Fly fishing clinic held on Clear Creek

FLY FISHING: Mike Mercer demonstrates proper casting technique to several onlookers at Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve.

Even though the trout fishing season ends Nov. 15 most places in Shasta County, that didn't stop the Fly Shop's Mike Mercer from putting on a free fly fishing clinic for about 12 people on Clear Creek, as a part of an ongoing nature series with Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve.

Mercer demonstrated various casting techniques and discussed habits of trout and of the insects they eat. Mercer waded upstream while casting, as trout tend to look upstream.

"If you go downstream, the fish notice you coming at them - you look like an elephant," Mercer said.

Mercer kept casting into fast "white" water. Any parts of the river not easy to see through, which he called "broken," make for great hiding places for fish to avoid Osprey or other birds of prey from above, Mercer said. Insects that the trout may eat also get exposed by the swift water, he said.

Because broken water is desirable trout real estate, Mercer said that the bigger fish tend to hide out there. To illustrate his point, the largest among Mercer's rainbow trout catch came from the area with deep, swift broken water.

"He's good. It's not as easy as it looks," said onlooker George Hatter as Mercer cast with a flick of a wrist.

"Looking at him cast inspires me to do this again," Iranpur Pervez said, adding that he only fly fishes a couple times each year.

Having worked at the Fly Shop for 31 years and an author of a book on fly tying, Mercer said most of his knowledge came from the five years he worked as a fishing guide.

"I'd do anything I could to help a client catch fish, because if they catch more fish you get a bigger tip," Mercer said, laughing.

Mercer showed off some of his flies and compared them side by side to some insects caught in the stream. Mercer showed how some of the flies imitate the alternating colors of an insect turning over and over through rough current. Another was designed to imitate an insect which curls up while barreling past a swimming trout.

"He's giving a great lesson in stream entomology, which is the guts of fly fishing," Hatter said.

Mercer offered a few recommendations for entry-level fly fishers looking for their first kit: Get a rod between 8.5 and 9 feet long that is a #6 weight rod. While beginners may buy a cheap pole, do not skimp on buying good fishing line, Mercer said, emphasizing that one should purchase tapered fly line.

"A crucial point when getting into fly fishing is to go someplace where someone can explain tools of the trade. It sounds self serving, but it really helps," Mercer said, referring to the information a customer can get from sales staff at the Fly Shop as opposed to a department store.