My PB Pig Cutthroat Trout. Warning....PIC Heavy (as usual)

[Greg Madrigal]

I spent a perfect long weekend up in the Sierras with my best friend Harvey. We had a blast!
I was going up to fish, but also to deliver a new guide net I made to guide, Joe Contaldi of Performance Anglers Guide Service . We met at the Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show when he was just across the aisle from the Sierra Nets booth. My website, if you want to check it out, is www.sierra-nets.com.

We left the OC Thursday and arrived in Mammoth that evening to stay at the awesome “Best Western Plus High Sierra Hotel”. You get a full-on eggs/bacon breakfast buffet each morning included with your stay! Guest services were of the quality you’d find in a much pricier hotel. LOVED IT!
We talked to Joe who arranged to meet us the next morning at 7:15 am. We rolled up to a hearty welcome from both Joe and his companion, a gorgeous yellow Lab . I liked Joe’s “office”!

I introduced Harvey. After some small talk, I presented Joe with his new commissioned custom guide net.
This net was built specifically with strength first and foremost as Joe has broken 3 nets in the last few years. The handle is reinforced with Wenge and the solid Wenge hoop was made thicker and wider than my regular nets.


This beauty doubles as a bear/poacher club when needed. :lol:




He loved it, so we clipped on his new super-strong custom matching wood magnetic net release with a large 3/4 x 3/4 rare earth magnet, and off we hiked to our destination stream about 2 miles out.


The day was perfect-T-shirt weather by 9am, and sun-shiny.
Joe expertly tied up our leader rigs and got Harvey going first. He was even so prepared as to provide us each with a small box of extra flies so we wouldn’t be without! With a few words on the technique from Joe, I was off on my own and had a fish within a few minutes. A nice rainbow trout.
For the next couple of hours we did the same anticipating the noon caddis hatch Joe told us would be there. (Time critical info like this is priceless and paramount to landing the most fish possible.)

Joe in his "office" with his new piece of "office attire."



First 'bow of the morning. All barbless flies were used!

Joe Hanging back to observe. He really helped Harvey out with his casting the indicator rig.






The dries started working just before noon as noses started showing in the riffles and back eddies. Caddis patterns were the thing.





Harvey Knee-deep in mud.


More bows







Joe left us fishing around 3pm. We wanted to make the most of the day, so we stayed. I stupidly did NOT bring a net. I had left my net at the truck since I knew Joe was going to be there with the new guide net I brought him.

Around 5pm, I saw a large fish move out the upstream side of a pool I was working. It looked like a sockeye salmon as he made his way upstream through the skinny water! I tried and tried different wet patterns in the next 3 pools to no avail. Finally, after 20 minutes at pool #4, I think I pissed him off enough to take my black #12 woolly bugger. I barely hooked him in the lip but I took it easy during the fight as I was only using 4x tippet. After hooking him, I yelled to Harv, who was working downstream a ways, to come help me net him. After a 10 minute fight.

Harv's solid Wenge net is certainly strong enough for this fish, but not quite big enough. (This was the 3rd net I ever built!) It was this or nothing and I wanted to be sure to get the barbless fly out.









Reviving before releasing.



And away it swims.

[Piss on Myspace]

Nicely done sir! Thats a gorgeous net and one hell of a fish. That most definitely looks like a guides net lol....Did you make it all the way to the lake? I was up that way last week and olive seemed to be the preferred color. Thanks for the report and congrats on the new PB. Gotta love the sierras!!!

[1HR2BBL]

Congrats on the beautiful cutt, georgous fish! Nice club net too!

[flytyingreloader]

Congrats on that gurgeous cutt. Your craftsmanship on that net is SUPERB, sir.

[Matt44]

You always have the best posts greg pig brookies pig cutts you da man for sho! Haha congrats on a great trip and that net is just a goregous as the cutty!

[troutman27]

Awesome report

[sierraslam]

What a beautiful trout!

[Troutman65]

Got to love the beauty of a trout like that . Congrats Greg . Nice nets too

[FSHNLIC]

Wow!!!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!!!

[SierraPeaks]

Beautiful Cutty. Great report Greg...thank you kindly.