I realize that fall started a few days ago…I don’t know maybe a week or so ago to be more accurate….but a date on a calendar rarely signals the beginning or end of anything in nature. Fall starts slow with a mild shortening of the days, a realization that it is getting darker sooner, evenings get cooler, we don’t really use our heater or our air conditioner, and I keep a close eye on the wild card and league leaders in the MLB. Baseball playoffs, meaningful college football games, and an idea of who is and who isn’t in the NFL usually moves me into October…Placing a troutbeads.com order and buying nail polish and tooth picks at Walgreens usually comes at the same time.   Fall is here in nor cal by all signs, there is even some new snow on Mt. Shasta, and fishing is days away in most spots from getting really good, though how long it lasts is very dependent on fall and winter rain.

I spent the last weekend on the Lower Sac floating from Red Bluff down to Los Molinos looking for trout and steelhead. We hooked 2 nice steelhead and a fair number of trout. Fishing was good but there was no salmon to be found up on reds and that stretch really needs fish up on reds to go off. That said hooking into big wild tributary steelhead is always a treat.   From what I hear the upper stretches are fishing pretty darn good as well. Until we get some substantial rain I think the L. Sac is going to be one of the better games in northern California.

Floated the Feather River a few times looking for steelhead this past weekend as well…crowded would be an understatement. I have never seen the river as crowded as I did this weekend…boats, salmon anglers, poachers, you name it and they are all there. We hooked a few nice fish but I will not be back until salmon season closes   Oct 15 and maybe even after as it usually takes a few days for the people to get the hint and clear out.

I have not been over to the Lower Yuba river but I have heard fishing has been fair to good…I have had a little hard time pulling the trigger on taking clients over to the Yuba as the flows are so low and when the flows get as low as they are it can be a bit of a junk show competing with wade fishermen.

Sports News

So the giants and Irish keep pulling on my heart strings and taking years off my life but heck they keep winning! I hesitate to call them the Giants as the starting roster is really a combination of the SF Giants, Fresno Grizzlies, and Richmond Fly Squirrels roster from July and August…Talk about a team thrown together and missing key parts. The Irish on the other hand between the Standford and UNC game I have a whole new patch of grey hair. Good lord lets not fumble and throw INT’s for a change !!!! this weeks game is huge with Florida State at Florida State. While I don’t think Florida State belongs even in the top 5 let alone #1 or 2 … Great time for sports man great time!

Fermented Grains

Been enjoying two Sierra Nevada brews lately…Nooner Session IPA and Snow Whit IPA. My sister in law hooked up a few cases of these two brews. They were originally part of the IPA sampler but I don’t think they were to popular and there was a bunch left over….so I am helping eliminate them. In a few weeks with some colder weather might got get myself some brown water and get this fall thing really kicked off proper.

Rock and Roll

Been listening to the newest Dave Hause album Devour…great rock album just plain old good. He is touring with Hot Water Music this winter for their 20 ^th anniversary tour. In other music news I saw a great solo acoustic set by Chuck Ragan up in Grass Valley a few weeks ago. Chuck is one of the main song writters and singers in Hot Water Music and has one of the most distinct voices around. His solo stuff is great and Hot Water Music is a CLASSIC punk/emo/post hardcore band in my life…couple that with Chuck being a straight up nutty fly fishermen…. it was a cool show. Check Chuck’s solo stuff out….www.chuckraganmusic.com