I’ve had some compelling clients since starting my fishing guide business five years ago. One, Jerry, was Willie Nelson’s bus driver for 20 years. Another, a Harvard grad who works with AI security to, in her words, “make sure it’s used for good”. I’ve had cops, firefighters, ER doctors and a Bay Area rap music producer. But one of my favorites has been Jim Zobel, an 88 year old retired California Fish and Wildlife Captain.  Jim first came aboard in June for a trip with his s

reprinted from Gold Country Media https://goldcountrymedia.com/news/349098/chinook-salmon-make-another-comeback/ 1/9/26 A funny thing about Chinook salmon: Give them half a chance and they can come roaring back. Yes, they’re a fragile species, highly susceptible to poor water management and/or crummy habitat and environmental conditions (which is especially true in Northern California, the southern end of their range). But despite that glaring irony, salmon are also one of th

(first published by Gold Country Media, Dec, 2025) One of the peculiarities of fishing is the trendiness of lures and baits. And I’m not talking among anglers. I’m talking among fish. When I first started really focusing on Folsom lake’s trout and landlocked salmon back in the early 2000s, my can’t-miss presentation was a “rolled shad”, which entails an actual small shad baitfish rigged in such a way that it spins as you troll it through the water. It was money, partly becaus