I grew up in Northern California, in a part of the state that has an abundance of places to fish for trout and other species. My passion for fishing started on a vacation to Hat Creek when I was around eleven. We stayed in these picturesque cabins right at the base of Mount Lassen, a spectacular volcano that’s tip is 11,000-feet above sea-level. Hat Creek emerges from underground springs not too far from where we were staying. It was on these hallowed waters that I realized just how much I loved to fish for trout. Throughout the years, we made many more trips up there, and on each excursion, I would focus on learning all that I could about subtle presentations and keeping myself as stealth as possible – Hat Creek’s trout are extremely spooky.
Another favorite haunt of mine while growing up was Clear Creek. It is located below Wiskeytown Lake in a large canyon. I would hike down and spend many days fly fishing by myself; I usually fished there alone because most of my friends and family didn't like the walk down into the canyon…or I should say the walk out. I really enjoyed the challenge of this fishery. The fishing was often tough, and many times I'd find myself climbing up cliffs or having to literally swim to get to the next spot. Through the years, there were also many other streams and rivers I fished in northern California, like the McCloud River, the Sacramento River (which has some similarities to the White River Basin fisheries), the Trinity River, Upper Battle Creek (which was another of my favorites) and several other spots.
We also did a lot of fishing on Lake Shasta. My family owned a small bass boat, and my grandfather and I would spend a lot of time on the water fishing in that vessel. My absolute favorite memories of those experiences were in the spring when there was enough water to go way up the Pit River Arm from the lake in the boat and then drift back downstream catching trout and bass; you never knew what you might hook into on any given cast.
There were also many opportunities to fish for sea-run fish. On the Sacramento River, we would fish for salmon when they were in the system. The Trinity River and Lower Battle Creek are known for steelhead. Looking back (it seems funny now) we would get mad when we hooked a ‘pesky’ salmon on those rivers because we wanted to catch a steelhead so badly.
I ended up going to a junior college a little further north from where I grew up and the campus was at the base of Mount Shasta. What a beautiful place this is and very majestic; try looking it up on Google if you haven’t seen it before. I played baseball there, and in my spare time, I fished many of the high Sierra Lakes and streams in the area.
After junior college, I went to Sacramento for more school. It was there that I got into ‘Jeeping’. My buddies and I would build up our Jeeps and take them on the Rubicon Trail. This legendary trail starts on the west side of the Sierras, goes up over the mountain range and comes out at Lake Tahoe…what an amazing experience to go on that ride when I was in my 20’s.
Later on in life, I really got into bass fishing, and my brother in law and I would fish the Delta, Folsom Lake, Beryesa Lake and Pardee Lake. The community that my wife Shelley and our two boys, Jordan and Joshua lived in had three lakes available that were around 800 acres altogether. Motorized boats aren’t allowed - only electric motors were permitted, so I put together a little bass boat. It was made from an old aluminum vessel, and I built two decks onto it; one in front and one in back with a foot-style trolling motor. We had a great time out on those lakes that were just a few minutes from the house. Both my boys learned to fish out there, and I remember when my youngest was just three and he caught his first bass by himself. It was a 4-pounder…there is really nothing like those California reservoirs for huge fish.
About five years ago, my wife and I started talking about leaving California for awhile, and about that time, my wife's parents invited us to go on a vacation with them to Branson, Missouri because they were thinking of moving there. So, we went with them and fell in love with the place. We visited Faith Life Church and really enjoyed it. When we got home, we started watching their services on line and realized that this type of wholesome place was where we wanted to raise our kids.
I had no idea how good the fishing would be in the Ozarks. Honestly, I thought I would have to travel to Colorado to do any decent trout fishing, but boy was I surprised to find that people from the Rockies actually come to the Ozarks because of the big trout, year-round fishing and unique water. We live close to Table Rock Dam, so within five minutes, I can be in the water fishing on Lake Taneycomo. I met Jeremy and Summer at Roaring River State Park, a small spring-fed trout fishery about 40 minutes from Branson, and we have been good friends ever since. Over the last couple years or so I have really started studying Jeremy’s entire Web site. The information there coupled with being able to fish with him has increased my productivity and knowledge exponentially, and he has given me the confidence to be a part of the guide team.
Moving to the Ozarks was a wonderful decision for my family and I. Hopefully, I’ll see you out on the water soon.
Tight Lines,
Darren Taylor
Darren Taylor is a guide associate of Jeremy Hunt and TaneycomoTrout.com For almost the last five years, Jeremy has taken Darren under his wing, and rarely will you see one of these guys on the water without the other if neither of them are working. Below is Darren’s self-composed biography, and as you will be able to surmise after reading this is that Darren has a lot of diverse experience. If you come to the Ozarks for a fly fishing trip, and Jeremy is not available but Darren is, do not worry. This guy is a lot of fun to fish with, and he is most definitely a ‘thinking man’s’ guide.
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