New Job

Hello Fly Fishing Ladies!
I haven't been up on my blog, but hopefully am back on track. The biggest news that has happened since my last post is that my husband Billy and I are the new general managers at Clearwater Lodge! We are really excited about this opportunity and can't wait for the season to start. We're buisily preparing and organizing and re-vamping, and currently headed off to several weekends of Fly Fishing Shows. We'll be in Pasadena this weekend (February 21-22 at the Pasadena Convention Center) and in Pleasanton next weekend (February 27-March 1 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. If you are around, please stop by and say hi! I plan to host a "Fish With Me" day in March and I'll post more about that in a week or two.
Both Billy and I will continue to guide, though less frequently than before, so if you are interested in a guide trip, I am still available!
If you've never stayed at Clearwater, it is a beautiful old lodge with great food and wonderful ambiance as well as the good fishing that we have! Stop by our website and check it out! www.clearwaterlodge.com
That is all the excitement for now, next post will be about fishing!

Snow and Spring Creeks

Shasta Mayfly Penny Bergstrom fishing at Baum Lake in November. Baum Lake is a great choice for winter fishing, there are great hatches and lots of eager fish to challenge your skills!





Our truck and drift boat covered in snow after a big, cold storm this week.



Hello All!

Well, this week the Intermountain area has had some wild and very cold weather. The past two nights have seen temperatures 6-9 degrees below 0! I can't help but think of the trout, swimming about in our local rivers, and the fact that they are relatively warm in 40-50 degree water! The spring creek is an amazing water source. We are surrounded by spring creeks up here, Hat Creek, Burney Creek, Lost Creek, and of course, the grand-daddy of them all, Fall River.


During the summer months when daytime temperatures are soaring into the 90's and beyond, it is always quite startling to dunk your hand into spring creek water and get a frigid shock! The water never varies much in temperature, no matter how hot or cold it is outside. Granted, in the summer, the surface and edges may be a bit warmer than the depths, and of course all the light and sunshine promotes rapid and prolific weed growth. By mid fall, the weeds die off as shady canyons host little direct sunlight and nighttime temperatures begin to plummet into the 20's and 30's. November is often the beginning of edge freezing, where the shallowest edges near shore will ice over and exposed rocks become slippery with ice.


My husband and I ventured out (before the snow) to Hat Creek park on Saturday to practice some Spey casting. The park is well shaded year round, but this time of year, due to its odd angle to the winter sun, it gets no sun whatsoever. The water was still beautiful and crystal clear, running at the same speed and depth as usual, but the edges were crunchy with frost, even at 2:00 in the afternoon. The outside temperature was in the mid 30's and our frozen fingers didn't last more than 45 minutes of casting. (Cookie, our dog didn't mind though, she swam in the river and chased sticks the whole time and then was quite upset when we ended her fun and made her get back in the car!).

Spring Creek water just fascinates me. The quality of the water, how clear and cold it is, the fact that it is unchanged by storms, run-off, scorching heat or arctic chill. Most impressive is that lurking in the water, year round, without fail, are the trout!

These freezing days make me glad that I can sit by the fire, read a book, make cookies and go to bed early. But my mind wanders to my fish, my 'business partners', next year's 'fish of a lifetime' for me or one of my fortunate clients!

Cheers to the trout and the steadfast spring creek. I am quite thankful not to be standing thigh high in 40 degree water right now, but spring is always coming, 128 days until the opening of trout season to be exact. But who's counting...?

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog! Over the past four years of guiding, I have had the pleasure of spending hundreds of days with fun and interesting anglers. I have also had the chance to meet many amazing women who are either already avid fly fishers or just beginning their fly fishing pursuits. I am creating this blog to help connect women who fly fish, stay in touch with women I have already had the joy of fishing with and to meet new women who love to fly fish! Plans for the blog are to highlight women whom I fish with, post photos of fish caught, provide information and fishing reports on different locations and include some instruction and tips on different fly fishing subjects. Please feel free to leave a note and share this blog with friends!