I am not going to dress it up…there isn’t a lot going on fishing wise. The Sac, Feather, and Yuba are ripping and flooding in some areas with the latest rain and there is more rain to come…. Personally, I haven’t been out on the water in over a month. Some of my buddies and fellow guides have been getting some days in on the Coast steelhead fishing between storms, some have gotten a few days here and there on the Trinity, and there has been some windows to get out spotted bass fishing on Lake Oroville but I haven’t done any of those…….So what have I been doing well…tying flies, playing music, hanging out with family, working on cast hope stuff, making sour dough bread from scratch…indoor activities.

Nice Oroville spot caught with Ryan Williams

Nice Oroville spot with Guide Ryan Williams out on a Cast Hope Trip

So, I have been tying a TON of flies…my boxes are bulging at the seams to the degree I am going to be selling some flies at upcoming events (see events below) and via my blog here shortly. I have been mainly tying striper flies and spring steelhead/trout nymphs and swinging flies. PMD’s, march browns, and yuba/feather swinging flies mainly for trout and steelhead with piles of striper flies to stick in stumps all summer…With striper flies I am working on various styles of Ryan Williams bait fish adding rattles and working on making rattle flies track right with adding weight and such…super nerdy stuff that I only have time for cause I am not guiding or fishing. Good fun though…

Filling Striper boxes...I'll have some left over to sell I am sure.

Royal Oaks (my rock and roll outfit) has been working on our first full length and have 10 songs about 90% finished…need to re-do some vocals, add some over dubs, and then see where we are at. It has been really fun working with Chris Keene at Cutter Cathedral in Chico and putting our songs down on tape so to say. In the end music is a total hobby and we jokingly refer to ourselves as the “dad band” or “dad rock” but we do take it seriously and write music about mostly serious topics…mostly.

spread of the session 1 and 2 laying down drums and bass at Oragami studio

The multi instrumentalist Brett Renlund tickling the Ivory

I have pedal addiction...

It is a busy time of year for my boys as Beckett is starting spring soccer and both Oliver and Beckett are starting baseball…Beckett had his first soccer practice this last week in-between storms and his team is pretty legit this year. He really likes soccer and is “left footed” which I guess in the soccer world is a big deal. His coach this year is a “legit” soccer coach and not just a dad helping out which I think is going to be really good for him sense I know NOTHING about soccer except the goal is to kick the ball in the other teams goal. On the baseball front we have been playing catch in the colde’sac and trying not to break any of the windows of our neighbors cars or create large enough dents in them that dad has to “leave a note” or go knock on the door.

My kids have also gotten into riding their bikes at the local City of Chico “pump track”…It is a really cool facility that the City of Chico with AMain Hobbies built. There is a smaller track and a bigger track for all ages.  I took the boys out there a few times and stood around in the freezing cold and watched but there was a bunch of guys my age out there with bikes riding around with their kids so….I bought a “pump track bike”… I grew up racing BMX so it is not a huge step outside the box but I haven’t raced sense I was 15 or 16 years old and lets be honest at 37 I may of lost some of my BMX skills…that said my goal is to not have my tires leave the ground and just cruise around following my kids, not freezing sitting watching.

Death Trap...

Cast Hope wise I have been rounding up auction items for the Fly Fishing Show After Party and working on planning that event and a few other Big Events we have coming up this year…as these events grow they really require year round work, preparing, planning, and organizing. The After Party on Feb 25 ^th is ounce again after the Fly Fishing Show in Pleasanton at Handles Gastron Pub in Old Town Pleasanton. 855 Main St. Pleasanton from 5-8:30pm. Tickets are $20 and include all the beer you can drink and Sliders and Wings. We will have a FULL Raffle (usually our best of the year) and a silent auction that is as good as any we host. Many of the auction items are already up on our website to bid on - http://www.casthope.org/events/auctions - There are trips to AK, Guided Trips, Rods, and Warrior Tickets up NOW to bid on.

come one come all!!!!

My other new “hobby” is making sour dough bread from scratch…My buddy and drummer in Royal Oaks got me into by bringing fresh baked sourdough to Christmas dinner this year. So he gave me a mason jar of his “starter” and I am all in…Make the dough letting it rise then needing it and letting rise more and baking it. I have been starting 2 loafs most afternoons/early evenings and then needing them when I get home from school the next day then letting them rise until about 6pm and then putting them in the dutch oven and having fresh bread for a late dinner snack or giving them away to friends. So far I have just white sourdough loafs down, I tried a whole wheat sour dough and a white cinnamon raisin loaf…all amazing. I am taking a break though for a week or so to work off some of the carbs and clean the flour from all the nooks and crannies in my kitchen…

my first loaf...little burned but nothing a bit of butter can't solve

This weekends batch...getting better.

Upcoming Events

The Yuba Jubilee is coming up February 18^th, 2017 from 1-4pm at Hammon Grove on the Yuba River. The Jubilee will showcase guides, clubs, fly shops, environmental groups, and state agencies that all working hard to protect the wild populations of salmon, steelhead, and trout making the Lower Yuba River the best it can be. I will be there with my good buddy and fellow guide Chuck Ragan (http://crflyfishing.com.com) working the “Hogan Brown Fly Fishing” and “Cast Hope” booths. I will have free stickers and some schwag at both booths as well as some hand tied flies at my guide both for sale. I can’t think of the last time I have tied flies for sale so this is a special opportunity to get some of my patterns that are not in production as well as some that are. All reasonably priced…normal fly prices.

The Fly Fishing Show Feb 25^th – I will be at the Cast Hope booth and if I have any flies left over I will have a few to sell or trade for various cool stuff…bobble heads, baked good, burned CDS of moderate passed rock music, Americana, aka music I may like as…I will also be helping with the After Part mentioned above.