Ready to head home...

I'm readying for a return to Musky Country in a few days...hard to believe my first winter in CA is now almost through! It's been grand in so many ways...but I do miss home.

I'll get around to posting up some images of the variety of fishing I have done the last few weeks. Trout up in the Trinity, an Upper Sac float trip, surf perch wrangling down in Carmel and a wild Pacific king salmon foray on a launch out of Montrey...

Then there will be the wild ride I take you on between now and the first week of May! Pyramid Lake NV, a return to Trinity Country (and a kick ass concert up in Arcata featuring Trampled By Turtles), back to Southern Oregon, then Utah tiger musky(and testing out a killer new fly rod called PIKESABER), Idaho skiff works checking out the X-13, and a reunion and drop-in tour of Southwest MT - whew!

Sould be fun.

Then back to my wonderland, my homesoil, Upper Wisconsota for another season of hunting big esox and other predators on a fly...






From my new fishing buddy - Dan Blanton's web site (a terrific resource of information for anyone serious about fly fishing...seriously one of the best bulletin boards around as far as hard core fly anglers exchanging info and ideas...check it out!)
















http://www.danblanton.com/viewarchive.php?id=137600&archivefile=/arch201003.php

Dan writing on his day of fishing with me...

Brad,

It's always fun to introduce someone new to the wonderful California Delta and our much-loved striped bass. We got very lucky and had a great weather day and the fish cooperated. It was a pleasure, my friend.

Of course having an angler share my skiff who casts foot-long, football-fat, musky flies a hundred feet all day long, makes my job pretty easy. Brad was tossing my striper flies back-handed into the next zip code. And being a guide himself he picked up on all the nuances of the retrieve and was into fish pretty quickly.

We never had wide open fishing but it was a steady pick with a few fish at almost every stop. We ended up with 25 released to 8 pounds with a couple of 5-pounder and lots of 2 to 4s tossed in. They were hot though and pulled like much larger fish.

The water temp ran from 57 to 59 and they ate well with few 'mush' bites.

Speaking of flies, Brad ties some of the most fantastic musky flies I've even seen. They are incredible; and they have incredible action too. I know many of them fished on top or on a intermediate line will slay our big stripers. He gave me a handful of them but they are so beautiful I don't know if I can force myself to fish with them - maybe I'll force myself to take them with me for peacock bass next January.

Anyhow, Brad is one fun and energetic guy to share a skiff with and I just have a feeling he is one heck of a good and fun guide to fish with. I most likey will be taking him up on his opportunity to fish with him on his home waters for musky - a fish long on my 'bucket list'.

The next day I fished with Nick Curcione. He met me at my trailer just after Brad had headed back to his dad's place. The wind started howling - gusting to 30, clouds sweeping in like wraiths and I knew a big drop in pressure was occurring. Well, we fished yesterday anyway and the score went from 25 to 5 stripers and one nice LMB. They just shut off, like they almost always do when there's a radical pressure drop. Still Nick and I had a great time looking for some eaters, we covered about 60 miles of water, shared lots of old stories (we've been close friend for 40 years) and a great dinner at GR Marshals. Nick will be back!

I'm sitting in my trailer now at the Sugar Barge, looking out at a brilliant sky with the flags on the pole looking like they're made out of sheet metal. I'm heading for home...

Go easy Brad; it was a fun and successful day on all counts; and you're always welcome to the casting deck on my skiff for a shot at delta stripers - so long as we still have them that is.

Nick, I'm going to keep hounding you to get up here at least a few times to fish with me this coming season.

I like guiding but I like fishing with my pals much more.

Dan