Well here it is, late again. Family funeral, monthly trip to Oregon for wife’s work and (my fishing) along with weekly trips to the vet for Kate’s chemo and the month is shot.

Oregon…Ahhhh…skunked for the first time in my life fishing the Rogue, no trout nor any steelhead. Beautiful conditions, weather and water flows were dead on for a great couple of days…only trouble the fish were on vacation.

Much has been written lately in local papers on the water battles locally and state wide. Trust me - what you read is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m working hard on a couple of these water issues with some folks in Sacramento…wish I could reveal some more but one Senator Feinstein is in for a long battle to take more of our water.

On a good note when I traveled to Oregon in December I stopped to personally check the gauge at Shasta Lake…Dec. 19th down 165ft. and on Sunday February 21st down only 65ft. and, with March predicted to be higher than normal rain fall, it looks like our sport and the fish are in pretty good shape.

March 12th… circle the date please…Stanislaus Fly Fishers in Modesto is hosting the “Drake” Fly Fishing Film Tour. Check out www.flyfishingfilmtour.com for a complete run down

on the films showing. Side note -I will have tickets for sale at our monthly meeting on March 10th.

Reading a couple of new books…one on tying midges “Modern Midges” (tying & fishing the world’s most effective Patterns) by Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka. This is a must for tiers and anyone who likes fishing lakes, reservoirs and farm ponds.

Next is a great fishing related collection of short stories by Dana Lamb, titled “The Fishing’s Only Part Of It”. Check it out.

The mutt (Kate) is back on the mend…small cancer problem, if left unattended would have been fatal but the great vets and technicians at U.C. Davis gambled on a tricky surgery and the little four-footed fish finder is back.

“REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.”

See ya on the water…I’ll be the one with black mutt.  

Stephen Johnson