Tis the season...

Tying flies like a madman. I found some old tying materials that have been in my parents garage the last 10 years that look tempting to play with. Its amazing how just looking at a material sometimes can turn on a light switch in your head as soon as you see it. Making some EC caddis for a customer, but also making fun things for my friends to play with this next year on the Truckee. Made some big sculpins, also tied some variations on the spruce fly for a little redside minnow.

Pleasanton Show

The Show went great. I got to see a lot of friends, old and new. My camera battery-charger was acting funny(ie not working), so unfortunately no pics this time.

I got to see an awesome private screening of Mikey Wiers new Soulfish 2 project. It looks amazing and has some killer footage. Its nice to see how Mikey has come along over the last decade, since he started with his first Fisheye movie(mostly an emulation of the snowboarding film format) to where he is now. He really helped develop this new fly fishing film genre, and its been a blast to see him grow as an artist. Plus hes not a jerk, which is important in my book.

I got to hang out with Marc PetitJean from Switzerland. Quite the master of CDC fly tying. Its cool seeing tyers who have developed their own true "style" of fly tying. I think that's definitely a mark of a great tyer. Norm Norlander was also there with his Nor-vise, spinning away. Another great tyer, who developed his own way of doing things. I didn't get to hang with Norm really(he was on the other side of the building), but Marc and I had a grand time talking flies, with him across the aisle from our booth.

Im down in the bay area visiting friends and family this week, apparently I picked up a nasty virus from the show and have been stuck with the flu for the time being, but slowly getting better, although it is a nasty one. Hopefully it leaves me alone long enough that I can actually get to see some friends instead of the inside of a bedroom and nyquil bottles.

Dan

Snow!

Around 4 feet of dense snow in the last 48 hours at my house. After a great base in November, then a dry couple months, this recent storm is really going to help make a great summer. I was starting to get a little worried there! From the forecast I saw, looks like were going to see snow for the rest of the week. Me and the boys are getting ready for the Pleasanton show (Feb 25th-27th), updating our guide brochures and clearing out the last of the old fly shop inventory. Robs going to be doing some presentations on Peacock Bass in the Amazon and Pyramid Lake. I'm finalizing some details so hopefully I can come down and help man the guide booth. If I come, I'll probably be handing out flyers and info about the guide service and tying some local patterns in the quiet periods. Hope to see you guys down there!
DanThat's the view off my front porch. The gray and white thing is my truck with a day and a halfs worth of snow on top. hehe

Pyramid Flies

I'm tying Pyramid flies for Ace Mountain Hardware in Truckee, CA. Stefan McLeod used to be the shop Pyramid bug tyer but hes been pretty busy with his other responsibilities so Ive kind of taken over the role. Pyramid style woolies, beetles, tadpoles and nymphs in some of the best colors are in the bins. Come grab some if you don't have the time to tie your own. I can also do custom orders if people need. See you on the water,
Dan

Lower Yuba

Had a fun float on the lower Yuba yesterday. Got on the oars for a while so my friend could cast skwala dries at some really nice rising fish. The river has come back nicely from the scouring that 90,000cfs did to it in the past. Still not quite the same as it was pre 97 flood from what I hear, but it keeps getting better! It was pretty barren a few years back after the most recent flood. Now, it seems like a lot more resident fish and plant and bug life. Hopefully this river can have some sustained stability, if it does it will become one of the better fisheries in the state and not some sterile, gravel chute like it was after the floods.

Mid Winter

Had a fun guide trip on the Truckee the day after Christmas. Stomping through the snow to the holes took more energy than normal, but it was worth it to get the fix. Fishing was pretty good once we got down to the water too! Jake hooked about five and landed four. He handed me the rod as we were leaving and told me to make a few casts. I hooked a couple little guys, then I let them shake loose so I wouldn't have to dip my hand in the water. We then headed back to the car for some much needed warmth and snacks.

Change

As you folks may have heard, the Reno Fly Shop is closing its doors. We're still going to be running the guide service, but the retail operation after some 30 years will be over in around a month. We're going to be clearing out the inventory so stop by and maybe score some goods while they're here. Thank you to all the people that stopped by the shop over the years, friends and customers alike, (Those lines often blurred.) It was a privilege to help you people with your fly fishing tackle, fly tying, casting, or just sharing stories. We're going to be keeping the same phone number for the guide service, so if you folks ever want to get in touch with any of us, feel free to drop a line.

(775) 825-3474

I'll still periodically post thoughts and nonsense about fishing here, so check by now and then. Here's a little fish porn to soften the blow.

32" Lake Trout from Boca Reservoir. I missed the hook-set and ended up snagging her in the side, so much like the rest of this post, it was a mixture of good a bad feelings. A bittersweet moment, especially considering that she wouldn't revive in the warm, early fall water. I guided her up to the cold inlet and tried to revive her for a half hour, but she kept listing to her side. This was the first fish I cropped in probably 10 years. It broke my heart.

Dan