SF Casters

Gave my first slide show on the 08 trip to Mongolia this past weekend at the San Francisco Casters club lodge in Golden Gate part.  Many thanks to my friend Bob Porter of Flyfishinglifeonline magazine for having me down.  What a killer lodge and a great club with such heritage.  It was a privilege to be there.  Thanks Bob!

War Path Flies

Looking for some cool custom flies?  Check out some of the super custom, super deadly designs from Brent Dawson at War Path Flies.  Brent hand ties all the flies and sells direct to fisherman and shops.  Brent specializes in salt water and large game fish patterns, but also has a few key designs for trout, stripers, and large mouth.  If your planning on going on a trip, Brent likes to do customized packages for specific destinations.   I've personally fished Brent's flies in Mexico, The Amazon, Mongolia, Panama, and around California for trout and bass.  War Path was my go to source for exploratory fishing off shore in Panama.   His bugs were the only thing big enough to get the attention of the larger game fish like Tuna, Roosters, Wahoo, and Sail Fish.  They were also our go to source for Mongolia this year.  The Tamahawk jig head streamer was deadly.  We got over 90% of our Taimen on that fly alone.  Another good incentive to order from Brent is that, because all the proceeds go directly to him, he can afford to give 25% of all profits to fishing conservation efforts around California.  Keep it local, keep it hand tied and support creativity and art through fly-fishing.  

Color selections for the Tamahawk minnow.  

A few of the different styles Brent specializes in. 

These trout and bass streamers always ride hook up.  They work well as a sculpin or bull head.  

Brent's bill fish flies are unparalleled.  

Brent also makes custom flies for Shark fishing.  

The crease popper walks on water.  It's easy to throw and makes a big splash. 

For more info on War Path Flies, contact Brent directly at www.warpathflies.com

or 408 836 1242

On the Rise

Spent the first few days of last week up in Truckee filming with Frank Smethurst and his crew for the Trout Unlimited T.V. show, "On the Rise".  It was a great few days and from what the film crew said, some of the best fishing they have had this year!  Our local tahoe crew was Dave Lass, John Roberts, Richard Anderson, and myself fishing.  Keith Brauneis came out to shoot some still photos.  We fished with Frank for three days on the Little Truckee river.  The weather was great and the fish were happy.  We had good hatches mid day and were able to take nice rainbow's and browns on dries, nymphs and even a couple on streamers.  

The goal of the show is to entertain and also raise awareness for local environmental issues that Trout Unlimited is working to mitigate.  In this episode, while we fished the LT, we talked about trout unlimited as well as other local advocates recent efforts to close an illegal ATV trail that was creating unnecessary erosion into the LT.   The trail comes down a steep hill and leads riders into the upper meadow.  There had been many complaints of people riding bikes and ATV's through the river and creating conflicts with fisherman and guides.  Recent efforts from concerned fisherman in conjunction with TU, have gotten the trail closed.  There's so many other places to ride around the area.  It's a good compromise and balance between off roader's and fishermen.  Keep an eye out for our episode this spring on the outdoor channel.  

A big thanks goes out to Dave Lass and all his efforts in this area!!!  Check out the TU California video if you haven't already and become a TU member!  

Frank, John Roberts and Powder the dog.

Frank's the star! He's a hell of a fisherman and great advocate for the fisheries.  

Frank was putting a hurt on those LT browns.  He got a nice fish on a streamer right off the bat.

This brown really wanted to be on camera.  When i first hooked him, the camera's were busy with another shot.  I started fishing again and no more than 10 minutes later, the same fish jumped on the line again.  It was incredible!  He really wanted his couple minutes of fame.  I've only seen that happen one other time on the LT, with a client, in 10 years!!