It’s been several years since I’ve fished the North Fork of the Feather River in the winter. The NFFR is one of the few streams in Butte Co where there is a section below Cresta Powerhouse that is open for fishing all year around. The fishing is by no means fantastic however it does offer some moving water to fish for those who’ve grown tired of the nearby winter fisheries.
The Pulga section is the most ideal area to fish the NFFR in the winter. The river access to this section has changed due to the reconstruction of the town and the Camp Fire. Although it doesn’t appear like Pulga road is closed there has been a lot of construction vehicles on it making it wise to look for access to the river elsewhere. After doing a bit of research on Google Maps I found a section along HWY 70 where I could access the Pulga section however it looked like it required a bit of bushwhacking. There is a lot of river on the NFFR that I still haven’t explored and I was excited to check out this new access.
The NFFR was flowing at about 280 CFS below Poe Dam which is a bit higher than I was use to when fishing this section in the winter. I typically fish the winter section when it’s below 200 CFS and ideally around 180 CFS. The wading is a bit easier below 200 CFS and I remember the river being crossable at certain sections as well.
After I rigged up my gear I bushwhacked through some willows, hopped over some boulders, scrambled through blackberry bushes, and waded along the banks to get to the the Pulga section. During the winter the trout in the NFFR are not in the fast oxygenated water where they typically found. Instead, they are stack up in the slower runs and pools. There was some pretty fishy looking water along the way that I attempted to fish but no one was home. The water was ice cold as it usually is in the winter with my guess being around the 40 degree mark.
Once I arrived to familiar waters I immediately began catching fish. I noticed that the river in the Pulga section had sunlight throughout the day whereas the area before was shaded due to the position of the low winter sun. My guess is that the water was a bit warmer in the Pulga section which made the fish more grabby. The warmer water might have also produced a better source of food as I watched BWOs hatch from about 1:30pm – 2:30pm. I found a honey hole that was just stacked full of trout and had a field day on BWO nymphs and emergers. I hooked over a dozen fish and landed a handful of them.
Although I do enjoy hooking a bunch of fish in a barrel I like finding them in spots where they typical aren’t better. I’m going to give it another month or two for the weather to warm up and fish to spread out before I head back to the NFFR.
