Guided Tours

Started in 1992. I have the oldest, continually operated Fishing Guide Service in the Mother Lode / Central Sierra region!

Merced Falls Guided Fishing Trips:

First and the most popular of the trips I promote, is the fishing trip near Merced Falls. This a very little known section of the Lower Merced River. It is actually part of the irrigation system here. In the summertime, all the water provided to the many farmers in the Central San Joaquin Valley by the Merced Irrigation Service goes through this section of river. High, cold, steady flows, and very low fishing pressure makes this area a veritable Trout Nirvana! These resident wild rainbow trout we target spawn right here in this section of river we fish. It is surrounded by private property on both banks. I have private access to this section of river through family property. On our fishing trips here we seldom, if ever, see another angler. On trips here it is not uncommon for fly anglers to hook as many as 40 or more trout in a day. Some fishermen who know how to fish hard, get into over 100 fish a day for two anglers!! Book this trip early. Multi day trips are available here.

Crocker Huffman to Snelling trips:

This where the angler is going to run into the Central Valley Steelhead. Actually since there is no real scientific evidence that steelhead are here, the biologist just call the rainbow trout in anadromous waters, over 16", by their Latin name, O. Mykiss. This is the main target in this section of river. It is best during the winter and spring months, when the water is colder. Since it is below the Main Canal, it gets very little water. The water becomes pretty warmish during the summertime and is not the best habitat for the trout. But there are a few remaining here. It is what I would call a remnant population. I think one of the biggest problems the steelhead face here is the gauntlet the young fish have to run in the lower rivers . The lower rivers are full of predator fish. One species of predator fish is the Striped Bass. We can target those also in this section of river. The best time to hit this is during the Fall, before the closure in November . Before the closure, you may be able to get into some King Salmon, Resident and Steelhead trout and Striped Bass all in one day! It’s been done in the past but all the stars have to line up. It depends a lot on the timing of the Kings arrival into the rivers here. Then, hit it again right after the re– opener on the first of January. The salmon are gone but the stripers and Rainbow Trout will still be around. The Central Valley Steelhead run sometimes lasts until June with many more half pounders than spawning adults to be had during this time. It’s a small run of fish and best described as spotty fishing because there are so few. However, these rainbows here are red hot fighters! Usually on a good day here one can hook into as many as 15 perhaps that would be a great day for an angler here. Many people get skunked here. But never with me. If I know the fishing isn't good here we go to the next section upstream above Crocker Huffman to Merced Falls.

I have a no fish / no pay policy on all the trips I do. I am confident I can get you into fish, ...very confident.

"I don't think I've ever had anyone not catch fish with me!!" -Tim