Ellis Lake, Horseshoe Lake

Another Personal Best

by Matt
Lucky Horseshoe Trophy

Horseshoe Lake
When I woke up this morning I did not expect I’d be fishing today let alone catch a new personal best. What an awesome surprise.
My girlfriend needed me to drop her off at the hair saloon at around 11am so I had about an hour to go out and wet my line before I had to go back and pick her up. I thought maybe I’d give Horseshoe Lake a shot. It should be warm enough today and maybe I could entice something to bite. I picked up a few flies that I had tied for the lake and set off.

As the days grow longer and warmer more people are starting to head outdoors. Upper Bidwell was pretty crowded and busy. This migration of people can often lead to owners letting their dogs splash around in the water and spooking the fish. Not good for me. There were a lot of people out today, but they were all very considerate and respectful.

I set up my rod, tied on a fly, and headed out to the bank. My second cast out I get a take. It’s a big fish probably a catfish the way its fighting. After a few seconds it jumps and then I realize, its a not a catfish, its a big ass bass. I fought her like a pro keeping my line tight and letting her run until I finally landed her and gripped her by the jaw. Admiring this fish in my hand reality finally hit me, holy crap this is a big fish. She was probably around 5-6 pounds. I have always heard rumors about there being 10 pounders in the lake but I never believed it was a possibility until now. My shoes and pants were wet from getting into the water to pick her up and let her go but wow was it worth it. A new personal best and achievement completed for the year.
A trophy bass.

Ellis Lake
I went home to Marysville and had the chance to fish Ellis Lake. After catching a trophy the previous day and the following today I wanted to keep trying my luck. Unfortunately it ran out. I did not get a single take but a skunk on a fly rod is always a lesson learned.

There is a full moon coming March 5th. With the unusual warm weather this year the bass will start migrating on to their beds a little earlier than usual. This move should turn on the fishing and give me another shot for a personal best breaker.

Deer Creek, Ellis Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Yuba River

Sometimes You Win and Sometimes They Win

by Matt
Yuba River Bow 16”

Summer is coming to an end and fishing has been pretty good. I’ve been fishing here and there catching some and losing some. I often never get skunked but I will admit that I enjoy it when I do. Fly fishing is challenging and each aspect of your presentation is important. If the fish aren’t taking then your doing something wrong and need to adjust your presentation. If you go all day without a single take then the fish have won for the day. That is one of the reasons I keep coming back to bodies of waters that are difficult to fish.

What I liked most from transitioning from spin fishing to fly fishing is that I can feel like I did my best to try and catch fish. With a fly its all about presentation and fighting the fish properly. Make a single error and the fish is gone. Throwing bait or tossing lures all day just isn’t fun and once you hook one it takes about 30 seconds to reel them in. You can’t appreciate the power and fight of the fish. Although there is some skill in gear fishing I just find it boring. But that’s just my opinion.

Yuba River
The more I return to this river the more confident I get in my skills of fishing it. The Yuba is super technical water and requires perfect presentation and knowledge of the river’s hatches. I fished the river two days before and hooked one on a foam hopper and a nice 16-18” on a nymph but I couldn’t land them. Today broke my record of catching trout for the summer. My biggest fish was a 16” bow out of the three I caught. The fish were taking mayfly and stonefly nymphs with no indicator. A little bit of thunder and lightning made the day a bit more interesting. Waving a fly rod back and forth is just asking to get hit by lightning. These Yuba River fish are the hardest fighting bows in California, patience and skill is required to hook and land these powerful fish. They fish like steelhead and fight like them as well. A day with a single bow on the Yuba is a good day spent.
 

Beware the clouds

Deer Creek
Manda and I hit up the creek for my birthday. I missed a couple of big fish but the fish there are still hungry and the water below Red Bridge is still pretty nice for the summer almost being over. The fish were a bit finicky but good fishing nonetheless.

Birthday Trout

Ellis Lake
Beside my brother losing a piece of my rod… We had a contest on who can catch the smallest fish as the big fish were not biting. Nick won with a LMB fry. We also had a turtle come up to us wanting to be fed. We hooked a bluegill and tried to feed it but it didn’t get a good enough grip and lost its food. Bluegills all day though. Lake is weird.

Baby Bass

Horseshoe Lake
Clooping carp get my adrenaline pumping. I spent hours trying to get one to take my fly but nothing worked. I was so frustrated that I just left and googled how to catch clooping carp on a fly. I think I’ll use some scent on my flies the next time I get out there and see how that works for me.

I’m ready for steelhead season to start. Hopefully I’ll do better this year since I understand the fish and the river better. Summer is almost over and its been pretty rad.

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Keep Calm and Fly Fish™