Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lakes

If you are planning to fly-fish in in northern California try out the private fishery at http://www.eaglecanyontrout.com/. It's a fun place to fish for anglers of all skill levels.

There are two connected lakes that offer up very large Rainbow Trout. If you want to catch some picture-worthy trophy trout on a fly then give it a try.

Here is a fish from a recent trip to Eagle Canyon.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

If you get a chance, check out Cabo San Lucas.

Among the safest locations for tourists in Mexico these days, Cabo is host to many guides and charter boats. You can choose a larger boat or a "panga," which is a smaller boat many fly-fishers prefer.

We had great success recently catching bunches of Dorado there. While it was cold at home, it was nice and warm in Mexico!

Tight Lines,

Sean Wallentine
Co-Founder, The Virtual Fly Guides

Putah Creek

Putah Creek in Northern California is a great winter fishery. But, make sure you don't fish on the redds (where the fish are spawning). Otherwise, enjoy catching big Rainbows and if you're lucky you'll catch a monster Brown.

Here's a big buck I caught a few years ago on the creek. It took an olive bead head Woolley Bugger. Honestly, I can't believe I actually landed this fish. It was massive! And, no, it wasn't a Steelhead or a Salmon. It was a Rainbow.

Don't stop fishing just because it's fall and winter is on the way. Just get your warm clothes out and find some fish.

-Sean Wallentine

Back to the Future: Wading Into Northern California's Blue Ribbon Waters...Again

Eight years ago my dad, brother and I fished the McCloud River, Upper Sacramento River, Burney Creek and Squaw Valley Creek. It was an awesome trip!

Next week we're going back. Hopefully, we'll relive some memories from 2004 and make some new ones...fly-fishing for trout with more experience these days, and better digital camera equipment.

Here are a few pictures from our 2004 trip. Maybe we'll be fortunate enough on this trip to catch some 20+ inch fish.

My 19 1/2-inch McCloud River Brown Trout on a PT Nymph Darin (right) tied.

Darin's fat 18-inch McCloud River Rainbow Trout.

Beautiful Burney Creek

 My dad with a nice Upper Sacramento Rainbow Trout

Getting nymphs to the bottom of the water column and into the feeding lanes should do the trick. Anything from Copper Johns to Bird's Nests to Prince Nymphs and Pheasant Tails (add some red Brassies to the mix). We will be hunting for trout. And, maybe we'll drag some streamers for the BIG fish. Not maybe, for sure!

Anyway, we'll post our fishing reports here on the Virtual Fly Guides website. Stay tuned...not just for pictures of fish and reports on what we caught them on, but for some nature photography, too.

Tight Lines,

Sean Wallentine
Co-Founder, The Virtual Fly Guides

Mono Lake: Stop Fishing and Start Shooting!

The only thing you're going to catch at Mono Lake is a good picture. And, that was exactly my plan while on a fishing trip in California's Eastern Sierra a few years ago.

It was an oddly calm day. No wind! It's usually very windy in the afternoon on Mono Lake, but not on this specific day. I had my Nikon DSLR in hand and the sun was setting. I was able to capture some pretty good images of the Tufa formations that make Mono Lake such a unique place.

Join us in sharing YOUR favorite nature photos here on the Virtual Fly Guides website. My brother Darin and I have developed quite a love affair with photography. If you share the same love for fly-fishing and photography, start sharing both experiences here on the Virtual Fly Guides website.

If you have any questions about these images or want to discuss photography and/or fly-fishing the Eastern Sierra (or anywhere else for that matter) feel free to comment below and I'll respond as time allows.

Best,

Sean Wallentine
Co-Founder, The Virtual Fly Guides

South Fork Stanislaus River

On Saturday, August 4, 2012, Don Van Schenck and I guided some friends who are new to fly-fishing. We fished the South Fork of the Stanislaus River about a mile south of Strawberry, which is off of CA Hwy 108.

The water flow was normal and clear. Slight breezes and partly cloudy with a few rain drops here and there. 

We only fished for a couple hours but everyone caught fish on dry flies and droppers. Large stimulators and copper johns did the trick. A great time had by all! I think we "converted" a few bait plunkers into fly-fishers.

Minnesota's Driftless Area Brookies

7/7/12
Winona County, MN

Today we fished a small stream for brook trout in Minnesota's Driftless Area. The stream was a classic meadow spring creek, very cold and weedy. It wound its way through tall grass in a pasture, the perfect place to splat a hopper. Braden and I caught over a dozen between the two of us in a couple of hours, mostly brook trout with a few lonely browns mixed in. A dry/dropper was the way to go today. Braden caught his trout on a #14 Czeched Out Hare's Ear with a pink hot spot, and I did well with a #14 brown micro tubing mayfly nymph and a #14 pink squirrel. Pink was definitely the color of choice. Slightly twitching the flies produced the most strikes. A small hopper or other terrestrial would also be a good choice. None of the brook trout that we caught today were under 7", which shows how healthy the stream is. A 4 or 5 weight rod would be perfect for this kind of water.

For a full report, fly recipes, and more check out our blog at www.3brothersflies.com

Fly Fishing Report from An Irish Angler

Co. Wicklow, Ireland


There are day's when you are reminded why you chose to go fishing, spring starts to show its face, the air is warm with just a little zephyr of a breeze, a hazy brightness fills the landscape, and trout dance with your flies, pulling and cavorting as you work down the runs. Low,almost to the bones my chosen stream diverted and sluiced between the boulders, trout sat in the back eddies waiting for morsels to drift by, and my spiders twitched irresistibly enough to lure a fish at regular intervals, a man couldn't wish for more.

In his 1959 published treatise on angling "Fishing and Thinking" Dr. A. A. Luce, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin wrote of his best day on the river. Casting a line on the same stream almost 63 years to the day I couldn't but feel a sense of deja vu. Commencing fishing around noon after having walked a step upstream I felt confident as my initial cast snaked across the stream, throwing a mend the flies worked along a seam whence simultaneously a boil and a tug signaled my first trout of the afternoon.

A little six ounce brownie, perfectly formed, yellow bellied, and brightly spotted, taken on a Greenwells spider it tricked and darted in the swift current not out gunned by my four weight wand, a nice start. Carefully wading down stream I placed my flies in runs between rocks, into back eddies, and through likely pockets searching out ambush points where a wily trout might lie up, the pool head runs being very productive.

Newly born lambs suckled and gamboled in the fields and the smell of coconut drifted from gorse bushes high up on the bank, other than the chatter of the stream there was complete silence. An hour or two had flown by and noticeably rises to my flies had slowed down. Taking advice from Dr.Luce I switched the point fly for a Coachman his successful pattern from 63 years ago and bingo a gut produced three trout on the bounce.

Making my way around a long meander I came across a nice riffle with a constant depth, casting my flies towards the far bank at a forty five degree angle, as they swung around BANG my best trout of the session took the coachman. At half a pound and in great condition the cake had been well and truly iced, time to call it a day. Eleven trout all returned along with numerous rises, a busy afternoon for sure. County Wicklow has some wonderful trout fishing in beautiful locations, the best of it found in the most out of the way places. You have to work for what you catch, but the rewards, a picture paints a thousand words....

Yuba River, California


Don Van Schenck and I fished above the Highway 20 bridge on March 2,2012. It was a slow day but we had fun. I caught a 15-inch Rainbow a #16 Green Bead Head Pulsating Caddis Nymph and he caught an 18-inch Rainbow on a small dry fly, a #20 May Fly. Weather was great. We fished for only a couple hours, but a great day nonetheless.


Submitted by: Sean Wallentine

Fly Fishing Report from An Irish Angler

River Liffey, Ireland


Enjoyed a great first day of the season fly fishing with Mr Irish Fly Fisher himself Liam Stenson and his good friend Ray Bradley on the River Liffey somewhere in Co. Kildare. The sun shone, however a stiff south east breeze put a chill in the air keeping fly hatches to a minimum, that said a few dark olives did show and trout were rising in the more sheltered runs.

Fishing a team of wets to include a kill devil spider on the point, a greenwells spider on the middle dropper, and a partridge and orange on the top I proceeded to fish a likely run endorsed by Liam, "he hooked and lost a fish estimated at 5.lbs in it last season, the hook straightened". The upstream breeze made fishing wet difficult so I quickly reverted to dry and put up a small olive klinkhammer pattern. With no trout showing I fished likely seams to little effect.

Liam on the other hand found a sheltered back water with a nice streamy run pushing close to a half sunk tree. Placing his fly in the suds he winkled out a 10 inch trout to break his duck for the year. Two more fish rose but were too quick for him, these Liffey brownies are lightening fast.

Moving upstream I found a run sheltered from the wind by a high bank. Heavily lined with willow trees, there were enough gaps to enable fishing if one used unorthodox casting methods. Switching over to wets my luck changed and I rose a number of trout landing three to close on half a pound. Beautifully spotted but a little lean, in a few weeks they will be plump and full of fight.

By now the sun was waning and a chill started to fill the air, we had forgotten but it was only March 3rd. Close on four bells three tired but happy anglers walked back to the cars, the Liffey had been good to us Liam also netting a few nice trout and the day most certainly augured well for the season to come....