Syns, Twins and Fins

We had a free day during our Christmas break so the boys and Emma wanted to do some fishing and get pampered at Bailey Creek Lodge. The place did not disappoint! We asked Victor and Judy Inouye and Emma’s god parent Mike Lim to join us. It was their first visit to the lodge and I think they enjoyed the trip a lot.

The food was again excellent and as before way too much food for us to consume. Tuesday night dinner was seared scallops for appetizer and a huge Filet Mignon with béarnaise sauce along with perfectly cooked asparagus and an incredible Yukon Gold baked potato seasoned with Himalayan salt and olive oil. Got to be the best baked potato I’ve eaten. Dessert was bananas flambé and hot fudge Sunday. Yummy!! Breakfast was the lodge specialty French Toast and huge portions of bacon and eggs. The French Toast was amazing.

Wednesday we woke up to snow on the ground and morning temps in the low 30’s. Overall the Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning fishing was very comfortable weather-wise.

The fish in the pond are fat and healthy. The kids caught so many fish that they quit early on Wednesday.

Since the lodge is only 1 hour from our house, this makes for a great short retreat for us. It’s even closer for Victor and Judy. It was a great trip with good friends.

I have never fished the opener on Pyramid lake and this year my friends insisted that I go to experience great trout fishing. I didn’t want to take the kids out of school so I went with just Benson. We left Weds. afternoon and arrived with some daylight left to see schools of busting Tui chubs near the shore. Since the next day was the opener we did not fish that evening. The weather turned a little sour the next day as we had some wind and rain. That is actually good weather for Pyramid lake. The fish were feeding on bait balls out at 60-100ft of water. That makes fly fishing for them very tough! For the 3 days we were there Benson and I managed to land 41 fish. Not bad BUT the jiggers were getting hundreds of fish! I tried jigging for the first time there and landed 12 in an hour and could have easily caught more but I went back to the long rod. Most of the campers around us were from Chico and at one point there were over 40 watercraft in the Warrior Bay. Looked like a bowl of Cheerios.

On Friday Jeff and Mike Sasaki and Garret Kubota joined us in the trailer but the fishing had already gone to a snails pace by then. The jiggers were still doing well but the fish were definitely out too deep for us.

Two weeks later I took the boys and Pop B (Benson) joined us again. It was a fun trip but the fishing was even slower than the opener. The boys landed less than a handful of fish for 2.5 days of fishing and they tried jigging as well with limited success. Total for that trip was about 20 fish on flies (mainly caught by Pop B!) and 10 fish on jigs.

I will bring the boys to next years opener because it lands on a Saturday…. I bet it will be crowded!

Right after our trip to Alberta, Melanie and I headed to San Francisco for the annual dental meeting. Melanie LOVES to spend time in SF and we usually have some great meals while we are there. We ate at 2 Michael Mina restaurants and they were both excellent. We took my mom out for dinner on our last night and ate at Lark Creek Cafe in San Francisco Center. Great meal there too.

It is suppose to be the PEAK of the salmon season but because of low water and high temps, the fish are still not here. Benson and Victor joined me Friday for some salmon fishing and we only landed 1 fish. Usually it’s limit fishing from mid August to the end of Sept. The parking lot was near empty!

Our bass pond is loaded with short fat fish right now. They are healthy and eating well. The pond is finally getting clearer but when it rains (I hope so!) it will cloudy up again.

Yesterday we had my annual crawdad boil. Benson and Victor drove down from Anderson and Kenny and Amanda drove up from Monterey. Papa John and Uncle Jon also made it. The kids love to get the crawdad processed and cooked. They looked over 40 pounds of crawdads to discard all the dead ones. Emma especially likes the job! Great feast with really nice evening weather so we could eat on the patio. What a great group of friends and in-laws!

This is my 9th trip to the St. Mary’s river in the past 10 years. We have seen it all from high winds to hot weather. From Low water to chocolate brown water. From hail the size of baseballs (killed all birds exposed to the weather and some sheep!) to river closures due to high water temps as in this year.

This is the first year the boys joined us. Uncle Meng, Papa John, Dick and Michael Sasaki completed our group. The weather was warm but not as warm as we have been experiencing in Northern California. The boys and Papa John spent a week in Montana before driving up to the lodge in Alberta. The fishing was poor for the most part in Montana so I was hoping they would get into some better fishing. I flew to Calgary and drove to the lodge to meet them.

Our first day we fished the St Mary’s with Cam’s (the lodge owner) best guide Pauly Kype. When we arrived to the river, there were lots of fish sipping on the surface on tricos. Both boys landed fish on small dries and thus a great start of their St. Mary’s River experience. The rest of the day we fished with hoppers and ended up with 20 hook ups. Matthew landed fish to 23 inches and broke one off that was well over 25 inches. I had not seen a fish that size in many trips. Michael landed fish to 25 inches. Most of the fish ate hoppers but Michael’s 25 incher ate a small PMD emerger!

The next day, the government closed the St. Mary’s and the Bow rivers due to high water temp. That has never happened since Cam has been guiding the river which dates back 20 years. This was bittersweet because now it forced us to fish other waters in the area that we usually pass up.

On day 2 we fished the Castle River which is a clear and cold mountain stream. We had 30 or so fish come up for our dry flies and hooked about 20 of them. They were rainbows, cutbows, cutthroats and 2 bull trout. Fun river to fish but the hike was brutal.

On day 3 we were the first in our group to fish the spring creek ponds. The trout in there are freaks of nature. They grow to 20 pounds… and still growing! We sight fished massive rainbows on 4X tippet using black ants, cowboy leeches and black Fat Alberts. Michael hooked 3 of those monsters and landed 2 of them. The big one measured 35 inches! Matthew did not land a behemoth but landed a few of the “small” ones which are 22-24 inches. He had 2 big ones take his fly but did not hook up.

Day 4 took us to the Old Man. The river was running high due to irrigation demands but still fishable. We caught rainbows, cutts and cutbows to 21 inches. Mainly on dries but a few took red copper johns.

We spent day 5 looking for pike. The boys have been wanting to fish for pike for years now and Cam said there are some ponds near the spring creek ponds that hold some nice size pike. So off we went to the local pond. The pike ate just about anything put in front of them. The hot fly was a huge brown deceiver I use for Loreto. Michael landed 12 and Matthew landed 6 but he landed 2 of the biggest ones. Fun day pike fishing but when the day was over the boys said they would have preferred to fish the St. Mary’s again.

The St. Mary’s is primarily the river we travel there to fish. It would be tough for you to find a better trout stream on the globe. The fish grow big, thick and strong. They like to eat dries and they fight harder than any other trout we know of. Too bad the boys only got to experience one day on the river. The one day they did have was stellar so I’m sure they will want to return.

More pics and video on Uncle Meng’s Blog http://www.mengsyn.com/2015/08/southern-alberta-trout-fishing/

I took the boys to Bandon Oregon to do some crabbing, clamming, surf fishing and ATV-ing on the dunes. The girls went to San Francisco to see Matilda. It was Emma’s belated birthday present and she said it was her best present ever. They had a great meal at Jardiniere, stayed at the Hyatt Regency, shopped at the Ferry Building and got ice cream at the Bi Rite Creamery. She loved it all!

We had a fantastic time too in Bandon. We arrived late Weds evening and the boys were begging me to let them set traps for crab that night. We did.  5:30 am came way too early but the boys were up and ready to go crabbing! We had 2 legals in the trap and crabbed another couple hours for 1 more legal. We needed to be in Charleston at 10am to dig clams so we decided to leave our legal crabs in the crab pot and just leave it in the water tied to the dock. We had great clamming in Charleston and ended up with 21 gapers and a hand full of cockles. We broke the shell on the first 6 or 7 gapers while trying to dig them out of the sand so we used them for crab bait later that day. The crabs LOVED the clams.

When we got back to the crabbing dock in the afternoon, we noticed that someone had taken our trap. That was NOT cool. That was a brand new trap I just bought days ago. Well live and learn. We rented 3 ring/hoop traps and ended the day with only 2 keepers. Tony’s Crab Shack cooked and clean the crabs for .75/each! What a deal! Crab snack in the hotel room right before bedtime!

Next morning we crabbed again but did not get any legals. We headed to the dunes at 9am and spent a few hours riding quads there. The boys enjoyed that a lot.

We finished the day crabbing again on the dock in Bandon and this time we were able to get 5 legals. Another great meal in the hotel room that night!

A friend of a friend happened to be in Bandon the same time we were there and they graciously invited us to crab with them out of their boat in the mouth of the bay on our last morning there. Brian and Melissa are from the Chico area too and they spend a week there every year. They are good friends with Mike Lim and Sue. It was a great pleasure to spend the morning with Brian in his boat crabbing. In 2 hours we boated 20 legal crabs! Next year the boys want me to bring our boat so that is a good possibility.

Looks like we will make this trip next year. We ate well and had such a fun time.

Our first trip to Boston was everything we expected. The food was great the people were very friendly and the history was fascinating.  We hired a personal guide for 2 days to show us the town. On the first day we took a 6 hour tour tracing the footsteps of Paul Revere and his Midnight ride. That took us through Charleston, Lexington and Concord. After lunch we toured Harvard and parts of Boston. The kids paid attention the entire tour and were eager to hear all the historical stories the tour guide told.

The next day I took the boys fishing in the morning in Boston Harbor and the girls slept in and explored nearby on their own. The fishing was not good.  We did catch some fish but it was pretty slim pickins. The Capt. said it was due to the Saturday boat traffic. Funny thing, he also said the traffic is worse on weekdays because of the commuter traffic. So if I heard that correctly, there is no good time to fish Boston Harbor!

That afternoon we took a 3 hour walking tour of the city. Most of it was walking on the Freedom Trail but we ventured off to other historic and interesting parts of the city. Although we were pretty tired after the walk, it was well worth it and the kids held up fine.

The next day we drove to Martha’s Vineyard. It rained the entire day so we did not see the splendor of the Island. No good views of the beaches or the harbor or the lighthouses or the neighborhoods. We drove to the southernmost town called Aquinnah and had lunch there. On a sunny day we were told your could see for miles and can see the beautiful homes and beaches surrounding the area. That day we saw “NUTTIN”. After lunch we drove back to Edgartown to shop and sightsee then back to Vineyard Haven to get onto the ferry back to the mainland. Next stop, Plymouth.

We arrived into Plymouth in time to have a great dinner at the East Bay Grille. The boys had Scrod and I had the Chilean Sea Bass. They were both outstanding. I think one of us in the family ordered Scrod at least once a day during the week. Scrod is apparantly a local name for cod, haddock or pollack. We were told it could be any of those three whitefish and possibly a couple more. Whatever the name is, it is a fantastic fish. The next morning the boys went fishing and the girls drove to Providence RI.

The morning was very foggy when we met the Capt. at the boat ramp. We boarded the boat and as we motored out of the harbor, Capt. Scott noticed fish boiling all over the place right in the harbor. We got our gear ready and we had fish on with in minutes from stepping foot on the boat. We were on the fish for about 2 hours when the Capt. said “lets head out to make bait that way we can get some bigger fish on live bait”. We agreed so off we went. I hated to leave the fish but it would be another experience for the boys to make bait.  The boat stopped near a large buoy and we could tell we were pretty far offshore. There were more swells and I was worried that the boys would get seasick. Well as soon as we dropped our bait jigs the fishing was fast and furious. Every drop produced at least one mackerel or herring. The boys LOVED it.  After 20 minutes our bait tank was full but the boys still wanted to jig for bait! After some convincing they agreed to go find some stripers.

We pulled into Kingston Bay and noticed many birds working bait. As we got closer we could see the striper boils all over the place. the boys got into fish right away and since it was still cloudy and foggy, we worked that school for 3 hours! At Noon or so, the birds disappeared and so did the fish. We motored to different spots to find no fish. Finally I told Capt. Scott if the fishing is this tough, lets head back and I’ll take the boys to a nice lunch. So we headed back to the launch. Lo and behold as we idled into the harbor the stripers and birds were still working! We fished for another 90 minutes until the clouds went away and the sun came out. As soon as the sun came out the birds and the fish dissapeared. There a pic of the boys with the Mayflower II in the background. Ended the day with over 60 fish to the boat.

We looked around Plymouth and visited the museums the rest of the day and the next morning. Melanie is a card carrying Mayflower Descendent and that makes the kids too. As we were buying T-shirts I told the cashier that the kids were Mayflower descendants and she looked at me and then the kids and didn’t say much. Looking the the kids I’d say the bloodline is thinning out quite a bit!

We drove back to Boston to spend our last night. We stayed in the heart of “Little Italy” on Hanover St.. As  we walked outside our 2 bedroom apartment there were Italian restaurants as far as the eye could see. They were baking fresh bread 24/7 downstairs of our suite. We had to take some home, it was darn close to the best bread we’ve ever eaten. We also had to stop at Mike’s Bakery….several times. The lines in the evening and weekends are out the door. As you can see by the cannoli menu on the wall there is quite the choices.

Our last dinner in Boston was at Bricco and it was spectacular. The next morning I had to eat my last lobster roll (I had at least one a day the whole week we were there) for breakfast. It happened to be the best one of the week. I am going to miss authentic lobster rolls for sure.

It was a great trip but it will probably be awhile before we head that way again. There are too many other places we would like to take the kids. Now we are back in the triple digit heat wishing we were back in Beantown!

For the past 5 years  during Memorial Weekend we have been going to Antelope Creek Lodge run by the Fly Shop in Redding. This year we could not get our regular weekend so we booked with Bailey Creek Lodge. Both Lodges are a great destination for the fly fisher and for being pampered. I would say the food might be a bit better at Bailey Creek and that is saying something. The food at Antelope is excellent but Bailey edges it out.

Uncle Meng and Aunt Gina joined us along with Po Po and MoMo. Melanie drove up Sunday night to have dinner with us.

Our hosts Peter and Cindy Mitchell are fantastic and did everything in their power to make us feel at home and comfortable. We could not have asked for better hosts.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and after settling in and rigging our gear, we headed to the pond. The fish were already rising and we caught some really hard fighting healthy rainbows.

We came in for dinner at 6pm and were served bruschetta smothered with saute’d mushrooms as our appetizer, a wedge salad, Sous Vide filet mignon, corn on the cob, baked potato and hot fudge sundae for dessert.  We had not eaten that large a meal in a long time.

After dinner we headed back out to the lake and fished until dark. There was a good hex hatch right at dark and we got a few fish on hex cripples.

Breakfast the next morning was another huge meal. Cinnamon bread French Toast with strawberries and bananas AND bacon and eggs. There was so much food left over we felt bad. Lunches were “make your own sandwich” and thank god for that. We were still full from breakfast to have a full blown hot lunch.

The fishing on the second day was incredible. There was a damsel hatch that we fly fishers dream about. The fish were keying in on the damsels and if you could get a cast near a rise, it would be automatic. This went on for hours. It reminded me of the good ole days at Davis Lake. I don’t have many pics of the kids with fish because they would not be close by when they caught fish. We fished in prams and they were never that close. I fished with Emma in my 10 foot pram and she was too close to get any good pictures. Plus these fish were so spunky that they were difficult to hold.

The fishing slowed down a bit the next few days. The bass pond north of the lodge was great fun for the kids. Lots of  bass on conventional gear and some big 5-6 pound fish were caught.

This Lodge is perfect for anyone that wants to decompress. From the heated pool and hot tub to the great meals and accommodations, it’s a relaxing quiet visit. This is THE place for us until something better comes along. It’s only 65 minutes from our house!

We will go back for a day trip this year and rebook again for 4 days next year.

The boys had Friday off from school so it was a great opportunity to head out for a longer fishing trip. The forecast for the 2 days was mostly cloudy and 4-6 mph winds early then rising to 13-15mph in the afternoon. With that forecast I was very excited to fish the lake!

We arrived late Thursday night and by the time we set up camp there was only 10 minutes to fish. I was lucky to land one fish and that was it for that day.

The next morning was promising due to the great weather forecast. Turns out that it was mostly cloudy and no wind! I woke up at 4:45am to put the ladders out on our spots. I waited for one hour before sunrise to fish. I figured if I did well, I can go back to the trailer and wake the boys up. That morning I landed a couple fish then headed back to shore to wake the boys up. By the time they got up and wadered up, the bite was already slacking off. I landed 6, Michael got one and Matthew got bit but no fish landed. The weather stayed calm all day. We did finally get some cloud cover but that did not help the fishing much. The forecast called for 13 mph winds to pick up at 4 pm and that never materialized. I sat in front of the trailer looking out at the flat calm water WHILE retrieving the forecast again on my phone. It STILL said ” Nixon NV 13 mph winds with 18 mph gust”. REALLY??? I’m right here and there is not a breath of wind. This place is like the Bermuda Triangle weather wise. Strange stuff happens here.

That evening we got a few more fish but nothing to brag about.

Next morning was also suppose to be 4-6 mph winds but at 6am it was flat calm. Michael landed 2 and lost another one. Matthew hooked one and lost it. I landed 7 but all relatively small fish. All our fish both days were caught on white and chart. tadpoles.

At 8am the weather was appearing to be bluebird skies and calm so we decided to pack up and have breakfast at Cabelas. Still a fun trip but I learned now to never trust the weather forecast for Pyramid.

Dick Sasaki graciously asked me to cover for him on one of his trips with Capt. Mike Costello. Dick was recovering from back surgery so he did not want to risk fishing so soon. I was more than happy to oblige! Thank you Dr Sasaki!

I fished with  Michael Sasaki on Capt. Costello’s “back up” boat, a new 19ft Nitro. We have a similar boat and I love the fishing platform. Very comfortable and fast.

We fished primarily in the Moke and it was a relatively slow day. I did land a smallmouth which was the first ever for me on the delta. Total for the day was 18 landed and 9 over legal size. Largest fish was 6 pounds and one other that was not far behind. No pics of stripers because I figured fishing with Capt. Costello we would hook up on bigger fish! Not the case on that fateful Friday the 13th day. It was a great day spent with Michael Sasaki and Mike Costello.

We (Wayne, Michael, Matthew, Uncle Meng,  Cousin Mark, Papa John, Pop B and Uncle Jon) fished opening day at Eagle Canyon on Saturday and it was very good. The last time I fished opening day there was 3-4 years ago and it was spectacular. Many more fish hooked and there were not many slow periods. This year the weather was bluebird and the fishing was good first thing in the morning but it slowed down dramatically in the afternoon. Very healthy fish were caught by all and it was still a great time. The boys fished from the bank and from tubes but the bank fishing was more successful.