It’s been over two years since I’ve last fished Putah Creek. From the reports that I’ve been reading for the past few years it seems like the creek really blew up with crowds. It’s not a secret that Putah Creek has big fish in it and with it being the only quality trout stream near the bay area it’s the closest option folks have to fly fish for trout.
Although Putah Creek has seen an increase in fishing pressure over the years veterans of the creek continue to catch fish while newbies scratch their heads trying to figure out. The overgrown blackberry bushes and deep high flows tend to deter away casual anglers allowing those who trek off the beaten path to find areas where fish hold. If you think outside the box and put in the time to learn the creek you will eventually figure out how to outfish the crowds and have a spectacular Putah Creek visit.
Summer is usually a tough time on Putah Creek due to high flows but experienced Putah fly anglers prefer it due to the lack of crowds. The vegetation is at its peak in the summer making getting around the creek super tough. The high +400CFS flows make the creek deep and sketchy to wade in as well. Stay out of the water as best you can and use high water tactics such as fishing the soft stuff and using long leaders with heavy splitshot.
My purpose for visiting Putah Creek was to field test some nymphs that I’ve been working on. I explored a bit and sighted a bunch of fish this visit however they were extremely spooky and didn’t take. I managed to hook a few fish this trip but only landed two. I throat pumped one of the trout I landed to figure out what they were eating this time of year and found a diet of BWOs, black fly larvae, midges, and daphnia. The daphnia, zoo plankton that appear like tiny shrimp, really surprised me because they are more commonly found in a stillwater trout’s diet rather than a stream dwelling trout although I’m sure they would eat them if they had nothing else to eat. Daphnia are near impossible to imitate with a fly although some fly anglers have done well fishing bright blob patterns that represent a floating pod of daphnia.
In addition to a nymphing rod I also brought along a streamer rod to try and see if I could hook a few on a Hero Sculpin. Using my go-to versileader set-up I had three strikes but didn’t hook any. I’m sure if I had stuck to streamers the whole day I would have eventually found a good streamer eater.
Those big Putah Creek trout still need to eat!
