California Poachers Cut Out Middleman, Steal Trout From Hatchery

Poachers aren’t exactly strangers to California’s fishing scene, but apparently one group of them decided to cut out the middleman and poach their trout directly from the hatchery (from the Silicon Valley Mercury News):

What’s believed to be the first-ever large-scale theft from a fish hatchery in the state has wardens from the Department of Fish and Game scouring markets and roadside stands looking for thousands of pounds of trophy-sized trout.

Workers on Sunday arrived at the San Joaquin State Fish Hatchery to find the gate pried open, blood covering the floors and 70 dead trout left behind. Department spokesman Patrick Foy said as many as 1,000 trophy trout were stolen.

“If anyone smells anything fishy, they should give us a call,” Foy said.

You heard the man, though I’d like to caution the hygiene-impaired Undergrounders to first make sure it’s not their waders which smell like hell before calling Fish & Game.

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Have the confidence to HOOK 1

We all know that its hot across the nation. Temperatures are starting to cool in some areas, while other areas are not. As we approach the next few weeks you will need to be on the top of your game. Fishing during the heat is hard work, the sun beating down on you and the water is warm. When I am fishing this period of time, I start out with a go to bait or confidence bait as well as a bait that has possibilities or test bait. I will throw my go to and the test lure to the same spot and work the water column from top to bottom.

A pattern will start to develop sometimes rather fast, it is important to take note of what it was that you were doing when you hook up. Its completely possible for multiple techniques to work at the same time, however I go by the rule that small fish tell lies. By this I mean small fish tend to bite rather quickly for a fast meal as they are closer to the bottom of the food chain. The size that I consider to be small is always based on species and body of water I am fishing.

Large fish will observe and pick their pray based on many factors. With so many factors playing a part it is sometimes hard to have faith that you are doing the correct thing. I try my best to stick to a game plan for the species I target, usually changing only depths, speed, pattern, and color for my confidence lure or go to lure and then using another rod for changing test lures. I find it more difficult to change the patterns of hard lures, and spinners than soft plastics.  For this reason, I tend to throw 90 percent soft plastics.

I am not saying that this is the only way of doing things, its just my way. I am a Southern California guy, soft plastics just work in So. Cal. One of my favorite ways of fishing is using the Senko worm. With so many colors and patterns the Senko can be used for, its easy to entice even the “lock jaw”  fish without running through your whole lineup of tackle. The two main ways that I use a Senko is with a Owner hook designed for the Senko worm in a 5/0 or with a extra wide gap 3.5/0 worm hook wacky rigged. For those that have never heard of a wacky rig all you do is stick the hook threw the ring (center flat spot)  in the Senko or like brand stick bait.  See below:

The weather will be changing again, and with the cooling weather will come extra water and new places to land hiding fish.  If your home lake has low water levels, take advantage of the ability to see the bottom. This will give you a real look at cover and  structure that could be in 10 ft. of water or more for the rest of the year. Mark these spots and observe the detail to them so that you can plan your lure presentation accordingly.

Times get rough and when the fish are not biting its natural for you to doubt what you are doing. Do your best not to get away from your confidence bait, change depths and patters before switching from a confidence color. Use past patterns, and depths as a reference for season and temperature. Usually these things will be productive across a region, as species have similar waters, structure, and climate.

Confidence is the key, stick to what you know works most days. Changing lures too often will be counter productive as you may have not given the lure enough water time. Take your time, be thorough and  have the confidence to HOOK 1.

Coming Soon: RailBlaza Products

We are expanding our product offerings and adding rod holders, gear holders and mounting bases from RailBlaza. Check out there promo video below to get a preview of their product line.

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Today’s Fishing Report? “Green”

This was one of those alpine meadow streams that’s loaded with Brook trout and surrounded by a sea of grass, which — whenever the wind picked up — rolled convincingly like swells in the ocean.

The cold spring meant the wildflowers were firing on all cylinders (they should have been done a month ago), and everything that wasn’t a flower wore the hard-working green of summer leaves.

(click the images to see full-size versions)

Older Bro and I hiked into this tiny alpine meadow stream based on his recommendation; “You’ll love it, though don’t get too excited about the size of the fish.”

I knew exactly what he meant.

And frankly, I was proud of him. He’s a relatively new fly fisherman, but aside from the casting and the knots and drag-free drifts, he’s already mastered the art of couching his recommendations in case the weather’s bad or the trout are sulking or the other guy’s a headhunter.

I’ll be blunt; I think a lot more people say they love these little streams than actually fishes them; they’re pretty, but for a lot of fly fishermen, fish that seem to top out at 9 inches (we got one 13? and one 10? fish on this trip) add a little glitter to that other, bigger water.

Still, we hiked the length of the meadow and fished our way back up, and before we even strung up our fly rods my heart rate was picking up.

I even tried a couple of the standard gambits on him (“Didn’t you notice the special reg poster at the ranger station? This stretch is bamboo fly rods only…”).

Sadly, he didn’t fall for any of them, but then, he’d probably been disappointed if I didn’t try.

I admit I was disappointed by the state of my lower body after we got back to the car; if we went farther than six miles I’ll eat my government surplus Boonie hat, yet I felt like I’d been crossed the continental divide, and with a heavy pack.

The late, great Jim Gade once told me that the way to avoid geezerhood was to not start thinking like you were an old man. “Once you start thinking you’re a geezer, you’ll start feeling like one.”

Tomorrow — if I can drive a stake through a couple projects — I’m going for a walk.

I fished a (probably) 60 year-old Phillipson Peerless 8' 5wt, and I was reminded that although the rod wasn’t necessarily designed to cast a leader, the mass of the bamboo in the tip does tend to load the rod when there isn’t enough line to do so.

And if you’ve worked your way through the pictures, you can imagine how rarely we cast more than a foot or two of line.

As you might imagine, fly selection wasn’t exactly critical, though given the sheer tonnage of grass and insect life living around the stream, I wasn’t surprised when the Arizona Mini-Hopper worked slightly better (OK, it’s hard to know for sure) than anything else I tried.

After all, it’s as much a beetle or caddis as it is a hopper, which seems like a pretty ideal combination for a stream so often visited by terrestrial bugs.

See you somewhere green and wavy and Brookie-filled and beautiful, Tom Chandler.

Tagged as: brook trout, fly fishing small streams

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Virginia Rivers Need Your Help!

COVINGTON, Va. — A civil case against three Virginia anglers starting July 25 in Covington could set a precedent that would limit the public’s right to use and enjoy rivers and streams across the state.

The proceedings in Alleghany Circuit Court will determine whether the state of Virginia, which owns the river bottom on public waters, will be a party to the suit going forward. The Attorney General’s office has not filed papers with the court or expressed an intent to defend the Commonwealth’s interests.

Dargan Coggeshall, one of the anglers named in the civil case, said: “I was fishing a section of the Jackson River that I have fished for years and an area that the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has said was public water. I was told by a game warden that I could paddle and wade so long as I stayed within the high water mark. I don’t understand how a private entity can usurp the public’s right and in effect seize state-owned property that all citizens have the right to enjoy.”

The case, North South Development, LLC, et. al. v. Frank Garden, et. al., has been brought by a development company seeking to create a private trout fishery for purchasers of its properties on a stretch of the Jackson River that historically has been patrolled, managed and promoted as public water by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The suit charges the anglers with civil trespass for getting out of their kayaks and wading the river while fishing and seeks $10,000 in damages.

North South Development owns River’s Edge, a private community and golf course on the banks of the Jackson River several miles upstream of Covington. The company claims it owns the river bottom through a King’s Grant on a 3-mile stretch that flows past its second-home lot sites and golf course development.

If the Commonwealth is not compelled to join the case on July 25, then it will be up to the defendants to prove that the North South Development does not own the river bottom and that it belongs to the state. Since none of the defendants claim to own the river bottom, their lawyers have asked the court to attach the state as a third-party defendant to the suit.

“If the developer wins, it could serve as precedent to privatize other riverbeds in the state,” Said Bill Tanger, chairman of the Friends of the Rivers of Virginia. “It could embolden other landowners to post streams and assert ownership of the bed.”

That concern mobilized fishing, hunting, paddling and conservation organizations to create the Virginia Rivers Defense Fund.

News Release
The Defense Fund: Has launched a website: www.virginiariversdefensefund.org. Those interested in learning more about the case and its implications will be able to keep tabs on the case as it progresses. Started a campaign to raise money to help pay the legal bills of the anglers who are fighting to preserve river rights for all Virginians. To contribute, please visit the website and click on the donation button. Is urging all those who enjoy Virginia’s public rivers to contact their state-elected officials and to write Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli urging his office to protect the rights of its citizens to recreate on public waters.

To contact the attorney general:
Mail: Office of the Attorney General 900 E. Main Street Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 786-2071 OR Toll free in Virginia only: (800)-451-1525
Email: KCUCCINELLI@OAG.STATE.VA.US

“This is a case in which everyone who enjoys Virginia’s rivers and streams has a stake,” said Jeff Kelble, Shenandoah Riverkeeper. “Although the suit deals with the Jackson River, I am concerned about how a decision against the anglers might be used to restrict the enjoyment of public waters such as the Shenandoah, James, New River, Roanoke, Chickahominy, Rappahannock and scores of others.”

For more than two years, the developer of the River’s Edge golf community along the Jackson River has been posting “No trespassing, fishing, boating or wading” signs along a stretch of the river, just below a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ boat ramp at Smith’s Bridge.

On its website, the fish and game department lists that stretch of the river as public water. Anglers have understood for years that they could fish and wade in that area so long as they did not go above the high-water line.

Over the course of more than a year and several fishing trips, one of the defendants, Coggeshall of Charlottesville, had several encounters with the owners of the development after launching his kayak at Smith Bridge and floating downstream. At productive looking spots, he would get out of his kayak and stand in the river to fish, which is where the developers would approach him from the bank, claiming he was trespassing, threatening to call law enforcement and snapping pictures.

Coggeshall said, “Although I had checked several times with the VGDIF and the Alleghany Sherriff’s Department to substantiate my right to stand in that section of the Jackson River and fish, the harassments continued. I didn’t ask to be sued. I just wanted to fish in a river which the state promotes as a public fishery.”

On August 16, 2010, the anglers were served with warrants charging them with a Class 1 Misdemeanor of criminal trespass. In October, 2010 a General District Court judge dismissed the charges against all three men.
In February 2011, the development company and one of its lot buyers filed the civil trespass case in the Alleghany Circuit Court.

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Underground Review: Keeper by Martin Donovan

If you ever wondered about life on The Mother of All English Chalkstreams (the Test), thenKeeper — a recent release from outdoor-only publisher Departure Publishing — is worth your time.

Keeper is a genuine, entertaining 

Keeper is a genuine, entertaining read (click for publisher's page)
It’s a memoir by English Riverkeeper Martin Donovan that chronicles a way of life some fly fishermen might find romantic, and while the author does tend to disabuse his readers of that notion, he also evidences a knack for writing like he’s sitting right across the table talking to you, a half-empty bottle of someting between you.


The writing itself is straightforward (don’t expect a lot of literary gymnastics), yet Donovan’s prose creates compelling scenes.


Some of Donovan’s anecdotes are hilarious; others are quietly revealing — especially those that draw a picture of a private, pay-to-play fly fishing structure little seen in the US. (Most American fly fishing guides will choke on Donovan’s assertion that American fly fishermen are far more likely to accept advice than English anglers.)


While I enjoyed Keeper, it’s not without its flaws. Some of the later chapters felt under-developed and tacked on, and the writer twice descends into “kids these days” rants, which feel small and rootbound, especially given the fun, airy nature of the rest of the book.


Still, Keeper is a genuinely entertaining book by someone living a unique kind of fly fishing life — one that borders on a “trout bum” existence, yet on England’s privately owned chalkstreams, is wholly removed from the American fly fishing scene.

The Friday “Getting Out of Town To Chase Brook Trout With a Fly Rod” Post

This morning I stepped into my manly-man-of-action fuzzy slippers, and got stung by a bee.
On my foot.

Bees hiding in my slippers? Really?

I told the L&T this was scientifically valid proof that my feet smell like honey, but in keeping with the TU’s PG-13 rating, I’m not going to print her reply.

Instead, I’m going to clean a little house, shoveling a few links your way before they overrun my desk, especially as I’m packing goodies for my Weekend Brookie Trip.

Jamming a few flies and some tippet in the new backpack is easy; deciding which rod to fish is the tough bit. The 8.5' 4wt Diamondglass? The 8' 4wt Superfine? The 8' 5wt Phillipson bamboo fly rod?

The weight of fly rod selection weighs on heavy on any angler...
Sometimes life just feels so heavy, you know?

I recently dug out the wallet to finance a new fly rod, though (remain calm), it’s a relatively cheap one — an 8' 5wt fiberglass rod from South Fork Rods (built by Margot and Dave Redington, whose last name might sound familiar).

Naturally, I don’t need another 8' 5wt (I’ve got several brilliant 8' 5wt rods already), but the 8' 5wt is my fly rod equivalent of Chili Verde; a baseline food that I use to compare new Mexican restaurants with those I already know.

Thus if a new Chile Verde (or 8' 5wt fly rod) is brilliant, it’s possibly (likely even) that the rest of the menu (or fly rods in the line) are also brilliant.

(While the rest of you are out fishing, I’m creating ISO 9000-level processes for making the world a better place.)

First glance? It’s nicely made but looks a little clunky, and like so many rod builders these days, the grip doesn’t exactly overwhelm. For an 8' glass rod it’s surprisingly strong (it says “5wt” on the website but “5/6wt” on the rod), which is either a useful thing or an odd performance characteristic for a rod you’d say was probably going to be fished at close range.

More as I fish it.
I read this article on the SF Gate site about Russell Chatham abandoning Montana after overinvesting in real estate, losing his shirt, and deciding he couldn’t take a 40th Montana winter.

He’s back in San Francisco and painting to pay the bills (at least his paintings still fetch big dollars), and the whole thing feels timely now because I also recently took delivery of a couple books from his just-revived Clark City Press publishing imprint.

I bought a copy of Silent Seasons and The River We Bring With Us, but — embarrassingly — forgot to also order a copy of Chatham’s seminal essay work about fly fishing the west coast in the 60s and 70s (The Angler’s Coast).

I plan to rectify that in the near future, but in the meantime, I believe his publishing house is run by his daughter, and if you ever wanted to own any of the classics in their backlist (or their new titles), then hurry on over.

Tagged as: brook trout, fly rod