I don’t know at what point putting on waders and heading to the river ceases to be a fishing trip and becomes an excuse for getting out of the house – the walls of which grow a little closer every winter day – but it’s likely I passed that point today.

It was snowing, the Upper Sacramento flows were coming back up, and Wayne agreed on the phone that we wouldn’t fish long or go far, none of which mattered.

I was getting out; not writing, computing or blogging.

I might have driven to Dunsmuir a little too fast.


Snow falling on Eng. (click the image for the big Hollywood version.)

We found ourselves fishing right in town, sharing a fly rod and a camera.

I missed the only bite of the day on a dry and dropper, which is a factually accurate summation of the trip, though it misses the point entirely.

There’s something about fishing in the snow; it’s a separate experience from fishing in sun or rain.

It’s quiet, and – if you’re dressed warmly enough – there’s the sense of functioning as a self-contained, foul-weather, mobile fishing unit.

It’s freezing outside, warm inside, and you’re pretty sure you could do this most of the day.

Still, when the fishing is tough, a couple hours is plenty to prove you’re a smart, tough fly fisher who fishes when the weather’s bad and everyone else is holed up in front of a heater.


Some days you just need to get out and marvel at the concept of waterproofing.

As I’m writing this (the end of the day), it’s snowing softly and steadily outside, and tomorrow will find me shoveling several inches of the fluffy white stuff off the driveway.

Snow is forecast for the next couple of days – good news for the ski industry – and I’ve got enough writing to do that I’ll be back in my office.

Which, suddenly, is looking a little roomier.

[tags]fly fishing, upper sac, upper sacramento river, fishing[/tags]

Posted in Fishing Report, Underground's Best, Upper Sacramento.