Falling for Fall

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!

The Price of a Brown

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!

They're Heeeeeere!

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!