Members' Bio: Where'd you come from?

[dray]

Just realized there was an intro section to the forum. Like a lot of you, I grew up camping and fishing, but mostly my family and friends were water and snow skiers. We traveled up and down the state of Ca searching for the perfect early morning glass run. Spent a lot of time in Northern Ca, although we lived in Southern Ca, (San Fernando Valley) and visited lakes like, Whiskey Town, Shasta, Black Butte, Clear Lake and the Delta’s of Sacramento to name a few. There was always room for fishing with the dad, but back in the day it was bait and lures and rarely C&R if any at all. My teenage years were filled with sports, which didn’t leave much time for fishing. When I became older I found myself married and having three awesome boys. My wife and I raised our boys like our parents did with us, camping by the shores of lakes. We bought a wakeboarding boat and dragged the kids around the lakes on their boards and tubes for years. Shortly after that, a friend of mine introduced me to fly fishing and I was hooked. And again like most of you, we did a couple epic guy trips to places like Alaska, Wyoming and horse packed back into the high county of the Sierra's out of Rock Creek (wow the memories are flooding back what a blast). When my boys got a little older I introduced them to fly fishing and upland game bird hunts. They too are hooked and have become quite the fly fishermen. Now a days the wife prefers to “hotel camp” when we take family vacations. The boys are getting older (two in college and the other is a Jr in HS & sports) and I find myself fishing by myself when the kids are in school, but we do manage to get in a couple day trips here and there. Fly fishing has become my passion. I really enjoy our local SoCA mountains aswell as the Eastern Sierra’s, Hot Creek, Lower/Upper Owens, June Lake and Mammoth areas. I have recently started the hobby of tying flies and building rods. I look forward to meting some of you guys out on the water. Darrin

[beachbum]

Good intro, Darrin. Hope to see you on the water soon. Remember to post fish pics.

[stanbery]

Darrin

Very nice intor.

Jon

[flybob]

Hey Darrin, thanks for taking the time to tell a little about yourself.

The family just keeps getting bigger!

[el_spaniard]

I grew up in Downey, CA. My grandfather took me fishing for the first time at a pier in Long Beach. I would go fishing with him at Redondo Pier as well. He was never an avid fisherman, but he did teach me the basics. Throughout middle school and high school I would spend hours at the local library reading books about fishing and hunting. My next door neighbor was a hardcore angler/hunter and was the first one to take me trout fishing at Lake Poway. I discovered Walmart, and soon spent every dollar I had on lures and gear. I would spend countless hours at local lakes. Downey Wilderness Park, El Dorado Park, Whittier Narrows, Peck Lake, and Santa Fe Dam. I went float tubing in Long Beach for the first time when I was 16.

My first experience with fly fishing was in high school. I knew there were blue gill at the little lake near my house, but my gear was too heavy. I figured fly fishing would do the trick. I saved my money and went to Big 5 one day. I bought a fly fishing kit and picked up some reading material at the library. Pretty soon I had bought my own fly tying kit from Bass Pro's and took my first trip to Bob Marriots for fly tying material. I taught myself to tie flys using the books I found at the library. I caught a lot of bluegills at that little lake.

My first stream fishing experience was at Rock Creek (Toms Place) in 2009.

Fly Fishing the local streams is by far the most rewarding fishing experience I've had so far.

[rkfiske]

Nice intro Danny!

[BigBrownHunter]

Well I guess I should properly introduce myself to the members and give a breif history of my fishing adventures.

My name is Tom Woodworth and I'm a So Cal Native. Iv'e been fishing since I was very young. I was blessed with two grandfathers that enjoyed fishing and they passed the love onto me. Of all my cousins I was really the only one to catch the "BUG"..

As a young child my grandfather would to take me and my mother to the eastern sierras on fishing/camping trips. I remember hiking to some remote beaver ponds with him when I was so young. Now days if I took any of my children on such an excursion they would complain that their batteries are running low on their game system or that their cell phones don’t get reception. I’ve taken the older two and it just hasn’t stuck…One last shot with my little guy!

We would catch and release most fish but grandpa would keep a few for that nights dinner. He showed me how to gut and prepare fish for the frying pan. Now a days my mom and step father continue grandpas traditions however we C&R everything we catch. I love to fly fish and have in the past couple of years taken up the hobby of tying my own fly's..Theres nothing like drinking a few cool ones and tying on a Friday night… And nothing can beat the feeling of catching a nice brown on a hand tied fly!

I enjoy all types of fishing.. From the salt, both on the sand or the back side of Catalina...
I enjoy it all..I don't however enjoy the bait and wait so much and haven’t fished with bait in years. This brings me to my favorite...fly fishing. I love the challenge of it. Covering water and trying to find what the fish are eating. I really enjoy float tubing and we get out on the water a few times a year. My mom is the 1st one in and last out! She absolutely love to float tube..I have been fishing the EW for years and until a few years ago couldn’t catch much of anything on that tail water. A few years ago I started to really get the hang of that fishing it and now can land some killer trout! Below I attached a photo of me at 3 years old with one of my first Eastern Sierra Trout..

Anyway I look forward to reading and learning from you guys here on this forum. There is so much knowledge shared here. This truly is a great place for the dedicated to share stories!

Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you guys on the water!!
Tight lines

Tom

[hpskiff]

Welcome Tom!!! That is a heck of a nice photo. I stick my tongue out just like that when I am really concentrating on my casting.

Mitchell

[stanbery]

Tom

Very nice entor and a very cool pictures to boot.

Jon

[flybob]

Welcome Tom, you bio brings back many memories for me.

But the best ones are from the last few years, when I finally discovered flyfihsing!

Lots of fun and knowledge here.

Bob

[beachbum]

Welcome aboard, Tom! That's a great picture!

[Dry Fly Rie]

Hey fellow addicts. I've really enjoyed learning from this site and its great members. I'm hoping to be a solid contributor. Here's my story of addiction (I apologize in advance for the length of my post...it's just such a special thing to talk about):

I was born, raised, and have lived my entire life in the northern part of San Diego. I will turn 30 later this summer, and even though I'm still fairly young, I can't help but lament missing out on some good years of fishing while I was busy pursuing other things.

Like many of the important things in my life, I owe my love of fly fishing and the outdoors to my father and grandfather. To this day, they are still my main two fishing partners and I really cherish every minute on the water with them. Like both of them, I am a high school teacher and coach, so I've always had my summers off and been able to fish.

My family has had a very long love affair with the Eastern Sierras, dating back to the 1950's. At that time, my grandfather, who was a high school football coach, would take his teams up to the mountains for a multi-day backpacking and team-building experience. For their honeymoon, my parents spent several nights back-packing around in the Sierras. When I was young, we would head up to the Devils Postpile/Red's Meadow area when school got out and camp for 2 weeks. Then we'd head back up for 2 more weeks right before school started up in September and my cousins would join us. When I was younger, I was more into riding my bike around the campground and diving for lures in the deeper pools of the San Joaquin with my cousins.

I don't really remember my first fish, but I know I was pretty young. My dad would take me to the beach to fish for perch, croaker, and corbina. We were also very fortunate to have access to some private avocado groves with some ponds that were loaded with blue gill and bass. I loved to fish and my dad was always willing to take me. Around about 8 or 9 years old, I started getting into fishing while we camped, and for several years, I used a 10 foot bamboo pole without a reel to catch trout on the San Joaquin. I would drift worms, crickets, and anything else I could grab in the forest to catch lots of wild browns, bows and brookies. My dad had done some fly fishing when he was younger and he bought himself a 6-wt rod and a reel around 1985 in attempt to get back into it while chasing bass on some local ponds. Shortly thereafter, he got me an Orvis Green Mountain 4-wt rod and reel and I've been using it ever since. I really didn't get heavy into fly fishing until my late teens, but I loved every minute of it.

When I finished high school, fishing took a backseat as I pursued my degree in education and played college baseball and briefly in the Minors. I began teaching/coaching about 5 years ago, and got married 4 years ago. I still enjoyed fly fishing, but I just didn't seem to have the time or the motivation to get out much. Periodically, I would still use my traditional tackle to chase bass in San Diego, but I just didn't make it up to the Sierras that often.

In the summer of 2009, I took a trip with my dad, grandpa, and uncle to Redding, CA to fish on Hat Creek and the Pit River. We didn't catch a whole lot of fish, but the trip rekindled my passion for fly fishing and I had my first float tube experience. I quickly got my own float tube and now I use it on the local ponds to strip streamers and leeches for bass and big blue gill. It's a blast. I even used my tube and caught my first still-water Sierra trout last summer at Twin Lakes.

I've been able to make a couple of short trips to the Mammoth area each of the last 2 summers and I've begun discovering some of the other fly fishing options besides the San Joaquin. This summer, I've already made one trip up, and I'm hoping for two more before school starts again. I have to say that I've really enjoyed trying to learn the ins and outs of places like Hot Creek, the Owens, and some of the other waters available on the Eastside. I must say, though, that my heart will always be with the San Joaquin River as it runs through the valley. I can't think of a better place to be than knee-deep in the stream, tossing a Yellow Humpy to those aggressive browns. It gets my blood pumping just thinking about it. In my mind it's the most perfect place in God's Creation.

Hope to get to meet and fish with some of you fine folks.

Thanks,

Rielly

[beachbum]

Welcome to the Board, Reilly! It sounds like you fit in pretty well.

[stanbery]

Rielly

Very nice intro.
Welcome aboard.

Jon

[flybob]

Rielly, Great Intro!

I think you will be very much at home here,

a hearty Welcome!

bob