Putah Creek, Yuba River

The Green River Turns Brown & The Yuba Remains Gin Clear

by Matt
Brown River

Today I wanted to fish Putah Creek at winter low flows however when I arrived I was shocked to discover that the green river had turned brown! After that disappointment, I drove to the Yuba where conditions were the complete opposite; bright and gin clear.

From the information that I could gather online there are two theories of why the creek was lowered from 200 CFS to 40 CFS within a day. Theory one is that the flows were lowered so that the Sonoma County Water Agency could clean the canals and theory two is that this was the time to turn down the faucet due to agriculture season ending. Putah Creek is no stranger to fluctuating flows but why is it blown out?

Just Chocolate

Here is my hypothesis of why the creek is blown out.
The Wragg Fire burned nearly all of Sonoma county’s side of Putah Creek leaving the ground ashy and covered with soft dirt. On Friday night and Saturday morning the valley experienced it’s first true bit of fall rain. It might have been the rain and ash mixing together that turned Putah Creek’s usual green to brown. I could smell the stench of ash and water as I hiked around access 3.

Or could be the runoff from the canal cleaning?

Confirmed: Sonoma County Water Agency has lowered the flows to clean the canals.

Honestly I don’t think the fishing will get any better if we continue to get on again off again rains and low flows, therefore I’m going to call it quits on Putah Creek for the rest of the year. It’s been a good one!
Hopefully one less angler off the water will help these fish cope with these crappy conditions.

Bright As Can Be

Yuba River
The Yuba River is still tough. What was suppose to be 80 degree weather felt more like 90 degree weather out there and despite the Yuba getting some rain on Saturday, the water is still gin clear and low. In addition to these tough conditions, I had the luxury of fishing during 10-15 MPH winds. Extremely frustrating!

Yuba Biggie

The day ended with two bows landed. One small, one big.

Yuba Smallie
Feather River

Fly Fishing The Feather River Parkway

by Matt
Feather River Parkway

The Feather River Parkway is a relatively new recreation site on the Yuba City side of the Feather River. The Feather River Parkway opened in 2013 and continues to provide a safe and clean area for river recreation. This was my first time visiting and fishing the park.

The Feather River Parkway is about a five minute drive from my apartment; quick and easy. Although I was skeptical of driving on a road that crosses the levee, the signs directing to the Parkway assured me that this place was legit.

Parkway Map

The Parkway consist of a big parking area, several hiking trails, and a nice gazebo area. I felt safe to leave my car parked in the parking lot which to me was important considering the area. The Parkway was pretty clean with little signs of homeless people vandalism.

First Fish = Largemouth

Armed with my 2wt, I started fishing in a marshy area where I found several bass holding. My first fish of the day was a nice largemouth that put a pretty nice bend on my little rod. Immediately after I landed my bass, there was a small boat that decided to low hole me after seeing that I had caught a fish. These guys literally anchored twenty feet below me.

What do you do to anglers who low hole you? You low hole them back! I got out of the area I was fishing and began fishing thirty or forty feet below them. For about an hour and a half they watched without a single nibble as I hook and landed a bunch of smallies and spotties.
If your not catching fish why not fish somewhere else? You’re on a boat and you have access to the whole river why stick around here? Beats me…

All Day Smallies

Obvious structure is obvious. The levee is full of areas where fish like to hold. There are quite a few bass along these areas, although mostly smaller fish they aren’t stupid. The colder water is making them lethargic so a slower presentation with a few twitches is working the best.

The only way to hook up on these bass is to sight fish for them. They will suck up and spit your fly out in a blink of an eye if you don’t set the hook.

Lots Of Fishes

I figured out that fishing pressure is what turns these fish on or off. Certain areas will fish better than others due to this factor alone.

There a few people who call the levees home so be alert when wandering around out there.
I’m okay with people being homeless, I just don’t like the fact that they leave trash all over the place. Here’s to good karma!

Clean Up Karma
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Keep Calm and Fly Fish™