I feel like I’m getting old and these knees just aren’t like they use to be. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore most of California’s great fly fishing streams and will continue to seek new adventures however now at a much slower pace. With life’s priorities having been shifted and time being limited I plan on sticking to streams within the hour to get my line wet. I’ve been visiting and fishing waters that are near me and had some time to check out Putah Creek. It’s been about five years since I’ve last fished Putah Creek and I was excited to see what’s changed.

Putah Creek is one of my favorite places to fish provided it not being crowded. My favorite flows to fish the creek are between 250 – 450 CFS. The flows have been high since February with no relief until recently mid-April. I manage to catch the flows at around 330 CFS which was perfect. Some new things I noted were new boulders around the Cold Creek run, the game trail below Staircase being overgrown, and a closed off parking area at access #3. Overall not too many changes.

I like to start fish the section around the bridge and make my way downstream throughout the day. I find that the fish are most active between 8am – 1pm with peak activity around 10am – 11am. I fished on a Monday and was lucky enough to have a lot of the creek to myself. There were people holed up in the popular spots but I’m familiar enough with the creek to be able to find productive areas. The fishing the was great. I was able to find fish in all the fishy spots and caught them on a combination on BWOs and midges. Most of the fish were in the 10″ – 12″ range with the fish of the day at around 16″. A lot of people judge the health of a body of water on the biggest fish it can produce but I say finding fish in a range of sizes is the true indicator of great water.

The flows on Putah Creek are starting to fluctuate now and will soon be in the 600 – 700 CFS range as the summer rolls in. Fish can still be caught during the higher flows but limited access makes it a tricky fishery.