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Founded in 1947, the Pasadena Casting Club is a group of fly fishing enthusiasts dedicated to the art of angling and casting, conservation, education, catch and release philosophy, and camaraderie through Club meetings, outings and events.
HomeJuly 2016

The Trophy Trout of Calvada

with Doug Oullette



7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 14th, 2016

Pasadena Casting Club Clubhouse & Pool
Lower Arroyo Seco Park



During the past few months, Southern California fly fishing club members are discovering that our home state waters have some of the best fishing found anywhere. And this July will add more proof to this premise.

We will learn of the great fly fishing available in what is commonly referred to as “Calvada,” the northeast part of California that also includes parts of our neighboring state, Nevada. The beauty of this area, the variety of exciting fly fishing, the size of some of the fish here and the specific strategies used to catch these fish will amaze and delight all who step into Calvada waters. There are rivers, creeks and stillwaters galore and we can dip into all of them . . . and not be that far from our homes in SoCal.

The person to guide us on this journey is Doug Ouellette who has fished for 47 years throughout the United States, Canada and New Zealand. His waters of choice include the Truckee River, the Little Truckee River, Knott Creek Reservoir, South Fork Reservoir and Humboldt River. Doug will show us some of these excellent fisheries, the types of fish found there, what food they eat, what flies and techniques they succumb to, how to read the maps and the water in these areas and, in general, how to have a truly memorable fly fishing experience.

Doug was born in San Jose, California and grew up in the oak tree covered hills of Morgan Hill, California. As a youngster, he scouted those hills, cattle ponds and mountain springs to find and study snakes, frogs, lizards and, of course, fish.

When he was ten, his family moved to Sunnyvale, California where his father became the athletic director and head football coach at Peterson High School. At 12-years-old, Doug spent most of his lunch periods in the school library reading and studying all the books and magazines he could find about fly fishing. When he was a sophomore, he wrote a thorough and well-researched report titled: Trout, The Thoroughbred of Fishes. (His biology teacher was so impressed, he filed it in his personal library.)

Doug has always gone fly fishing whenever possible, learning all he could of the habits and mannerisms of wild trout in the small spring-fed creeks, the rivers and lakes of the central coast mountains. He learned from, and was mentored by Hall of Fame fly tier Bob Quigley, stillwater great Hal Janssen and legendary nymph fisherman Charlie Brooks.

In 1976 Doug moved to Reno, transferring to Nevada Bell from Pac Tel and, in his free time, started concentrating on learning everything he could about the streams in this area. In 1985 he started presenting slide shows for the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) and continues to do that to this day. He retired from Nevada Bell in 2001 and started guiding in 2004. He is a Nevada master guide, a California guide and a Pyramid Lake guide, and can be checked out at www.Calvadaflyfishing.com. Doug is also a professional contract fly tier for “Umpqua Flies” with three patented fly patterns: Stonedaddy, Peaches & Cream, and Sweet Pea.

Doug explains that he absolutely loves to teach and share whatever he has learned about fly fishing. He lives just a few hundred yards from the Truckee River and has released several trophy browns and rainbows from this river. His most sincere hope is to pass on his enthusiasm and knowledge about his favorite waters.

Don't miss this great and informative presentation by Doug Ouellette on Thursday evening, July 14, at 7:30 p.m. at the Clubhouse along with a delicious dinner prepared by Paul Payan.