My good friend John Sherman hosted the 5th Simms Pro Day at the Sugar Barge on Bethal Island this past Saturday. It all took place on the door step of the massive California Delta and the event had a record turnout. There were over 140 registered Simms pros & ambassadors, both conventional bass anglers and fly angers present, including many Simms staffers from their Bozeman headquarters in Montana. It was quite the event and after party. Costa and Hatch both had displays. Simms and Hatch are represented by John in their respected California territories. Each manufacturer talked to us about their new product lines and the thinking /technology that goes into making their products superior. There were seminars on guiding, Simms products and manufacturing techniques, and using social media to help boost sales and your guiding business. It was my first attended Simms Pro Day, with a new family it’s been tough breaking away over the last four years, but I was glad to finally get there to see many old friends in the industry. I have fished the Delta many times in the past ten or more years. I took my friend Zino Nakasuji, he had never fished that area and I was excited for him to get the opportunity to land his first CA striper on the fly. Sherman arranged for us to fish with Ben Byng and his pal Steve Potter the morning of the event. It was funny when they saw OUR names on the email, Ben told his buddy Steve, “Hey we have a bunch of italians fishing with us, Zino & Quattrocchi, LOL. Little did they know Zino was Japanese. It’s HILARIOUS because I thought Ben was Vietnamese and he turned out to be caucasian, never judge a book by it’s cover, right? Anyhow we had a great time, lots of laughs and a very short window to fish due to the foggy delta conditions and the opening of bird season. Both Ben and Steve are monster fly tiers which made conversation easy, talking shop. The highlight of our morning was the great company we shared amidst the eery shotgun explosions and birds honking. Steve’s wife Linda had prepared an amazing Italian brunch which the guys kind of held a secret. After landing a few fish, it was time to take a break so Steve reaches under the seat and pulls out a woven basket that was covered full of freshly baked, focaccia bread. Then he busts out a large wooden wine box, slides open the cover to unveil four wine glasses, a bottle of vino and a plate of smoked cheese wrapped in italian prosciutto, are you kidding me? I am used to maybe a power bar, some nuts and a bottled water, if I am lucky. What an unexpected, but welcomed spread. I think Linda, who Steve said was of German descent, is in my book now as an honorary Sicilian. We felt like we were in the Brooklyn hanging out with the old gumbas from the neighborhood. Thanks to Ben and Steve for making our morning memorable and thanks to John Sherman for hooking us up with great people. We ended up with a handful of small stripers and a few black bass on fly, but it was the camaraderie, stories we shared and friendship forged that made our few hours together special, and thats what fly fishing is all about folks…

the launch at Sugar Barge, fogged in. iphoto by Al Q

beautiful eery fog bank in Frank’s Tract. iphoto by Al Q

Zino lands his first Delta pajama fish. Photo by Ben Byng

This is how they roll in the Delta. What a spread. Photo by Ben Byng

A happy Qman, feeling no pain in the Delta. Photo by Ben Byng

A little desert striper. Photo by Ben Byng