Sunday, February 19, 2017

Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show

I'll be in my long-time Truckee Guide NetWork booth during the Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show (www.flyfishingshow.com); February 24-26. Please come-by and introduce yourselves. 2017 marks my 34th year  guiding and instructing exclusively in  the Truckee area via my guide service Thy Rod & Staff.

As always, I'll be presenting in the Destination Theater.   This year's PP presentation is entitled Truckee Area Fly Angling Options. I'll be presenting at 1PM on Friday and 10AM on Saturday.

This year marks the 5th year of the best "bang-for-your-buck", Native Sons Tours. Both Jon Baiocchi and I have been guiding thousands on our "home-waters", the Truckee and Graeagle areas for a cumulative 54 years! We are energized in sharing our knowledge, local lore and fly fishing history; no revisionism.
Don't Be Fooled...Get Schooled! 

Friday, February 17, 2017

Throw-Back PR #1...Angling for Good Times

"Angling for Good Times" appeared on the cover of Our Town, Truckee magazine, April-May 1994.

The Healing Art of Fly Fishing was in the issue; authored by Patrick Mooney.  Below are comments I contributed during a phone interview.

"...'Fishing is an excuse to take a walk in nature, cleanse your mind and recharge your thinking...'a total experience' in freestone and freshwater fly angling in the Truckee River...Pisciotta strives to get people 'to relax , have  a great time and enjoy the mountain angling experience'...has recommended the sublime art as a therapeutic tool for one of his clients---a psychiatrist. 'It does wonders for the mental health of harried urbanites'...'enjoy the camaraderie'

It would seem, though, that the real joy Pisciotta gets out of his guide service is not necessarily providing opportunities to people---its the friendships he builds from it. 'I'm a people person basically, and enjoy the challenge of spending a day fishing with people I've never met before'.

They may have been strangers when they hired him , but many of  Frank's clients have become friends because of the shared experience of fly fishing the Sierra together. 'As a mater of fact, I'm having dinner tonight with a couple I guided back in the mid-80''s'  "




Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Sage Words from the Icons #9

Dry Fly Fishing

"All first class fishermen on the sea of Galilee were fly fishermen, and John, the favorite, was a dry fly-fisherman."

NORMAN McCLEAN 
.
A River Runs Through It

My Comment: One of my FRANKISMS is:

"A trout fly angler is in denial if he says he does not prefer dry fly fishing"


Tuesday, February 7, 2017

E-QUICKIE #18 FISHING REPORT


Admittedly, there hasn't been a lot of opportunity to get on the water the last six weeks; limited access and blizzard-like conditions being the main culprits. We've had a record-breaking amount of snow for the month of January in the Truckee area; 220"-plus! It still continues; albeit currently very wet and heavy (makes for labored shoveling!), turning to sleet and now a deluge of rain during the last day and predicted through this week-end. I'm not complaining, we really need it. The down-side is that we local residents then to get cases of the mentally debilitating "shack-nasties"...the cure is to go fishing.
"cuz Jeff" with a "winter" RainBow

Here's a recent E-QUICKIE:

2/4---"...limited area to fish; only one access/parking…an experienced fly angler fished 3-1/2 hours...hooked three/landed two…both 16” rainbows… indicator nymphing…cold water at 39-41 degrees…#20 black Disco Midge and # 16 Yellow Stonefly nymph being the productive patterns"


Hmmm...which way?

once there...solitude





TRUCKEE TRIVIA # 28...ANSWER

I  thought this was a easy one, guess not

Answer:

Looking downstream...The left channel of the big Truckee River immediately below the Little Truckee River inflow at Boca.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Truckee River Winter Fly Fishing Advice...In lieu of an Actual Fishing report

Actually, haven't been fishing; merely scouting-out access points for when I do get the urge.
                                                                                     John Roberts Image

In lieu of an actual fishing report I'll provide some practical Truckee River winter, fly angling advice; excerpted from an article I recently authored in California Fly Fisher magazine. 

"Wintertime angling has been legal since the 2008 season. Late-November, December through March, the savvy Truckee angler doesn’t appear on-stream until midday, when the water is warmest. Access in the snow is always an issue. As needed, I strap on snowshoes to reach my preferred water. Their use prevents “postholing” — punching through the snow crust — which can result in ankle sprains and hyperextended knees. In lieu of the snowshoes, rubber or plastic-soled wading shoes are better than felt soles, which collect big clumps of snow.

            Winter trout inhabit soft water — mild currents, shoreline edges, and quiet, deep pools. There are only limited times when you can present a dry fly to surface-feeding trout, so the most productive ploy is to probe subsurface, methodically, "low and slow", because the trout will not move much to intercept your offering. Whichever load-and-lob method you use, be it tight-lining, indicator fishing, or the currently fashionable, “Euro” nymphing, get the fly down. The fish are at the bottom of the stream, and that is where you need to present the fly. I advise fishing searching rigs featuring tandem big/small flies with lead as needed, or chucking streamers.

            The aquatic bugs available to trout during the winter are the ever-present midges in all parts of their life cycle, the ubiquitous little black Winter Stonefly adults that pepper the snow banks, and both Skwala Stonefly nymphs and adults. Starting in March, the angler will start seeing the first brood of Blue-Winged Olives and March Brown adults, but there will be few trout actively feeding at the surface."