Members' Bio: Where'd you come from?

[Wildman]

Andi-
Welcome to the board. Arvin is one heck of a fisherman (and a mean cook in fishing camp). Every time I pass Manzanar, I think of those folks and the time they spent there. I can only imagine what it took to sneak out and go up into the creeks to fish for wild trout and the sense of freedom that must have given them. Your Grandfather's legacy and love of fly fishing lives on with you. Looking forward to sharing some water with you and seeing some trip reports.

[midger]

Andi,
Welcome to the forum. We look forward to your postings as many here are frequent visitors to the Eastside. Hope to see you on one of these streams one of these days.

[1mocast]

Great Intro Andi. A friend of Arvin is always welcome here.

[flybob]

Welcome to the family Andi......any friend of Arvin, is a friend of mine....hope to hook up with you on the water one of these days.

[fish4gold]

Hi All,
Well I suppose I should do the honors...
I grew up in S. Calif. in a family that knew nothing about fishing. Where my fishing gene came from I do not know, but an Uncle of mine loved the outdoors. I asked to go fishing as a birthday present, at an age I can't remember, but probably down in the 6 or 7 range. My older brother tried to help me, but he didn't know how either. It really wasn't until I went to college (Cal Poly SLO) that I met a man that was an exceptional fisherman, and I started to learn a few things. Later on I met a few others, one of which was a fly fisherman.
In 2005 I stumbled across a site showing some photos of fish from the High Sierra. I had always been under the impression that all trout were small at such high altitudes, so my jaw dropped at the photos. No names were mention, just 15' map names and a few photos. BUT, the hunt was on! One of the photos was of a stunning 14" golden trout. That has been my primary target since, and thus my name. My goal has been to catch a 20 incher. A lofty goal I know, but not totally unheard of. If nothing else, this has taken me into some of the most spectacularly stunning scenery I have ever seen!!! I love the barren moonscape of the High Sierra! I have even set down my rod to take a photo or two of a sunset or sunrise. That is really saying something!!!
It was a recent photo of a golden trout that I stumbled across a few days ago that brought me to this site. You see, I have yet to catch my 20 incher, and so I am always searching. I only have time for about 2 trips per year, sometimes fairly short.So I look at maps and the internet and dream.
There is no more thrilling way to catch a golden trout than on my fly rod. It is a 4 piece 6WT that goes with me everywhere. Not a spectacular rod, but I sure do catch some spectacular fish on it!
Thank you for listening, and maybe I'll bump into some of you in the High Sierra some day! Until then, thank you for the great trip reports and I look forward to getting more acquainted with more of this site!
-Fish4gold

[WanderingBlues]

F4G, welcome to the site. Yeah, it sounds as though you qualify as an Addict. Sadly, there's no known cure for your affliction. Only the medicine of the High Sierras.

[fish4gold]

F4G, welcome to the site. Yeah, it sounds as though you qualify as an Addict. Sadly, there's no known cure for your affliction. Only the medicine of the High Sierras.

Wanderingblues,
I am afraid you're right!!!!!!! Nice there is no cure though!!!!

[BigKahuna]

Big Kahuna,

I've been fly fishing since I was in my early 20's, mainly back packing in the Beartooth Absarokee ranges in Montana and Wyoming. Mainly in search of cutthroats, hybrid rainbows, and brook trout. I did backcountry trips for almost 20 years in a row. Mainly 6 or 7 day trips and sometime 12 day trips which we were resupplied half way through by local outfitters. This was a fantastic training ground.

I live in the town of Grass Valley, California in the foothills below Lake Tahoe. I an now a licensed fly fishing guide. My guiding focus is on education. My home river is the Lower Yuba River. I have been fishing it for almost 30 years. I'm an older trout bum. It's sort of a PHD river where lots of people get humbled.

I have a fly fishing educational website at http://www.flyfishingtraditions.com. It is 99% educational based. Check it out if you'd like. I have a hatch chart for the Lower Yuba River that you should check out, it's patterns section can helpful just about anywhere you roam.

I also teach workshops for groups and fly fishing clubs; Fly Fishing 101, Stillwater Flyfishing, Tailwater Tactics, Spey and Switch Rods, Single handed Fly Casting, Drift Boat 101, Pontoon Boat 101

I also am a frustrated writer and attempt to do this through a Fly Fishing Blog at http://www.flyfishingtraditions.blogspot.com This is my ramblings and where educational articles get there start and if they warrant it eventually into the website.

I am the current President of the Gold Country Fly Fishers and take care of their clinics and workshops.

So I'm on board and ready to participate. My philosophy is to share what I've learned to make other fly fisher journey a little easier. I'm looking forward to the journey.

Clay Hash

[midger]

Welcome to the fray BK/Clay. I used to fish around the Hwy 20 bridge quite often when I lived in Roseville and enjoyed my forays on the Yuba. Sounds like you've had a lot of opportunities to take some wonderful trips over the years. I look forward to checking out your site and your blog. Lots of great folks on this forum. Enjoy!

[myt1]

...not new to the Sierras.

I've been enjoying the Sierras since I was eight years old and I'm 57 now. That is a *' long time.

I've only been fly fishing since January of 2014, but I'm already addicted; incidently, I'm also already broke. I'm a bit of a gadget guy and there seems to be no end to the stuff I just can't live without.

I fished last year in the Sierras with flies, albeit with spinning gear, and I actually caught some fish. I can't wait to return in July with all my new fangled fly fishing gear. I have my eye on the Stanislas, the east Walker, and the Owens River. I might also try a class 4 climbing route on Mount Tyndall; old habits die slowly.

Presently, I live in Phoenix, Arizona, and I'm cutting my teeth fishing a small creek about three hours away named Canyon Creek. If I can catch fish there, which I haven't yet, I can catch fish anywhere, or so I have been told.

I'm looking forward to joining your forum and learning a lot about fly fishing in the sierras, pretty much my favorite place on earth.

Cheers,

[Wildman]

Welcome. I caught the addiction the same way and spent two years before I figured out that a few lessons and hanging out with guys that caught fish was the way to get jump started. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures on the AZ creeks

[lochiellass]

Time to say Hello for me too. I have 'lurked in the shadows' for a few months now and it is time I came out into the sunshine and said Hello to you all.
I am Georgie, I hail from the Waikato area of New Zealand and fish mostly in the Lake Taupo area. I have been learning to fly fish with the help of a wonderful teacher, Jason Bethune from the Tauranga Taupo River at the south end of Lake Taupo. I am now at the point of 'going it alone' and having a fanstastic time learning, and learning and learning.
I can remember as a child watching my grandfather and great uncle fly casting on Lake Rotorua when we were on holiday there. I was fascinated by the action and the excitment of playing a fish. I would watch them for hours. Although I grew up sea, boat, shore and rock fishing in salt water, it wasn't until a couple of years ago that my children gifted me a weekend out with Jason and a first starting lesson on the wonders of fly fishing. By the end of my first catch I was 'hooked' and now I just love getting onto the rivers and lakes in our gorgeous country and catching some beautiful fish.
I am travelling to the USA and Canada over Christmas and New Year for 5 weeks and hope to be able to try some of the fishing in those parts of the world too.
One thing I am quickly learning. It doesn't matter where you come from or where you fish, we are all the same - searching for the next thrill of catching a great fish in a beautiful part of nature.

If it wasn't for my bills, I would be fishing or skiing every day

[midger]

First off, here's wishing you a big welcome to the forum. You'll find there's lots of great folks here more than willing to help new flyfishers as well as the old salts amongst us. You're coming from a Flyfishing Mecca when you come to Canada and the US, but you're timing isn't the best for those areas as lots of waters will be closed then either by regulation or because of the weather. Some of the tailwaters will be open like the Green, Colorado, San Juan, etc, but a lot of the prime waters won't be available to you so hopefully you have alternative plans for the areas you won't be able to fish in. As you get closer to coming, please let us know more of your plans and perhaps we can give you more options.

Again, welcome.

[Reid]

Hello. I started fishing when I was a kid with my dad and grandpa. We property in Wisconsin on a lake we went to. My dad and grandpa both had fly rods but I never used them. After my grandfather passed I got his fly rod and reel and played around with it and realm liked it. I lost interest in fishing once I got older(as someone else said I also blame drugs, girls, and rock n roll, I was a drummer). Recently I have wanted to get back into fishing. I still have all my traditional poles and tackle but wanted to try fly fishing but didn't want to risk breaking my grandpas. So I bought a $150 combo from cabalas( 8.5 foot 5wt prestige) and here I am. I am enjoying my time but basically starting from scratch since I haven't casted a fly pole for over 20 years and I wasn't that great at it when I did. I actually have yet to catch anything on a fly pole but look forward to the day I do. You can bet even if its a minnow there will be pictures lol.

[WanderingBlues]

Welcome Reid! Get busy so we can cheer ya!