Want to improve your success while fly fishing? If you haven’t already, have you considered Ultralight Fly Fishing?

I have been fishing with ultralight fishing gear since I was a kid. Going out on the weekends, fishing for Trout, fishing for Bluegills, I had much more success than most of the other fisherman I ran into while fishing and I attribute that to using ultralight gear. 

Fishing success is closely related to how good of a presentation you can achieve when offering your fly to the fish. In many situations, especially in heavily fished waters where fish are under a lot of fishing pressure, a bad presentation will spook the fish resulting in a slow fishing day for you. I have had many days when I caught many more fish than my friends I was fishing with, perhaps that was from developed skill, perhaps just from luck but most of the time I was always fishing with lighter fishing gear than anglers I was fishing with or near. 

With Ultralight gear, it’s easier to make a better presentation than with much heavier gear that most anglers fish with. When I say heavier gear I am talking about outfits that most anglers already consider light, such as a 5wt fly fishing outfit which most anglers have as their first set that they purchased when getting started in fly fishing. I have had many fishing days where even a 4wt or 5wt outfit is much more than you need to use and is more likely to spook fish. Consider using a lighter outfit, perhaps a 3wt outfit or if you’re like me, a 1wt or 2wt outfit.

Now some of you will say, ‘that’s too light, I like catching BIG fish!’. With the new technologies used in fly rod manufacturing, such as the Snowbee Prestige G-XS 7’6” 1wt and 7’ 2wt fly rods (which I helped design!) are strong enough to handle bringing in a BIG fish in minimal time without stressing out the fish. While fishing Hot Creek in California a while back using the Snowbee 1wt rod, I hooked into a 22” Brown Trout and managed to land that fish in only 7 minutes! The fish was not in any way stressed out and was released quickly to be caught another day.

So if you want to increase your success in catching more fish on your trips, consider using a Ultralight Fly outfit, you won’t be disappointed!

If you would like more information, don’t hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to discuss options and methods with you!

Cheers and tight lines!

Frank Burr

@goldentroutdude

When is the last time you went Fly Fishing? I’ll bet it’s not as often as you would like

This year is proving to be extraordinary for fishing throughout the Sierras. Water levels in the streams and many rivers have receded to a level perfect for dry fly and nymphing. Currently there are many options available to the fly anglers choice of destinations. With an abundance of insect hatches this year, Dry fly fishing is at it’s prime. Do a little on-the-water Aquatic Entomology before beginning your fishing day and see whats available for the fish to eat before you choose your pattern(s) to tie on and your fishing day will be that much more sucessful!

On September 3rd, 2017 please join us for a special group outing to the Golden Trout Wilderness to catch some Golden Trout. See below for more info and to signup. Space is limited.

I look forward to seeing you on the water and fishing with you this year,

Frank Burr
Oasis Fly Fishing

Golden Trout Excursion On Sunday September 3rd, 2017 we will host a group outing to the Golden Trout Wilderness for a day of Fly Fishing for the California state fish. If you haven’t had a chance to catch this amazingly beautiful trout species, sign up for this trip to catch some of the MOST stunningly colored Golden Trout anywhere in the Sierras. Cost for this exciting trip is only $125 per person. Signup is limited to 6 anglers to maximize catching opportunities. Flies and Gear (if needed) are supplied.

Summer has arrived in full force with some high temperatures throughout California. Fishing is finally picking up as the water levels begin to recede.

I have spent several day is the Golden Trout Wilderness in the past month and fishing has been fantastic!!

On July 1st, we made our annual trip to GTW and although stream levels were still very high, we managed to find several spots where the fishing was outstanding!! Next trip was on the 10th, water levels had dropped some more although it was still way higher than normal for the past few years. Fish populations this year in the multiple streams we have fished for Golden Trout this year have been extraordinary, everywhere you looked, there were fish.

On the 19th, I volunteered to participate in a 4 day Backpacking trip into GTW, staying at Golden Trout Camp and assisting with the instruction of several youth students that were attending a wilderness adventure weeklong trip hosted by Outward Bound Adventures and the Fly Fishing portion coordinated by my friend Carl Crawford, youth coordinator for the Pasadena Casting Club. On the first day of instruction after breakfast, we  gave the teens a crash course in casting, knot tying and fly selection with the basics of Aquatic Entomology. In the afternoon we took the down to the stream to get started catching some fish, most of the students caught fish the first day and were very excited. Day 2 was bright and sunny, we took the students down to the meadows to get in some great fishing in the eddies and pools, all fish were caught on dry flies both days making for some exciting fishing for some of the most colorful Golden Trout to be found anywhere in the state. All of the students caught fish that day and were all very excited to go fishing again soon. It was a pleasure to be able to be a part of this experience and I hope to be invited again next year!!

Trips are now available to several areas of the Eastern Sierras, drop me a email or call with your interests and let me setup a excursion for you to catch some stunning fish and get some stamps for your DFW Passport!!

I look forward to seeing you on the water and fishing with you this year,

Frank Burr
Oasis Fly Fishing

Summer is almost upon us, just a few more days and we are officially into the HOT season. Time to get out of town and up to cooler elevations and catch some fish!!

I have several trips planned for this season for small groups, all my trips are geared towards getting you species specific stamps for your California Fishing Passport and for the Heritage Trout Program. Let me help you get some fishing awards this year from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Our 1st trip will be coming up on July 1st to Golden Trout Wilderness!! still 3 spots available, sign up now.

I have been working closely with the fine folks at the CDFW Passport Program. They hosted a invitation only event for Saltwater fishing at Dana Point Harbor this past weekend. It was a great success, Saturday we had a 6 hour workshop with a lot of information on saltwater fishing methods and the fish we were most likely to encounter in Southern California. Sunday they took us out on a 3/4 day fishing charter boat for some great fishing in the kelp beds offshore from San Onofre, many nice fish were caught and anglers earned some of their first Passport stamps.

I look forward to seeing you on the water and fishing with you this year, lets get you some Fishing stamps and awards!

Cheers!!!

Opening day was on April 29th this year and I spent several days checking out the streams in the Eastern Sierra in preparation to guide you this year and get you some stamps in your CDFW Passports and for the Heritage Trout awards.

Many people fishing the opener. Lake Crowley was packed with boats and tubes, on Saturday it looked like in spots you could walk across the lake!! Mc Gee Creek was flowing well, not discolored and the fish were there to be caught.

Upper Owens River above Benton was not too crowded on Sunday, probably due to not many fish at this time. The big bows have already returned to the lake and the Cutthroats have not started moving up yet, not one to be seen in either Mc Gee or Upper Owens, probably a couple more weeks and we should start seeing some movement.

Hot Creek was fishing slow in both areas, water looks very good, strong flow and cold temps have taken out quite a bit of the nuisance weeds and made fishing easier. Hooked into one 22″ rainbow on a 3wt and was in for a great fight!!

Bishop creek was looking real nice though got a LOT of traffic for the opener, Saturday and Sunday saw upwards of a 100 anglers spread out between the catch basin all the way up to Lake Sabrina.

Independence creek was finally accessible when they opened the road up all the way to Onion Valley CG, there was still quite a bit snow on the ground and while fishing the creek was possible, hiking to the lakes will still be a few weeks out.

Planning group outings for the Season… how many of you would be interested in a 2 day excursion in Late July or Early August to fish for 3 or 4 Heritage Trout Species, The trip will be in North Eastern California, staying the night in Alturas, which is central to 4 species of Heritage trout. This trip would be for a maximum of 5 anglers. Drop me a email if interested and for more details.

I look forward to seeing you on the water and fishing with you this year.

Cheers and Tight Lines!!