Winter Time -- time to tie

Well, just two more weeks in the girls tennis season and then I can get back into exercising. I'm sure I have put on 10 to 20 lbs in the past 3 months -- no exercise coaching 16 girls -- too much like teaching a class and never get a chance to hit or run. However, one would be a fool to give up a chance to work with really great young people, both as a coach and as a teacher. It keeps one young.

I have been setting up my tying bench and training my cats where they can sit on the bench and still get rubs without running into hooks or getting into my way. Either that or they have trained me to set my materials up where they want them so they can get rubs and lean their chins on the edges of my portable tying stand. Regardless of who is doing the training, it is a good time for all.

My plan is to tie 100 flies of 12 different patterns, in one specific size each, to create two "killer packs" of flies to be used on Lewiston Lake. Craig at the marina has been on me to create packs of flies that have been successful for me and to sell them at the store. I'll also need dozens that can be bought individually when one pattern becomes HOT. I figure if I tie 100 flies of each pattern, I can find 50 that are of commercial value leaving 50 "crappy ones" for me to use lol.

The six flies that I will be putting into my "stripping flies killer pack" are:

1. Blackberry Mohair Leech (size 10 4x long)
2. Black Peacock Simi Seal Leech with flashabou ribbing (size 10 4x long)
3. Sheep Creek Special (size 14 1x long)
4. Arizona Peacock Lady (size 14 1x long)
5. Purple and Black wooly bugger (size 12 2x long)
6. Black Beadhead bunny leech (for trolling size 10 4x long)

I have had a lot of success with these 6 flies and certainly know that they will work great on the lake. I'm also including instructions how to use spinning gear to fish these flies appropriately (the plan is -- spinning gear with flies out fishes bait -- fly rod makes fish appear much larger compared to spinning poles -- people become fly fishermen -- I'm not the only fly guy on the water.

Take care,
Shane

I'm Back

Hello to my one subscriber and anyone else who finds this site. I spent the summer of 2009 fishing Lewiston Lake a couple of evenings a week. I have discovered some of it's secrets and am tying flies like mad to get ready for the upcoming summer. I had a blast in the evenings and released 2 to 15 fish each night (3 hours fishing)

To summarize my new found knowledge: there are large fish in Lewiston Lake -- they feed on midges -- evenings are cool and the fish are active -- instead of matching the hatch when fish are sipping under the surface, stripping a blackberry leech pattern yields great results (one leech = 10,000 midges??).

I have been preparing for the summer and have found some great ideas on the web. Pictures are on their way.

I did fish one day this year already, in mid-March. The midges were hatching but the fish weren't hitting them. In the evening one fish was actively sipping just under the surface. I stripped a sparkle chenille bead head wooly bugger over it's area and it smashed it. It was a beautiful, colorful fish, 16 to 18 inches long, sadly, with many leech marks. I didn't have my net and trying to release it my line broke with the hook still in the mouth of the fish (aarrgghh -- supposedly they hooks fall out in a couple of days).

I look forward to keeping a web journal of my experiences and the fishing on Lewiston Lake -- and starting this summer, in the lakes found in the Trinity Alps. Nothing like a little hiking to get one in shape (and it is cooler in the mountains!!!).

Take Care,
Shane

A Sleepy Weekend

Alas, a wasted weekend and nothing caught but zzzzz's. I fished Lewiston Lake above Pine Cove Marina on Friday night, from 7 to 8. There was a small hatch of Callibaetis but no action from the fish. The Callibaetis were spread out about a meter apart all over the water. The visibility was about 5 to 8 feet, stopped by a micro algae green (I think). I had one take when stripping in, or perhaps hit some weeds.

I played my first tennis match for the Sun Oaks 3.0 B team (Redding). I only lasted 45 minutes on the court, followed by 2 hours of rehydration to drive home, followed by a headache and a 3 hour nap. I got all the water out of my boat on Sunday and went back to my place to get my rods. One episode of Buffy, followed by a 3 hour nap wiped out any chance for me to get on the water.

On Saturday there were 10 boats at 10-mile and 15 or more around pine cove. On Sunday, there was one -- so, I doubt the fishing was very good. Things should pick up in May when they start the flows again.

Now, on to work. I apologize for no pictures but a snapshot of me taking a nap would just put the reader into Therapy.

An Introduction

My name is Shane Feusier. I am a high school teacher, a single dad to two kids in college, and am an avid fisherman who seldom fishes. I fell into a beautiful trailer / addition / deck in the Pine Cove Trailer Park right on Lewiston Lake, California. It is a 2-1/2 hour drive from my home in Eureka.

In the 90's, Lewiston Lake was a flyfisher's paradise: tons of fish being planted; many planters overwintering, and Callibaetis hatches that were huge and you could set you watch by them. Alas, I never fished Lewiston then, and a huge water runoff (98?) wiped out most of the hatch. I heard it was coming back but then another huge water runoff hit in 2006, knocking down their recovery.

My goal is to provide information about this fishery and to generate a renewed interest in the lake, in the hopes of increasing the planting of more fish (I've spent hours trying to find online how many fish were planted in the lake in 2008 -- any help in finding this information will be helpful).

I'm heading out this weekend to try midges in the lake and possibly doing some fishing in the recently opened fly fishing only section of the Trinity River.

Tight lines all!!