Dave Neal reports on February 12th, 2025

David Neal

Reel Adventures Guide Service

Email: reeladventuresgs@charter.net

Web: ReelAdventuresGuideService.com

Social: @ReelAdventures

Mobile: 760-914-0465

 

 

 

 

Capt. Ben Thompson Reports on Janaury 20th, 2025

_____________________________
Capt. Ben Thompson
Coast Guard MMC #8565216
CA DFW Guide ID #1001102 
Northern CA Fly Fishing Guide
(916)743-8290
benthompsonoutdoors.com

 

Matt "Gilligan" Koles reports on January 18th, 2025

Jarett Coons reports on January 18th, 2025

SMTGS Report for Owens River:

After an unusually warm December, the nights have
finally gotten cold. Water temps on most our streams
are hovering around 40F*. No need to get out early,
most surface action gets going late morning to
midday. The best advice for this time of year is to get
it on the bottom and watch for VERY subtle takes.

Upper Owens- 89 cfs:

The pressure has eased a bit up here as the holiday
crowds have gone. Fish have been a little picky and
aren’t being fooled as easily with the egg and bacon
combo. Try nymphing with small attractors and
midge patterns. Look for surface activity around
midday on days that get warm enough. Make sure
you are barbless above Benton Crossing
Bridge! It gets cold up here, be ready to crack ice
out of your guides.

Patterns:
Parachute Adams #18-24, Parachute Midge
Emerger #20-24, San Juan Worms #14-12 
Orange, light pink, champagne egg patterns #12-
16
Black and olive Tiger Midge/ Zebra Midge #18-22
Jig Flashback Hares Ears #14-18
Mercer's Micro May #16-18

Lower Owens-75 cfs:

It’s a good time for dry flies on the Lower O. The
midge hatches get going late morning and the big
baetis should start showing up any day. Hatches
aren’t always river wide and can be isolated to
certain places, so if you don’t see them at hatch time,
you may have to go hunt. Fish are hugging tight to
bottom and cover. It’s not uncommon for them to
have leeches attached this time of year. So again,
get it down and watch for subtle takes. The nymph
bite has been a little tricky, try stripping a streamer if
you get frustrated.

Patterns:
Parachute Adams #18-24, Parachute Midge,
Emerger #20-24, Olive Sparkle Dun #16-18, Last Chance Cripple #16-18
BWO Dun #16-18, E/C Caddis #16-18
Black and olive Tiger Midge/ Zebra Midge #18-22, Jig Flashback Hares Ears #14-18
Grey-olive Soft Hackles #18-22, Mercer's Micro May #16-18
Olive, black, white Wooley Bugger Variations #10-6

John Fester reports on January 18th, 2025

Lake Berryessa, CA Fishing Report

Water Temperature: 53° to 56°
Target Species: winter bass
Fishing Method: float and fly
Leader Length: 9 to 11 feet

Fishing Overview: Lake Berryessa is in prime winter fishing mode and it’s one of my favorite times of the year. Big fish are showing up and the numbers are looking great as well. The water levels remain high, which is adding to the excitement—things are looking promising heading into spring.

Techniques & Gear:
The float and fly method has been highly effective for targeting winter bass in these
colder conditions. For fly selection, the Black Leech and William's Wagasaki, from
North Valley Fly Fishing, have been producing excellent results. A 9 to 11-foot leader is working best to keep your presentation in the strike zone at the proper depth.

Fishing Patterns & Tips:
Focus on slower retrieves along the banks, as the bass are moving up from deeper
sections of the lake. The fish are not holding as shallow as they would during the spring so be sure to fish further off the bank than usual.

The second drop-off around 8 to 15 feet is a prime spot. These areas are often
overlooked, but can hold a lot of fish this time of year. Look for steep banks with bold structure. Avoid areas with trees and weeds as these tend to be less productive in winter.

Bonus Species:
This is also the time when you might encounter trout while targeting bass with the float
and fly rig. A mixed bag of species can make for an exciting day on the water. Golden mussel awareness: golden mussles have started showing up in California's
reservoirs and local water agencies are taking action. A quarantine has been put in place to try and slow their spread, with decontamination stations set up at Steel Park and Markley Cove. Please remember to clean your boat thoroughly, especially if you're moving between different bodies of water, like from the Delta to any freshwater lake. It’s crucial to help prevent the spread of these invasive species.

Overall, Lake Berryessa is shaping up to be an excellent winter fishery. With bass showing up in good numbers and the potential for some big catches, it’s a great time to be out on the water. Focus on slower retrieves along the banks, paying special attention to the second drop-offs where fish are holding. The combination of clear water and strategic fishing techniques makes for a promising season, and with spring around the corner, the action is only expected to improve. As always, remember to clean your boat to help protect the lake from invasive species.

Here's to more successful trips ahead!

Johnny Feaster
Local Guide
FeasterFishing.com
Instagram: @feasterfishing
(707) 685-4647
feasterfishing@gmail.com

Dagur Guðmundsson reports on January 19th, 2025

Not a drop of rain from the sky is the theme so far for this winter, with every morning starting the same, with temperatures in the low 20s’ and highs of 65-70. There’s good and bad things about this stable weather, the good being that the trends through each day are pretty consistent on the Central Coast lakes, with a few carp scattered in the surface film early in the morning hitting the scum lines, feeding on midge emergers and big clusters of water fleas, which will cluster near the shoreline and around scum lines. These microscopic food items are hard to imitate one by one, so your best bet is to imitate a cluster of them. We’ve been having a lot of luck drowning Griffith Gnat style flies in sizes #14-18, which imitate a cluster of midges by using long fluorocarbon leaders and having the fly sink just barely beneath the surface. Just be aware that with smaller flies, you have to fight fish a little bit differently than with the bigger carp hooks we use during the warmer months, or you’ll straighten out the hooks.

In the afternoons, once the temperatures reach 60 degrees we’re seeing a lot more fish coming up to feed on the massive midge hatches taking place. These are some of the biggest midge hatches I’ve seen on the lakes here, probably due to the consistent weather. By mid-afternoon, the surface is covered in these flying insects and the carp are happily chowing down on these flies in every stage of emergence. Try to focus on targeting fish that are moving and feeding. You’ll see a mix of fish sitting still and slurping down food items, or fish that are moving like sharks in the surface film cruising and chowing on the hatching bugs. The ones that are cruising are more aggressive and will hunt down your fly more, allowing you to put the fly in their path as
opposed to the ones that sit still which are easier to spook, as presenting the fly to them is harder when they’re not moving.

The biggest mistake I’m seeing anglers make on the water is not moving around enough. During this time of year, especially when we’re in this weird pocket of the same weather every day and around here that includes almost no wind, the fish are not constricted to one area of the lake you’re fishing. The wind actually concentrates the food in a few areas, which makes them a bit more predictable to find. When you have multiple weeks like we’ve been having with very limited wind events, the food is scattered, so the fish are scattered. Don’t get stuck in the pattern of looking for fish in the same areas, move around and search until you find the fish. Both Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio have a lot of carp feeding on the surface during this time of year, but these are big lakes, with a lot of areas where the fish can be. And most importantly of all, don’t get sucked into casting at jumping carp. These fish are not feeding, but adjusting their air bladders, which is why you see the most jumping activity in the morning and evenings. Keep moving until you see feeding fish.

This is a great time of year to be out on the water in the lakes on the Central Coast, the scenery is pretty, the carp are big and plump, and there’s even trout around that make their annual truck migration from the hatcheries in Fresno to die in the lakes here at the hands of fishermen or the inevitable heat of summer. Bring layers, bring sunscreen and bring reels with smooth drags and plenty of backing. It’s fun out there.

To book a trip, email me (Dagur) at dagurgud@gmail.com or check out my website at dagurflyfishing.com

Matt "Gilligan" Koles Reports on December 16th, 2024

Finally getting some snow in Tahoe

It's stacked up for mid-December. Not much down here in Hirschdale, but we usually don't get too much anyways. 

Flows are still great on the Truckee River, and the Winter fly fishing is good. Good all up and down the river. If you fish the Ca side, remember, lows will be very cold at night. You should wait till it warms a bit and trouts get a bit active. 

If you're down on the Reno side, you can get going at a normal fishing time, still be cold, but not Truckee cold. 

Nymph in the frog water, streamer fish in the frog water. That is the key. 

We have a good month or so, but then we'll have some great dry fly fishing down in the desert on the river. Not so much right now anywhere, unless you get lucky. 

Dagur Fly Fishing Reports on December 15th, 2024

It’s that wonderful time of year when midges emerge from the Central Coast lakes by the thousands and provide the king of sportfish, the common carp, with a giant buffet of food in the surface film. We’re finding big groups of carp scattered around deeper river channels in Lake San Antonio and Lake Nacimiento feeding on morning and afternoon midge hatches, providing plenty of action on midge emergers, midge clusters and even some terrestrials following the rains. This is technical fishing, where you need accurate casts and delicate presentations, but the rewards are some of the largest carp of the year, as we tend to run into fish that don’t often come up shallow during the flats season. 

The spotted bass fishing at Lake Nacimiento has been solid, a good start to the winter season. Dead sticking leeches and unweighted baitfish on a sink tip is a good way to get into the suspended schools of bass, which have been grouping up along main lake points and steeper bluff walls. This is also a good time to use the bobber and get them on balanced baitfish flies if you’re feeling lazy. 

If you’re feeling salty, this is the start to my favorite time in the surf zone, when the larger mama perch come in shallow. The beaches north of Morro Bay have been productive, but my favorite beaches are in the stretch from southern Big Sur and into San Simeon. These small isolated beaches make for a fun day, as some will fish better on incoming tides and others better on the outgoing tide, and jumping between beaches can be very productive. 

Winter on the Central Coast is awesome, and the mix of different fisheries keeps things interesting all through the cooler months. The occasional rain storm moving through freshens up the lakes with different food, and creates structure on the beaches. It should be a killer winter season!