographer and "patron-of-the-trouts" Craig Ballenger. Craig is a true man-of-the rivers with an engaging personality that we initially were as much perplexed by as entertained by and a knowledge of the region that was, well, deep as the river. Visit his website: craigballenger.com One of my fave moments that can't be forgotten (solid sarcasm about to kick-in) was having some dormant yellow jackets slip into my clothes. As I warmed them up, they got active. Two stung me; one in the armpit and another on the forearm. I shook two or three others out of my clothes as I picked up a discarded aluminum can of Shasta soda. It was all too surreal. At almost the same time, Joe and I were both looking across the water when a large fish jumped for a huge caddis. We both saw it and let out a classic fisherman's "woah!". All this in a 10 minute window. Oh and I fell in a few minutes later. Never a dull moment and definitely huge fun despite the stings.
As the trip ended, my only brown was about 5" long! Oh but who cres when you have "the strain". What can be better than catching a wild native fish? Mr. Trutta, we will meet again someday to square off properly. Bows were the theme for the majority of this trip and we honor you humbly with flies the size of hummingbirds.

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story...

Sierra Critters

2009-11-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

The wrap up of the fall Trout Camp was good. Fish emerged from a cold front with a vengeance and reminded me that last year, the best fishing took place a tad later in the season. Too much real world BS here in LA and I had to return. That said, you've seen the fish, now consider the critters!

Horses and Dogs are critters too! Gotta love this shot. The dog had limitless energy and chased squirrels on the trail as we fished one day. My horse had a mind of its own and often took its own path which on one or two occasions, was the safer route.

I love reptiles and this year I found my first rubber boa. What an amazing animal.

They're Heeeeeere!

2009-09-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

The ghostly visitation of fall browns is by far one of the greatest parts of the season. Albeit not always large, the early agents of this migration get a lot of my love. A pre-dawn hike and the sun rises on a plunge stacked with fish. The mountains, the critters and the fish .... life is good!

Fishing From a Pier

2009-09-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Isn't part of my lifestyle BUT hangin' out by a pier is. After getting my car jump-started; this being after flying in from Montana I stumbled home to find the best fireworks display I have ever seen: The Santa Monica Pier's 100th Year Anniversary Celebration! Then it was off to an Astra Heights rehearsal. Had to have the car jump started again after rehearsal thanks Mr. Irwin.

Patti Smith on the Santa Monica Pier

2009-09-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

The night before leaving for Montana, I had a get-together near the pier. As expected, Patti Smith performed as scheduled and it was wonderful. The lights on the ferris wheel (pre-programmed and very psychedelic), the pleasant temps and the sound of surf. As I was cleaning up my pad to prepare for the gathering, I heard the band soundchecking. Much to my surprise, Patti was doing her own check. I ran and snapped this shot of her, Lenny Kaye and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Later that evening at my apartment, Lenny would grace us with his presence as he popped-in for a sip of Rudi Protrudi's Makers Mark. Good times to say the least!

The Rock Hugger

2009-09-02T22:46:00.001-07:00

Yes we embrace rock and roll but we also embrace ROCK! This cat really gives me hope that I too can squeeze in a cast to a large fish on the far side of the stream against the cliff wall enshrouded in cactus - NO PROBLEM!
* The embed was disabled click on the image to go to YouTube's page *

Spinal Dan up to 11

2009-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Lefsetz's ever-popular missives often include emails from well-known people. This one is in response to a lengthy set of responses to a highly-laudatory Steely Dan 'discussion". It's very hard not to find this 100% classic. Almost as classic as classic rock.

From: Harry Shearer
Subject: Re: More Steely Dan

Only because of you did I realize, after returning from New Orleans, that the Dan tour you wrote up from the Beacon was now at the (ugh) Gibson. So i bought a last-minute ticket, steeled myself for the drive to the (ugh) Valley, and ended up luxuriating in internet request night. My only odd note, in the midst of rejoicing in the music, and the playing: it's the only rock (?) show I've seen in years where I thought (and a friend I met in the lobby afterwards concurred), "should be louder".

Planned Obsolescence

2009-08-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

Not at all a thing of consumer culture's past but alive and well. So if your handy-dandy blackberry trackball goes out you can buy a new blackberry or find thousands of replacement parts on ebay.

Fire Will Tell

2009-08-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Fire, an annual celebration. In flurries or randomly or man-made or sparked by lightning. I have seen fires devastate a watershed and despite muddy runoff in ensuing years, delightful recoveries of trout populations. There are studies that indicate that many western salmonids have a resilience to the after effects of fires. One stream I know seems to have lost what was a robust brown trout population after severe fires while the bows rebounded. Maybe the bows just rebounded 'cause the browns were gone (nudge nudge wink wink). Anyway, after a mid-day swim today, this plume rose to the east ....

Glassing Trout

2009-08-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

On my way back from some days of fishing in Yosemite, I decided to stop at one of my fave low elevation spring-cooled deep ravine watersheds. Using a basic "hunting" trick that has served me well, I glassed the waters for fish. Irony being that the best fish I sighted never took the fly. Later in the day, I nabbed a few medium browns and bows on a variety of techniques. It wasn't great but it was a solid workout in ugly terrain. It's late in the season and I can sense it in the fish's behavior. The challenge keeps it fun but I really should focus on higher and even cooler waters.

To CAPTCHA Fish

2009-08-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

This is thoroughly confusing. I only wish I had some of the same Greek blood that made Arostotle Onassis such an insane success but can he do Tehipite in a day? Perhaps there's too much Buddha in me or at least, by genetic default, Lao Tzu. I do know one thing, Ukeleles are fun and although associated with Hawaii, were Portuguese in origin.

Arroyo de Banana

2009-08-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

Here's a really cool little tale of So. Cal. trouting for your listening and dining pleasure. I think we all agree that warm weather, small streams and zero precipitation equals a tough formula for the fish. That said, I still wanted to evaluate the population of an obscure trickle with no name in the local hills. It's Thin Blue Line Fever at its finest (no relation to any 70s trucker movies). I also have been neglecting the locals and miss that sense of discovery. After some careful study with the help of my assistant in Black Diamond Trout crime the plan was set and some sandwiches packed (baguette with kalamata olives). * The relationship between fishing and bananas has its own special taboos (especially in salt water angling) but today, we celebrated the banana and it's value as an angling talisman. *

Our destination was a spot where water is barely known to flow and represented a better location for the search for reptiles than the search for fish. The terrain was not human-friendly. With the odds deliberately stacked against us, observation would be key and fishing secondary. I am not making this up!

The stream was intermittent but due to the shade and altitude, the water was actually quite chilly. Observed were tons of fry which really made me happy. The next best thing however was the occasional "dead pool" (trumpets and drums please). The formula is simple: obscure stream+remote location+robust population+dead pool=home of the hog". No fry in this hole hmmm no fry in this one either. What could be "wrong"? It seems so textbook but this has served me very very well over the years and on this day it was the jackpot formula. Feeling comfortable with fishing, the rod was rigged-up and fishing began.

A lot more crawling with stealthy peering over boulders and brush followed. The fish would sometimes spook at the slightest movement and I knew that the game was serious. These fish have persisted for a reason. They are hyper-wary. Finally, tactics adjusted, I peeked around a corner and saw a dark shadow casually cruising the far end of a small and barely flowing plunge. A poor bow and arrow cast had my fly fall a good 3 feet short of the fish. After briefly readjusting my footing for I was in a precarious crouch, I looked up and saw the fish was now just under the fly. Yes folks, I was fishing a dry (#16 Stimulator). ;) In an unusually slow and deliberate fashion, the fish slurped the fly under.

The fish was safely released with a lot of spring still in its step and we left the arroyo with a sense of wonder. The successful adaptation of a European fish species in So. Cal. will forever amaze me (carp notwithstanding).

Angling Addiction and Internet Addiction

2009-08-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Really random here BUT I refuse to use Twitter to stand on a seemingly useless soapbox about my "discoveries". For you west slope Sierra anglers I think it's fun to point out that some of those Cal Trans rest stops along the 99 have impressively clean and fast WiFi signals. You can be minutes off of the stream and catch up on emails. After all, you are at the office!

Is There Anything Sexier Than Trout Fishing?

2009-07-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Last night I was treated to the finalists competing at the Conga Room's Latin Dance competition. It was full-on inspiring and throughout the night the crowd also took over the dance floor and had their fun. Everyone smiling and ... dammit ... I'm gonna cry! I fell to the floor (after a drink or two) and admitted to the world at the top of my lungs that YES there's something sexier than trout fishing!

Brad Gluckstein and Shelia E. with Jose Chavarria and Stephanie Stevenson, winners of The Conga Room Latin Dance Competition
Photo courtesy of blogdowntown.com Go to: http://congaroom.com

Volume Versus Temperature

2009-07-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

Visited a sierra stream/river that was flowing high BUT was VERY warm. Although I follow water levels online a ton, this was a reminder that big water doesn't always relate with temps. Season and source can be a factor. Snowmelt is colder than a summer storm's water and, of course, weather plays a critical role in affecting the temps as the trickles find their way to the larger tribs. As a result the prime window for feeding fish was small despite wonderfully generous hatches. Sorry if this is too technical but it might save you a tank of gas.

Hee Haw Creek or Ships & Salsa

2009-06-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

There's that ridiculous saying: "It's the journey not the destination" or something to that effect. Well I just had to revisit that creek from my previous "After the Walnuts" post. This time I made time to visit to Buck Owens' Crystal Palace. Between great company, west slope browns, the museum at the venue, some of the central valley's nutty radio stations, a few drinks and some city-slicker two-stepping a good time was had by all.

Buck and Roy for lunch. Let me guess. Grits, greens and hopefully some venison?

Ok Ok Ok - Before I get ahead of myself with the title of this blog entry it all starts with water!

Ever heard the song by Seals and Crofts called "Black Diamond Girl"? I found one! Rebecca scales a gnarly grade after a morning on the stream.

A reasonably good reward for a speeding ticket. Pizza with Canadian bacon and jalapeños.

A photo gallery to die for.

Country royalty in the highest order.

Mosrite; a Bakersfield specialty of yore.

Read this and swoon you guitar lovers.

Buck jams with Ray. Gawd what a picture! I wish I was there to hear the music.

Music brings people together in ways we can never imagine. Here's Buck Owens with the Geishas

It all ends in Frazier Park at Los Pinos where they have a very special dish known as Ships & Salsa

Wild Angels - Fuzz Guitar by Davie Allan

2009-06-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune of jumping into a phonebooth a couple of weekends back and finding myself onstage with the legendary Davie Allan. He gets the majority of the credit especially in North America for really setting the "tone" and laying the foundation of "fuzz" guitar. Numerous cool films including some of those great Peter Fonda biker movies utilized his music. If you look at the shaggy headed guy on stage right (to the left of the viewer), you might see someone daydreaming about big browns. Oh and YES, that is the Queen Mary in the background. The band got THE Queen Mary suite for the night. Remember, what happens on the Queen Mary, stays on the Queen Mary!

After the Walnuts

2009-06-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

The 99 brings with it some great radio and I channel surfed between Johnny Paycheck and Keith Urban. Scary eh? It's growing on me. I was returning from Nor Cal where I helped with some family stuff and snuck in a crappie session at the old duck pond. It was nostalgia to the nth! I posted about it at The Spot's site ( http://fishermensspot.blogspot.com/ ). Anyway, WHO would take the 99 to return to LA from Walnut Creek? Well, them thar alterior motives kick-in and as the weekend partyers leave and the snowmelt continues to fade, the fish come out to frolic. Optimal is between 80cfs and the low hundreds. This gauge is located below some tribs too so one must learn to lean higher than lower when checking it out for optimal flows. It took me a good two or three years to get a grip on that math.

I was floored by the friskyness of the fish and all osrts of techniques worked. Timing was truly perfect. Had the flows been higher access would have been tough and had they been lower, the temps would have been higher. It was already swimmable warm which was scary. Large yellow stones, large black stones, caddisflies and ants a plenty.The best part of my trip was finding a yard sale as I left Walnut Creek that had some stove parts that I needed.

Ain't that America?

2009-04-29T10:17:00.001-07:00

... with a suspicious length of PVC.

After the endorphin rush of Mothra Creek faded the jones for more adventure hit hard. A few days later and it was off to an equally remote locale with cougar prints and vestiges of a pot farming operation. Weird world we live in isn't it? Add to the mix a delightful population of very healthy salmonids of the European variety.

Ain't that America?

Mothra Creek

2009-04-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

The wilds of So. Cal. continue to cough up all sorts of strange critters.

After a proper black diamond workout of road clearing.
A small team of fish-obsessed cats made it to shangrila. Sometimes stealthy and other times casual approaches brought us a wealth of RBTs.

Ironically, the fist spot we passed also coughed-up the best specimen upon our return.

This is About Water + AB 1253

2009-04-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Activism and being a California angler are one and the same; that is if you want people to catch fish a generation or two from now. This video illustrates well an impending issue of importance: AB 1253 Critical is the time frame. Please act NOW.

Details are all over the web. Here's a great destination: http://www.calsport.org/3-31-09a.htm as well as here: http://savedeltafish.wordpress.com/

Please note that many of our systems are highly interconnected. For better or for worse, stripers appeared in CA Water Project related lakes such as Pyramid, Castaic and Silverwood as a result of water being moved around. Everything is affected here. I share this as much out of curiosity and amazement as anything else. Bottom line, more creative and long-term solutions can be considered versus the continued abuse of our water systems. We anglers get caught in the crossfire. I also share this out of concern for the future.

The Hills Are Dead and Alive

2009-04-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

A recent trek had not only trout make an appearance but also a number of random characters such as a dead fox, a cougar slaughtered deer(?), a VERY alive rattler and the telltale signs of Smokey himself! Hmmm am I forgeting anything? It was life and death in a nutshell. Pretty intense.

The gloves, for you black diamond trout folk, help reduce sun damage but really shine in giving you less fear when grabbing branches, bushwhacking, leaning on boulders and clearing plants that could be toxic. The gloves are certainly not ideal fish handling items but these were soaking wet and the fish was gently handled and quickly released.

The Hills Are Alive

2009-04-08T07:15:00.001-07:00

With the sound of poppies poppies poppies!
Although I focus on the fish, the rest of the "picture" has to be taken seriously. Be it the reptiles, the birds and the flowers. Heck, even the ants (trout love 'em!). A recent jaunt with Jimmie Morales to work with a large crew of anglers in the west slope had us drowning in flowers. The fishing was a challenge because of the onset of snowmelt but the persistent and those who fished the edges carefully were rewarded.

And a closer look ...

And finally a little science for y'all... see these mountains in the distance?

Their coat of snow is melting and our crew was there just as it was kicking -in. Saturday the fishing was better. Turbidity, temps and flows (CFS) rose sufficiently enough on Sunday to put a damper on our friends, the trout.

Despite this, fish were caught and the glory of California was celebrated as places like Fargo suffered a blizzard.

Fly Fishing in Spain

2009-04-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well it sucks that I haven't posted in ages but it's been a nutty time. Tonight I begin slowly chewing through stacks of images (digitally speaking of course). The local hills look pretty and I think it's time to celebrate California wild trout. Stand by for cool stuff ASAP. Anyways, the closest I got to a fly in the last few weeks was helping my evil twin's band perform a tribute song to Lux Interior of the Cramps. The song? Human Fly of course! See ...

(Evil twin on left of stage)

Peter, Paul and Mary

2009-02-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

... resonate in my brain as I fly to Berlin. I'm a leavin' on a jet plane. Sadly fitting that John Denver (who wrote the song) died in a plane crash. I like his songs. Anyway, safely over the Hudson (bad joke) my arrival to the airport at Tegel was snowy and cold. A few days earlier it was sunny So. Cal. and some fun music times with Astra Heights, Marisabel and some studio stuff too. Here's a shot of me on break at Michael Kramer's where he, Sam Bolle (Dick Dale, Agent Orange, Todd Hannegan etc.) are working on some fun music. All that said, this boy won't be fishing for trout much in the next few weeks unless a day off in Spain is close enough to the right waters. Right now I am only close to an Absinthe shop, I can even pick up their WiFi signal. I'll keep a distance!

Locking Horns With Trout

2009-02-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon a video that used a Ronnie James Dio song over fishing footage and then got an email from a friend all about the "horns" hand sign that one sees at shows. Now, I'll go one step further to confess that I listen to Dio, Rainbow and Sabbath while driving up the ol' 99 to stay alert. It's all cosmically connected. More details here: Ronnie Explains

Eleanor Gee I think You'll Swell

2009-02-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

The Turtles had a beautiful hit whose lyrics I have shamelessly altered. How can you not love 60s reverb-drenched vocals? How can you not love a trout that eats sunfish? Here's a California-based survey of ... well ... some lake I am studying.

* If the above image is hard to read, click on it and it will open at full resolution. *

Hydration, Nutrition and Trout

2009-02-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

The hills of So. Cal. may yet flourish despite fire and drought. A dear friend sent me this shot from the San Bernardino Mountains. The hills are alive, with hydration.

Meanwhile, long walks and fresh veggies from the Santa Monica Farmer's Market will prepare us for a glorious 2009.

All this for that adipose fin.

Salmo Google

2009-02-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Few things give this extreme trout cat a reason to salivate more than a Google Earth "upgrade".

Excerpt:
Google wants more views of the planet for the new historical imagery feature in Google Earth 5, which lets people see earlier views of a particular area, not just the present. The company established an Imagery Partner Program through which organizations can supply their data.

But wait there's more! Yahoo! (remember Yahoo!) has been building a resource and that seems to be putting it lightly.
Yahoo doesn't share quite the degree of obsession as Google, but it's working hard on geography too. On Wednesday, Yahoo announced that it has 100 million geotagged photos on Flickr, its image-sharing site. Geotagged photos have map coordinates built in, letting people find photos of a particular region or explore their own archive geographically.

Do the trout have a chance?
B.

Full story here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10158287-93.html

Post Apocalyptic Trout

2009-02-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

This kills me:

Air Art from flip on Vimeo.
Now can we get a camera on it to spot good water in Tehipite?
B

Magnitude 3.4

2009-01-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

As a loyal Californian, I have become all to accustomed to anything that naturally substitutes another shot of espresso. Few things are a better substitute than a little shaker.

Let Your Weather Do The Talking

2009-01-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

Drawn by this weirdly warm weather I went to the mountains. Well, I think the fish hunker down in anticipation of the next deluge of snowmelt (of course that's not happening yet) so a 3+ hour drive each way and bruised shins and knees got me one 5 inch rainbow. Not to be discouraged, I shall hit this spot again and now I have a nice picture of the bottom contours. Water was unusually clear. Saying prayers for spring. That said, while the rest of North America freezes, I am gonna hit the waves....

Nettles In The Stream, That is What We Are

2009-01-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

As toyed with in my last post, sometimes you look through two photos and a weird connection manifests itself. While on holiday, my mother prepared an amazing nettle soup. Yes folks THAT nettle!

More recently, I floated a stream and saw a beautiful green patch of stinging plants ... same beast.

Ride the Tiger! or The Ongoing Relationship Between Cats and Trout

2009-01-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

As I look into the crystal trout ball I see so many connections between shapes and objects and what they teach us. A random search for references to Jefferson Starship's song "Ride the Tiger" from way back had me find the curves of this terrifying work of art

and the bouncy spikes of some January snowmelt on a California stream

Scary to say that early January shows daily spikes as temps heat up, melt snow and then cool off and re-freeze the water on the ground ( be it snow or ice ). One thing that I will confess to is that it has me eyeballing a spot and already checking my knots. Am I a global warming parasite?

For those of up who grew up with Legos

2009-01-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

You can't resist this video!

Department of "Dynamic" Fish and Game

2009-01-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

All too often the DFG gets a bad rap and I would like to be the the first to wave a fist of frustrated protest at the times I have called Cal Tip and watched poachers waltz off with a massive stringer of illegally taken trout BUT I also wish to sing praises of the many times that the DFG has proven a source of great information and ideas. For one who really studies their web resources, you will find that in many ways they ARE serving the public and those who pay for permits, licenses etc. For several years now I have subscribed to the hard copy of California Outdoors. The publication has a great mix of articles from conservation issues to DFG sting operations on a myriad of strange crimes against nature. All that said, there's a neat dynamic feature whereby one can submit questions online and get answers online in a public forum. Here's the link: http://groups.google.com/group/CaliforniaOutdoors
* At the time of this post, I was unable to generate a clickable link. Strange I agree. It may be because one has to join to log in. I am not sure. *
B

The Trout Phreak

2009-01-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

Rarely does Wikipedia fail us. In other words, I am NOT using the "Ph" just to be hip. The Wikipedia definition of the classic geek term "Phreak" is as follows:

Phreaking is a slang term coined to describe the activity of a subculture of people who study, experiment with, or explore telecommunication systems, like equipment and systems connected to public telephone networks. As telephone networks have become computerized, Phreaking has become closely linked with computer hacking.[1] This is sometimes called the H/P culture (with H standing for Hacking and P standing for Phreaking).

Well whether you buy into the "Ph" or just enjoy the letter "F", let's celebrate the online gauge. Whiling away my holiday nights, I watched as a local stream's flows plummeted after some rains and continued to plummet while snow fell. When weather warms and the snow melts, this slope will reverse and spike back up. I even made a hike to see what it all looked like. The fish were not very cooperative and the water was very cold to say the least. What I did get out of the experience was a better look at holding water. Knowing that the fish are not in the mood to move very much allows one to explore sans the fear of spooking a potential "fish of the day". I now know where some insane undercuts and eddies are located. Let's get some more rain and snow. A toast to 2009!

Phreak out, c'est chic!

The Jaded Trout

2008-12-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well no good fishing experience is without its sonic backdrop. My preferred music comes from a plunge and the champagne-like fizz of bubbles mixed with but a drop of light slaps as the water laps against a sheer rock face along the opposite bank. That said, the electric guitar still circles the runway at 11 thousand feet (11, you know, Spinal Tap!). I snuck out a few nights ago and hung out with some serious rock and rollers. Dressed as my evil twin "Vince" I tortured my eardrums and caroused with the finest. The streams will have to wait.

Pictured above: Yours truly, Phil Jaurigui of Swinghouse Studios, Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls and Frankie Infante of Blondie. Oh yeah ... Merry Christmas!

It Never Rains in California

2008-12-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

Remember that song? Word on the street is rain. This morning the weather as I entered the San Gabriel Mountains was CHILLY. The bite was off and Sandro got one small trout but it was a great trout. The trout shouted "I am here, I am alive and I am hungry". Not too far away the empty bottles of powerbait rattled on the stream floor; clinking against one another against the walls of a pool devoid of fish.

Trout Gone Wild

2008-12-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

Wow two obscure trout treks in So. Cal. in one week. This time in December, years ago, I did an amazing hike in the Santa Monica mountains on an equally sunny day with a great friend who later died too young. I dedicate this day to Jacqui. This midweek trek ( Dec. 10 ) was not in the Santa Monica mountains but close as hell to Los Angeles. Like the "Pearl Harbor Day" trek on Dec. 7, this trip brought some weird surprises. Recent rains must have stimulated some movement from some very eager trout. One normally doesn't associate migratory behavior in So. Cal. with early December but a voice inside from my trout-o-meter said: GO GO GO! I was accompanied by Rob who took this photo for me.

I have some fun footage of him that I'll try and add to this post soon. Now in addition to the fact that the fishing wasn't half bad, what was weirder was the presence of stockers mixed-in with the natives. I am not a fan of planted trout but as Rob pointed out, ya gotta respect them for trying to go wild. This is a very odd occurrence. They really had to travel FAR and there is no convenient spot for a DFG truck to purge any surplus brood stock. Here's one of the better specimens taken on a dead-drifted #8 conehead muddler.

The Obama Trout

2008-12-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

Somewhere in Southern California is a stream or should I say a section of stream? Dead by most accounts and heavily tormented by the manipulations of men and the elements. The last few years were brutal. With heavy heart I wandered back to see how it has fared. The fish were fewer and smaller but they were there. Perhaps there's HOPE. Taken Pearl Harbor Day 2008.

Here's what I and some friends used to find in this stream (photo currently being used by Cal Trout at their site).

Note the signature "arched thumb for dramatic effect".

It's Bloody December 2008

2008-12-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

Well this internet thing is nothing but a headache. It's a friggin' bottomless pit of crap like a city lake carpeted by shopping carts, rubber worms, rubbers and bodies. Man my last post was over a year ago. Now that's shameful. 2008 kicked-ass for fishing and rock and roll and I still have three weeks to go. Do or die I shall be more diligent with entries. Onward!

Hey! You got chocolate in my peanut butter!

2007-09-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

I like to lurk on message boards. You never know what you will glean and there are loads of smart and interesting people. A recent post inspired me to get more active with my silly little Trout Hugger Blog and here it is: Hey you got Colorados in my Greenbacks!. Yep, you guessed it. A restoration effort suffers a setback due to an error in fish identification. Trust me, I could never tell which is which. It's just a drag that it has all come to this.

Now on a brighter note, I caught some great waves today.

Trout of the Month

2007-03-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

( photo lost due to server changes at myfishingpictures.com <- not very web-savvy )
I figured I'd start off this "Trout Blogging "experiment" with a simple post. It's early 2007 and Southern California is in a drought. Believe it or not, there can be reasonably good trout fishing in So. Cal. and it looks lile it's in the midst of a serious blow. Hopefully it's only a cyclical thing but murmurs of global warming can't be disregarded. In a remote stream that still flowed well, I caught this beauty.