Keep Calm and Fly Fish

Breaking In My New TFO Rod

With a good flush from a winter storm the Yuba is fishing pretty good. I managed to sneak out with my Christmas present, a TFO Finesse 5WT, and tested it out on some fatty Yuba bows above the bridge. The river is sitting at 590 CFS and the conditions were bright and cold.

Parks Bar

The TFO Finesse casts like butter. With very little effort, my presentations were super smooth and delicate. How can it get better than this? I’ve been looking for a good dry fly rod for rivers and wider streams and this is it. Not only does the rod cast extremely well, it is also pure fun to have a fish bend it in half. I am ecstatic to add this rod to my arsenal.

Nymphs that worked this trip were primarily San Juan worms, BWOs, and midges. There was a nice hatch of BWOs at around 1-3pm but I couldn’t find any risers. From what I observed this trip, the recent storm was able to trickle in some fresh salmon. Eggs anyone?

If landing one fish on the Yuba is considered a good day by most anglers by that logic I had an awesome day.
The fish were still pretty concentrated in certain areas but the bigger fish were active. Quality over quantity this trip. Cover water and don’t stay in one spot too long.

18” Fatty

I was able to find some risers at last light the following day. They looked like they were eating on top but they ignored every drift that I threw at them. With less than ten minutes left of sunlight, I switched to a smaller pattern in hopes of hooking up. I couldn’t even see the damn size 20 fly and I had a feeling that it wasn’t floating. After a few casts with no luck, I slightly delayed my recast and a fish hit it. Emergers!
I swung my dry fly like a wet fly and got two strikes with one landed. I love it when I figure something out by pure accident!

Last Light Fatty

Solid 17” Winter Bow

During my recent outing to the Yuba this week I was really trying to figure out the trick to these winter trout. The water is very low this year sitting at ~580 CFS and without any winter blowouts, the fishing has been pretty lackluster. I haven’t gone home skunk but the fish are really concentrated in certain parts of the river at the moment.

A lot of anglers have been fishing the section above the bridge. The holes, riffles, and runs that I can usually pull a fish or two out of haven’t been very productive for me. I know there are fish there but I haven’t quite figured out what they want to see.

Blue winged olives both in nymph and dry form have been the ticket but I have been getting at few with a stonefly rubber legs pattern here and there.

Skwala Hype

During the winter season the fish will usually tend to hold in slower deeper runs. The more active ones right now seem to be running on the smaller side around 8″ – 12″. I’ve been finding the majority of my fish in the soft seams of faster water. They are grabby and feisty but again they are on the smaller side.

Lots Of Fiesty Dinks

I like to ditch the indicator when fishing the Yuba. I’ve caught way more fish high-sticking and tight-lining than indy fishing. The only time I pop one on is when I need to fish a wider run with a slower and even current. I believe that an indy-less presentation looks more natural as the flies get dragged by the current. In addition to a natural drag, being able to swing your flies after the dead-drift can also add more dimension to your presentation. Yuba bows strike hard so you’ll often feel it before you see it.
This is perhaps one of the things I miss most about gear fishing, fishing solely by feel which is much more fun.

The swing wasn’t very productive this trip and I believe it might have something to do with the water being low.

Two days later I fished below the bridge and found just what I suspected; quality over quantity. The weather was suppose to be much more severe but after taking a quick look outside and jumping the gun, it turned out to be a nice day with a bit of a breeze and overcast.

I was able to land 3/4 hook-ups and two of the fish netted were over 15”.

Good Start To The Day

This recent storm has brought up the flows on many rivers throughout the valley, sierras, and the coast. Hopefully this will add some color to the water and move some fish around. We need more storms like this, keep it comin’ El Niño!

Found A Lot Of These Bugs. But Will They Eat?