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Pyramid Lake 2010
by Harry Petrakis

Our trip this year began with and ended with snow in the mountains, which affected driving decisions.
The Reno fly shop proclaimed the week before our outing that the Pyramid flyflishing season "had begun". Fish were migrating from the depths to the shallows as the water temperature was warming. On Monday the 8th water temperature was 47 degrees.
The fish were in prime condition like I have not seen before. A lot of smaller fish pulled hard instead of just thrashing on the surface when hooked, and the fish over seven pounds I observed others catch made some heart stopping runs and were basically uncontrollable for the first few minutes of the fight.
The stars all lined up for the fish this year. The Nets were open, moon was right and the weather cooperated. If you were in the right place at the right time you scored well. Expect too much or be in the wrong place and you may get disappointed. Ed Marcillac did all he could to make sure people were in the right place. His advice and where to catch them info made a difference. We are fortunate to have people like him and Betty and John Steele and Gil, Tom McMillan, Jim Hall, Jim Livingston, and Dougald Scott, who over the years have brought to the club their character and talent to be shared with others. My personal observations about this trip is that even if your fish-catching experience left something to be desired you were more than compensated with the reward of camaraderie that occurs over meals and on the ladder.
Wednesday and Friday had a westerly component to the wind, which put the bite off. On Wednesday, if you hung in there you saw the wind change back to off shore wind and the fishing improved. By contrast, on Friday once it started it just blew and blew, sustained 25 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 or more. I watched a north nets dust storm from the protection of the car from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Slowly and reluctantly, anglers left their ladder perches until at about 5:30, and even with plenty of light left to fish, everyone was gone. Few fish were caught during that time but one was a 7-pounder and that's what keeps us on the ladder.
In the Animal House (rental trailer #7), Jim Livingston held a captive audience as he recalled his foray into wine making. Apparently he has garnered some coveted awards for whites he vints with help from the wine makers in the Maton area of northern California where he lives. Ed Marcillac dropped by after dinner and offered Jim some wine from the mountains of Spain. We all tried it but after observing Jim's reaction to the sip he took followed by Ed's announcement that it was 150 proof we took a much smaller sip. Even so it left you breathless and had a slight to moderate burn as it went down. Another use would be to de-rust hooks. And the foodÉoh, the food. Dove gumbo, abalone, venison and elk stew that had a soulful blend of herbs, mushrooms and wine and Thai pizza, a combination of everything you like about Thai food on a thin pizza crust. We have some serious foodies in our group. Even Crosby's got into the act this year as their Sunday night dinner was a sumptuous game hen... and only 9 bucks.
My son, Chris, was after the elusive 10-pounder and as he landed what we all thought might qualify as the fish dreams we were made of we found much to our surprise that they're not as big as they look. It's a fact of life fishermen have been wrangling with for centuries. The 29 1/2 inch length by 15-inch girth put his fish at 8 pounds or less. Sorry, Chris, but the tape measure doesn't lie. Next year, son.
I heard of four fish caught by our group, that weighed at the shoreline, were over ten pounds. One weighed 13lb 9 oz. and was caught Monday the 8th, nymphing. Imagine starting the trip with a fish like that.
Reflecting back I see Loren Kitamura lay out a perfectly straight cast time after time with effortless grace and power; Howard Power's switch rod rally and his mentoring of newbie Bob Peterson who put on a show of sorts of his own wowing us with his bravado in the "surf". (Bob, let that line straighten out behind you and keep your casting arc narrow). Rob Dumford, our past Conservation chair and self proclaimed Cutthroat-aholic drove 9+ hours to be with us.
Once again the winner of the annual ladder naming contest was Eileen (I-lean), so perhaps we can bring a new contest to the 2011 fish out. Think of a name for the fishermen of Pyramid lake who perch themselves on ladders with the word ladder in it. Send your entries to harryandlinda@yahoo.com. I will see what I can do about getting an appropriate prize for the winner.
Pyramid is just starting. Now is the time to go. For fishing reports and lodging visit www.crosbylodge.com. Stop by the Reno Fly Shop off 395 on your way to the lake and give them your support.

While the rest of you folks were finishing up the cold week at Pyramid, Pat Marshall, Kirk Mathew and I tried another cold, angry surf at Palm Beach. No luck, and we were cold, so quit early. Pat may win some kind of prize for having the most cantankerous reel in the club!

What a beautiful day at Quail Hollow Park! There were over fifty fly casters in attendance. It was a wonderful mixed group from our community; club members, volunteers, kids, boy scouts, parents, and grandparents-we had it all.
Arriving early for set up were Troy Mayers, Doug Severin, Barry Burt and Sharon Bowman. They set up everything from the chairs and tables for class sessions to rigging all the rods and reels for the casting clinics. Special thanks to Troy for the use of his BBQ and fly rods for casting.
Once again our professors were back. Tim Loomis was teaching up a storm in Fly Fishing 101. Cecilia Stipes, Doug Severin and Sharron Bowman were hosting fly tying in the den. Walt Robinson and Victor Inouye were leading the casting instruction. At one point, we had twenty casters with fly rods in their hands.
Chef Eric Schafer did it again, holding the event together from behind the BBQ, with great chow. Linda Heyes was there, answering any questions about our club membership. A big thanks goes out to all of the club members who jumped in to help out.
Quail Hollow is one of our great Santa Cruz County Parks and our club is fortunate to help with their education program. Our parks, like our fish, may disappear before we realize it, so please go enjoy and support them.
It has been rewarding watching members share their skills and enthusiasm for the sport and lifestyle that we all enjoy so much. It has been a pleasure to host an old-time club event and tradition. What a blast it is to teach young kids and the general public at this event. It's even more fun to hang out with club members and share our enjoyment of the sport with the public.

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