Yuba River

Lower Yuba Fall Check Up

Mid-fall to winter is usually when the Lower Yuba will fish at its best. The river is still rebuilding itself from last year’s calamity flows so the fishing could either be a hit or a miss. Curious about what’s out there I took some time in the morning before work to see what I could find.

The flows on the Lower Yuba are at a stable and gin clear 1,000CFS. I started the morning at Hammon Grove and fished the riffle with a nymph rig. Just like the rest of the river this section was flatten out with little to no pockets for fish to hold in. I fished both sides of the riffle and couldn’t get a single nibble. The tailout above Hammon Grove riffle typically has a few salmon spawning in it but I didn’t find a single fish nor any signs of salmon in the area.

Empty River

The next spot I explored was the Aquarium. If there were going to be salmon anywhere in the river it would be at the Aquarium. As I hiked towards the rivers edge I stopped at the bluff overlooking the Aquarium and was surprised to find it completely empty. If this is any indication on river’s health then it’s going to be awhile before it starts getting any better. I fished around Miner’s Corner and despite how fishy the deep slots and runs looked I couldn’t interest any fish.

I’m going to leave the Yuba alone for the rest of the year so that mother nature can do its thing. I’m sure that if you were to float the river and cover more water you’d have a better chance to catch a few but that’s pretty typical. There were a few good signs I observed such as risers in the flats, stub-wing stonefly shucks on the banks, and aquatic insects hitching a ride on my waders. Here’s to hoping that the winter storms this year carve out some better slots in the river.

Yuba River

Scouting The New Yuba At Fall Flows

With fall slowly approaching the Yuba River is now at a stable 1,000CFS. These flows have revealed new areas that will likely remain for the next few months until the winter flows change things up again. I took the time to check out the section above HWY 20 since it’s been unfishable for the last ten months.

The river has completely changed above HWY 20. Much of the deeper slots have flattened out leaving shallow flat water in-between the three pool/riffle/runs in this section. This may limit where the fish will hold above HWY 20 making fishing below the bridge a better option. I flipped a few rocks to check out the bug life and although it’s still there most of the insects were tiny. It’s a bit of a toss up right now but if the fish return to this section the dry fly fishing in the flats will be amazing.

I’ve read that after calamity flows over 50,000 CFS the fish remaining in the Yuba River go through a cycle where they turn skinny. Last year after seeing high flows at 25,000 CFS we thought that this cycle would happen but the fish survived and remained fat and healthy. However this year with the flows reaching over 80,000 CFS it seems as if this cycle has begun.

I caught quite a few fish that fought like typical Yuba bows but they were all skinny. Some were longer than others but they all shared the same thin feature. I’m curious to see what the upcoming months will be like on the Yuba. With little to no salmon in the Yuba right now and only small thin trout to catch, the fall season on the Yuba this year isn’t looking too great.

The future remains uncertain…

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