August 12, 1990, changed my life. Dressed in neoprene waders and a fishing vest loaded with flies, I accompanied two anglers on the frigid waters of the Frying Pan River in Colorado and provided them the opportunity to catch trout on a fly rod, and I got paid! So began this magnificent odyssey of fulfilling my dream as a fly fishing guide. Over twenty years later the passion still flows through my veins with a vigor that is relentless and innovative. My heart thumps when a client hooks into a fish, and “set, set, set, set” will always be part of my vocabulary. Fly fishing is my life and guiding is my career. Each day I look forward to going to work, seeing old friends, and creating new memories. Over 4000 days of guiding and I’m just getting started. I look forward to seeing you out on the water!
     Fish Hard, Captain Mike Costello

FISH TALES 2011 - 2012:

FISH TALES
JULY - DECEMBER 2011

High water flows continued for most of the summer but that didn't stop my clients from having some great days on the Lower Stanislaus River and the Lower Sacramento River. On the Stanislaus river float trips we averaged around 25 trout in the boat per day while hooking many more. Streamer and nymph fishing were the hot techniques, and we even managed to land two to three striped bass on almost every drift. Angler, Charles Remsberg, managed to land a 20 inch rainbow trout on a Borski Slider on one side of large pool, and then he followed it up with an eight pound striper on the other side. My last day on the river in August produced some great dry fly fishing on trico spinners for George Strickland and his grandson.
 

The Lower Sacramento River fished great this past summer as we had many days with over forty hard fighting trout to the boat on a variety of drifts from Redding all the way down stream to Corning. Our personal best day approached sixty trout to the net and in the early fall we even managed to land a couple of quality steelhead. Tim Tieichman landed a very nice six pound hatchery fish while fishing the river in September. As always, our two day campouts were incredible, with fantastic fishing, good food, and wonderful memories.

On the Delta we had some awesome top water fishing in July for stripers up to 14lbs. August and September gave my clients and I some quality fish but the double digit fish were just not around this fall. My then, eight year old son, Connor, landed an incredible 10 1/2 lb. striper on Labor Day and then in October, my longtime clients, Mike Denega and Paul Wilms had a day where they landed 67 stripers with 50 of them being keepers up to nine pounds. They followed it up a week later with three double digit stripers and another 22 keeper fish. The water temperatures dropped into the mid-forties in early December but we still had some quality days and we ended the year on the December 30th with 20 stripers to the boat. King salmon were also around in good numbers this past year as we managed to land five king salmon up to 18 lbs. on flies throughout the Fall. In 214 days guiding clients for stripers on the California Delta in 2011 we landed 2319 stripers over 18 inches but our double digit fish were down for the year. Our biggest striper of 2011 was caught back in February by Darin Robinson, and it weighed 30 lbs.

STRIPER NEWS: In February of 2012 the California Fish and Game will recommend to the California Fish and Game Commission that the daily bag limit for stripers be increased from two fish to six fish, with a minimum size being reduced from 18 inches down to 12 inches. California Fish and Game lost a lawsuit with the Coalition For A Sustainable Delta, a group of water agencies and corporate agricultural farms in the southern San Joaquin Valley. These agencies want to shift the blame from declining native fish populations in the California Delta from water exportation to non-native fish species, such as striped bass, that were introduced in 1879. This is a smoke-screen that has no scientific validity. and if it's passed will destroy a unique and incredible fishery without benefitting any native fish populations. I urge everyone to write the Department of Fish and Game Commission and oppose this proposal. Letter should be addressed to the following:

Mr. Jim Kellogg, President
California Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street
P.O. Box 944209
Sacramento, Ca. 94244-2090

Happy New Year and Fish Hard, Mike Costello

 

Delta Top Water Catch

Landing the Big One

I love to read, especially books related to the outdoors and fly fishing, so I wanted to share some my favorite books with my friends.


MY TOP FIVE FLY FISHING BOOKS OF ALL TIME:

1) A River Never Sleeps (Roderick Haig-Brown)
2) Trout Bum (John Gierach)
3) Trout Madness (Robert Traver)
4) The River Why (David James Duncan)
5) The Earth Is Enough (Harry Middleton)

And, the book every trout fishermen should own: In the Ring of the Rise by Vincent Marinaro.
 

Mike is the Author of
"Fly Fishing the California Delta"
Buy it now at your local fly fishing pro shop.
 

EXCITING NEW TOYS

   I have had the pleasure of fishing the Loomis NRX 9 ft. 9 wt. prototype for the past year and my clients and I agree, it is one of the best fly rods ever designed.

   20 % lighter and stronger than the GLX Cross Current, this rod has handled some huge linesiders over the last 12 months and its performance has been nothing short of perfect.

   I am pleased to announce that the NRX is now available to the angling community from 3 wt. to 12 wt and should be on everyone's wish list.

Product Review: The winter has been miserable this year but what allowed me to guide day in and day out in such adverse conditions was the new Simms Extreme Rain Suit. The bibs and jacket left me dry and comfortable and even though the fish were not always eating, my equipment help me fish longer and harder.