Little WIllow Lake

Last week I took two cool guys fishing on Little Willow Lake. It is a private lake on the Clark Ranch, just outside of Madras. An irrigation reservoir, Little Willow is home to a number of LARGE trout. We experienced great fishing! Ross is a well traveled and experienced angler. He dominated, landing close to 20 fish! It was Jason's first day fly fishing, and he forever hooked. He landed 8 big fish, and hooked a bunch more.

Little Willow is open to fishing until the first part of July, when it will close until the water temperatures cool down again in the fall.

Brett Philip's report from Baja

I just received a fishing report from the East Cape of Baja Mexico, from Brett Philip. Hear is what he had to say...

Bonito, Pargo, Ladyfish and Sierra...a fun day (smoked the bait fisherman and they were not very pleased).
Lucky I had an old steel leader Scott gave me a year ago, those Sierra ripped up my 40Lb leaders like nothing.
The Bonito took 40 minutes to land and I really thought I was going to lose my new 10 WT, man those Tuna's
can pull.
Spent three hours looking for Roosterfish to no avail but try again Monday.

PS Hope Damien likes my hat.

Take care,

Brett Philip


The hat looks great. I wish I was enjoying some more fun, sun, and fishing.

Mexico - Day 8

Cancun - Day 8

I met Esciel and Marco in the lobby at 11 am, they both looked refreshed and ready for the rest of our drive. In 3 hours we will be in Cancun. We did make one stop at the Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza. It was spectacular. The feeling that experience conjured was awe stirring. I could imagine hundreds of Mayans working, playing, and worshiping hundreds of years ago. It was like being on the movie set of Apocalypto.

A few hours later I finally arrived at my hotel in Cancun. Or should I call it the Mexican Las Vegas. There were gringos everywhere. Many of them were drunk. Thankfully, I most of my time in Cancun was spent on a boat on the permit flats north of the city.

It was an early morning again the next day. We arrived at the boats just as the sun was cresting the horizon. Enrique was my guide for the day. His favorite fish… permit! He told me catching a Grand Slam, a bonefish, tarpon, and a permit, would be possible.

Isla Blanca is the name of the area we fished. It is a series of flats, channels, and mangroves that eventually connect with Isla Holbox. The first flat Enrique took me too was a long boat ride from the dock. I realized why we traveled so far when the first school of over 20 permit swam towards us, ignorant of our presence. I blew that shot and the next, casting too close to the lead fish. The third school we found, I wouldn’t make the same mistake.

This school was vast. There where at least 40 permit flanking to my right. The cast was challenging due to the wind, but not undoable. The crab landed softly 2 feet in front of the lead fish. I let the crab settle, and let the first few fish swim past. Then strip, strip, strip and my line tighten and reel began to scream. Once you connect with a permit, it is easy to realize why this fish has such lore in the fishing world. Imagine setting a hook into a school bus. Permits run and run and run.

That would be the only fish I’d bring to hand that day, besides a cuda, which fooled both Enrique and me into thinking it was a bonefish. I jumped 3 tarpon deep in the mangroves, loosing all 3 to overhanging branches. The slam would have to wait until tomorrow.

Campeche Mexico - Day 5 -7

CAMPECHE MEXICO – Day 5, 6, 7

Two nights ago Marco and his partner Esceil and I arrived in Campeche Mexico. Campeche is a very old Mexican city, filled with historic sites. It is a romantic city. Evidently, it is where Mexican lovers visit for a romantic weekend. Everywhere I went I saw couples engaged in “gasahondo”. Esceil informed me that it is Spanish for “making out”.

The next morning we woke early and headed to the Marina to meet our guides. Belito and Juan, a father and son combo, are true Mayans. They stand tall at just under 5 feet. What they lack in height they made up for in knowledge of the area. Marco went with Juan so he could take some fresh photos for his website. With in 20 minutes after killing the motor I saw 2 cruising tarpon. Marco instructed me to intercept the fish with my fly, as began to lengthen out my line. I pick a spot well ahead of the fish as my target. On the final forward stroke I let the line fly, shooting through the guides. Just as I did, a third fish appeared ahead of the first 2 that I saw. Shit. My fly was aimed to hit the new fish square on the head. My perfect shot had just turned into a classic screw up. There was nothing I could do. The fly landed and the water exploded as the 3 tarpon bolted to the safety of the mangroves. At that moment I realized just how technical the fishery at Campeche is. I was crushed. I will regret that cast for a long time. Belito shrugged it off. Clearly, I was not the first gringo to blow the first shot at fish.

Through the course of the day I would only present my fly to 10 fish, and successfully jump only 3 of them. Marco was bummed. He really wanted to get some photos. He was also surprised at the lack of fish. He said there where usually 10 times as many fish to cast to. For whatever reason, the tarpon were scarce. In order to catch something, we went deep into the mangroves in search of big snook. And we found them. I hooked 1 of the bigger fish, nearly 10 pounds, but was unable to land it. They have very abrasive lips that chewed through the 60 lb shock tippet with little effort. By the end of the day, I had caught a dozen or more snook ranging in size from 8 inches to 3 pounds.

The next day we all went in one boat. Marco wanted to show me an area near Isla Arenas, an hour boat ride from the marina. The bigger boat was needed for a smoother ride there and back. So Marco, Esceil, Juan and I sped away from Campeche. Once we got to the location it was easy to see why Marco liked the area. It was untouched. There where no signs of humans. I felt special just being there. The pristine flats and mangrove channels where beautiful settings for casting a fly to hungry fish. The problem was there where no fish to cast to. We spent most of the day searching the area for fish, with no luck. Once we finally gave up, we sped back to Campeche to fish the area we fished the day prior. The wind was strong when we got there, making the fishing difficult. I did manage to jump a good-sized tarpon, loosing it near the boat. Bummer. I would have to return to Campeche at another time to catch a tarpon.

Tonight we left Campeche and arrived in Merida. After a quick bite to eat at Marcos favorite restaurant, we crashed deep in the heart of city at a modest hotel. I am tired. Eight hours in the sun for the past 6 days is catching up with me. It will be nice to sleep in tomorrow. We will also visit Chichen Itza, on the way to Cancun.

Damien