Go Rafting

Summer is in full effect and California's rivers are roaring. It's a great time of year to try rafting. White water rafting is one of the best ways to spend a hot summer day. It's a great thing to do with family and friends or co-workers and chances are there's a killer river not to far from where ever your at. You can float down a mellow class 2 or 3 and check out the canyon walls, wildflowers and wildlife or fish. Or you can get the heart pumping a bit with some class 4 rapids like i did last week on the North Fork of the American River. Check out this little promo video i put together for O.A.R.S. with the help of Steve Markle their marketing director, his wife Nicole, Lauren De Remer, the trusty O.A.R.S. guides and a great group of clients.

North Fork American River with O.A.R.S. from Mikey Wier on Vimeo.

The North Fork of the American is an intense class 4 run through a seldom visited Wild and Scenic canyon just outside of Auburn and right off the Hwy 80.

O.A.R.S. is a great company that offers rafting trips on some of California's best white water as well as other incredible destinations around the world. Stay tuned for some video from Fiji soon.

Ice out with Doug and Sam

Ice out is one of my favorite weeks in the Sierra's. It's a short and unpredictable window when the lakes start to thaw out and the ice begins to break through. The best time is when there is just enough open space between the shore and the ice to make a cast. As the ice melts back the fish see sun light for the first time in months. Lots of bugs that have been frozen in the ice all winter begin to appear and create a fish buffet. It's a great time to try and jump a big fish feeding close to the shore and something i look forward to every year.

Two weeks ago I managed to catch ice out just perfectly with a couple new clients. Doug and Sam Reese from Chicago I.L.
Sam at 15 is on his way to becoming a darn good angler. Here's one of many nice browns and rainbows Sam got throwing his home tied streamers from the shore.
To top the night off we stopped by a smaller lake in the area known for it's LT cutthroats. Here's Sam with a nice one. There was only 5 or 6 feet of open water between the ice and the shore. Fish were cursing right on the ice shelf and spooky so presentation was difficult.
Doug topped the night off with the fish of the day. A beautiful 24" LT.
The fish were very active the last hour of light. Cursing the ice shelf looking for any food they could find.
Even i got in on the action with a decent LT.

Bass N Fly 2010

Spent a couple days on the Delta again this year for the Bass N Fly Challenge. I gave a talk for the Tracy Fly Club on Wednesday night. Then pre fished with Robert Johnson on Thursday. Competition on Friday the 21st. There were 44 teams this year. Way to go team Bass N Fly!

I love all the funky houses and crazy old run down boats and stuff floating all around the Delta. It's like a whole different world out there.
For those who might recognize this slough and are wondering, we did NOT fish here during the comp. Just poking around in pre fishing and checking out all the trippy houses.
Ripping around the Delta with Robert on his bad ass bass boat is always a good time.
Fishing conditions for the comp were tough this year. Super windy. We only managed to get two fish in the boat on game day. I hooked three others but couldn't seal the deal. One was a monster. It was so windy Robert had to just control the boat while i fished a wall. I hooked up a good fish and pulled him out from some weeds. It took a huge jump right in front of the boat and shook my fly in the air. Robert and i both let out a yell. I fell to my knees on the deck of the boat. The knee of my jeans ripped out and my oakley sun glasses fell off my head and i watched them sink. It was basically a huge bass kick to the nuts. It would have been the big fish of the day for the comp. Oh well, that's how it goes. Makes you hurt but keeps you wanting to come back for more. See you next year bass lips.