Trout , Trout, Trout… on tap for local families. First up are the Ingalls boys, Grant, Adam and Jack, and their dad, Mark, who self-guided down the Green River in Utah and Wyoming. Grant told us that while nymphing flies worked, the hopper/dropper proved most successful. Here’s Grant with a 22.25-inch brown trout that fell to a hopper/dropper. Everyone on “The Team” caught trout.
The Green River is a sleeper — off in its own special region, away from the Montana buzz — but offering a full creel of trout and beautiful countrysides. While you can engage a pro guide for this trip, it’s interesting and fun to learn that the Ingalls rented a raft and did it “their way.”
Years ago, we fished the Green in Wyoming as a dividend to a high-altitude “pack in” above the tree line for wild golden trout at 14,000 feet elevation in the Bridger Wilderness near Pinedale. While climbing this steep trail, which is only 15 inches wide in some parts, I promised my horse, Mike, I would buy him the best carrots he ever saw if he would get me back down alive. It worked. If you are interested in this opportunity to go “wild,” open this link — bit.ly/3Bps5rv — and check out “Bridger Wilderness: A Guide to the Fishing Lakes.”
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Next Up… Kate and Steve Spadarotto headquartered at the Madison Valley Ranch near Ennis for two days of floating the mighty Madison in Montana for its famous browns and rainbows from Windy Point to Varney Bridge. Steve said that they boated more than 40 fish each day with size 10 hopper flies. We're talking big trout — 18- to 19-inch browns.
Just to change things up, Kate caught a 19-inch rainbow on a hopper in the wade-only Channels section of the river. Steve mentioned that accurate casting was an imperative to get to the fish that were swimming tightly against cut banks.
Size Matters… follow along at home. Here’s a quick way to visualize the fish sizes you read about in the column. When you look at page 1 of your Register, Star or Calistogan sports section, the width of that page, from fold on the left to page edges on the right is 11 inches. This dimension can give you a whole new appreciation for an 18-, 19- or 21-inch trout. Tell me what you think.
Berryessa Kokanee Action… is up and down. Starting with the "up” news, the Hot Sheet said “Lake Berryessa is producing the largest kokanee in the state right now …” Then came the kicker, “… but getting them to strike and to the net is another story.” Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to go it alone. Call Troy Barr at T-Roy’s Guide service (372-7599) for a booking. They are specialists on koke fishing at Berryessa.
Still want to do it yourself? Go over to Sweeney’s Sports on Imola where to team there keeps a close eye on the best koke rigs and bait of the minute.
And In The Salt… Salmon fever stays hot. Sure, there are up and down days, scratchy weather conditions, and big kings that are hard to boat. But the beat goes on. The Salty Lady’s captain, Jerad Davis, told the Hot Sheet he took the “Napa boys” for limits of salmon to 24 pounds off of Pedro Point south of the Gate. He went on to say that “Pedro lit up, and there were fish from Mussel Rock south to Pacifica…”
Don’t Give Up… on those sweet-meated rockfish that make your neighbors smile when they see you fire up the grill. According to the Hot Sheet, Captain Chris Smith on the Pacific Dream out of Berkeley said he put his 21 clients on to rockfish limits in just 25 minutes. He told them “the rockfish bite was wide open, and you couldn’t get your gear to the bottom without a rockfish stopping you on the way down.”
By the way, 21 limits of rocks equals 210 fish. There are some sub-specie limits, but I’m sure your guide can keep you legal.
The King’s Royal Librarian… just announced a new book that arrived at the castle in time for the fall angling season. “The Compleat Angler” was first published by Izaak Walton in 1653, though he kept adding to it for the next 25 years. According to Google, The Compleat Angler is one of the most re-printed works in the English language, trailing only the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
Listen further to what literature scholar Marjorie Swann told the Izaak Walton League of America: “There are already many manuals about fishing published by Englishmen, but what sets The Compleat Angler apart from these previous how-to books is Walton’s insistence that there’s so much more to being an angler than a technical knowledge of bait and tackle. For Walton, fishing is at once an environmental, social and spiritual experience.”
Liza Russ at the St. Helena Main Street Bookmine was just named “Royal Librarian” for the Kingdom of Angling. Drop in to order your own copy (Liza tells me Napa anglers can go to The Napa Bookmine at 964 Pearl St.). This is the kind of family treasure that gets passed along from generation to generation.
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Gordon Anderson, who will be inducted into the St. Helena High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
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Email Bill Ryan at acorn_3@comcast.net