November Always seems to be a Little Melancholy.

November for Trout fishers is a little melancholy if you live in the Mountains. The Cottonwoods are deeply golden and are devoid of most leaves. The rivers get low and the crowds are gone. You know Winter is looming. Though most of us fish in the Winter it's still not the same as fishing big drys or nymphs, compared to tiny little Midges. November is still a good month to fish depending on how long the weather holds out. In November, I usually go out and fish the spots that I couldn't because I was guiding all Summer, or afraid that I would stick the fish that one of my clients could catch. Now, at least for me, is the time to go out and just enjoy being on the river along with my dog Elliot before the first big Winter storms. Oh, and by the way, the fishing is still pretty good.

My Web Dude.

I'm often asked who did my website. Well, it's one of Truckee's own, Paul Hamil. He's taken care of me on many occasions when I need things tweaked on the web site so a little float was in order today. We didn't get any real big fish, but it was still a fun day on the water. I did get a little brown on the new fly, it's not a nymph or a streamer, but looks great in the water. I'll be fishing them this Winter, we'll see how they do. Paul's design company is www.antitodedesign.com, check it out.

Montana.

Eleven different Mountain Ranges, broad plains, Griz, and endless rivers, that's Montana. I just got back from five days of fishing with my buddy Chris on some of the West's best Trout waters. The weather was nasty and everyone was out Elk hunting. We had the rivers all to ourselves. The Madison was great between the lakes and of course at Reynolds Pass. We took the boat up to the Mo, and if you've never been to the Missouri you need to go. Hard, and I mean hard fighting fish. Stop in at Craig and go to the Headhunters Fly Shop (More on them later). No BWOs on the Mo, but lots of strong fish. Chris got about a 7lb brown near dark and the next morning I had at least a 10lber on that I watched sail away with all my shit attached to him. We saw no one else fly fishing on our two days there! It was great to hang out with an old friend, drink good beer, eat shitty food, and of course catch fish.

End of the Season Through the Miracle Mile.

Had a great day today through the Miracle Mile as my friend Joe likes to call it. Lot's of hook ups and lost big fish for my clients. The Hirschdale area gets pretty hammered all Summer, but now crowds are gone and hardly anyone is on the river. The fishing is much better. This will be my last post for a week or so as I'll be in Montana visiting my buddy Chris. Even though I guide in the Winter my main guiding season is coming to a close as Winter is looming upon us. I want to say thanks for everyone who has came out to fish with me this Summer. The Truckee is tough, but hopefully everyone had a good time and learned something. It has been my busiest season to date. November looks like it could be cold, but the fishing should be good for the first few weeks as the browns are spawning late this year. See you guys when I get back.

My Homey

First cast this morning I had a huge shadow chase down my big caddis dry about 10 yards, but since it had drag the fish didn't eat. Second cast, bam, the fight was on. This brown took the soft hackle baetis, or better known by my friend Keith as the homey. I was lucky to land this thing on an old ass leader and old 5x tippet, but I got lucky. It's called the homey because it doesn't come by and drink your beer and look through your refrigerator, it's your friend, your homey. The homey likes to kick it and catch fish.

October Caddis.

This is my fly of the week and it has caught a lot of nice fish in late Fall over the years for me on the Truckee River. We really don't get a big October Caddis hatch, for example like the Upper Sac or McCloud, but fish really like munching on the Pupa in late Fall. I think a lot of the patterns you see at the fly shop are to bulky. I like a muskrat and rabbit blend and a thinner profile. This is also a good fly to use behind a streamer.

Hook: Tiemco 2499, or 2457 Sz#6
Body: Any buggy nymph type dubbing, orange or cream.
Shell: Wapsi Thin Skin, brown
Ribbing: UTC Wire, copper brown
Collar: Hen hackle, brown
Eyes: Black bead chain eyes

Baetis Weather.

Overcast skies the last few days have made for some good dry fly action. The Little Truckee has some phenomenal Baetis hatches when it's overcast. If you know where to go around the Truckee area there all also some spots where you can find great dry fly fishing. I like my Baetis emerger #16 followed by my soft hackle #16, about 10 inches behind. Mid-day on the Truckee River is when I switch to my soft hackle Baetis and fish it deep, it seems to usually do the trick this time of year. We are starting to hook some big fish again on the Truckee.