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Literary accounts of fishouts in the recent past,
to make you sorry you didn't go.

Roostercomb Ranch Bass Fishout 2005
By Cecilia Stipes

It was another year of "same old, same old ..." Or was it?
This, our 5th annual trip, was the year of the wildflower. Never before had anyone seen such a profusion of wildflowers with endless sweeping displays in all directions, color and variety. This year Dick and I shared company with Marc Shaw, Todd Phillips, Kennette and Bob Roberts, Deanna Raudman, Elaine Cook, Lee Fitzsimmons, Tom and Sonia Deetz, Tom Pelikan, Kent Hull, Doug Severin, Karl Schaefer, Eric Schaefer, and cousins: Jack, Max and Rich Lyness. Our host, Scott Wilkinson, and his 3 assistants (Dane, Brian and Steve) served as guides. With this year's plentiful rainfall we 4-wheeled the 22 miles back into the property of the ranch with some trepidation, fearful of muddy, slippery pockets and deep waters of the Orestimba Creek that might trap our vehicles as had happened on a previous trip. I was told the Indian word "orestimba" translated to "the meeting place". I thought it was an appropriate description defining an ancient passage we always traveled returning to the Roostercomb Ranch.

The Roostercomb Ranch once again was a beautiful setting: 6,000 acres of hills and valleys, nine bass ponds, wild turkeys, a two storey ranchhouse and a bunkhouse built onto an historic adobe that once was the home of the notorious Joaquin Murietta. The fishing was fair to excellent: the best being 60-70 fish caught by Elaine Cook and Tom Deetz in a single afternoon and a couple of 5-lb. trophy bass for Tom Pelikan and Eric Schaefer.
Two members new to flyfishing were Bob and Kennette Roberts. On their first day they learned the basics of fishing from float tubes on Tule; then, on their 2nd day, toting all their gear and float tubes they bravely took on the challenge of hiking to Jackrabbitt, one of the ponds outside the ranch, along with Elaine and Tom Deetz. Fortunately, the fish cooperated and made the trip worth all the effort. Another first-timer to bass fishing was Deanna Raudman. On her first day at "Shadow" she took Elaine's quick instruction and instantly had multiple hook-ups to which Elaine promptly yelled, "Apparently it doesn't take skill!" Laughing, Deanna announced it was all Elaine's fault she was now hooked on "bass fishing, too."
An unforgettable trip to the farthest pond on the ranch (Harvey) was made on Saturday by Deanna, Lee and me. Steve, Dane and Brian took us straddled on their ATV's loaded down with our float tubes and rods. What a sight! It was a "Mad-Hatter" experience. The men drove like bats out of you-know-where! The view from the hilltops was spectacular. We raced at high speed up and down and across mountain tops, through steep and narrow passes and splashed through creeks while clinging to our drivers for our dear lives. It was a ride we will never forget. Unfortunately for Deanna, her brand new digital camera flew out somewhere on our wild ride back from the pond. Oh, yes...the fishing at Harvey was terrific. Lee got into a cove that produced fish after fish using her irresistible homemade "bee" popper. Deanna had great success with her homemade frog popper with its knotted rubber legs. I did well, too. We watched many 5-pounders chase the 10 to 14-inchers we had hooked.
Some of the other memorable moments were: Sonia and Tom Deetz who enjoyed hiking through the field to fish Paradise pond, Marc Shaw and Todd Phillips who made several attempts in search of Pine pond but say they weren't lost, only "exploring". (I hate to say it, but Pine was only 400 yards, as the crow flies, from the ranchhouse!) Also, it was noticed that a much needed rest was enjoyed by Todd Phillips and Jack Lyness who at different ponds were seen drifting asleep in the tranquility of their float tubes. Kent took pleasure deciphering a huge black and white aerial map he had of the ranch property searching out the various ponds. Dick suggested he get rid of the map as it was too difficult to read. But Kent relished the challenge and persevered, not ready to throw in the towel. By end of day, Kent had wended his way through much of the Roostercomb including another ranch he got on after taking a wrong turn. He did determine that each of six ponds (including two he wanted to visit) were marked on his map several miles north of their actual location, and that many of the roads marked on the map were grown over or washed out and new ones, were not marked on the same map. He said, "I had to work hard for the fish I caught." Then there was Elaine who triumphed over her fear of driving in and out of the ranch over its muddy, rocky, watery and somewhat treacherous course. Thanks to digital, Lee captured a great photo of Elaine fiercely gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles, staring intensely out the window. (I'm sure we'll see that photo in the next January's Slide Show!) In fact, Elaine reported that on her way out of the ranch she actually drove through a large pool in the stream that splashed water completely over the hood of the car freaking her out; but she kept her foot to the pedal and just kept going! Congrats, Elaine!
Then there were our breakfasts and barbecue dinnersÉwe almost starved! Deanna laughed, "ThereÕs not enough food!" On the contrary, we had so much food it was truly sinful. Everyone contributed wonderful dishes and meals; Rich, Jack and Max Lyness cooked up a fabulous spread of appetizers and side dishes for Saturday evening's barbecue, proving again to be masters of good cooking. Of course, the hefty Margaritas that our guide, Brian, served quickly cranked up the party fast. From that point on the stories and jokes filled the evenings while we sat gathered on the porch overlooking the Orestimba, "the meeting place." It doesn't get any better than that.

I skipped opening day due to prior commitments with my family but was able to drive up to Los Padres on Sunday, May 1st with Tom Donovan. We had an enjoyable hike into the reservoir as all the spring blossoms were in full bloom. Made it on the water by 8:30 AM.
Didn't have a hook up until 9:30. Both Tom and I were using sink tips and stripping wooly buggers. We spent most of the morning in the lower 1/2 of the reservoir.
Fishing was active but the catching was slow. So we moved to the upper section and fished until the noon winds sent us scurrying back. All in all around 8 trout were landed. None over 12".
There was some dry fly activity along the banks but didn't have the patience to switch over to floating gear.
One week later I did the drive with Elaine Cook. We got an earlier start and managed to be on the water by 6:30 AM. Kicked up to the top of the reservoir and met a gent from Salinas who was using a form of still water nymph (with a biot tail instead of a maribou one) and landing trout into the 20" range. After bumming one of those patterns off the guy I started to catch larger rainbows. Elaine and I left for the long kick home around 10:30 and still managed to be caught in the winds. There were more fish signs present this year with larger rainbows and a few large steelhead being brought to hand. All signs of a healthy climb back to respectable fishing. Dave Jenson had also explored the reservoir in between my days there and had pretty much the same experience...beautiful scenery, weather, few fish landed.

May 14th. A buddy and I met a couple of folks from the club for a day trip to Little Panoche. Not surprisingly, we had the place to ourselves. This was to be the fishout re-scheduled from last month. The valley wind howled and was tough as expected, but we managed a few smallish fish out of the emerging weeds in the afternoon. About 5:30 PM, the wind went calm and fishing definitely picked up. Topwater time!! Without a picture to show, all I can do is tell you that we were pleasantly shocked at the numbers and quality of the fish in the last three hours before dark. I was glad I brought a 7 weight. The better fish all took big poppers fished tight to the dam face. Log Notes: Hang tough in the wind, the quality fish will show themselves late in the day.

This year's Green River trip tested everyone's ability to adapt to adverse conditions, most of which were not of Mother Nature's making. There were several massive dam releases, running the river up to almost unfishable levels, but we soldiered on, and we all had our own successes.
The weather could not have been nicer. Ordinarily, we have a mixture of rain, snow, wind and sun, but this year, after one short thundershower the first night, the sun beat down on us and the wind lay down, so whatever problems we may have had couldn't be blamed on the weather.

Evidently, notice of dam releases does not filter upstream to the outfitters or guides, because they had many conflicting reports of what was to happen with the river levels. John and I consulted with our guide, Doug Burton, and his best information was that the releases were due to happen later in the week, so we opted to go on our drift trip on Monday. We had a great morning, but as we sat on the bank having lunch, we noticed grass, moss, large tree branches and other debris rapidly going down the river, and the drift boat began lifting off its anchor. The rest of the drift trip was largely unproductive, with the fish having gone deep.
The others went on their drift trips later in the week, and they all did well considering the high water.
Usually the downstream button pushers leave things alone for a day or two after a big release, but such was not the case this time. For the next couple of days, the river level continued to go up, more debris came down, and both the fish and the fishermen were dazed and confused. This was just a test of wits for the Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen who ventured out onto the trail along the river, though. Paul Schraeder, Doug Severin, Tom Pelikan, Perry Ralston, Tom Stallings, Tom Dwyer, Kathy and Dave Powers, Elaine Cook, Ken Reed, and John and myself, managed to find fish by going deep, nymphing, flinging streamers, bobbicating, and generally using every trick in the book to get the fish interested.
Even though the fishing was challenging, everybody had a great time, and thanks to Denny and Grace Breer, the owners of Trout Creek Flies, we ate very well, and enjoyed deluxe accommodations. On the last evening the group was together, I put a short slide show together on my laptop. Some of the photos in it will undoubtedly end up in our annual slide show.

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