I have met some of the most amazing people through fly fishing. Paying forward all the knowledge and lessons I have acquired over my life is worth sharing. I continue to learn something new every day on the water. Fishing makes me happy and sharing it with good like-minded people is what it's all about. Life is short, smile each day, and have fun, hopefully near water.
The original “Beast Fleye” hat designed by Al Quattrocchi is back by popular demand. Proceeds from each hat ($5.00) will go towards “The Bob Popovics Memorial Scholarship Foundation” to benefit students pursuing a career in environmental science, hospitality, or agriculture. This hat is 100% cotton, constructed from brushed denim, and has an adjustable brass fixture for universal sizing. It is a limited edition (only 12 hats for sale) Wear it proudly, knowing you will support a great cause in BobPop’s name. (Fly in photo was tied by Scott Stryker, and is NOT INCLUDED)
Zino bendoQ gets luckyCarl with his first fair-caught bean!Jim Solomon with birthday bean.Zino geting it done with tough conditions.
It’s been a wild summer. The wind in early August never quit in the afternoons; we had fluctuating swells and side currents. Lots of sand crab beds and lots of scattered fish. If you found the big crab beds and holding structure, your odds were seriously increased in hooking fish, simply because they would be concentrated in one area, and odds were you would get bit. Corbina are not honest fish; they grab the fly when they feel like it. Maybe you piss them off, and it’s a reaction strike, or perhaps they are thinking it’s a live sand crab and they are hungry? We will never know, but that’s what makes this game one of the most challenging in the surf. Important note: We only post fair-hooked Corbina on this site; everyone fouls fish including us, especially when they are concentrated in groups. It is very easy to accidently run into one with your fly, but they are immediately released sans photo. Don’t believe everything you see on social media!
The best feeling is getting one to eat the fly in the corner of the mouth or sometimes inhaled into the back of their throat. That’s an accomplishment. Something to celebrate with a photo and remember. There are many outings I don’t catch a Corbina, but I always learn something, and as long as I see fish and can cast to them, I am having a great time. My morning is often made by watching my buddy hook up or seeing a total stranger catch one on the fly, fair. I still think these fish are one of the hardest to catch on a fly, so the skunk or stripe is always going to be part of this game. If you like consistently pulling on fish, this game is not for you. But if you want to become a better angler, one who values patience and determination, this is your game. I can’t get enough of it, I’m a sick man. LOL -Al Q
PS: if the water temps remain in the seventies the next tide cycle we be worth fishing, there is still a good volume of fish in the system. We have been getting a few on the pink merkin \ holy moley flies. good luck!
Look at that smile.Hook up!Measured at 20 inchesStoke was high!A proud momentFair-caught on Q’s pink Surfin MerkinQ spots a fishWaiting of that magic windowOwen, Leo jr. Q & TraceMy buddy Colin showing the boys how it is done.
Well what can I say, I love it when a plan comes together. There’s nothing more rewarding than sharing your knowledge with young people. We need more passionate young anglers in this world to carry that fly fishing torch forward. I was so fortunate to have three amazing trout bum anglers with me this morning. These kids were all pretty good fly casters, something you need to perfect to excel in fly fishing. They didn’t have much experience fly fishing off the beach though, let alone sight casting for corbina, one of the most difficult ways to land fish on a fly. This was a new game with different challenges. But they were passionate, focused and listened closely. Corbina are not honest fish, they eat a fly only when they want to. I preficed our beach session with this is not an easy task, it is one of the hardest things you will ever attempt in saltwater fly fishing. I am here to teach you guys how to play this game, what to look for, learn how these fish move up and down the beach, where to cast a fly, etc. CATCHING ONE WILL BE A BONUS!
We got to the beach early. It was a Saturday and a busy beach day, so we all met up at 6:30am, which gave us enough time to survey the typography of the beach, see the crab beds and with the bottom of the tide creating a large wet flat, give us enough room to spread out and practice our casting. We were all set; we had a game plan. Now we waited for the fish to show. I knew they would be there around 8am, so I told the boys to be patient. I showed them the seams they would ride to get to the crab beds. I pointed out nervous water. They started to see a few corbina here and there, and they were all getting excited about what I described as beginning to happen in real time. At around 8am my buddy Colin who was helping me out hooks up to a beautiful fish and lands it showing the boys that this difficult task was possible. In the meantime they are all bumping into fish but they are unbuttoning, thats ok, they are in the game, their flies are in the right places and we are seeing lots of fish. Own hooks up and breaks one off. They corbina are aggressively moving toward the beach in groups, tailing and swirling right in front of the boys. It is the magic window which can last up to a half an hour. I’m just hoping one of these kids connects, when all of a sudden Leo Jr. yells, “Im on!” I began coaching him through he fight, not to have any slack in the line, he fought the fish like a true champ. He had it on for a while, it gave him a real good battle. After what seemed like ten minutes, we slid the fish onto the sand. First thing I check is if the fish was fair-hooked and it was. A fair-hooked fish is one that eats the fly, not hooked in the side or tail. We measured it, took a few pics and got her back in the water to fight another day. What a great morning. The stoke was high. Mission accomplished! True gratitude on my behalf to witness something so special. All the boys are now hooked on Corbina sight casting, mainly because they realize the challenge was high and the reward great. –Al Q
Rex with his second beautiful sailfish on flyFirst sail on fly dunkEnjoying the showOn the teaserPatrick with a beautiful first sail on flyBoatside leaderFirst sail on fly dunkYellow SnapperPatrick with a needleNice Cubera Snapper landed by RexSmall skipjack free jumpingMullet snapperOne of 12 roosters caught the last dayRock SnapperIncredible coastlineEnd of the lineMorning at the dockThe carriers waiting to enter the Panama CanalView of Panama Cityflight over the Darien rain forrestBaked Alaska, a favorite of Ray Smith when the lodge was called Club de Pescaone of a throwback from the 1960sHanging with the military and my homies, Bear Holman and Jared CyrThe river next doorA good day is when you run out of sppecies flags and you fly sprite cansJack CrevalleFind the frigates, find the fish
Another amazing adventure at Tropic Star Lodge in Panama is in the books as a participating member of The Legends of Fly series, commemorating the life achievements of the great Florida guide and angler, Stu Apte. This was my second year here and it just keeps getting better. Stu was responsible for bringing light tackle techniques in 1964 to the Club de Pesca when the club was owned by Ray Smith, an oil tycoon. Stu still holds two of the longest-standing IGFA records from the lodge. A 136-pound sailfish on 12-pound tippet and a 58 pound dorado on 12-pound tippet. The fishing in Panama is really special. I was so honored to share a boat with my buddy Rex Ito from Los Angeles and Patrick Hollister from Seattle, WA. Helping these guys achieve their goal of landing their first sailfish was very humbling for me. We spent the first three days offshore chasing billfish and the last day inshore exploring the species list by trolling live baits and throwing popper and rapalas. We are still dialing in the inshore fishery on fly. There are so many great opportunities for multiple species inshore on fly especially the roosterfish. This is one of the premiere saltwater locations in the world. I believe it holds the most IGFA world records than any other destination. It is a five-star operation from the minute you land till you check in your bags an the lodge. If you are serious about catching quality billfish, dorado or yellowfin tuna on fly I highly recommend traveling here as a bucket list destination. –Al Q
Fair-caught this bean this morning during that magic window that I often talk about, it was a ½ hour of incoming, tailing fish very close to the wet sand. Text book Corbina 101. The casts were maybe fifty feet. Had the fly on the kitchen table, stripped through a group and one grabbed the pink surfin merkin. It was promptly released after a quick pic, so it can fight another day. – Al Q
Come join me and Jim this coming Saturday, May 31 at the Pasadena Orvis store for an in-house discussion / slide show & fly tying session, as we dive into the world of the elusive Corbina and demystify the secrets to catching them on a fly, off the beach, through sight casting and blind vicinity casting. Bring lots of questions, we will try to answer them all and tell a few stories in between. Looking forward to seeing some new faces and having fun… I will sign some books as well Cheers –Al Q
Did you ever get the wind knocked out of you? Last Thursday, we lost one of the last of the fat-tire cowboys—Larry Thane Acord, he was 76 years old.
Larry lived many lives. He was a bush pilot in Alaska. He repossessed airplanes. He raced the Baja 1000. He rode motorcycles with Steve McQueen. He served as a Navy corpsman. He led ski patrols, saving lives in avalanches. And he was a master craftsman who could build anything from scratch.
The last few years of Larry’s life were tough. Doctors gave him ten years to live—thirteen years ago. He outlasted that prognosis like he did everything else, with grit and humor. He even wore a T-shirt to his oncology appointments that read, Hard to Kill.
But the hits kept coming. He lost the love of his life, Marilyn—his high school sweetheart—just over a year ago. He faced numerous health challenges, and to top it off, he was displaced by the Palisades fires. Lately, he had been living with his good friend John in Santa Monica.
This past Thursday, I called to check in on Larry. I just wanted to hear his voice, make him laugh, maybe grab lunch. I knew things had been hard, but I never truly worried—he was tougher than nails.
When the phone was answered, it was John, his very close friend. I asked where Larry was. He paused, then told me Larry had passed—just ten minutes before my call. He had climbed up on the roof in the Palisades to clean the gutters. We’d all told him it was a bad idea. He fell and died on impact.
It took me a few days to process the shock. It didn’t seem real. Larry was invincible. This wasn’t supposed to be how his story ended. I asked Larry once to describe himself. He said, “I was never the golf club, I was always the golf ball.” Yep, Larry was always fearlessly putting himself out there to have adventures, be the best he could be and help people along the journey. Not a bad life.
I’ve come to peace with the fact that he’s with Marilyn now. He’s no longer in pain. And while his loss hurts deeply, I’m grateful for the incredible impact he had on everyone lucky enough to have known him. He was a true inspiration from a generation that never complained, always worked hard and loved his friends. Love you and will never forget you pal. –Al Q
The great Steve Rajeef and QAl Q & LBCC president Tom OlsonThe cover of the 100 yr. brochure designed by Al QThe next generationThe cake!A beautiful drone photo by Piero F. Guinti courtesy of the Long Beach Casting Club
It was quite a dedication this past weekend for the historic Long Beach Casting Club in Southern California. I was very honored to take a very small part in this monumental achievement. There are not many fly fishing clubs in the west that have turned 100 years old. Ever since I came to California back in the late 70s, I can remember visiting this club to watch the amazing casting champions compete from around the world in trout accuracy games, distance casting, and bass plug accuracy. Being part of this celebration was very special for me, kudos to all at The Long Beach Casting Club for upholding its great fly fishing history and putting on such a classy event. Here’s to the next 100 years! –Al Q
PS: I did do a nice article on the club’s history in the latest issue of tail magazine entitled “100 Years Young!”, check it out!
original Bowman Bluewater logo70s vintage Hang Ten inspirationNew 70s Surf Vibe
Conway came to me and said he wanted a retro color palette similar to the 70s surf vibe. So we refreshed the logo and moved away from the original blue background. I channeled my inner Endless Summer. The result is fun interpretation and that hit the mark. These will become patches that will be on some hats in different colors. I believe Conway will make shirts too. There is a square version as well. Reach out to Conway at Bowman Bluewater for more info!
Early bean report. I have to admit I was not optimistic about the state of water quality for this year’s fishing season, due to the fires and domoic acid levels, but Mother Nature can be resilient. There have been lots of dead sea birds, dolphins and sea lions washing up in the surf recently; its very sad. Today I witnessed a dead garibaldi on the beach, which was a first for me. With all of this going on, we are seeing a nice number of inshore halibut being caught right off the beach, which adds some hope.
So on a positive note, this week we began to see lots of sand crabs show up on our local beaches. There are some corbina beginning to move around in shallow too. Best to target these fish on fly during the minus low tides right now due to the larger surf we have had recently in the South Bay. The 62-degree water is still a little too cold for them to be kamikaze on the sand crab beds like we are accustomed to seeing during the warmer early summer months but never the less they have located the crab beds at low tide and a good presentation may get it done. Even as they begin to stage in the deeper troughs behind creating waves, blind casting likely looking areas adjacent to their exposed food source on low tides can produce this time of year. The fish in the photo was caught on a blind cast. When the weather and water temps stabilize for a few days even at 62 degrees right now, the fish will settle into a pattern and eat. Pretty soon the water will warm up and it will be game on. Those 67-68 early summer water temps usually signal in the official corbina season. Tight lines, but not TOO tight –Al Q
flies, sand & surf 