All cutthroats, although there are supposed to be some "bull" trout in the area. They do not allow any nymphs or weights. Our best luck were on large Royal Coachman, Royal Para Madame-X and especially the black/red Chernobyl ant (fished "high" and bouncing in the riffles). The largest cutthoat caught was 19". ItŐs tough wading with lots of climbing over log-jams, blasting through nettles, etc. The cuts hang together, so you have to find them feeding first, or spend a lot of time casting aimlessly. There are long expanses of "nice" water that are actually devoid of fish. Each of us caught an average of 10-15 fish per very long day.B.C. waters are highly regulated, and you pay an additional $20 or $40/day to fish a specific river. A five-day license was $65. Room and board is relatively cheap, but guided float trips are about $650/day. You can really experience no competition socialism in B.C.; there are only two brands of gas available at all the same price, no matter in a large city or small hamlet; same for beer, wine and spirits. The government selects a few brands at a fixed price( about double U.S.) and that's it, regardless of where you shop. Appalling to us Americans!Any, it was great to experience at least once. - David South
* Sept 3 through 14 - Lake Edison
Dave Risney, Mike Roberts and various firemen attended their "Edison Annual". We fished Hot Creek above Edison for Browns to 18 inches. Water was low as expected for September. What was not expected was how low the lake is. You drive a half-mile on lake bottom to get to the water. Did I mention I got my truck stuck? Then you hike a mile across lake bottom on the other side to get to the high water mark. Scenery and fishing was worth the ten-mile hikes. Also fished above Bear Diversion Dam, saw a bear but fishing was very disappointing. Fishing at the hot springs was good for rainbows to 12 inches and soaking in the hot springs was great. Did I mention leaving the lower end on the motor down with the lake being drawn down? I had to dig for an hour to free the motor to tilt up then skid boat back down to the water. It's always an interesting trip, always fun. - Dave Risney
* Mid-September - Fishing the Klamath for Steelhead
Due to fires in Central Idaho, our trip to the middle fork of the Salmon River was cancelled just two days before we were to leave and we were very disappointed. With a chance of catching some fish just coming into the Klamath River, we called Mike Kuczynski. Mike owns Eureka Fly Shop and has been successfully guiding on the Klamath for years. After confirming he would be available to guide us, we headed north. Mike met us at the Steelhead Lodge in Klamath Glen, and after loading our gear into his boat, we headed upstream. Mike had arranged for us to stay at Rivers West Lodge, several miles upriver and accessible only by boat, for the night with dinner that night and breakfast and lunch the following day. After delivering our luggage to our cabin and meeting our hosts, we were on the river and fishing by 2:00 PM. By 7:30 PM we had caught and released several adult steelies and as we headed back to the lodge, a soft rain began to fall. Perfect steelhead weather! Adding to the weather, the beautiful fish, and old friend to share a great steak dinner, it was a wonderful evening.
Rain on our cabin roof most of the night sounded great and we were up and ready to fish again by 6:15. As we moved upriver, the mist and rain were just a perfect reminder that another great day awaited us with the prospect of several more adult fish to catch and release. Swinging the fly with a floating flyline and a fly called the herniator worked for us. We also caught fish on other popular patterns, the assassin and the mossback. But, the most effective for us, was the herniator.
That afternoon on the way downriver to our car, were were shocked when we saw a large mountain lion on the river bank, who had just killed a large calf and was working hard to drag it back into the woods. We watched this amazing sight for about 25 minutes.
Although we had not planned this trip ahead of time, it could not have been more perfect nor could we have had a better fishing trip. Check out our pictures on www.ernies.com and go fishing! - Ernie and Diane, Ernie's Casting Pond
* September 17th - Lower Sacramento River
My son Karl and I spent Monday, September 17th on the Lower Sacramento River with guide Andrew Harris, covering about 10 miles of the river between Anderson and Cottonwood. We caught some very nice rainbows during a pleasant float on a beautiful day, mostly nymphing with a variety of stonefly and calibaetis patterns. We also landed a few of the ever-present squawfish and learned that DFG has given them a new politically correct name, the "Sacramento Pike Minnow". Andrew Harris is a wonderful guide and we highly recommend him. - Eric Schaefer
*Late September - Flathead River, MT
We just got back from a 10 day trip to Montana. It wasn't what I would call a "fishing trip," as we played more golf than fished. However, I did spend one afternoon on a drift boat with a guide on the Flathead River in Whitefish. Being it was my first time fishing from a drift boat I learned very quickly that it is much different from what Joe Bigas and Tom Bradley had taught me about keeping your rod tip low and stripping line. This was all a visual experience where I had to keep my eye on the fly at all times and keep my rod tip high and wait until I saw a bubble raise by the fly at which time I would jerk the rod tip back to set the hook. If you had any other thought in your mind other than watching the fly it impossible to react quickly enough to hook one. I did manage to catch six nice cutthroat but missed way more than I hooked. The best part for me was just being there enjoying the scenery and watching the trains go by. It was a great experience and one that I would do again in a heartbeat. - Al Nocella
Bob was among the fortunate group that recently fished Katalla, AK. He sent this poetic "Fishy Tale" to me, and I thought it worthy of publication in our newsletter. - Pat S.
Despite the weather no one got sick
The rain did make all things quite slick
John Steele fell down but didn't die
Then he tied the blue tail fly
Jimmy cracked corn, etc.
John gave Bob the fly he'd made
Sure enough it made the grade
Proof was that on the very first try
Bob hooked a fish with blue tail fly
Norm is an insurance man
He will sell a niffty plan
It will pay if you die
If bitten by the blue tail fly
Tony comes from Redding town
No one there has seen him frown
A happy, friendly, gracious guy
Especially when using blue tail fly
Eric is a fishing fool
The fly rod is his only tool
He'd like to catch fish on a dry
But in secret he used the blue tail fly
Jim from Jersey was top guy
A 40 fish day on his purple fly
The number may have been higher by
Using the deadly blue tail fly
Bill gave his upriver seat to Bob
A classy guy he is no snob
A reward of wine got a "No thanks" reply
Bob should have offered a blue tail fly
John and Dr. John slept late
They weren't at the starting gate
They caught up quickly for they rely
On the beautiful blue tail fly
11 fishers brave and bold
Suffered long the wet and cold
33 fish that day would die
Victims of the blue tail fly
Dave Salmon is aptly named
For poor weather he can't be blamed
It rained it poured the creeks ran high
Blame it on the blue tail fly
The blue tail fly is not a myth
It is truly a marvelous gift
Chartreuse and purple score quite high
But none surpass the blue tail fly