Next Monthly Club Meeting & Program

Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018
The Gardens at Heather Farm, Camelia Room
1540 Marchbanks Drive, Walnut Creek

Doors Open 6:30 p.m.
Program Begins 7:30 p.m.

Fly Fishing Mexican Bass Lakes, with Trent Robert Pridemore

Mexican Bass Lakes, particularly ones created by the damming of rivers on the western slopes of Mexico’s mainland, are considered to be some of the best trophy bass lakes in the world. They were relatively unknown to fly fishermen until about nine years ago, when anglers started to fish the lakes with fly rods and bass bugs. These fly fishermen make the trek south because of prodigal numbers of large, healthy, and hungry Florida-strain largemouth bass that fed on Threadfin shad, tilapia and langostina in the most amazing bass habitat ever seen. 

Biologist, conservationist and author Trent Pridemore knows these lakes. At our next meeting, he will discuss fish biology and the unique habitat, cover, and forage that produce these fisheries, the best time to book an outing, the necessary equipment, and his thoughts on international angling travel. Though this is a presentation on an exotic angling destination, the fishing lessons he will share are equally applicable at home as our spring bass season approaches.

In addition to superlative top-water angling at these Mexican lakes, where bass blowup on poppers and baitfish patterns cast to shore, anglers enjoy the “Mexican Experience” in the scenic foothills of the fabled Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range east and north of Mazatlán. Accommodations range from fish camps to quality resorts. Authentic regional cuisine, and unparalleled service and amenities add to an angler’s enjoyment and comfort. Exotic birds, ducks, flamingos, iguanas, cotaties, and other wildlife can be seen by fishermen working the shoreline and offer unending photographic opportunities. A bonus is the unique experience of throwing top water bugs in partially submerged villages and cemeteries where fish cover might be the walls of a flooded barn, casas, corral fences, or in shade behind crypts and tombstones in flooded burial grounds.

Trent resides in Grass Valley and Carnelian Bay, Calif. Educated in field zoology at University of California, Santa Barbara, he worked as a timber cruiser in Humboldt and Trinity Counties, and, after receiving a doctorate at University of California, San Francisco, the Air Force posted him to the Philippines during the Vietnam conflict. Trent’s zoological background stimulated an early interest in fly fishing that led to his involvement in angling conservation. He was Project Chairman and Biological Consultant for the Little Truckee River Trout Restoration Task Force, which led to the creation of the California Wild Trout Program. In 2006 he orchestrated Regulation Proposal Changes that resulted in Wild Trout status for the Truckee River and its tributaries between Trout Creek and the Nevada state line. He was also involved in the implementation of winter angling on the Truckee and Yuba River systems and is a recipient of the “Black Hand” conservation award. 

Trent has written for The California Fly Fisher, Sierra Heritage Magazine, and the Tahoe Maritime Museum. He has made guest appearances on radio and television, and has taught classes on fly tying, fly casting, angler’s entomology and currently lectures on the California fly-fishing circuit. He has traveled extensively pursuing his interest in stillwater angling for trout and bass. Trent also formed the Angler’s Education Service to expand his lecturing and educational programs. He is a member of Sierra Grape Growers and Vintners Association and is on the Board of Directors of Bear Yuba Land Trust.

When not chasing bass, trout and other species, Trent is working on a memoir collection of literary angling stories called “Chasing Rainbows…Tales of a Well Traveled Fly Fisherman” and an outdoor themed cookbook titled “Recipes from Jack Rabbit Hill,” which includes outdoor cooking material featured in his California Fly Fisher column “The Foraging Angler.”