Detailed Spey and Switch Class on the Yuba

Spey and Switch Rods on the Yuba
With Ryan Miller, Kieth Kaneko, and Adrian Psuty

This class will be held on the Yuba River and will be dedicated to exploring the world of spey casting and utilizing spey techniques. Learn everything from how to hold the rod to properly working a run. We will show you how to select rods, reels, lines, tips, flies, spey casts and water. We will dive into Skagit, Scandinavian and long belly line applications. This is the most complete spey class out there. If you have a qestion, we will have an answer.

If you do not own a two-handed rod, no problem, we will have multiple outfits available for you to use.

These techniques will also add another dimension to your single handed casting so feel free to bring along a single handed rod.


The class will feature local guide, travel agent and my good friend Keith Kaneko of Angling On The Fly and local guide and casting instructor Adrian Psuty of Anchor Point Fly Fishing. We will spill the beans about one of our passions and put all the pieces together about the spey game.

Date:
November 22: 10 anglers max, cost is $75 per person

Students will be taken on a first come, first serve basis and ability does not matter.

The class will start at 10am and end at 5pm.

Contact Ryan Miller at rhmiller@gmail.com, Phone: 530-913-8312 with questions or to sign up.

Dry Fly Time On The Yuba

The Sky



The Result

Salt For Steelhead?

The muggy air caused every pore in my body to open and spit as we stepped outside. It was also a soothing break for my bone-dry eyes which had just endured 8 hours of recycled, fart filled airplane air. Yea baby, we are no longer in Kansas and there probably isn't a steelhead within 2000 miles. But we were in Mexico and on a quest for another chrome fish, Tarpon and the possibility of a slam.

We were hurried into a shuttle to head off to the place we would call home for the next few days. Before we even departed from the airport we were questioned by one of our shuttle-mates repeatedly about our plans. You know the type, the ones who can't stop talking. This guy had a very close vocal resemblance to Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) from Police Academy. His voice almost cracking as he released his excited words in an not quite yelling but not quite talking voice. He even pulled out a bank wrapped wad of 100 one dollar bills, explaining that " this is the only way to go in Mexico....tip with lots of singles and you can get anything you want here!" I would have paid at least and extra $20 to be the next ones off the shuttle but our fate was sealed. We got to spend the following half-hour hearing about all his previous travels and his plans while in Cancun.

Once we arrived at our abode (The Blue Bay Club), checked in, cranked the AC, and got our first cervasa we were finally at ease. Now only a single res less night lay between us and some stalking on the flats (a few more cervasa and a good Cuban cigar made quick work of the evening).

The first morning started off with a short boat ride from the marina. The channel inlet into the lagoon area was like something out of a movie. Apocalypse Now flashed through my mind as we turned the first corner and got a view of the thick green vegetation surrounding the channel and lagoon. I was even so in ah that I didn't even reach for the camera.

We began by casting into the numerous holes along the edges of the mangroves. Because the water in this lagoon was quite deep we were pretty much blind casting to areas that looked good or to the rings left by a fish that had rolled. The entire time that we were back in this area fish were rolling back up in the mangroves and along their edges. The casting was somewhat tight and the gaps we were aiming for were sometimes only a foot or two wide with overhanging branches! We jumped a number of fish but most made one jump and then headed straight for the mangroves which caused one of two outcomes; a break-off or the fish coming unbuttoned. We did land one nice Snook.

The balance of the first day we spent outside of the mangroves on the flats. We had a few shots at some Bones and Permit but no fish to hand. A front also moved in and brought with it a good dose of wind and some heavy chop.

Day 2 was a complete bust as the winds were very high. In addition to the heavy chop it also caused very significant changes to the tides. The areas we attempted to fish for tarpon were quite high and it was our guides thought that most of the fish were back up in the groves instead of cruising on the edges.

The third day began with a beautiful sunrise and very light winds. 'Time to make up for yesterday' was running through my head as we tootled out through the marina. And it just so happened that was exactly what lay ahead of us.

We covered a few flats searching for the Bones and Permit. We did see three or four schools of bones but they were all on the move. We also came across a few Permit but just like the bones they were completely on the move. The next few hours we spend back up in a series of lagoons and channels sight casting to Tarpon and the action was unbelievable and almost non stop. This is what we had come for and we got our fair share. There is something sweet about spotting, casting to, and leading a fish until your fly disappears into the mouth of a crazy, pissed off Tarpon. A millisecond later the fish 5 feet out of the water thrashing. I have yet to experience anything else like it.

This trip was put together by Keith Kaneko of Angling On The Fly. Kieth has numerous destinations around the world that are all top notch. If you are considering a destination please give Keith a call as I am sure he will have something that will far exceed your expectations.

Trinity River Full Day Spey Schools

Once you hook a summer steelhead on the Trinity River, you’ll be coming back every year to view the beauty of the river and the possibility of hooking another feisty sea-run rainbow. The Trinity is one of the top steelhead fisheries on the west coast and continues to produce some of the largest runs in North America. During this informative spey casting and fishing class, you’ll be exposed to everything needed to make your time on the river more productive. We will float and stop at designated locations, both river left and river right, to work on spey casting and fishing methods. Learn how to become a better spey caster while increasing your knowledge about equipment and fishing a spey rod. Topics will include, but are not limited to, equipment , casting styles , spey casting techniques from both sides of the river, casting and fishing sinktips, distance casting, and fishing methods. This school includes a river-side lunch, scenic float and casting and fishing instruction. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover one of California’s finest “steelhead-spey” rivers. Class size is limited to 6 people. October 10^th-11^th from 8am to 4pm. Recommended lodging near the Willow Creek area : The Bigfoot Motel (530) 629-2142, Gambi Hill Motel/Cottages (530) 629-2701, Coho Cottages 800 722-2223, Campgrounds: Camp Kimtu

Cost per person: $350.00

Date: October 10^th and 11^th 2009

Equipment List:

-Spey Rod Oufit (Rod, Reel and Line, if you do not have an outfit we can provide one)

-Waders

-Wading Boots

-Valid California Fishing License with Steelhead Report Card

-Leaders: 9’ – 15’ Tapered Leaders 3x-0x, Tippet-0X-3X

-Summer Steelhead Flies: #8-#6- Green Butt Silver Hilton, October Caddis, Muddler Minnow, Sculpin,

Green Butt Skunk

-Hat

-Polarized Glasses

-Sunscreen

-Camera w/ Batteries and Memory Card

Here One Day Gone The Next

I spent Tuesday morning on the American. It was a beautiful sunrise but the fish must not have gotten the message about me being on the water (or maybe they did). We fished through three runs with no grabs or the sight of any rolling fish. I have gotten a few reports of some springers being caught so it is just a matter of getting a fly in front of them.

I am on the road in Montana for rest of this week and all of the following. I will be attending a guide school run through Sweetwater Travel and Fly Shop. I am very excited to spend a week out with a group of high class guides to learn some new skills, fish some new water, and hear some very big fish tales.

I will be putting posts up periodically throughout the week with updates.

The tug is the drug.
Adrian

American Still Fishing Well

I fished the American yesterday morning with Shawn Pittard. There seems to have been another push of fresh fish with last week's rain. Shawn connected with this dandy hen using his switch rod and a Goblin on the business end.



Still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the "springers."

Thanks for a great morning Shawn.

The tug is the drug.
Adrian

An Urban Fishery and Getting Deep

I had the opportunity to fish the American with Ryan Miller and Jason Hartwick this week.

Since the American is an urban fishery, some strange things can happen from time to time. If you have spent any time out on the water during the summer, you know exactly what I am talking about (there is nothing like a 60 year old dude in a thong with huge beer belly swimming around while you are fishing). But if you can look past some of the short-comings, you will find a local area with plenty of opportunity to catch some fish and hone your skills.

There are still still some winter steelhead around and I am anticipating that the blue backs should be arriving soon. We did end up with a few good pulls and I was able to land the above fish. Nothing special but he put on a pretty good acrobatic show and pulled out some line.

I often take a few different approaches when it comes to swinging flies for winter fish. The approach used is dependent upon factors such as water speed/depth, water clarity, and my position when fishing with others just to name a few.

As my title depicts, getting deeper can sometimes increase you chances at enticing a grab from a fish that may be unwilling to move far for a fly. The above fish was caught in 4+ feet of water on a rig I would consider to be fairly heavy (heavy tip and moderately weighted fly) . Would that fish have taken an unweighted fly presented on a lighter sink tip? No one can say for sure.

So how do we get our presentations deeper? Sink tips, weighted flies, casting angle, and line manipulation (after the cast) all play a role in the depth and presentation of your fly. Balancing these factors correctly will result in a slow presentation at the desired depth but get one or more of these factors out of line and you will be tying on a new fly, presenting the fly at Daytona 500 speeds, or not achieve the desired depth to entice the fish.

I will be adding a series of posts that will put all these techniques together and give some clarity into attaining the desired depth.

The tug is the drug.
Adrian