After fishing a couple of seasons with Jose Silva I’ve learned quite a few things. Aside from new angles on holding water, fish behavior, tidal influence, and an ancient recipe used by the Peruvians to prepare a fine carp for the dinner table, the one thing that’s been drilled home time and time again, through experience, is this: Out-fishing the guy is simply impossible.

…continue reading Steelhead in the Surf

I hadn’t pestered the local surf perch for a couple years and after a long Delta season spent dealing with all the hassles involved in being “the guy with the boat” the simplicity of a short, trailer-less drive, a single rod, a handful of flies, a pair of waders, and the scenery & solitude of a Monterey Bay beach at sunrise was sounding pretty danged appealing.
…continue reading Surf Perch, it’s been a few years

When the phone rang at o’dark thirty in the morning I sprang out of bed as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on me, “Crap! Sorry! I didn’t even hear the alarm clocks! Give me 30 minutes; I’ll call you on the way”!

The first mistake was not getting my stuff together the night before. The second mistake was convincing myself that if by some act of God I ever did actually fall asleep, there would be any chance at all that I’d wake up in less than 2 hours. …continue reading Delta, Spring is in the air

Jeff had reportedly gotten into a few over-sized gold fish cruising & tailing a few weeks ago. A week later I made a quick scouting run out to have a look and sure enough, carp were everywhere! The mud holes that had appeared vacant of fish over the past few months were suddenly teeming with big, fat, golden beauties! The days had been getting longer, the weather warmer, and big gold tails were waving. With spring in the air, the 7 weight came out of the closet and when the weekend arrived, off we headed to trudge through the sludge.
…continue reading Carp on the Fly, March 2nd, 2008

“There we go!”, and Jeff was hooked up. We’d barely got the boat into position for the first spot of the day and his fly rod was already buckled over into a big fish! I couldn’t believe it, a week later, and on the opposite tide, the same big fish my dad & I had stumbled upon were still here! …continue reading Delta, Cold Water Stripers IV

My dad was in town on business and had managed to schedule in an extra day to fish the delta with me for his first time. With the cold & dirty water typical of this time of year, our expectations weren’t high and I unnecessarily did what I could to emphasize that any fish caught would be an extreme bonus, striper or not, and regardless of size. …continue reading California Delta with Dad

The weather keeps getting nastier and the water colder. A break between winter storms finally opened a window for Jeff & I to make the first trip of the new year to check in on The Delta. The recent storms had successfully left the dreaded, gin-clear water of the fall behind us, but not without a price: cold water and the lethargic fish that come with it. …continue reading Delta, Cold Water Stripers II

It was late Saturday morning when I lazily rolled out of bed, poured a hot cup of coffee, and hopped online to check the weekend weather forecast for The Delta. The water temperatures had been down into the 40’s and the reports I’d been hearing weren’t good. I had half a dozen new flies I’d been anxious to put in the water and Accuweather was calling for perfect conditions (from a weather perspective) so despite the chilly water and the poor reports, I said what the heck, hooked up the boat, and headed over. …continue reading Delta, Cold Water Stripers I

The fact that Jose was still waiting for us at the dock, more than an hour after sunset, was surprising. When I saw the digital camera in his hand I knew why. “How big”? I asked. He ignored me and asked how we’d done. “Terrible”, I responded, “Now let’s see it Jose”. With a sly smirk he coyly responded, “See what? Why are you getting in so late? We were …continue reading Delta, Jose & Gabriel

My brother made it down from Seattle to spend a few days on the Delta with me. On the way back in from a windy first day I justified the days slow fishing to him on the water’s drastic drop in temperature last week and the windy conditions. Brandon & I have fished together long enough not to let a slow day get to us. When we pulled up to the dock and Jose & his buddy were anxiously waiting for us (digital camera in hand) …continue reading Delta with Brandon