Then I stumbled into the flexo crab which is actually a pattern for bonefish, permit, and  other warm water species.   Flexo® is Expandable Braided Plastic Sleeving, whose purpose it is to provide lightweight flexible wire protection used to bundle and protect cables.  In the color Gray this plastic sheath when scrunched up makes a perfectly durable sand crab body.

I tie a titanium bead head right in the middle of the hook So it gets down through the surf in a hurry.  These are a pain in the ass to tie because to secure the flexo into place I have to use a cauterizing iron.

These flies are deadly in the surf and hold up really well.  I still think I can improve the egg sack on the back so that will continue to evolve.  What is most shocking to me is these things actually work really well in the bays too.

The goal: A bottom‑hugging, defensive‑posture lobster imitation with articulated legs and heavy weight so it crawls and “kicks” when stripped.

After a bunch of back and forth with Steve. I made a few prototypes for testing in San Diego’s Bays and Surf.  Once getting a pattern built that killed, I had to make numerous design changes in terms of:

• Getting it to swim like the natural
• making the fly heavy enough to get down in a hurry
• making it durable enough to last in the SoCal surf.

I tie this fly on a size two Umpqua X-Series jig hook.  It has an enormous size 3.8 mm tungsten bead, wrapped by the tail. it’s also wrapped in lead underneath.  And it has black dumbbell eyes to imitate the natural.  So, this fly gets down in a hurry. But, can be a challenge for a beginner to cast.

The result is a fly that absolutely kills, even in the winter, in both the surf and the bays of Socal.

The Huck Oama imitates a juvenile goatfish (weke) which is a priceless baitfish in Hawaii.  The Weke spawn is long with schools of Oama roaming the shorelines (and getting assaulted by predators) from June through October.  But, the Huck Oama fly will fish well all year.

The Huck Huna imitates a number of reef shrimp and crabs.  The Huck Huna is designed specifically to match the Banded Coral Shrimp (Opea Huna), which is the most common of the reef shrimp in Hawaii.

Includes one of each:

• Size 2 Huck Huna
• Size 4 Huck Huna
• Size 6 Huck Huna
• Size 2 Huck Oama
• Size 4 Huck Oama
• Size 6 Huck Oama

$3 off from buying them individually.

Strip these flies quickly.  I like to hunt the Bluefin Trevally and cast when i see them.  But,  If you blind cast these flies, you will catch a myriad of smaller reef fish in the mix.

The Oama is a juvenille goatfish (weke) and a priceless baitfish in hawaii. The Hawaiin Goatfish (weke) are also a cherished food item by the Hawaiin people.  In fact, the oama is one of the few fish that are regulated with restrictions on the allowable methods used to target them by the DNLR (State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources).  The Weke spawn is hugely long with schools of Oama roaming the shorelines (and getting assaulted by predators) from June through October.  But, this fly will fish well all year.

I designed this fly to compliment the Huck Huna which imitates a number of reef shrimp and crabs.  The Huck Huna is designed specifically to match the Banded Coral Shrimp (Opea Huna), which is the most common of the reef shrimp in Hawaii.

The architecture of this fly is similar to the clouser minnow with barbell eyes tied on top so that it rides “hook up”.  I use congo hair (instead of the natural materials that bob clouser originally designed the fly with) because congo hair moves so nicely in the water, saturates with bubbles and dries so quickly in the air when casting.  I also use a technique by epoxying a few strands of crystal flash through the middle of the fly for the length of the fly.  This helps in preventing the congo hair from fouling the hook (which is a common problem in saltwater patterns).  Lastly, I tie in a red collar because the oama is a very fragile fish that frequently bleeds from the gills when bumped or captured.

Strip this fly quickly.  I recommend smaller sizes 4 & 6 so that you can catch a myriad of smaller reef fish in the mix.  if solely targeting the larger predators like the bluefin trevally go with a larger size 2.

I patterned this fly after the fairly infamous Avalon Permit Fly that is fished almost exclusively for permit, tarpon, bonefish and other predators in Cuba.  It was created originally by Mauro Ginevri and William in 2012.  In fact, it’s the Avalon Permit Fly I tied for Cuba that I have had so much success with hunting the Bluefin Trevaly on both Kauai and the Big Island.

The architecture of this fly is similar to the avalon permit fly, but made with different colors and more modern synthetic materials to match the natural Banded Coral Shrimp.  I tie the exact same “keel” system in the fly so that the hook rides up, avoiding snagging.  But, even more important is the clicking sound the beads of the keel make when stripped; practically the identical sound that the naturals make.

in addition to the more realistic colors of the Banded Coral Shimp’s arms/pinchers, I tie in glow in the dark rubber legs along with rabbit strips that add action fish can’t resist.  In addition, I fashion in a realistic egg pattern (which is typically used in steelhead flies) because the banded Coral Shrimp carries a very obvious egg sack.  Lastly i use black dumbbell eyes to more match the eyes of the natural and to help the fly get into the right part of the water column quickly.

One other improvement i have made is in the fly’s durability.  I would frequently break the keel system after the punishment of fighting a fish or the fly hitting the lava or reef.  Now, i use epoxy on the head which makes the fly much more durable, and also closer to imitating the natural.

Strip this fly quickly.  I recommend smaller sizes 4 & 6 so that you can catch a myriad of smaller reef fish in the mix.  if solely targeting the larger predators like the bluefin trevally go with a larger size 2.

BTW, i caught a big dorado in Baja on this fly in Oct of 2022.  So, i’m confident it works on many saltwater predators.

Historically, my typical rig for the Upper Kern River is a 3x leader with a size 4 tan Huck-Hopper on top, followed by ~3 feet of 4X tippet then a size 8 black Beldar stonefly nymph imitation followed by another 18 inches of 5x tippet and a size 16 Huck Green Caddis Nymph Cripple.

But, the Weakness of that rig is that you really have to be an expert to cast it.  That Beldar Stonefly Nymph is huge and heavy.  Sitting in between the Huck Hopper and the Huck Green Caddis Nymph Cripple makes the rig unbalanced.  It’s literally impossible to roll cast without the eventual tangles or wind knots.

When i started tying Perdigons it immediately became obvious i could put together another effective combo with a size 14 Perdigon dropped below the huge huck hopper then followed by a size 16 Perdigon…. making it just as wildly effective because those perdigons get down in a hurry…yet, much easier to cast (overhand and roll) because the perdigons are small; yet heavy.

Learn about the benefits of Perdigon style flies on this site here.

If you are an experienced fly fisher and familiar with the wild conditions at the Upper Kern (or Kings) Rivers, you may be saying to yourself: “Throwing 3 flies is crazy and asking for disaster.”  Yes, it is.  and to redo the entire rig is 5 knots. Overhead casting a 3 fly rig is difficult; roll casting even harder.  Also, note that in a few states like Montana you are not allowed to throw more than 2 flies.

I typically lose flies on a 3 fly rig in two ways: hung up on the bottom or when the wind blows me off course mid cast.  I lose flies, but I do catch a lot of fish on the upper Kern and Kings.  I’m an expert there.  I take the risk because I think it’s worth it.  I respect people that don’t take the risk of losing flies.  They cost money.  And it takes time to re-rig with 5 knots involved.  I can tie up a new rig quickly upon losing the entire thing.  Yes, that is frustrating.  But, IMHO you have to take risks if you want the big rewards.  Yes, a long 3 fly rig like the one I do is not only difficult to cast, but also risky to losing flies.  Yes, it’s deadly the entire season.

This is my go to fly when nothing else is working because it is so close to looking like the naturals.

It fishes well all year long in many conditions. Along with the Huck-bow Warrior cripple and it’s Perdigon brother this is a great winter fly. I recommend size 16.

This fly is built on a barbless competition style jig hook.  It’s wide gap provides a dramatically better hook set than a traditional hook.  You’ll find your land to hook ratio will be much better than in a traditional nymph hook.  I tie these with an oversized tungsten slotted bead.   Then I stuff the slot gap with lead.  Combined with it’s sleek epoxied body, this fly gets down in a hurry.  the tail is made of UV coated coq de leon feathers.  you can read all about the benefits of perdigon style flies in my article here.

The “Huck-bow Warrior Perdigon is my “go to” fly for non clear water conditions in fast deep current.  It fishes well all year long in many conditions. Along with the Huck Midge cripple and it’s Perdigon brother this is a great winter fly. I recommend size 16.

This fly is built on a barbless competition style jig hook.  It’s wide gap provides a dramatically better hook set than a traditional hook.  You’ll find your land to hook ratio will be much better than in a traditional nymph hook.  I tie these with an oversized tungsten slotted bead.   Then I stuff the slot gap with lead.  Combined with it’s sleek epoxied body, this fly gets down in a hurry.  the tail is made of UV coated coq de leon feathers.  you can read all about the benefits of perdigon style flies in my article here.

This is my goto fly and i frequently combine it with it’s crippled brother that i originally developed.  in a traditional two nymph set up it can be fished dry/dropper or hopper/dropper.  That means it can be effectively and typically fished with a “tag” fly, size 14 above and a trailing fly, size 16 below like is done in traditional euro nymphing.  In reality this fly provides all the effectiveness of raking the river by Euro Nymphing, but, unlike in euro-nymphing (or tenkara) you sill get to cast…and cast beyond the ~20 foot limitations of euro nymphing.

This is a “must have” fly in the fast runs of the Upper Kern River where the big kern river rainbows cannot resist the flash in crystal clear water.  It fishes well all year long in many conditions because it is an attractor, yet looks like a green rock worm, which is a caddis nymph.

This fly is built on a barbless competition style jig hook.  It’s wide gap provides a dramatically better hook set than a traditional hook.  You’ll find your land to hook ratio will be much better than in a traditional nymph hook.  I tie these with an oversized tungsten slotted bead.   Then I stuff the slot gap with lead.  Combined with it’s sleek epoxied body, this fly gets down in a hurry.  the tail is made of UV coated coq de leon feathers.  you can read all about the benefits of perdigon style flies in my article here.

1. Guided Backpacking “Over-nighters” (1-2 People 1-nighter $1,500. Each Additional night $750)
2. Traditional Guided wading days (1-2 People $700 / day)
3. Fly Fishing with me ($350 / day)

All 3 ways are physical and require hiking.  

Using me as your fly fishing guide is for the adventurous who want a shot big / nasty or beautiful wild native trout that don’t see a lot of artificials or even people for that matter. and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it. Nothing fights like a wild native pure strained Kern River Rainbow.  Pound for pound the more difficult fish to net that i have experienced.  And i have experienced a lot.  

Guided Backpacking Over-nighters

This is the modality where i do everything.  including cooking for you, cleaning up, making firewood, etc.  we fish all day and when we don’t you relax.

I have fished all over the world and I will tell you that nothing is more fun than backpacking to areas of the Golden Trout Wilderness that are just not heavily fished.

It was almost 25 years ago when my backpacking mentor, Rudi Van Der Walt, told me, “Tim, if you want to experience one of the few places in the world that has big wild native trout, we’ll have to backpack it.” He taught me a lot about how to thrive backpacking, the wilderness and survival. I have been “hooked” ever since.I use backpacking as a means to an end. I don’t hike for the sake of hiking. I hike to get to get to the good fly fishing.

I have lost count of how many nights i have spent in a backpacking tent. I have shared the experience with many. I’d like to share it with you. There is only one way to get to the great fly fishing spots of the Sierras: by backpacking. Overnighting it provides so much more in terms of fishing and the wilderness experience. I will tailor the trip for your hiking wants and ability. we can go as far or as short as the wilderness will give us and that ~40 pounds on your back will give you. We can move camp every day or day trip it from one site we camp at for a number of nights.

I don’t care if you are a beginner or expert to backpacking or fly fishing or both. All are welcome. if you are a beginner to backpacking I’ll get you savvy on this trip so you can DIY it the next time and beyond. I’ll also teach you how to do the backpacking thing cost effectively. Trust me the gear adds up…just like fly fishing gear does. Whether you are a beginner to fly fishing or an expert you’ll learn a lot. No matter what, we’ll do a lot of planning. Especially if you are a beginner to backpacking. If you are up for it I’ll also teach you about the flora, fauna and geology of the area.

How long we fish each day depends on you. I’m easy and flexible that way. I’m that guy that has to be dragged off the river. if you want to fish all waking hours then throw mice in total darkness, I’m your guy. if you want to hike 2 hours up river to fish 2 hours, I’m your guy. if you want to take two hour breaks between fishing sessions I’m your guy. No matter what we’ll have fun.

backpacking / fly fishing trips include:

• all flies, leaders, tippet, etc.
• loaner rods if you don’t own them
• all food and drink; the majority of which is made and dehydrated by me – depending on the length of the trip I may ask you to share the load
• gear guidance and planning for success

1-2 People 1-nighter $1,500. Each Additional night $750
Additional non fly-fishing guided Person(s) + $250.00 / night

1-2 People $700 / day

Traditional Guided wading days

This is the modality where i simply guide you on the Upper Kern River in the Wild Section of the Golden Trout Wilderness.  you are responsible for your food and everything that comes with backpacking.  or you day hike in and out from the Forks Trailhead.  we’d meet at a pre-determined location.  We may hike in together or I may already have hiked in and meet you in the canyon.

includes:

• all flies, leaders, tippet, etc.
• loaner rods if you don’t own them
• gear guidance and planning for success

Fly Fishing with me

If you are an experience fly fisher and simply want to fish with me, and learn some of the advanced techniques, Great!  I love to fish the wild section of the Upper Kern and i know the first 10 miles of the river above the confluence of the Little Kern River like and back of my hand. You’d only depend on me to figure out what they are eating and how we’d fish them.  I would not do any of the things that come with traditional guided days like teaching you how to cast or pulling your flies out of a tree or tying your flies on, etc.

1-2 People $350 / day

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Youth Groups, Vets, Cancer Survivors, and other charity groups – No Charge.  Love to do it with a little planning.

Special configurations no problem.

Contact me to start the planning process.