Pyramid Lake, The Coast, and Plumas County

Where Have I Been and What’s Been Going On?

The Trinity River bumped up to 3,500 CFS, and the Lower Sac blew the hell out as well, so I was basically out of work. Which is fine, because it gave me time to fish and catch up on life. I still have a lot of catching up to do, but it’s nice to make a dent in home-front responsibilities. That said—I need to find some trips! So, let’s go fishing.

The Trinity River is dropping back down to 2,000 CFS tomorrow, and I’m going to start guiding it. I’m sure there are still fish around, but we’ll see. The Lower Sac is sitting at a solid 6,000 CFS right now and clearing up each day. With these latest storms, we’ll see what happens, but based on current flows, things might open up soon. We’ll see what the snowpack does.

Plumas County was firing last week. I was getting fish on the Feather River, and man, I can’t wait to start fishing it again. Lake Almanor spring trips are coming up, and that’s always a blast. My calendar is updated, and I’m excited to get back out there. I’ll be in the Trinity area for a week next week, so expect a report after I’m done fishing there. Then, I’ll be back home fishing as locally as possible.

I Actually Got to Fish for Myself

I got a bunch of days in at Pyramid Lake, squeezed in a coastal trip, and have been hammering fish locally. It’s been nice to get back in the water without staring at other people’s bobbers. Life is good when you’re fishing with friends. It’s weird—I can’t get enough. I want to fish more and more and more.

Pyramid Lake

It’s been a long time since I spent some real time out on the tufa rocks and on a ladder in that big salty pond. Man, those fish are gnarly. I watched some nice ones get caught by my brothers and sisters. I lost a lot of fish. And boy… had way too much fun at Crosby’s (now Pyramid Lake Lodge). Especially when Roxy is slapping beers on the table.

The fishing was 'eh', with some days better than others. I fished both old and new spots and spent a lot of time staring at a bobber over the past month. The best part? I finally have my trailer, so I can haul it out there if the weather is good, park it on the beach, and just straight chill. So sick.

Do I guide there? Nope. People ask me all the time, but I don’t. I wish I did—but at the same time, I’m glad I don’t. I don’t think I have it in me to stare at other people’s bobbers there. I respect those who do, but man, it seems a little cutthroat. (Ha! See my play on words there? HA!) Nah, it’s just not a place I have an interest in guiding. Honestly, I’m not that good at fishing there. I just know a few tricks, and if you’re good at trolling Instagram, you can pretty much figure out where people are catching fish.

Depth and color are the game on the bobber. If you want to sit next to some boring people, you can always go strip some flies at North Nets. There are way better beaches for stripping, but yeah—I just like to enjoy the place.

How long should you stay? Last time, I stayed too long. Two days is plenty for me. My goal at the start of the season was just to get one. Then it was to get a big one. Then it was to get numbers and hopefully a bigger one. But once you start chasing that last goal—you’re setting yourself up for failure.

I feel like I’ll never figure that place out. You think you’ve nailed the storm cycles, and then you get maybe five bites all day. I haven’t had that epic numbers and quality day this year, but I’ve had epic days just sitting next to friends, talking shit, and having fun. And that’s what it’s all about.

What worked?

• Colors: Wine and the "Peliwhopper" (I think that’s what it’s called?)—a popular pattern with wine holo, UV tinsel wrap, and a metallic brown bead head (Size 12 & 10). It works. The Black Tiger is always solid. I also was running this red holo wrap on the bottom half of the body, then wine thread on top half with an amber wrap and a brown head, that was getting em' when it was slow. I am not much of a white bead head guy but people swear by em. Remember, "thin to win" when you tie. One wrap is all you need. 
• Tech: I used my Garmin Striker to find depths—it helps sooo much. Highly recommend getting one if you’re spending time there.
• Leader & Line: I’ve been rocking 10lb STS Seaguar, but people swear by 8lb. I fished next to people using 12lb and 8lb—I’m not convinced it matters until they start podding up in the shallows. Then I’d go lighter.
• Balanced Leeches: Size 10 or 8 in White, Olive & Black, Olive & White, and Wine worked well.
• Hooks: Fulling Mill hooks worked way better for me than Daiichi 1760’s. Bigger hook gap = more fish landed.

I wasn’t listening to my fishy self as much as I should have. I should have gone longer on the leader and more stealthy. I do it at Plumas lakes—it works.

Will I go back this season? Maybe. I feel like I gave it a solid effort for a 20-pounder. It didn’t happen. Got a couple of teeners, though—so that’s rad. Biggest I saw hooked was 18 pounds, and wow—what a fish.

Shoutout to everyone I fished with out there this season. Love you all mucho. Y’all remind me why that place is so fun. It’s the people.

The Coast

Can’t say much about this trip, but I’ll say this:

• We touched one.
• Lost it.
• I got grabbed on the swing.

That’s about it.

We’re so lucky to have our coastal rivers in California. What an amazing place to call home. Hoping things line up one more time this year.

Coastal Trips: $725 for the coast. Real steelheading. Each grab counts. Each grab is special. If you want to be on call for a trip, let me know.

Plumas County (Feather River)

The Feather River is home.

I’m actually building a new website as I type this because I want to start guiding here more. I just don’t have the web presence I need to get random trip inquiries. But if you’ve read this far—you’re a potential client.

This is real trout fishing.

• Single-hand rods.
• Euro-nymphing, dry flies, streamers, bobbers, whatever you want to do.
• Wild trout.
• 3- and 4-weights make it so fun.

Had one of my best days on the river before the storms—so many fish, and wow, are they pretty.

This should be a good year. Last year’s snowpack helped, and now we’ve got this Miracle March. The fish were loaded. I didn’t even wader up. Just went out, hammered them on the euro rod—easy peasy. Too much fun. 

I’m permitted from Clio all the way down to Butte County. Let’s go.

Quincy & Graeagle:

• Great spot to bring the family.
• Plenty of good food & drinks.
• Perfect for a weekend getaway.

Well, that’s the report. Hope you enjoyed it! Now, I just need to read this again and see if my grammar is trash. Maybe I’ll just throw it in ChatGPT and let AI fix it.

Love,
Mario