Grizzly Peak Fly Fishers - November 2019 Irideus

THE IRIDEUS The Newsletter of the Grizzly Peak Fly Fishers Based in Kensington, Serving the East Bay & Environs since 1982

Fly Fishing for Striped Bass in the San Francisco Bay and the Delta Part I: The Bay

By Bob Fabini

Spectacular Fall Camping while Fishing in “The Cathedral of the McCloud”

By Kirston Koths

NOV

‘19 GPFF.ORG

CLUB MEETINGS 52 Arlington Ave, Kensington, CA Every second tuesday of every month No meeting in July Social Hour - 6:30pm Business Meeting - 7:00pm

THE IRIDEUS - NOVEMBER 2019

FEATURES

Departments

09 Trout in the Classroom

03 President’s Message

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03 BOARD

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Trout Leader Tips Fly fishing for striped bass on the San Francisco Bay and the Delta GPFF Enjoys spectacular fall camping while fishing in “the cathedral of the McCloud”

04 CALENDAR 05 CONSERVATION Conversation 07 Fishing Throwbacks 08 NEWS, NOTES & RANDOM CASTS

McCloud River Valley, California

THE IRIDEUS - OCTOBER 2019

The president’s message

By Brad Gee

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ithin sixty days we’ll be into 2020 and a new decade of fly fishing, hopefully fabulous fly fishing. But before we greet the New Year we have upcoming events you will want to mark down in your calendar.

Our annual swap meet will be held at our regular meeting place November 12. The swap meet is an opportunity to trade, buy and sell equipment to optimize your fly fishing arsenal, and in the process raise some funds for the club. What will you bring to trade? Josh Genser has already packed up extra flies, a wading staff he doesn’t use, and a fold-up net he can’t figure out how to use. Fish First will be on hand with ‘must have” gifts for you and your loved ones.

Again this year Dan Zimmerlin has donated one of his custom made seven-foot four-weight bamboo rods to be auctioned. It is a gorgeous rod. Thank you Dan!

Our Holiday Party will be held December 10.

The party is free, but you must register here. The Club will provide ham, turkey and vegetarian dishes. Each participant will be asked to bring a side dish. This is a once in a year opportunity to meet new people, see old friends and exchange fishing stories. I hope you will join us.

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he McCloud outing (Oct. 24-27) was fantastic.

Read Kirston’s article later in this newsletter for details. This was only my second time on the annual GPFF McCloud outing and it was even better than I remembered. Kirston is the master fishmaster providing tradition, music, instruction and a great fishing venue. Everyone should consider attending this GPFF tradition at least once.

The Club needs a Membership Coordinator to maintain the membership database, recruit new members and to help them start on the road towards fly-fishing mastery. Even though the Membership Coordinator fills a critical role, the position does not require much time and the coordinator will receive assistance from the Board. One plus is that the Coordinator is in the perfect place to meet new people and begin lasting friendships. Let me know if you might like to be our Membership Coordinator.

The weather is cooling but the trout are still active. Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy the California fall weather and get out and fish.

Executive Board OFFICERS

Brad Gee President

Eric Larson

Mike Lippman

Secretary

Treasurer

PROGRAM CHAIRS & BOARD MEMBERS

Josh Genser

Julie Haselden

Program Chair

Conservation Chair

Mark Likos

Vacant

Education Chair

Membership Chair

Dave Garfin

Linda Friedman

Trout in the Classroom

Outings Chair

Douglas Hale Newsletter

NON-BOARD CHAIRS

Lee Hahn

Bob Marshak

Webmaster

Asst. Treasurer

Vacant

Librarian THE IRIDEUS

Douglas Hale Editor-In-Chief

Zachary Wong Asst. Editor

PHOTO CONTRUBITORS THIS MONTH Cover............................................................ Roger Wachtler Table of Contents........................................... Zachary Wong Calendar....................................................... Roger Wachtler Conservation.................................................. Julie Haselden Fishing Throwbacks.................... Cornell University Library Trout in the Classroom............................................Brad Gee Trout Leader Tips..............................Louis Cahill, FlyShack Fly Fishing for striped bass............................... Bill Williams McCloud............. Kirston Koths, Scott Harrison, Evelyn Gee Back Cover...................................................... Kirston Koths

We are always looking for photos! Submit your photos to Zachary Wong at craigwong810@gmail.com or Doug Hale at drhale@gmail.com Your photo could be featured on next month’s cover, table of contents, Calendar or our Back Page

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Upcoming Events November 12

November Meeting, Club Swap Meet & Silent Auction

November 23

Grizzly Peak - Fall Foundational Fly Fishing Seminar

November 28

Happy Thanksgiving!

December 10

Grizzly Peak Gala Holiday Party

Past Events October 26

Friends of 5 Creeks Work Party

October 24-27

McCloud River - October Caddis Outing

October 8

October Club Meeting - Mike Moran from EBRPD

Week of October 7th

Spawners Contra Costa County Creek Monitoring

THE IRIDEUS - OCTOBER 2019

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onservation onversation

With Julie Ruth Haselden

Delta Water Fights.

Condensed from the 10/23/2019 Francisco Chronicle e-Edition

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San

he constant ongoing fight between environmentalists and agriculture over California’s scarce water supplies was renewed Tuesday after the federal government issued a comprehensive plan to boost water “flexibility” that opponents claim is a giveaway to farmers tantamount to killing off imperiled fish.

The proposal, contained in a review, or biological opinion, of the state and federal water distribution systems, loosens restrictions on water deliveries proposed in July by the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect Chinook salmon, steelhead trout and delta smelt.

Environmental and fishing groups accused government officials of sacrificing protections for the fish — all listed under the Endangered Species Act — so they could boost deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Central Valley farmers and Southern California cities.

The plan won’t be final until a review is completed in mid-January under the National

Environmental Protection Act, but federal officials said fish protections will remain in place.

The crux of the issue is the contention by environmentalists that the huge pumps near Tracy used by the State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project suck up and kill endangered delta smelt, a silver-colored fish 2 to 3 inches long, uniquely adapted to the delta’s shifting currents and brackish water.

Biologists say the nearly complete absence of smelt in recent years is a sign of the overall health of the ecosystem, including Chinook salmon, which probably wouldn’t still exist if not for hatcheries. As it is, conservationists say, not enough cold water is released from the dams to sustain endangered winter-run chinook or threatened springrun chinook and steelhead, which spawn in tributaries of the Sacramento River.

Farmers, meanwhile, claim they are losing crops and money during dry years because regulations over the years have favored fish over food.

Codornices Creek Work Party 10/26/2019 riends of Five Creeks organized a wellattended work party for the Codornices Creek Restoration Project. Codornices Creek runs between Albany and Berkeley and is

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home to the only rainbow trout in this area.

Volunteers included 9th graders from Fremont and 30 members of Cal Berkeley’s Asian American Alliance. GPFF was represented by your Conservation Chair! Let me know if you would like to join future work parties: jhaselden17@comcast.net Work parties are fun! You won’t make a dime, but you will make a difference.

to be more protective of that watershed, what helps salmon helps Stripers. All the rivers that feed the Bay-Delta are managed. Better management of this system will bring a lot of benefit to literally thousands of miles of the rivers, streams and watersheds we frequent.

The Rivers We Love.

From Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C. President & VP Conservation, Northern Calif. Council, Fly Fishers International

h t t p s : / / w w w. w i l d s a l m o n c e n t e r. org/2017/11/01/california-strongholds/

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here are more kinds of fish to think about than just salmon, but that is the species that gets public attention, and moves people to action. In the Bay-Delta, only a transition watershed for salmon, we have another game species of concern for fly fishers - Striped Bass. Even if it’s salmon that push Agencies

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You are invited to check out this video - and get inspired about the rivers we love:

THE IRIDEUS - OCTOBER 2019

FISHING THROWBACKS

This month’s throwback is a map from the PJ Mode Collection in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library. Produced by John Held Jr. in 1931, it is a satirical map reflecting the perfect “estate” for the fly fisherman. Featuring a modest cabin at the “camp”, surrounded by almost endless streams and pools. Note the fish hatchery to the north, an industrial scale Fly Tying facility as well as numerous signs prohibiting tresspassing. Reprinted here courtesy of Cornell University - PJ Mode Collection of Persuasive Cartography.

Fly-Fisherman, M. (2019). Map of an Imaginary Estate for an Inveterate Fly-Fisherman - Cornell University Library Digital Collections. Digital.library. cornell.edu. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:19343410

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News, Notes & Random Casts Grizzly Peak Swap Meet November 12 Arlington Community Church Kensington, CA We have lots of cool stuff for you to buy at auction, buy at our fixed-price tables, or just to take away from our free table! Rebecca, in addition to a fly-tying materials box, has donated decorative items, hats and fly-tying materials. Kirston has donated a jar of his home-made preserves. Bob has promised a box of his hand-tied flies. Juan has donated a ton of stuff, including flies tied by famous fly-tyers, and a different wooden box filled with fly-tying materials. And, of course, Dan has donated a seven-foot four-weight bamboo rod.

Don’t forget that Fish First will be on hand with gifts for your loved ones or for yourself.

What will you donate? Please let Josh Genser jggenser@gmail.com know and he’ll add it to the menu!

What will you bring to trade? Josh has already packed up extra flies, a wading staff he doesn’t use, and a fold-up net he can’t figure out how to use.

Plus, there will be free hot dogs and sodas. What could be better?

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Grizzly Peak Foundational Seminar November 23 3190 Klose Way, Richmond, CA 94806 Our 2019 Fall Foundational Fly Fishing Seminar is scheduled for Saturday November 23. There are still a few seats open. If you know of anyone that would like to learn how to fly fish or maybe feels they missed a few foundational skills along the way of being self-taught, this is the class for them. This is NOT a survey course, it is an allday event that will cover everything you need to get started or get straightened out in the sport of fly fishing.

The fee for the course is $75. Look to https://grizzlypeakflyfishers.org/About-TheAnnual-GPFF-Foundational-Seminar to get all the information.

KeepEmWet Photo Contest Send in your wonderful photos for the KEW photo contest! Lots of great photos are coming in and we are looking for more photos to showcase at our holiday party in December! Send KEW photos to Julie: jhaselden17@comcast.net

THE IRIDEUS - OCTOBER 2019

Trout in the Classroom By Dave Garfin

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s is the case every year, we are in need of volunteer coaches for our Trout in the Classroom program. This letter is an invitation to you to volunteer to be one of our coaches.

The entire program runs for only 12-16 weeks during which time there is relatively little for coaches to do.

TIC coaches are really facilitators. Our elementary school teachers get training and a curriculum from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They pretty much know what they are doing. Some ask for help from their coach and some don’t. Starting in late January, we bring aquaria and fertilized rainbow trout eggs to the classrooms, then help with releases, and pick up the aquaria at the end of the program in March. Most teachers will welcome any other programrelated activities you want to help them with.

We have a relatively big program. Our classrooms cover the East Bay from the City of Alameda through Hercules. I try to match coaches to classrooms near the coaches’ homes or work. You will not have to spend a whole lot of time being a coach, but I am sure that you will find your interactions with the students and teachers very rewarding.

Dave Garfin discussing the merits of the Trout In the Classroom Program to a visitor at Solano Stroll. Photo by Brad Gee

Frankly, our biggest problem is finding enough club members, or others, willing to be coaches. I think that people who shy away from coaching are making a big mistake. All our current coaches tell me how much they like the program. So, please give positive consideration to joining the GPFF TIC program. And feel free to ask me any questions you may have about TIC. Dave Garfin, TIC Coordinator degarfin@sonic.net

Rest assured that this is not a sink-orswim operation. There will always be someone to help you if you run into difficulty with time or equipment.

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THE IRIDEUS - NOVEMBER 2019

Trout Leader Tips

With Mark Likos

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ne of the fascinating things about our sport is that there are always new things to learn. Leaders have been around forever but innovations keep showing up. One is the tippet ring

to tie replacement tippets rather than cutting back the leader each time you need to add or change a tippet. They are GREAT for adding a dropper fly too.

A productive alternative to the tippet ring you might want to try is the micro swivel, size #10. Like tippet rings, they are small and light enough to float with dry fly leaders and not create additional drag on the terminal rig.

The additional feature of a swivel is, they rotate too. This feature adds to the free-flowingmovement of the fly.

A size 10, 12 & 14 micro swivel compared to a dime. Image courtesy of Flyshack.com

Tippet ring extends the life of expensive leaders. Photo by Louis Cahill

Many of you already use ‘tippet rings’ tied to the terminal end of your leaders, be they tapered, furled or parallel.

For those of you not familiar with them, they are tiny little rings tied onto the end of a leader to serve as a junction for a tippet instead of tying the tippet directly to the leader. Their purpose is to extend the life of the leader (saving you money) by providing a junction

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If you haven’t been using tippet rings or micro swivels I suggest you give them a try.

Once you have the tippet ring in place you will need to decide the size of tippet to use.

The tippet guideline I teach in the Grizzly Peak Foundational Fly Fishing class is the Rule-of3’s. Simply put, divide the fly size you are using by 3, round off, and the result will be a tippet size that will work. Example, you’ve chosen a size #14 fly. Divide by 3 (14/3=4.6), round up to 5X for a useable tippet size.

For ANY questions, comments, contact me at mlikos@comcast.net

Fly Fishing for Striped Bass on San Francisco Bay and the Delta Part I: The Bay

By Bob Fabini

SF seen from north of the San Rafael Bridge - Photo by Bill Williams; Image reuse courtesy of Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

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started fishing the Bay and Delta about 10 years ago, and I’d like to share what I’ve learned. The Bay and Delta are very different. This article will focus on the Bay. Next month I will cover the Delta.

The Bay’s water is muddy, and deep, and when the wind comes up, and it does most days, it can get very rough. Since I have a small boat (14 feet and a 30hp motor), I have to pick my days on the Bay carefully and head back when the wind gets too strong; however, I have had many productive days on the Bay in spite of this need for caution.

When fishing the Bay, I launch mostly at the Richmond Marina. It’s a 10 minute drive from my house in El Cerrito, and it’s a good facility. I used to launch at Loch Lomond Marina in San Rafael when I could still fish the shorelines of the Marin Islands, but they are closed to fishing now.

I normally fish neap tides because the water is less muddy due to smaller tides.

Typically I like a mid-morning high tide because I can catch the last of the incoming tide and the beginning of the outgoing tide before the wind comes up—any time from noon on. The afternoon wind is often against the outgoing tide, so the ride back to Richmond can get very rough. I’ve had waves go right over the windshield and into our laps. Needless to say, wear something warm that sheds water, and a life jacket. I always wear a self-inflating jacket, and carry hard jackets in the boat.

When fishing from a boat I usually start at Red Rock, and sometimes I never leave there. Other spots to try on the south side of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge are Paradise or San Quentin across the Bay to the west.

When you get north of the Bridge, the east shoreline up to the Brothers can be good, and particularly the old whaling station at Point

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THE IRIDEUS - NOVEMBER 2019

San Pablo. Crossing west towards Marin will take you to the Brickyard and the shoreline by the quarry. These can be good around the high tide—lots of folks troll along here. Proceeding north you will arrive at the Sisters where good fish can frequently be found. The currents can be wild here, so don’t let your guard down. I’ve fished as far north as Rat Rock at China Camp.

If fishing from shore, you might want a floating line and an unweighted Deceiver for shallow water, especially at the Brickyard. I haven’t found top water to be very successful on the Bay. I don’t carry a net or Boga. I just lip bass and release. I frequently don’t remove them from the water. This is easy if your flies are barbless.

You can also fish from shore at the Brickyard in Marin and at China Camp by Rat Rock. Also available is the shoreline north of the Bridge along Pt. Molate Road. I have been told there are worthwhile spots in the Tiburon and Mill Valley areas, but I haven’t explored them.

When to fish the Bay

Gear and Flies

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n the boat, I usually have 2 rods along for each angler—an 8wt with an intermediate shooting head, and a 9wt with a T-14 shooting head. If I’m by myself, I bring another 8wt with a T-11 or Type III. Sometimes I put the T-11 on a 7wt.

If you have nothing but chartreuse and white Clousers in 1/0-2/0 you will be fine, although I always carry pink and grey, and all black. I’ve also done well with a 2/0 chartreuse and white Whistlerish thing of my own creation. These are all tied on jig hooks.

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ome stripers are resident in the Bay; however most spend the summer in the ocean and then migrate through the Bay and head into the Delta to spawn. I normally start fishing the Bay in mid-August if it is not too windy, and fish into early December; however, the fishing falls off by that time. An interesting aspect of the Bay and Delta is the fact that their tides are separated by about 4-6 hours, depending on the location.

That means that if you have a mid-morning incoming tide in the Bay one week, you can expect a similar tide in the Delta a week later.

I’ve found that I can switch between the Bay and Delta each week, and have fishable tides. Fishable tide means moving water. Slack tides, either high or low, are not usually very productive. It’s a good time to eat lunch.

1856 USN Survey map of the San Francisco Bay - Public Domain

GPFF Enjoys Spectacular Fall Camping While Fishing in “The Cathedral of the McCloud”

By Kirston Koths Cover by Zachary Wong

THE IRIDEUS - NOVEMBER 2019

A dry fall left Mt. Shasta with a sparse snowpack, and the clear weather continued through our outing. Photo by Kirston Koths

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ifetime GPFF member, Seth Norman, is a nationally recognized fly-fishing author, and he was likely the first to use the term “Cathedral” to describe the Lower McCloud River. I would have to agree, and for more than a few GPFFers this year, the club’s McCloud outing bordered on being a religious experience. Pristine and imposing, it can both inspire and take your breath away.

A dozen and a half club members (and significant-others) made the trip to the McCloud to stay at Ah-Di-Na camp in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. Camping together in sites saved (and paid for!) by John and Shanna, we all enjoyed a great sense of camaraderie from the start, even the first-time attendees such as Scott Harrison, Mark Likos, Rebecca Blair, and Bill Bodell.

Days were as warm as 75F, but nights got chilly, as discovered by Doug Hale, who accidentally arrived without a sleeping bag.

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But the community came to his rescue with blankets and a warmer place to sleep.

The fall foliage was just peaking, and the river water was unusually clear, necessitating increased stealth when approaching a fishing spot. By the end of the fishing season, many McCloud rainbows have likely been caught and released once, and they quickly develop “lockjaw” when they sense something is amiss in their vicinity -- the crunch of a studded wading boot, the shadow of a fly fisher, the sound of fly-line being ripped from the water.

After arriving on Thursday afternoon, Scott, Mark, and I set out to do a quick survey of the stream entomology. Every rock we turned over revealed the staple insect of the river, a dark, size-18 nymph. There were also some larger green rock worms, some golden stones, and of course a few cased October Caddis pupae. I peeled off the rock casing of one pupa

THE IRIDEUS - OCTOBER 2019

The McCloud water was very clear, and fall colors were striking as ever. Photo by Kirston Koths

to illustrate the size and color of the nymph patterns that I find most effective. The pupa was wriggling, probably set to emerge that very evening.

The October Caddis pupa is a staple of McCloud trout during late October. This live sample shows the natural “Halloween” color and the dark brown segmentation that is inexplicably missing from most store-bought patterns. Photo by Scott Harrison

Long known as one of the rivers on which high-stick nymphing was developed, the McCloud is actually one of the best dry-fly rivers in Northern California, particularly toward dusk. The ovipositing of the October Caddis females was sporadic this year, peaking at 5pm on Friday with a blizzard of activity. Some very nice rainbows were definitely “looking up”.

Last year some of us caught a few of the big browns that migrate up from Lake Shasta. But an unexpected warm spell may have delayed a portion of these fall spawners this year, as the hook-ups of these monsters was down a bit.

I considered the catch rate this year as “average”, with stealthy, fast-moving anglers enjoying the most success. Experienced anglers such as Roger, Dennis, and Rich were more consistently into fish, as they worked the river early and hard. Some first-timers were remarkably successful, with Mark landing his first McCloud rainbow and Scott bringing

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Some of us fished with nymphs from a box of flies donated by the estate of the late Bill Newton, an active GPFF member for several decades. He would have smiled at this rainbow that eagerly ate his nymph pattern on the first cast to a far seam of the river. Photo by Scott Harrison

Several McCloud first-timers caught fish. Here, Scott Harrison is about to release his first McCloud rainbow, one of many he landed during the weekend. Photo by Kirston Koths

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Linda Friedman demonstrates and displays a good high-stick nymphing form as she works water ideal for using this technique.

Thanks to reservations obtained by Todd Pond and others, several people got to fish the restricted waters of the Kerry Landreth Preserve, about two miles of spectacular and varied water. Photo by Kirston Koths

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As he does every year, Roger scored some nice fish on the Preserve, this time finding success with a double-dry setup. Fish appeared to be attracted by the big October caddis dry pattern and then actually took a small trailing dry. Photo by Roger Wachtler, great Keep ‘Em Wet technique!

a full dozen to the net. Perennial McCloud anglers, like Charles, continued to enjoy the tug of healthy, wild McCloud rainbows. Small wonder these fish have been transplanted to fisheries all over the world, from Chile to New Zealand. Not everyone caught fish, but as one fly fisher put it, “It was the best time I’ve ever had getting skunked!”

No report of the GPFF McCloud outing would be complete without a description of the potluck dinner and entertainment program on Saturday night. Even taking small helpings of the cornucopia of dishes, it was hard to sample them all -- soup, BBQ skewers of garlic shrimp, slabs of dry-rubbed ribs, home-grown tomatoes in balsamic, refried beans and cornbread, spring potatoes with sour cream and caviar, and antelope chili, to mention a few -- all washed down with some good wine and beer and capped off with desserts such as

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home-grown apple/pear crisp.

Our Saturday’s campfire featured not only a dramatic “Halloween Poem”, The Highwayman, recited by Kirston, but also the McCloud Talking Blues (written by John & Shanna), popular folk songs sung by Zach, and some Irish music on penny whistles and concertina.

We all left camp with that fuzzy feeling of having shared something special -- from being newly introduced to a one-of-a-kind event, to repeating a ritual that is different every year. For experienced, fit, and campingsavvy members, the McCloud outing is a great way to experience the value of belonging to a fly fishing club. That’s why we have done it for over 25 years in a row, and we hope you will join us next year!

THE IRIDEUS - OCTOBER 2019

Some trip attendees have large smiles after warming up with morning coffee. From left to right: Mark Likos, Kirston Koths, Linda Friedman, Kristan Karinen, Rebecca Blair, Zachary Wong and Brad Gee. Photo by Eveln Gee.

Campfire shenanigans included a concertina piece, played here by Kirston and accompanied by Zach and John on guitars. Rebecca and Shanna are enjoying the action close-up. Photo by Scott Harrison.

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When we finally put our rods down at the end of the day, we had to agree with seth Normam that the McCloud is indeed a “Cathedral”, in it’s own way.