So Bono and I finally got together so I could use the 1/2 day guide trip he so graciously donated to PCT and which I proudly plunked down some dough for.

We fished last Friday afternoon from about 3:30 until dark.

Before that though, we hit up a few businesses in town (Winters) about what we're trying to do with the fishing regs and they were all very excited about it and the prospects of a catch and release only wild trout fishery becoming a destination for anglers with some cash to put into local tourism coffers.

Anyway, you want to know how the fishing was.  I certainly dreamed that the combination of my experience on the river in the last year and Bono's innate knowledge learned over a lifetime along with his bugs and his rigs and his guidance would yield a boatload of trout, but I didn't hold out much real hope for it.

Let's just say the best part of the day was beer-30 when we got back to Bono's truck to find it 'vandalized' by a friend who broke in, left a note on the dash, turned the heat way up and generally monkeyed around with everything (all in good fun of course).

Well, that wasn't really the best part of the day. The best part of the day was Bono picking up the tab (THANKS BONO) for a sick steak dinner at the Buckhorn.  What a guy!

In a distant 5th or 6th was the fishing.  Man, there just aren't that many fish in the creek right now.

Not only did I fish under Bono's tutelage, but he fished too.  I landed a decent number of small fish, but not anything out of the ordinary.  Probably 10-12 fish to 10 inches with an LDR on a fish that maybe went 12-13 inches.   Bono didn't fish as much so only got a few, but he did land one nice 15-16 incher up by the resort.  Anyway, the whole time, Bono was saying, jeeze it used to be..., and man you should have seen it when...,  and it used to be I could come here and... and so on.

The regs can't be changed fast enough, and the big rains can't come soon enough to scour the creek bed.

Good news is that SK60 and I are heading up to woodland for the FGC hearings and will present our case for changing the regs.

best of luck to Putah and thanks to Bono for a very fun trip and a great dinner, despite us not catching much to speak of.  I'll post a shot of Bono with his nice fish.

OH - forgot... at the end of the evening, on the way out of the parking lot, Bono accidentally ran over an adult rattler.  It was trying to get away after being smashed by his big tires, but it couldn't really get going after having the lower half of it's body crushed (and a good portion of it's guts slung out on the road).


JL