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By Dan Zambrano, April 26, 2010 6:00 am

Alright, go ahead and laugh but when I was a kid one of my favorite TV shows was the secret agent satire “Get Smart” starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon.

Now, what I probably really recall were the endlessly syndicated re-runs which aired about the time I was old enough to start understanding the point of the jokes and running gags that peppered the series but in any event, I can still remember abandoning the math homework and racing to the living room whenever I heard that distinctive “da dum da da…da” theme song.

Admittedly, Agent 86 (aka Maxwell Smart) was not on par with the suave, sophisticated James Bond of the big screen and his gadgets never worked the way the ones Q made but he was definitely more accessible via broadcast television and he did manage to foil the evil plans of the bad guys and win the affections of the stunning agent 99 in the end.

Besides, Max was definitely more in keeping with what might be attained by an awkward kid who lacked the fluid grace and animal charm of Agent 007 but who still had aspirations of saving the world and getting the girl.

Whatever the case, some forty years later, I will still catch myself uttering one or another of the trademark phrases from the show… much to the embarrassment of my bride and the befuddlement of anyone under thirty years of age to whom I happen to be speaking.

This past week, for example, had me muttering the phrase, “Missed it by that much” — one of Maxwell Smart’s pat exclamations, rather frequently.

On Saturday, My fishin’ buddies Sean & Ray and I took some folks down to the beach for some saltwater casting. Long story short, the action was slow. When I did finally manage to hook onto a fish it turned out to be a halibut – but it was a short one – so back it went. Missed it by that much.

On Sunday, my wife and I had to make an unscheduled maintenance trip up to the getaway house in Big Bear to address damage left in the wake of several winter storms.

As we pulled into the driveway late in the afternoon, about an hour before sunset, our neighbor and his daughter came strolling across the street with a stringer full of fat Rainbows, none smaller than two pounds. Turns out he and his little girl had just gotten home a few minutes before us after a smokin’ hot bite suddenly turned off. Missed it by that much.

On Monday, after a full day of hard labor we snuck off for a couple of hours of fishing at the lake but once we got set up and ready to roll, the wind kicked up and the bite turned off again. Missed it by that much.

On Tuesday, the weather took an even bigger turn for the worse so instead of a morning of fishin’, we high-tailed it off the mountain, arriving at the lower elevations just as the first flakes of a mid-Spring storm began to fall back at the cabin. Missed it by that much.

On Wednesday, I got a call from my Mom. My Dad had undergone a series of tests and while the doctors were concerned, he was gonna be alright… Whew, missed it by that much.

Someone once told me that baseball’s great “Sultan of Swat”, Babe Ruth, actually had a record number of strikeouts as well as his record number of home runs yet he is remembered for the later rather than the former. Both records required, however, that he swing away with all that was in him. The difference between fame and failure for him was only a matter of “missing it (or not) by that much”.

So it was that the events of the week got me to thinking and I resolved to keep gettin’ out there as much as possible and keep fishin’ whenever I can and keep lookin’ for those moments that take my breath away wherever I am so come the end of my days, I won’t be saying I missed the fullness of life by just “that much”.

I love this addiction called urban fly fishin’

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By Sean Fenner, April 24, 2010 11:10 pm

This Spring has started off with some very extreme weather conditions. It’s 50 and raining one day and 80 with bluebird skies the next. These conditions seem to have wreaked havoc on the Sunfish and Bass as I have yet to see signs of spawning from either species. We’ll that is until today. I headed out to one of my favorite Carp waters and since there wasn’t any activity going on, I switched over to the Greenies. I caught three fish bursting at the belly with eggs. This is a great sign and hopefully means that the bite will start to pick up!

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By Sean Fenner, April 23, 2010 11:14 pm

It’s a curious thing to be fishing with an imitation of the animal that is responsible for the most human deaths every year. That’s right Mosquitoes, and for the serious Southern California Urban Fly Fisher this pattern is a must. A good Mosquito pattern never fails to catch a few Bass, Carp, Sunfish, or Trout as this bug is extremely abundant from Lakes, to Creeks, to Ponds, to Riverbeds. You can almost always count on a few Mosquitoes being in the area and that means a sure pattern for catching fish. Check out The Trout Spot for a  selection and don’t forget to tell them that UrbanFlyVentures sent you.

“The Trout Spot“has been generous enough to give our readers a 10% discount on any purchases made on their site. Just reference the promotion code UFV at checkout”

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By Sean Fenner, April 22, 2010 11:01 pm

Sometimes Fly Fishing can lead to having an amazing experience. Watching a sunrise, a sunset, birds fly, dolphins roam, just enjoying this beautiful creation called life. Something that just feels right when you see it.

I had such an experience fishing at Seal Beach one Saturday evening. I got down to the sand,and right away I knew it was going to be slim pickings in the Surf. Guys were fishing the Jetty, people were playing in the waves, and kite boarders were ripping up the surf. All that equates to no fish, but still just some practice casting in the waves is an enticing offer to a “Dedicated Urban Fly Fisherman”.

About 20 minutes into my little trip I noticed a big fin riding a wave only about 35 feet out from me, and my first instinct was to yell out shark and to turn tail back to the lifeguard stand. When all of the sudden I could feel something hit my leg one after another not a bite just a hard tap. I looked down and I could see a huge school of fish boiling on the surface heading straight for the Jetty on the right side of me. That’s when I realized that I was in between a pod of Dolphins and their next meal. I slowly started backing up out of the water, while fumbling around trying to find my camera.

Now it’s not everyday that you get to see Dolphins up close a personal, and with that many fish in the water my stomach was in knots. The Dolphins stayed there feeding on the Mullet(I knew they were mullet from the one that washed up on the shore with it’s head still barely hanging on) for about 30 minutes, while I stayed on the rocks trying to get a decent picture. 

After a while  I found myself drawn to the sun setting in the west over the Peninsula. All the shades of red, blue, orange, and purple left me awestruck. I knew that this experience was going to be one of those stories that I tell my children one day, and at that moment I just felt calm and peace.

You never know what you are going to see out on the water, so get out your fly rod the next time your have an hour or two and hit up that little pond we call the Pacific Ocean!

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By Sean Fenner, April 20, 2010 9:07 pm

The California Department of Fish and Game has posted the list of the fishing spots that they will be stocking this week for Region 5-South Coast Region. Remember to practice catch and release as much as possible, pick up trash when you see it, and respect this resource so that everyone can enjoy it!!!

(Rainbow Trout)

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By Sean Fenner, April 18, 2010 9:25 pm

DIE FISCHE has become one of my favorite blogs to read. Made up of some great Panfish and Bass material sprinkled with the occasional Trout or two, this easy reading graphically awesome site has caught my attention and definitely deserves a spot on the blogroll. If you are a fly fisherman in Texas or just a fly fishing fanatic like me, you need to check this site out!

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By Sean Fenner, April 17, 2010 6:00 am

The other day I received a call from a buddy of mine that works with DFG and he told me they would be stocking over at La Mirada Park Lake within the next hour or so. He said I should go over and check it out since I was already off work, and I figured why not get out for an hour. I picked up my camera and drove up to park with my 5 weight in hand, just in case the fish felt like biting a fly. When I got there the truck was already dumping in the fish, and the bait fishermen were lined up along the edge with their powerbait in hand, those guys are like bloodhounds on a scent when it comes to stocked fish. I was amazed to see the Trout start on the bite as soon as they hit the water, and within about 30 minutes I had netted 4 or 5 Bows. These were some of the most beat up looking Trout that I have ever seen, and it made my heart ache to be on a clear stream catching wild Rainbows. But these genetic mutants are what keep many of the poachers and powerbaiters out of the sierras and local streams, so I guess it’s a necessary evil. It’s just hard to see such a beautiful species breed down like this!