One Dream to the Next - From California to Florida

Getting ready for a day on the water with my 4-piece, 4-weight Orvis rod - equipped with a double taper line - a perfect choice for dry fly or nymphing, whatever the water, bugs and fish presented as an opportunity for the day

I loved living in the mountains of Northern California. I always looked forward to fall and winter, especially the cold, snowy weather and the gloomy-grey, rainy days. Living in the mountains, I looked forward to the smell and sound of the wind as it would blow through the pine trees on my property as I would look out over the views of Mt Shasta and Black Butte.  But, you know what I loved even more?  Experiencing these things while I was fishing in the river.

Nymphing is a great way to catch fish in the waters of the Upper Sacramento River. The bugs are deep in the water and that is where the fish will feed when there is no active hatch on the surface. Drifting a 9 foot leader with another 7-9 feet of tippet and scraping the bottom.

My house was located a few miles from one of my favorite fishing spots - Cantara Loop (yes I am an avid fly fisherman and have been for the past 20 years).  My best days would be spent wading hip deep through the depths of the rocky river, seeking out the perfect spot where the bugs are active and the trout are actively waiting to bite my perfectly presented fly as it drifts right by their nose.  I lived for the moments where I would cast out and my inner voice say, "get ready for a fish" as I would feel a slight tug on the other end of my line, the reel would engage, and that is when I knew it's "game on".

I'd set the hook and within a matter of seconds, I see my line disappearing downstream as the fish took off with my fly, hook embedded trying to escape. 

I would then spend however long it took playing the fish in a game of tug-a-war, tiring him out in the white water as I'd strip my line and lead him gently back to me, careful not to snap the tippet as I get him into my net.

As I unhook my catch, I would always stop to admire the beauty of one of God's creations for a brief moment, making sure to resuscitate him (if necessary), in preparation for his release into the frigid waters of the Upper Sacramento River, where he can be caught, played, enjoyed and released again.

Elephant ears create a nice shady spot for trout to hold. I would cast a dry fly and drift it right into those shady regions and BOOM - instant playtime as a fish would slam my fly.

But this is not an article about catch and release fly-fishing for rainbow trout. Granted, that would be a more pleasant subject. No, this is about what caused me to leave California. 

I left behind everything I knew and loved. My whole life, my family, home, my welding/woodworking shop I had just finished building, the 4 seasons, the fly-fishing, the snow I love so much, the cold crisp fall mornings – the mountains and the river.  

I left it all behind.  I had to.  I knew that my life and all I loved and enjoyed about California living is diminishing before my eyes due to the leftist ideology held by most of those running our beautiful state. My personal heaven, with its pristine beauty with my false sense of freedom would not and could not be sustained for the duration of my life. I knew that what I loved about living in Mt. Shasta would only live on as a snapshot in the scrapbook of my life, a memory held within my mind, whether I stayed or left. It is being actively destroyed by bad decisions, one pen stroke at a time in the Sacramento Swamp by people who have no understanding of what it is they are ruining for the world and for me.

One of my favorite spots - the boulder to the right is where I would stand behind as the fish would come down the river. The oxygenated white water coming from upstream leads down into a deep pool where the fish liked to hold. This is the site where I caught my last fish before I moved to Florida.

What really set off the alarms and awoke me to the sheer stupidity of California politicians/bureaucrats was when I first became a fly fisherman and one of my favorite places to fish was on the chopping block as it was actively targeted by environmental obstructionists using their favorite weapon of choice - the EIR (Environmental Impact Report). Gumboot Lake, a remote, alpine lake, once stocked with rainbow trout would now be placed on a "blacklist" and would not be stocked until an expensive and time-consuming EIR could be made. This was when my political awakening began and was my first indication to the fact that the environmentalists were nothing but high-priced extortionists that had too much influence and control of political money in the state.

Gumboot Lake - a pristine alpine water where I spent a day in my float tube, watching the trout through the crystal clear water swim around my legs. Another amazing memory and beautiful day!

It wasn't a hard decision to leave; despite all I would have to leave behind. Of course, there were variables in my personal life that made the decision to leave a "no brainer" also, but it is these factors that led me to the realization that I had to leave California that I wish to share with you.

I saw the writing on the wall years before I decided to pack up my truck and head into the sunrise. As I kept hearing Dan Bongino say to those of us in CA and NY to "get out" while we could and while I took his words seriously, I figured that since I was safely tucked away in the mountains of California where the residents are predominantly conservative or at least founded in common sense, I should be ok. Right? Wrong. I was so wrong. I'd soon come to realize that the destructive policies of the Sacramento Swamp were affecting those of us who lived rurally, away from the cities and the crime and despite our moderate/conservative votes. I saw we had no voice and no representation. The big city progressives and coastal elite, along with the progressive cancer that has infected our entire political body was metastasizing into the most rural and remote areas of California. The progressives are dictating how we lived from their big city apartments and palatial coastal homes with no idea of what it is like to live rurally. Their Net Zero climate fantasies along with their collectivist mindset is infecting and disrupting the rural way of life in every corner of the state. We are left powerless, living under the boot of unelected bureaucrats and NGOs, handing down edicts down from their agency offices that aligned with, promoted and supported the progressive agenda of destruction.

Before the election of 2024, everywhere I would drive up north, I saw predominantly pro-MAGA/Trump 2024 flags everywhere around where I lived. This one pictured below is my favorite as it speaks to the predominantly held opinion of those who live in the area.

It was soon after the 2024 election that I began making plans to move, and I did.

In the words of Dan Bongino, is it "bad enough yet" and my answer is, yes, yes, it is.

There is a long list of reasons why I left. Below, I list the major factors that led to my final decision:

• PG&E Rates Based on Income - California implemented income-based utility rates through a fixed charge structure, as mandated by Assembly Bill 205, introducing income-graduated fixed charges for residential customers. These charges are added to electricity bills regardless of usage and are tiered based on household income to address rising electricity costs and promote equity, particularly for low-income households.

• Reparations for people who were never slaves in a state that never had slaves - The fact that this committee was even assembled highlights the lengths California politicians will go to virtue signal our tax dollars right down the toilet.

• The Well and Water Issue - California is implementing measures that indirectly influence water well usage, particularly for domestic wells, through regulations aimed at sustainable groundwater management and conservation. In other words, get ready to pay to access the water coming out of your well and to have your usage monitored and capped.

• Permanent Water Restrictions - no need to continue the drought hysteria, we have made our water restrictions permanent. Never mind that California politicians allow for the waste of a significant amount of annual rainwater to flow freely into the ocean due to inadequate stormwater management infrastructure. This wasted water could supply a substantial portion of California's water needs if captured and treated, but instead, CA politicians would rather cry drought as they seek for new ways to restrict our water. usage, banning "decorative grass watering" (whatever that means) the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1572, which phases in a ban on decorative grass watering in commercial, industrial, and institutional areas permanently. The 15 Minute City projects -RHNA - Regional Housing Needs Assessment - State mandated housing strips local jurisdictions, of control over zoning and development and decision making. Builders Remedy – State Sanctioned Housing -  Part of the state's Housing Accountability Act, Builders Remedy (a "legal tool" that allows developers to bypass local zoning laws and build housing projects, even if those projects don't comply with the city's zoning ordinances or general plan, when a city lacks a state-approved housing element) kicks in if a city fails to have a state-mandated affordable housing plan.

• Fires - Radical environmentalist ideology coupled with bad policy have led to 10,000's of acres, 100+ structures destroyed in the 32 significant fires since 2016-present day.

• The Land Grab - No need for euphemisms, we will just name it the 30x30 plan and hope that the average person won't take the time to look and realize what this really is.

• Banning Gas Powered Equipment - Because California politicians would never want to miss an opportunity to appear more woke or progressive than any other state as they virtue signal to the climate catastrophist cult.

• SB 9 increase density limit exclusionary zoning - a manufactured "solution" to house the democrat politicians recently imported class of voters (aka illegals) while paying no mind to the fact that this decimates our home values, overcrowding our neighborhoods by increasing the population density/traffic.

• CARB (California Air Resource Board) - Unchecked Power and Gas Prices - The unelected, power-hungry climate hysterians (yes, I know that is not a word, but I like it) at the California Air Resources Board impose an additional $0.68 per gallon on California drivers in an effort to further incentivize us to abandon our gas-powered vehicles and buy EV's.

• Surveillance State – Encourage more surveillance as we disable and defund the police, increasing crime and terror on the streets - the public will be begging for our increased surveillance "solution" in no time.

• Drug Tourism and the Profitability of Homelessness - Why solve the problem when the crisis is profitable?

• Free Healthcare for Illegals - An example of the California taxpayer funding their own demise - the demand put on an already overburdened medical system has resulted in decreased quality of care for California residents.

It wasn't any one of these policies alone that I would consider the "final straw". It is the totality of them together. What we refer to as the "bigger picture". Meaning my future and my ability to survive financially while living in relative peace is the central issue. As I consider all of this together, it only leads me to one conclusion, the progressives, who have a stranglehold on Sacramento, worship control and power. They achieve this through the subversion of our rights through every little social issue they can use to exploit. Their weapon of choice is fear and despair. There is no hope for freedom in a future built upon the type of centralized power that California Democrats worship.

Like this post I saw on social media from one of my favorite fellow Californian accounts.

I used to share his opinion about staying and fighting for my state, but after considering the horrible policy decisions, our disgrace of a governor, the lack of any voter ID system and the democrats' stranglehold in Sacramento coupled with their fever pitched obsession with economic destruction, I knew it was time for me to cut bait and leave.

There is nothing left that I value to stay and "fight for". If the rest of the state can't stand up with any effect and the progressives are allowed to continue their assault on our freedoms, finances and our way of life, I can't afford to stay and fight. I've thought a lot about what matters most to me, what I value in my life and what I want for my future. At almost 53 years old, I do not want to spend my remaining years exhausting my resources, abandoning my security and stability fighting a system that promotes everything antithetical to what I believe and my success. I want to live where I have a chance to prosper and survive.

As for fly-fishing, I know the rivers I love don't exist in Florida and that is ok. That is not to say that I am ok never fishing again, I'll just have to travel. I am grateful for the experiences I had back home in my local rivers, and I appreciate the fact that I had the ability to fish as often and as much as I wanted to in the most beautiful places, just 8 minutes down the road from my house at the time. It was truly a gift.

However, there is so much here where I am now in Florida that I have grown to love and enjoy. It isn't the mountains or rivers of Nothern California, but I don't want it to be. My new home has its own special beauty and allure.

I am on to my new chapter, living my best life and I have no regrets. I finally feel like my future is bright again, in so many more ways than just financially.