Trout Source

Fishing In Hell (McCloud, CA)
Low surface fires …continue to burn, with hot rolling material backing down steep slopes into the McCloud River.

Metamorphosis (Upper Delaware, NY/PA)
Here’s one from last fall – an AMAZING picture of a hatching Isonychia taken by Bob Lewis.

Nicotine Withdrawal (McCloud, CA)
[after the influx of fire fighters] the local market and gas station is out of chew, those guys love their Copenhagen and get rather cranky when without.

Toxic Algae On The Klamath (CA)
"It hasn't resulted in a fish kill. We are concerned, but right now they are holding their own," Creager said of the spawning salmon.

Upper Sac Fire (Upper Sacramento, CA)
9/12:
Looks like the fire fighters are getting a handle on the Ward Fire today, much less smoke. Here's a shot from yesterday taken at Sweetbriar.
9/11:
THIS JUST IN : A new fire has just started above Sims on the Upper Sac called the Ward Fire. It is about 300 acres and throwing smoke into the I-5 corridor. Helicopters are moving back and forth over Dunsmuir picking up water at Lake Siskiyou. Just what we don't need, another @#!* fire!
Official Update
Aggressive suppression efforts have enabled suppression forces to contain the Ward incident at 100 percent today. Expected release of both helicopters off the Ward incident tomorrow. Cooper's Type 2 team took command of Ward incident at 1800 9/12/2012 and will continue to manage the Bagley and Ward incidents separately.

McCloud Fire / Ah Di Na & Ash Camp Update (McCloud, CA)
9/12:
As a side note I talked to the US Forest Service folksin Mt. Shasta a short while ago and they are saying the access to Ah Di Na and Preserve is weeks away from opening. There is major cleanup, some fire suppression work, and erosion protection to be done. It doesn't look good for the fall for anyone getting down there.
9/11:
The smoke that had settled in here has finally disappeared and the activity that comes with 2000 fire fighters has diminished to the less noticeable hustle and bustle of 550. On the flip side the local market and gas station is out of chew, those guys love their Copenhagen and get rather cranky when without. The only active and uncontained portion of the fire remains on the McCloud River from Ash Camp into the Preserve. But reports show steady progress each day on the fire line at the river with no signs of it jumping it. Access to the area remains closed with no word when it will open.
Official Update
Planned Actions:
Continue mop-up, line improvement and suppression repair. Concentrate on suppression repair efforts to minimize future sediment issues due to runoff into the McCloud River corridor. Support BAER operations with logistical needs. 
Remarks:
Fire line supression repair continues at a steady pace, approximately 25 percent of the work has been completed. Water quality and fisheries continue to be a major concern for suppression repair efforts along the McCloud River. Federal acres burned: 32,208 Non-federal: 13,803. 
Fire Behavior:
Green island of fuels inside the perimeter of Divisions B and E continued to slowly burn out. Low surface fires in Division G continue to burn, with hot rolling material backing down steep slopes into the McCloud River. Generally, smoke on the fire is being generated by deeply imbedded heat within thick duff, stump holes and large fuels.
Updated Map

Read Kiene Discussion On Fires

Trico Cloud (Upper Delaware, NY/PA)
Yep. Those are Tricos. We had numbers like this last week, but they are finally starting to wane. Photo: DRC

Another (Bighorn, MT)

Beer + Duns = Spinners (Bighorn, MT)
if you are willing to get up early, you can hit the trico dun emergence and get trout while they are on the hatching duns. If you had a few too many beers the night before or don’t feel like getting up so early, you’ll most likely be fishing trico spinners.

Coffee & Baseball (Yellowstone)
Cold again this morning!  Frost on the fields in some places!  Definitely enough time to have a second cup of coffee and read the baseball box scores in the newspaper.  Needless to hint, the mornings have been a little slower.

Fall At Last (Penns, PA)
The fishing is just starting to get good. After this cool down the fishing should be great. October Caddis, Slate Drakes, Caddis, Bwo's

Frost vs Grasshoppers (Hot Creek, CA)
I found frost on my car this morning, so if you want to fish hoppers, don't wait much longer as it's not getting any warmer.

Caged Animals (Au Sable, MI)
The surprise hot spell these past two days is currently diffusing, and today's forecast (sixties, afternoon drizzle) has the guides pacing around the shop like caged cats.  They're ready to hit the river.  Already the fish have begun chasing a variety of fall streamers.

Predator (Au Sable, MI)
Josh Nethers and his client Danny hooked a bluegill on the South Branch.  Which is story enough, except the bluegill was promptly eaten by a 20" brown.  The brown ran around the river before ejecting the bluegill.

Hydraulic Complications (Upper Delaware, NY/PA)
No big drop in flows last night, just down to a 464 release which should not dramatically affect the hatching, holding areas, etc. It will allow downriver to warm up a bit more (especially with 80-degree temps predicted), so we will likely “lose” the lower Main today insofar as decent hatching is concerned.

Comfort (San Juan, NM)
I know I should break out of my routine and get up into the mountains and onto some of those streams, before the snow starts to fly, and another high country season slips past me. But, there's something addictive about catching a lot of big fish on water that's as comfortable as your favorite old pair of jeans

Transparency (Truckee, CA)
I think being a good guide means keeping no secrets. I share everything. All my secret spots, all my flies, and techniques. I keep nothing from anyone who comes on a guided trip. I don’t save water to go fish with my friends the next day, or take people to the same generic place that everyone else goes.

Luckiest Guide Alive? (Montana)
Yesterday, I woke up early with fog on the brain, and headed to BZN for the Bozeman Marathon.  My lovely wife is a mad runner and I, as her husband, turned out along the way for a little support.  I finally found her (I was late) between mile 15 and 16 and from the looks of this shot, she actually enjoys running.  Myself on the other, will gladly drive the 26.2 mile course behind the wheel of my Toyota.

The Larval Stage (Montana)
It's been about 35 years now since my father and grandfather put my first rod in my hand. At the age of 5 you don't realize this is something you will be doing for the rest of your life. In between being told not to throw rocks in the river I would try to listen to what was being said for me to do.