by Jessflyguy » July 11th, 2016, 3:39 pm
Hi, new to this forum. I just retired on July 1st after working for a company here in San Diego for 40 years. I have only been able to get away to fly fish every few years for many years but am excited to get into it seriously again. I grew up in San Fernando and my family was part of a co-op cabin in Mammoth Lakes for the first 20 years of my life. Our cabin was the first A-frame in Mammoth, on Lupin St. The people that built and used it were almost all Aeronautical Engineers at Lockheed, Burbank. Most people used it in the winter to ski, but my family used it in the summers to fish. I was fishing the Upper Owens River, particularly Big Springs from about 7 years old and up. We spent a week or more in Mammoth for 12 summers. We fished heavily in Crowley from our boat, but my first fishing love is stream fishing. We fished Hot Creek before it became hugely popular and I started fly fishing at 10-11 years old. My first fly rod was a Fenwick combo back rod (spin/fly), i used it for almost 10 years! I got my first full fly rod, also a Fenwick fiberglas 8'-6", 6 wt. in 1974 when I was stationed in the USAF at Mtn. Home AFB in Idaho, what a difference a real rod with proper guides made! I still use that rod with great success, it was made before Fenwick moved manufacturing offshore. I fished the Boise River So, Fork and many Sawtooth Wilderness area high country lakes as my main waters while in Idaho. I did get one chance to flyfish Silver Creek one time while there, truly the holy grail of creeks. I also got a chance to fish the Clearwater and Salmon rivers during my year there. About the time I went into the USAF the cabin in Mammoth was sold, I sure miss my youth up there. After the military, life and family caught up with me but I did get a chance to teach my son to flyfish and have made trips to Mammoth and Central Washington to flyfish when I had a truck camper. Our favorite trips were to Big Springs, and the Reds Meadows areas during the 80's and early 90's. Living in San Diego has limited my stream flyfishing activities but retirement should allow me to make trips to the waters up north. I got a nice gift card from work on retirement day and just used it to buy a new flyrod and reel that should be here next week. A good 9' 5 wt. was ordered and should do me fine for most everything. My wife and I have a trip booked for Mammoth in the end of September, I plan to break in the new rod. I have been working all year to improve my health, lost 45 pounds and hope to be able to get around on the creeks again. I am an avid photographer, used to do professional drag racing photography, and will post photos of my future trips and adventures. Thanks for membership and tight lines to you all.