Us snow challenged Californians have little fear of Fall, the leaves change color and little else. The riot of color is always breathtaking and the fishing occasionally takes a back seat to the simple appreciation of the woods in full regalia.
I got spanked savagely this weekend, but wore a smile the whole time.
It was all there, leaves changing color, few fishermen, lots of bug life, and mild temperatures. The fish were conspicuously absent, and our finest efforts went unrewarded – spankage; humbling, and photogenic.
I flung dries, wets, damps, weighted, unweighted, and ill concieved, I envoked numerous dieties yet I can’t say with certainty whether I was even nibbled, not even a refusal marred the drift of my flies.
Up at dawn and fighting current, blackberry thickets, and deadfalls. Watching in vain as mayflies trundled off the water ponderously, with sprinkles of Caddis and midges, all completely unmolested.
The scenery was stunning, and more than once I warmed on some rock midstream and counted my blessings. Catching is the fun part, but it’s not as enduring as what Fall can sear on a retina.
Tags: fall colors, Sacramento river, spankage
It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you fish the Upper Sac in the fall. It’s seriously pretty stuff.
You are a lucky man TC, we have all the same colors, but it’s spray paint “tagging” … Doesn’t have the same appeal.