Fishing Like The SF Giants

Being the San Francisco Giants are the "home" team, I've been watching them on Comcast Sports Net via Dish. Well, the last two days (Saturday & Sunday) have been exciting. The Giants were in first place in the NL West. That was until yesterday. See, the Dodgers beat the Giants 10-0 on Saturday and 4-0 yesterday. To be shut out two games in a row by the Dodgers hasn't happened since the Dodgers were in Brooklyn in 1957. The summer of 1957 I was 10 years old.

So, what does this have to do with fishing today? I fished a good 3/4 mile of the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes (water temp 56.7 degrees) above the bridge at PIPI Valley Campground and, although I got drive bys and hit and runs, I couldn't bring one to hand any more than the Giants could score a run in the last two games. The score today was fish 12 or so and Mark 0.No doubt a shut out in the eyes of the fish.

To as insult to injury, I had one fish, in a specific run, that I drifted an orange stimulator past six times and all six times he took a swat at it, but not once was I able to hook him.

Got plans for a new spot Thursday or Friday. I'll let you know how it goes.

Mark

Two Trees Down, Four to Go

Anybody out there need a little exercise? I have a splitting maul, wedges, and gloves if you have weenie hands. Some of the rounds at 36" in diameter. 

Front View

Side View

No, that's OK I have a splitter.

Fishing next week.

Mark

Who Left The Damn Gate Open

Today was a two part plan. The first leg was to check out Panther Creek, off Panther Creek Rd, off Highway 88 just up the street from Cooks Station (after coffee of course). Turned off the highway and wandered down a fairly good paved road. Somewhere in the area of about 2 miles in, I came across the group below.

Temporary Road block

Which brings us to the title. There wasn't any "Open Range Cattle" signs anywhere. The only thing I saw was a cattle guard across the road, but a lot of the roads have them. I eased through them and continued on my way.

Hide behind the tree, nobody can see you.

I drove the eight miles to the T in the road and a turn toward Salt Flat Reservoir (14 miles), I still hadn't found anything that looked like a creek so I kept going. Just after the turn, the fairly good paved road turned into a rutted dirt road. Now I like a good dirt road as well as anybody, but 28 miles (round trip) on a rutted dirt road that was worse than the first half mile of the road to my house (which is in terrible shape) was not something I was interested in this morning. So I made a u-turn and headed back out. The group of cattle above was still there, still in the road, and had been joined by several more when I got there. This time I had to wait a while for the cows to move their posteriors out of the way.

There was a fire in this area a few years back (with them naming fires, it's hard to find a particular one on the web and I couldn't find when this one was) and the recovery has been slow, but it is happening. So those of you in Colorado, be brave the forest will come back. 

Lot of dead standing from a fire

With only one deer (in the middle of the road of course) to dodge, I made it back out to the highway and turned East toward Bear River Reservoir. Got to the dam, parked, and carried my gear to the lake. Low and behold, I ran into one of the members of the Amador Flyfishers, but I wasn't surprised because I've run into Barbara before fishing at Bear. We fished, we talked about last Saturdays picnic, and talked about Tenkara (give her a chance and I think she'll be a believer). About an hour into the fishing, she asked if I wanted to go over to the cove and fish there. The cove turned out to be the same cove that my friend Glenn parks his motor home at and where I picked him up back on the 10th. Only difference was there was a lot less water today.

Barbara fished dries and I alternately fished lures and Tenkara. The only fish I saw was a drive by from a little (Rainbow maybe) that was this [-----------------------] long. At Noon I said my good bys and headed back down the highway into town to run a couple of errands. 

So today I payed the skunkman. That's OK because they call this insanity fishing not catching.

I'm planning on spending tomorrow and Friday cutting up two of the six the trees that I showed you on the July 12th post. Once I get done with the two trees I've been working on for four days already, I'll take a couple of pictures of the pile of rounds. You'll be surprised how big a pile two trees makes. Wait until you see the pile from six.

Till then.

Mark

New Planter

I've posted a new planter over on Mark's Original Wood Planters. If you get a chance, take a look.

http://www.marksoriginalplanters.com/

There will be another tomorrow.

Mark

Summer Picnic

I've been talking off and on with Ray Mutter the Programs Director for the Amador Flyfishers. A local club of fly fishermen and fisherwomen. Ray had been reading my articles in the Ledger Dispatch and when he found one that had my email address, we started corresponding.

Well, Ray, Tom (another member) and I met at the local donut shop a couple of weeks ago and discussed this and that and one of the things we talked about was me doing a presentation on small stream fishing in Amador and El Dorado (neighboring county) Counties. I agreed and was set up for the June 2013 meeting.     

During our discussions he also invited me to their annual picnic. He and Tom picked me up at Cooks Station this morning and we drove over Carson Pass to Indian Creek Reservoir. I've been by there on many occasions because it's on the way to the East Fork of the Carson River, but have never stopped. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. So not only did I have a picnic to attend (hamburgers, chili, and sodas), but an ulterior motive as well. Scope out the lake.  

The Gang

The Lake to the left

The Lake to the right

The food was good, the company excellent, and other than the fact that I didn't bring one fishing rod with me (on purpose), a very enjoyable day. The elevation at Indian Creek is 5600 feet and about the same as Bear River Reservoir (5850 feet) , but it seems more dry and desolate than Bear. According to the group, fishing was slow, but they were not discouraged and on their way back out (in float tubes) when we left.

I'm sure you'll be hearing more about Amador Flyfishers in the future so stay tuned.

Mark

I Had To Answer This Question

This from Tim over at Old Man River OR (http://oldmanriveror.blogspot.com/).

"Does not compute. Mark you say you're on vacation, yet you're not fishing? I don't understand. ;)"

I had to answer this so everyone could see.

OK, I was near Putah Creek one of the finest fisheries in Northern California WITH my fly rod and Tenkara rod and I didn't fish. Why, you ask? I was being a good and loving husband and on our anniversary vacation weekend. I just couldn't drag my wife down to the creek in 90+ degree weather so I could stand in the river waving a stick.

OK, I was near the Navarro River where, I assume a lot of guys were fishing, with my fly rod and Tenkara rod in the car. I just couldn't drag my wife down to the creek in 55 degree and foggy weather so I could stand in the river waving a stick.

I can't claim a senior moment that was five days long, can I? Probably not.
I had intentions of wetting a line because I wouldn't have had my rods in the car otherwise, but didn't because I felt guilty? I doubt it.
It was too cold and foggy? No different than any winter in Northern California.
It was too hot? No different than any summer in Northern California. 

The real reason I didn't fish and I get to fish any time I want and as much as I want. I just wanted to spend our anniversary weekend with my best friend of 15 years with no distractions, even though I did sneak out a few minutes watching the guy fishing for crabs. Hey, it was something I might have  needed for a post. Man's got to know his limitations.

Mark

Vacation Sunday

Before I get into what  transpired on Sunday, let me first say that the post for Friday's trip was post number 500 for Northern California Trout. Never knew I had that much to say. Thanks for all those who follow and read what I write.  

Second, by the picture below, guess who's back. Even the motion sensor light didn't deter him last night or should I say this morning at 12:06 am. For those not familiar with my past confrontations with the Black Bear, that's who again, attempted to destroy my trash can. He finally took off when I turned on the outside spot light.  

The wheels are supposed to be on the bottom.

Sunday on vacation. Our 15th anniversary, by the way. We grabbed coffee/latte and a couple of muffins and headed to Fort Bragg. You have to double click to make the picture larger to read it.

In the summer of 1857, First Lieutenant Horatio G. Gibson, then serving at the Presidio of San Francisco established a military post on the Mendocino Indian Reservation approximately one and one-half miles north of the Noyo river He named the camp for his former commanding officer Captain Braxton Bragg, who later became a General in the Army of the Confederacy. The official date of the establishment of the fort was June 11, 1857. Its purpose was to maintain order on the reservation.

We drove down to the Noyo River Harbor and ran into this young man from Chico, California who was on vacation too. He was making an attempt to catch crab (I'm assuming Dungeness Crab) with this hookup he has in his hand that is attached to a fishing rod. The basket like box in the center is where you put squid or octopus for bait and the rings are slip lines. The theory is that the crab comes in to eat the bait and you lift the rig catching the crab in the slip line.

Crab Trap

The attempt

We hung around for a little while, but pulled out before any crab were brought to hand. If you read this post, let us know if it worked.

Next stop was Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park. A nice little 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot to the lighthouse and back. Of course there were those Asses that just drove out instead of parking and walking like the rest of us. Quite a few actually.  

Caught the light as it flashed

The pictures below at are the houses for the light keepers. There are cottages that can be rented as a vacation cabin behind these buildings.

Second Assistants House

Lighthouse Keepers House

First Assistants House

This bush is a Coastal Cypress. They grow all along the coast and thrive in the damp, foggy, climate.

Coastal Cypress

We got back to Mendocino and had lunch at the Mendocino Hotel at a table with an ocean view. The lunch was actually a champagne breakfast then walked back to our room stopping for chocolate at the chocolate shop and ice cream on the way.

Our anniversary dinner was at the Little River Inn in the Wisteria Room that has an ocean view at all tables. I had lamb shanks and Katherine had smoked chicken.

Monday morning we packed up and jetted down the highway. We made it home in just a little over 6 hours taking the freeway most of the way instead of the scenic route.  


Don't think I'll get back to fishing until next week, but I'll let you know when I do.

Till then.

Mark

Vacation Saturday

I forgot (and I can't imagine how I did that) to tell you about this sign we saw as we got close to our destination. If you're having trouble reading it, it says "ENTERING TSUNAMI HAZARD ZONE". That was encouraging.

Breakfast Saturday morning was at the Mendocino Hotel with an ocean view table. I had French Toast and spicy sausage that literally set my ears on fire. Katherine had an omelette with vegetables, sausage, and avocado on top.  

As we pulled out of Mendocino, I stopped a couple of miles out of town and took this shot across a little bay. That is the fog shrouded town of Mendocino, California.

This, on the other hand, was directly below the cliff I was standing on to take the other picture.

About 100 to 150 feet to the water

OK, on to the wine tasting. First stop was Handley Cellars in the little town of Philo, California.

Handley Cellars

Yup, spent a bunch. Then on to Husch Vineyards. Cute little wine tasting room. It was in Philo also. Short drive from place to place. Spent a bunch there too.

Husch Vineyards

Next was Greenwood Ridge Vineyards. They had a couple of nice ponds right below the tasting room that I thought would be a good distraction for me while the wife did the wine tasting thing, but they had just put some kind of dye in to retard the algae growth and I didn't think any fish that was in there (and they seemed to think there was) would be interested in anything I offered, so I passed. 

Greenwood Ridge Vineyards

We hit three other wine tasting places, but the only other picture I took was the one below. Most of the Anderson Valley (where we were doing the wine tasting) looked just like this. Vineyards as far as the eye could see.

Every place we stopped had multiple award ribbons for their wines. Some of the wineries have been in the same family for several generations. One example is Husch Vineyards where the third generation is now the owners and the little tasting room (pictured above) was a pony barn dating back to the 1800's.

On the way to the coast on Friday, to the wine tasting on Saturday Morning, and on the way back Saturday afternoon we had to pass through Navarro River Redwoods State Park. I took a couple of pictures for you to see. It's an 11 mile stretch of Highway 128 that is carved out of the redwood forest. Some of the trees you drive by are 5 or 6 feet in diameter. The Navarro River runs right through the center of the park. On the way through on Saturday afternoon I noticed several of the pull offs had multiple cars parked, but I resisted stopping and crashing through the brush to see if they were fishing. According to the DFG website the river is C&R with artificial lures and barbless. I'm sure they were, but it was vacation and spending it with Katherine was my main goal. 

Navarro River Redwoods SP

Navarro River Redwoods SP

Back in Mendocino, dinner Saturday night was at the Mendocino Hotel in the Bistro. I had a shaved Prime Rib sandwich and Katherine had crab cakes, both with french fries.

Sunday was a trip to Fort Bragg and our 15th anniversary. Stay tuned.

Mark

I Am Such A Bonehead

OK, so we left on Friday Morning with the intention of a casual drive over to the coast. I'm going to jump forward to us getting there and me getting ready to tell you all about the drive over. I fire up the computer, log in to Google with my email address and go to my desktop to get my password. My password is on a shortcut Excel spreadsheet that is on our "F" Drive back at home. "I'm sorry, you can  not be connected to this spreadsheet". Now understand this password (and the reason it's on a spreadsheet) is because it has all kinds of weird characters. Capitals, exclamation marks, asterisks, numbers, lower case letters, and what not. There is no way I can remember this password and at that time there was no way to access it.

So, I couldn't post until I got home. I couldn't comment on anybody's blog. I couldn't access anything that is on the external "F" drive. I was dead in the water.  The most I could do is read everybody's blogs and that was it.

So, let me bring you up to date on what occurred on Friday. The scenic route we picked was highway 128 off Interstate 505. This is the road that takes you to Putah Creek which runs out of Lake Berryessa. OK, I know that probably doesn't mean a lot, but let me put it in perspective.

Heard of Creedence Clearwater Revival? Heard of Green River by CCR? Here, go out and take a listen.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4-yugdZUt0 . Putah Creek is the Green River in this song. Putah Creek = Big Trout. Did I stop to fish? Nope. Did I stop to take pictures? Nope. I planned to stop on the way back through and take pictures. Didn't go that way on the way back. On this one you'll just have to take my word for it that the river and lake are gorgeous.

We went through such famous towns as Calistoga (famous for its mud baths), Boonville which has it's own language called Boontling.Here is an example: "It's bahl hornin'," which means "It's good drinkin'", and Navarro River Redwoods State Park. More about that later.

Google Maps said about 5 hours to get to Mendocino. It turned out to be more like 7 1/2, but we made it. Remember we took the scenic route. Left the house in 91 degrees and landed in Mendocino at 55 degrees and foggy.  

We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast called the Headlands Inn. The room was called the Headlands Hideaway. Separate from the main building, very secluded, and quiet. Here's a couple of shots in and around the room.

Entry door to our room

Patio outside the room

Inside

Flowers around the patio

More flowers around the patio

Dinner was fresh Snapper for me and Prawns for Katherine followed by Carrot Cake for dessert at the Mendocino Cafe.

Tomorrow I'll post about Saturday and wine tasting.

Mark 

Timberrrrrrrr

 I met my son at 0800, half way between our houses for a quick breakfast this morning at a very nice little cafe we hadn't tried before. With him you have to take them when you can get them.

The reason for the quick breakfast, I had loggers coming at 1000 to drop six trees. Yours truly is just getting too old for that kind of entertainment. They got here right on time. The first three were dropped off to the right of his truck. I stayed out of the way. These pictures were taken from about 200 feet away.

Tree number 4

Let's drop it that way

Perfect. Exactly where we wanted it

Let's make a little dust

OK, that one goes there

Almost ready to go

Here it goes

Big tree dropped in the right spot

They dropped all six in less than 45 minutes and put them where I have easy access to them. Now all the hard work begins. Bucking (cutting all the limbs off), measuring for the right length, cutting them into rounds for splitting, moving them to the splitter, and then splitting and stacking the wood.

But, it will have to wait until I get back from vacation. Way too hot to be doing any manual labor today. I suspect it will be right at 100 here today and just walking around taking pictures this morning made me sweat or maybe it was watching them work that did it.

Disclaimer: This was done by professionals on a closed course, don't try this at home. Oh hell, if you want to go ahead, just don't let the tree fall on you, but I didn't tell you to.    

Next post is from the coast. A little poetry there. No not another career. Stay tuned.

Mark

Tenkara Comes To Sacramento

Talking to one of the guys on the Tenkara Forum I found out that Fly Fishing Specialities in Citrus Heights now stocks Tenkara. Of course as soon as discovered this I had to run  down and spend some $$$$$. I love this shop, but as locations go, they are on the other side of the world from me, but in this case I made the drive.

I needed to replace my traditional line, but Tenkara USA has been out of stock for a while. Instead of running down there and finding they too were out of stock, I called first. "Plenty in stock" and I'm off.

They've got a complete line of rods, lines, and flies. If you're local, go over and check it out. They're at 6360 Tupelo Dr. #A off Interstate 80 at Antelope Dr. Phone # 916-722-1055.

No, I didn't get paid or did they provide me with anything free to put this up here. I just wanted you to know where you could go to find Tenkara in Sacramento.

Mark

Yearly Fishing Trip With Glenn

I pulled out of the house at 0715 and after coffee at Cooks Station picked up Glenn at the Bear River Resort Campground. Our target was the Silver Fork of the American River at the 12 mile (actually I think it's 8 or 9 miles, but what who cares) bridge. Once we arrived and scoped the river we decided to fish upstream from the bridge.

Glenn got right into the 58 degree water and started with his fly rod and floating line. I'm not sure what fly he was using. He had a couple of fly boxes and a bunch of flies.
 

Glenn at the Beginning

 I worked my way upstream and fishing with a green stimulator landed this little rainbow. I was fishing my Tenkara rod, but dragged along my fly rod just in case.

Little Rainbow on Green Stimulator

As it usually happens, you have to fight the line back out to top guide because the water grabs the line and pulls it back through the tip.

The Line Fight

I gave him the Tenkara to try, but after a short period of time decided he like his rod better.

Glenn With Tenkara

We worked our way upstream maybe a half mile and I landed just the one, but Glenn brought four to hand. Must have been because he was standing in the middle of the creek. The further upstream we went, the harder stream access got so we decided to move to another spot with better access. We went down the road to another place I knew, but ran into some logging equipment blocking the road so we did a U-turn and tried a feeder stream up the street from 12 mile bridge. Unfortunately it was fishless probably because it was rather shallow. Once again in the truck we drove back out to the main road and headed to the North Fork of the Cosumnes at Caps Crossing. 

I picked the spot where I fished back on June 7th and the only difference today was less water. The outcome was a little different for me this time, I didn't catch any, but Glenn managed three more.  He was standing in the middle of the creek again. Note to self, stand in the middle of creek.

By 2:00 pm we were done for the day. On the walk back to the car, Glenn mention that he could see the benefit of using Tenkara on a streams like we fished today, but I don't think he's ready to plunk down the bucks. When I got home it was 94 degrees at my house so I imagine it was 90+ where we were. Very warm. When we got back to Glenn's motor home we sat and had a soda (Me) and a beer (Glenn) and talked about future trips on the American for Steelhead this coming Winter and Shad next Summer. There will still be our annual trip next 4th of July week. Since Glenn had such a good time with the fly rod and dry flies we'll just have to find a another good spot or two.

I'm off on vacation this Friday. The Wife and I are driving over to Mendocino, on the coast, for a few days so I'll take some pictures and do a couple of posts so you all can see what it looks like. I think you'll enjoy to views. I can't upload the pictures to my laptop because the program is not compatible with Windows 7 so I'll probably post and then upload the pictures when I get back on Tuesday.

Till then, stay cool.

Mark  

Planters on Mark's Original Wood Planters.com

Just a heads up for those that have been viewing the planters I've posted each day on Mark's Original Wood Planters. When I return from vacation on Tuesday the 16th, I'm going to be putting a planter display in one of the stores in town. Several of the "One of a kind" planters will be in that display at the store.

I still have two more to post, Tomorrow and Wednesday and then all the ones I have created so far will be up there. 

I just wanted to let everyone know in case there is one you've been thinking about, but are not quite sure you want to take the step just yet. There is no guarantee that any of the "One of a kind" planters will be sold, but if and when it is, I will delete the post from http://www.marksoriginalplanters.com/.

I'm off to fish with my friend Glenn in the morning and will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mark

  

The Plan

As you already know, I always have a plan or two or three. This morning I needed all five. 

Plan A: Launch the Float Tube Cumberland in Woods Lake. After coffee at Cooks Station, I got to Woods Lake at 0830 only to find waves on the lake. Waves at 0830 meant bigger waves and more wind as the day went on.

OK, Plan B: Park in the Woods Creek access lot and walk down to the creek. Followed a couple of guys down the path (I've never made it all the way to the creek) to where the creek enters the lake. That would be Caples Lake. Made my way upstream (note to self, next time bring machete) to a spot where I could actually put the line in the water. That would be the two pictures below.

The Creek Upstream

The Creek Downstream

After attempting to get the fly on the water and actually getting one hit and run, I decided to move a little more upstream. As I passed these (I think they are Purple Lupin) flowers I took a quick shot.

Purple Lupin, I think

I followed a trail I stumbled (literally) across and the further I followed it, the further uphill and away from the creek I went until I came out in the parking lot. So much for Plan B.

Plan C: After much frustration with Woods Creek and it's access I got back into the truck and headed downhill. As I passed Caples Lake I noticed that even though the wind was blowing, it seemed calm on the sandy side of the spillway. Got my fly rod and a Tungsten Bead Head Thin Mint, walked over the dam, and found a place where I could get a good back swing with out catching trees or shrubs. As I approached the lake and as is the standard for this lake, the wind now blew straight into my face.

So I would wait for the wind to calm, cast, strip, and wait for the next calm period. While waiting for the next calm period I noticed the guy standing on the spillway dam and it seemed that the wind was from his back. OK, I'll walk over there and fish from the spillway dam. As I approached the steps, he was coming down mumbling about the wind being in his face all morning...See, that lake is evil.

Plan D: Back in the truck to check out a little creek I just noticed this very morning. It's just up the road from the Silver Lake Dam and running pretty good. I think they call it Oyster Creek and claim there aren't any fish in it. I'll see for myself. Parked, couldn't find an access, drove across the road to another parking spot only to find a "No Trespassing - No Fishing" sign. Drove a little further back up the road to another dirt road and followed it for several miles on almost 4 wheel drive terrain. I was at the point where I was looking for a turn around spot when I dropped out into a big meadow and there was a campground with vault toilets, motor homes, and campers galore. I don't know if they came in the same way I did, but if they did, I applaud them. I did run into a Ranger and asked about creeks and he suggested I go to the creek below Silver Lake Dam.

Plan E: The creek below Silver Lake Dam. I first fished right up against the dam and scored the first fish of the day. He looked a lot like this one, could have even been this ones brother or sister (don't want to be politically incorrect).       

Brown

Fished my way down stream and missed a few, but there wasn't a lot of water in the creek and the fish that were there were very skiddish.

A Small Pool

Kept going downstream hoping for that pool or riffle with the next fish in it, but it was not to be. The further down I went the bigger the rocks got.

Much Bigger Rocks

I finally got tired of climbing over much bigger rocks to get to water and called it a day. Besides the count was Mark - 1, fish - several, but at least I didn't get skunked. I think this creek is the beginning of the Silver Fork of the American River because it eventually hooks up with it miles down the canyon. That other little creek I was trying to fish in Plan D also connects with this creek down below where I was. Got to love the USGS maps.  

As I mentioned on the 3rd, next outing is Tuesday with my friend Glenn. To tell you the truth, I think (from his recent email) he's a little nervous. That's OK, I'll take care of him. Hehehe.

Mark

Moral For Today

Happy Fourth of July Everybody.

Confucius say: He who go fourth, with a fifth on the fourth, may not live to see the fifth.

Good words to live by.

Mark

Middle Fork of the Cosumnes Upstream From The Bridge

I've made a "sort of" Tenkara bucket list for the readers of the newspaper I write the fishing articles for. The article coming out on Friday lists six places I want to fish with Tenkara.

Number one on the list was the West Fork of the Carson River and I checked that one off on June 20th.  

Number three on the list was the East fork of the Carson and Wolf Creek. This one got a half of a check on June 29th because I got the East Fork, but missed Wolf Creek.

Number Two on the list I checked off today. The Middle Fork of the Cosumnes above the bridge at Cat Creek Rd.

I pulled out of the house at at 0730 and after the coffee stop at Cooks Station, arrived at the creek at 0815. I decided, since it is supposed to be warm today, that I would wet wade. I put on my wader boots and wool socks, not for warmth, but for bulk because my wader boots are a size larger than I normally wear. For my effort, I entered the stream for the first time at a blazing 54.4 degrees. 

Upstream from the bridge

The first spot

This is the first one using an orange stimulator, but I went down in size to a 14 instead of a 10. I had to use my new magnifying lens (you know one of those that clip on your hat) so I could see the hole and where to put the line. Old and blind, a bad combination.

The first fish

So in passing, I took a bunch of shots for you small stream guys.

Another spot

More spots

The one below was good enough for  a picture in my Troutrageous! t-shirt that I've been carrying around for about a year now just waiting for the proper fish, but the problem here is that it's hard to take a picture of yourself especially since your Troutrageous! t-shirt is still in the truck and you're a half mile down the creek. Sorry Mike, maybe next time. 

Rod Bender

OK, more fish and more pictures. This one was actually a good three fish pool. After I caught the three I changed to an Elk Hair Caddis. Thought I give them something different to look at, but what I found out is that they want something with color. They wouldn't touch the Elk Hair Caddis, but as soon as I put on a Yellow Humpy, they started hitting again.  

Three fish pool

Some more pictures.

For the small stream guys

This one is for them too

So, how did the day end up? Mark 9 - Fish maybe 20+. They are still faster than I am, but I'm making progress. I tried to keep track of the drive-bys, but I lost count around 8 or so.

The other three on the Tenkara "bucket list" are:
Four, The Silver Fork of the American River below the twelve mile bridge.

Five, Silver Creek and Lyons Creek off the road to Wrights Lake

Six, Mokelumne River off Red Corral Rd

Number Four will probably be checked off next Tuesday. Glenn (my retired Sheriff friend) and I are going to toss some flies there during our yearly 4th of July week fishing trip. OK, if you're counting I know it's the 10th.   

Day after tomorrow I'm off to a new place, so I'll let you know how that goes. I don't want to say too much, might jinx it. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Mark