Closing Day 2011?

Well, as you may or may not know, the general trout closer in California does not apply to everything. Certain stretches of the Merced remain fishable. We had several fun sessions over the last few days and inclement weather did not mean bad fishing; not one bit! Yosemite Valley got a few dustings which left it gorgeous. Shannon snuck away from her friends and celebrated with a quality trout. It was one of several. Chad and Katie snuck away from Bakersfield so that they could sneak up on some fish. Great times. Give us a call and/or at least check the DFG regs carefully please. We remind everyone to also check out our facebook profile for other images and random posts: http://www.facebook.com/sierraflyfisher

Yosemite Dusting

Despite fears that the erratic weather would turn the fish off, it did the opposite. Sure we know that an overcast day is good but this was a combo meal of cold, sun, showers, snow, clouds and all over again at a high rate. Fishing was stellar. Caddis activity seems to be waning however the PMDs persist in small numbers and BWOs are kicking in. Some of unusually nice size. Many waters are very quiet with very light human activity (or none!). We invite you to wrap up the season with Sierra Fly Fisher.

Fall is STILL on!

The Merced continues to fish great. Jonathan nailed this unusually spotted bow on a day out with Bernard. Then you have Nich dropping some streamers between the boulders with fall colors abounding while also pulling some nice fish on dries. Good times!

Fall is ON

We left some of our brown trout hot-spots behind for the sake of this report. We are starting to work the Merced very carefully and with great focus. Various Caddisflies as well as Mayflies are making a great showing. The PMDs remain solid while smaller mayflies are in the mix. Caddisflies of a variety of sorts are in the mix and the legendary October Caddisflies are finally getting recognized by the trout. All of the photos and fish on this page are from the Merced. Call for more information and to book with us :)

Mid-October Updates

Very little time for the digital realm but lots of time for the mountains and streams. Cool weather and even a storm event from several days back threw us a few curve balls (or snowballs even!) however the fishing has been good and bouncing back hard. We've had some neat moments as we flirted with the onset and the exit of the weather. For example, as the water was rising and getting discolored earlier this month, Norm Lamoreaux still put people on fish while doing a day on the Merced. Bernard is very happy to have spent time with members of his alma matter the Diablo Valley Fly Fisher club. This was the club that he called home as a kid back in Walnut Creek many many moons back. Currently, at Trout Camp, we are seeing changes daily as we approach our wrap-up. What is exciting is that the fishing has been improving. Fall is far from over and we are excited. Give us a shout for an update.

Todd worked hard for this fish under challenging conditions but his efforts paid off.
Bernard helped Dan spot fish and simply enjoy the show
Dan and Chris work the stream in tandem. Drizzly skies and slaying it!
Dan's work paid off...
Bill shows us an October Golden
A fat Merced Rainbow
Alan of the Diablo Valley club with a brown up from the lake
Crazy weather allowed for great photos

Fall Kicks-In WIth A Smile

We'll let the photos do the talking!

A lounging buck on the Merced!
Can you say October Caddis?

Alejandro scores a solid brown from the gnarly terrain zone.

Let's go fishing!

Indicator Fishing

As a guide service we tend to prefer the dry fly experience. That said, we offer a fun little stream report entry playing with this question: What kind of indicator do we LIKE? Well, we have decided that an indicator isn't just a small balloon or a puff of yarn. It's not even a grasshopper (fly). We like indicators such as overcast days, shifts in stream levels, grasshoppers all over the bank, PMDs stuck to your clothes etc. Those are the indicators. This year, we are finding these indicators numerous and a delight for they have been helping us fish most effectively.

Depending on where you are, you will find fish targeting these delicate mayflies.
At high altitudes, these fungi have been plentiful after the random afternoon drizzles.


Despite murky post-storm water and deer getting busy streamside, we have found certain areas fishing unusually well. We love this stuff!

The USGS river gauges are a great source of information as we monitor the ups and downs. Note the two very different peaks resultant from high altitude weather events.

And, alas, the payoff!