Keep Calm and Fly Fish

Summer flows on Putah Creek are tough. I’ve been attempting to learn where the trout hold during the summer on Putah Creek and this visit I covered water from the Monticello dam down to Access 5. From now on I will be calling it quits on Putah Creek at 700 CFS.

The previous week I had visited Putah Creek the flows were around 630 CFS. This visit the creek was cranked up to 700 CFS. It appears that every ~100 CFS rises the creek about 3-6 inches. I learned this the hard way after I stepped into a spot where I could usually wade in and my waders started to fill with water. Not the best way to start the day… After slogging around in waders for a bit I opted to just wet wade in shorts and sandals. This was more comfortable than wet waders however it also was not the best idea because my leg and feet got pretty beat up by all the berry bushes and weeds.

I checked out the spots where I had caught some fish the last visit and noticed that although there were still fish there were a lot less of them. I hooked four fish and landed two of them the biggest being about 20”. It appears that the fish were only taking midges.

I hiked and covered water throughout the day checking out all available access spots. About 80% of the creek was too high to fish and spots that looked like they should have held fish (nooks, crannies, soft seams, etc) didn’t yield any. As I was making my way around the creek I spotted a Putah Creek beast in soft water that looked like it was +25”. Unfortunately it spooked into deeper water before I could get the chance to cast to it.

I ran into two guys that were interested in fishing the Putah Creek at access 5. Apparently the ranger they spoke to told them they could keep fish at access 3. I kindly iterated that all of the creek is catch-and-release only. If you are ever unsure about the regulations make sure you reference the DFW fishing regulations book. Respect the law and most importantly respect the fishery.

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!