The next day found us still at it. Oldtrout hooked a few fish, I hooked a few fish, and so did Carpy. Nice fish that fought pretty well. We did find the fish would take pt’s under an indicator on one of the ponds and had some fairly steady action in the evenings with that. Dinner that night was Saucy Pork Chops over rice with salad. It was accompanied by a really bad red wine, pictured below, that was touted at the general store in Shingle Town. Don’t buy any, you’ll regret it. Locally made and smells of logger under arms. We had to follow it with Cheesecake and some Rootbeer of various vintages.
Out again the next morning. Oldtrout and I again beat Carpy up by about 2 hours. The man likes to sleep in but I have to admit there isn’t much going on early in the morning. This photo was snapped while we enjoyed coffee. Paul is showing the effects of two glasses of the Redneck Red from the evening before:
Thursday morning was a little overcast, raising my hopes for a better take on mayflies. Fond hopes are often just that. I did get into fish with some #24 Griffith’s Gnats and with some #16 bead head PT’s. I gave the fishing for the evening “hatch” to tie some flies and prepare a dinner of abalone steaks, salad and noodles alfredo, and cheesecake. The evening ended at the fire, where, although the fire goddess was absent, Carpy did a fine job of keeping our flames tended and providing some light and warmth. The rest of the warmth was provided again by various vintages of Rootbeer….very very good Rootbeer.
Friday was the last day for Carpy and I. I had tied up two variations of Griffith’s Gnats, light and dark. The fish liked them and Oldtrout gained confidence each time one inhaled his imitation. I had also tied some special #32 parachute gnats. I fished these on a long tippet ending with 9X Varivas tippet. I had five takes and hooked two fish. I had them on momentarily. Seems my 9X might have been a bit old, like maybe 8-9 years old. I will have some fresh 8X Frog’s Hair the next time I try this. The fish took the little flies with no hesitation but getting the hook set was difficult because of the very small gap. It was fun!!! The following is a photo of the Bidwell Ranch from the rim on the North end. The pond in the bottom of the picture is Pond #4. We didn’t fish that. You can barely make out the water in the far upper reaches of the South Side of the ranch where we stayed in fished Ponds 1 and 2.
Lessons learned:
(1) Plan on enjoying your morning coffee accompanied by snores when fishing with Carpy.
(2) Don’t buy local wine in Shingletown.
(3) Always have plenty of really small flies tied when fishing, and have them with you.
(4) Buy more really good grade Grizzly Necks.
(5) And, last but not least, be sure the tippet material you bring is not old.
Tight lines all. Hope you are getting out and fishing. Duck season is beginning and I will be cutting back some on my fishing but still have to hit steelhead and Eagle Lake trout. Reports will follow. Keep some reports coming on your fishing. This board is not dead.
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