I took a nice little break before getting at it for the month of November. Felt so good to be home and rest up the old bones for some rowing down the Trinity River. But before I left, I got to get a couple of days in after my last report.
Took Matt out for an awesome day on the river where we were doing some guiding, teaching rowing techniques with the bobber, homie fishing, and swinging. Hit a stretch of the river that I like to run for a quick day trip. Some great swing water on this run, too. A lot of the same… sun, low water, and clear. I actually saw some nice fish sitting in a riffle, which was reassuring, and we were able to play with a couple of halfies before swinging up a beautiful fall run mature male. The perfect definition of a fall run fish. I love having someone on the boat who likes to swing. Thank you for the great day, Matt. I had a blast and can’t express how grateful I am for your continued support.
A couple of days later, I took out Jowellen and Grace. Grace has never fly fished before! I wouldn’t say I warned Jowellen, but I expressed that the river is fishing “advanced.” We were down for the challenge! I arrived at the river that morning to an insane view, which was much needed. A perfect reminder of why I do this. The day started off with Jowellen hooking into a BIG fish off the back of the boat. We literally had no chance. During the battle, Jowellen accidentally hit the spool release, and the reel dropped while the fish was barreling upstream in 15 different directions… and by the time we stopped the boat to try to get the reel taken care of, it ran into a root ball! Now this is what I call “getting f#%ked off.” It happens a lot in Alaska, and it happens a lot with steelhead. Awesome. Jowellen and I were both stoked that she got to touch a proper fish.
We worked hard for more grabs throughout the day, but it just didn’t happen. Grace fished really good in the front of the boat for her first time on the water with a fly rod, but it just didn’t happen. I love the challenge of getting a newbie into a fish on the Trinity River, and I can’t wait to get another shot at it.
So then I went home… and rested… and slept… and slept… and was ready to come back for more… OH! Wait..I also we went fishing! Caught a few big ole’ nasty browns. Can’t tell you where unless you want to get at it. So holler for more info…I needed that.
Peninsula Fly Fishers Taco Fly Co 2026 Trinity River steelhead fishout! Yep! They came back for another year. I am so stoked and honored to have PFF come and join me for spey/indo combos each year. Last year was bonkers for them, and this year was a bit different. We had three boats for two days and fished two separate sections of the river. Lots of great laughs, new introductions, and beautiful fall scenery. It’s crazy how much the river landscape changed in just a week. This is my favorite time of the year.
No grabs on the swing, but Lindsay was able to get a few to the net on the bobber. A clipped buck and a nice, hard fighting hen(see pic at top of article). Charlie was stoked. Lindsay was stoked. We were all stoked.
As I type this, I see clouds outside. Clouds are nice when it’s low and clear. An atmospheric river is on the way. So they say. So we are just going to keep on fishing, and right now, you might get a shot at a fish. If you do, be grateful you touched an anadromous warrior that would probably change someone’s life. That fish already changed mine.
Dates are available! Tacoflyco.com/calendar. Reach out with any questions you may have. 408-838-6047 and email [email protected]. Always down to talk fishing, too. Check the JUICY report here! Details on put in locations and flies used.
Love,
Mario Guel
