I've been back home in Mammoth Lakes CA for a short break from guiding steelhead trips on the Trinity River in northern CA.
Its good to be home! My pup Buster has been getting spoiled and has got all too comfortable sleeping on my side of the bed.
We spent the Christmas Holiday visiting all sorts of family over two states. First stop was Grandparents Neal and cousins Garret and Ethan Burton in Rocklin and Granite Bay CA - my home turf.
The trip for me was way to brief but at least my daughter got to spend some time with my family...
After the Sacramento visit, we set off for Hamilton Montana and a visit with my wife's brother and family and a few of her close relatives.
Overall, our daughter, Bella, tore it up with with numerous cousins and had the time of her life getting spoiled by the extended family. We had a great time and saw some beautiful places.
Now that my brother-in-law is back in the Bitterroot Valley I sense some extended vacations w/ the family - I might finally get to fish some of the hallowed waters in MT that all my clients tell me each summer!
Trinity Steelhead Update:
More steelhead photos below the unfiltered and unedited drivel... scroll deep!
(Image: This isn't Lenny Stahl's first rodeo)
The last few weeks of steelhead fishing on the Trinity in December were fantastic!! Despite the lack of rain and overall weather we saw plenty of great days with many fish hitting the net each day!
At this point in the season, there's still plenty of "colored up" hatchery fish moving through the system. Due to the lack of rain their progression has been slow. Every once in a while you may lock into a fresher fish - or a wild winter native - that just kicks your a$$ up and down the river.
When the region receives some rain, we should finally see a bigger push of the big winter wild fish to show up in droves.
I recall a few EPIC battles these past few weeks. Fish absolutely freaking out, flipping themselves silly and taking backing ripping runs!! I was able to witness many anglers and friends, new and old, hook and land their first steelhead!!
That's why we are here and those are the experiences and moments I never forget.
This being an Unconventional Fish Report...
My chosen career path as a gypsy guide is bitter/sweet. Being able to "live the dream" requires long hours, occasional tough days, inconsistent income and living away from home for the better part of 3 months.
While it does create work opportunity it's not without some eternal conflict.
I make plenty of sacrifices and miss out on family life moments ... like my wife's Birthday, my daughter's first loose tooth coming out, her first violin recital, the passing of our longtime and loyal 15 yr old border collie, Luna, or my bird dog puppy, Buster, getting spoiled and decidedly off his game.
These are the prices I pay for admission to the circus - the merry-go-round ride of highs and lows which encompass my steelhead affliction. It presents the all too common working fishing guide's dilemma.
The steelhead circus involves sleepless nights of anticipation followed by hours and hours of hard work, pursuit, hunting, rowing and casting, tying and untangling!
It's a game of confidence, persistence, experience and sometimes just blind faith. Simply going through the the motions while lacking intensity or relying on arrogant desire alone will rarely fulfill what we search for.
We fish for many reasons and different rewards, but for me, guiding is construction…
My job is to develop building block skills in anglers less fortunate than me, who cannot spend enough time on the water. Maybe it's offering a means of escape from their daily grind?
I thrive on having a hand in creating those glorious moments when we finally connect, come tight and feel the pull back, head shake or leap into the sky from these worthy creatures of cold, clean water.
These brief encounters, experience has shown me – are possible on any given presentation of our fly, or only after the prerequisite 1001th cast.
Sometimes these moments come to fruition after unfolding the perfect cast, mend or just simply being in the right place at the right time (as MP would say "even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while").
But one thing is for sure, when finally we do engage nature's most doggedly persistent and survival driven creatures - time stands still.
Call them what you like, “the fish of a thousand casts", chrome ghosts, silver bullets, anadromous figments of our imagination... Steelhead have a knack of showing up when we pour our heart and soul into the effort by fully dedicating ourselves to the process of angling.
These are not merely 12" trout - they are ocean going super-charged rocket ships of mystical proportion. Fish that have been going at it for a millenia, but civilization has has nearly destroyed in less than 100 years. So they are worthy... of pursuit, connection and ultimately, protection.
My passion is my profession - cliche as it sounds. I consider myself fortunate and I am honored to share my experience with anglers who stand before me.
While I can't honestly admit that all the time, energy, sacrifice, or monetary payback is actually "worth it" (How do you quantify all the magical moments and emotions?) all I can do is be guided by my gut, my heart and my bank account to some degree.
After all, in today's world, next to the basic necessities of food, water & shelter we need also consider the financial element and reality of modern day survival and responsibilities.
So if "working a job" gives me great satisfaction while providing a sort of "soul re-fill" for my clients - then I do feel lucky. Very lucky.
Maybe I'm getting closer to solving the modern day riddle of "making ends meet" while actually excited to be going to work each and every day.
There's a lot more to fishing than throwing your hook into the water...
Here are a few of the pics from the last few weeks. Warning - gratuitous hero shots aplenty:
(Image: Lisa Santy didn't require 999 casts to hook and land her first steelhead ever. Only a dozen or so casts. How lucky is that??!!)
(Images: Frank Balog w/ a few, Alan Pierrot all grins and "confident", Landis Powell landed her 1st steelhead on a memorable trip with her father, Don and Bob gettin it done!)
(Hough Doi with a native slab, Smiling Steve Caplan, ... , the November brothers!! My boy Lenny hooked many, many, fine fish, Jim Broadbent got bent on a few, my gal Lisa definitely got the newbie dust off on her 3 day trip)
(Images: The river can often be moody, and it can also reward, day with the boys, anticipation on the dead drift, morning light, sculling for chrome, lunch break, different ways to go about it)
Well how about a Happy New Year!!!!!! Cheers to 2012 being a much BETTER year for everyone...
Cancellation Opportunity:
I was completely booked the rest of my January steelhead dates, but recently I got word of a weekend cancellation for Jan 17 & 18. If you or anyone you know is interested in these two dates let me know ASAP... Neal2fish@Qnet.com or call my mobile (760) 914-0465.
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