The Finest Guides in Northern California
LGC's 2020 August Newsletter
Good Evening Folks!!!

This newsletter is coming from HOT Willows, CA!!

The Hex Hatch is in the books and we are looking forward to 2021. I believe everyone out there is looking forward to 2021!!!

Some of you may have heard, but all of Kirsten and my hard work may be gone. Our external hard drive, that we used to back up our computer system, decided to break. I have sent it off to (cross your fingers) have the data and the 60k images saved and returned to us. Lots of items on that hard drive. Now we will have an external hard drive and we have added a Cloud back up account. Wish us luck!

The dog days of summer are upon us, which means hanging out in a nice cold-water creek, fishing for wild fish and enjoying the cold water! There are so many cold creeks out there – just pick one and go fishing!

Remember Adams Parachutes, Rio Grande Kings and the Wulff all produce fish in these small creeks. So, if you haven’t been fishing – get out there and fish in a nice cold creek!!

Rivers
The Lower Sac is in the dog days of summer mode – with caddis hatches and mayfly hatches during the day. On Sunday we ran into a golden stone hatch on one riffle. We fished it for over two hours landed lots of big fish! The upper section will be open on August 1, 2020. The Feather is slow, with some small steelhead here and there. The Yuba has been fishing good to great. Thurman’s Bird’s Nest in all colors in sizes 14-16, have been the ticket on both the Yuba and the Lower Sac. Sweet Peas in Size 16 and 18, my Lance’s X-May in Olive in Size 18 and my Lance’s Black Sabbath are also producing fish. We are completely booked for the Fall!!

Lakes
As I mentioned above the Hex Hatch is over. The next main “Hatch” will be the Pond Smelt and leech gatherings in the Fall on Lake Almanor . Stay tuned on that – more to come later. Manzanita Lake is not doing well. The otters are having a field day with the trout. No personal water craft that doesn’t have a hard shell bottom can be fished on the lake – due to Mommy otter attacks!!

LGC's Online Store
The LGC Online Store is up and ready for orders!!!
Tours
I boast about how many people love our tours because they do. More than 600 folks have been on the tours. Many of our guests on the tours can’t wait for new tours to start! We only have two tours scheduled. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 issues we have revamped the tours where every guest will be in their own vehicles. The Yuba Tour is on October 3, 2020, the Feather River Steelhead Tour will be on October 10, 2020. There are three spots left in both of these tours. If you looking to be educated, guided and given the best information possible – these are the tours for you!!

Zoom Presentations
Many of you know that in this age of COVID-19, Zoom meetings are becoming popular. Folks are having Zoom cocktail parties, birthday parties, dates and all sorts of different events via Zoom. We are using Zoom to do many of our day to day functions. From talking to guests face to face, to doing presentations to fly clubs all over the USA. We will be sending out more information on different Zoom presentations that are going to be open to all folks. So, stay tuned for that!! 

Workshops
The “Workshops” are simply great! We conduct our workshop early in the morning and we are off the water by noon in order to beat the heat. We have several workshops scheduled. The Nymph Workshop is scheduled for September 12, 2020. There are two spots left in this workshop. We will cover high sticking and indicator dead drifting. The Streamer Workshop is scheduled for September 26, 2020 and there are three spots open in this workshop. Everything you need in this workshop to have the confidence to pitch streamers to big river trout. The Intro to Two Handed Rods Workshop will be on September 14, 2020 with two spots available. This workshop (all equipment included) will assist you in becoming a better two hander or it will answer your question, “should I use two handed rods?”. The Dry Fly Workshop will be held on September 5, 2020. This is my favorite workshop. We just don’t show you how to rig, we actually fish. Yes, we show you all the tactics that we as guides use in our day to day operations on the rivers!

Fly of The Month
Sweet Pea fly is a Doug Ouellette fly pattern. A great fly that has been producing fish all over the US and beyond. I use the Sweet Pea on the Lower Sac and it kills fish!! Simple fly to tie – that works.
Hook – Firehole 516 Jig Hook Size 14-20
Bead – Firehole Slotted Tungsten Bead Copper size to match
Tail - Coq De Leon fibers
Body - Polish Peacock Quill
Thorax - Peacock Herl
Flashback – Mylar Opal Large for 14 and 16, medium for 18-20

Product of The Month
I have been using these socks for the last three years while guiding on Lake Almanor. I use them underneath my Simms Booties to keep my feet warm. They plan work. A great way to keep warm while using your booties or boots.

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