Yuba River

Homeward Bound From The Lower Yuba River

by Matt

I’ve been fishing the Lower Yuba River for several years now and have explored the majority of the river below HWY 20 bridge to Sycamore Ranch. The water below Sycamore Ranch has always interested me however exploring it would prove to be difficult on foot. All the years spent on the Yuba left me wondering what the rest of the river looked like and how it fished.

Last year I bought a packraft and was finally explore and fish the 2 mile section below Sycamore Ranch. This section appears to be less pressured as most boats take out at Sycamore Ranch and walk-in anglers have to hike a ways back, if they can at first cross the river, to return to their vehicle. Daguerre Dam, an outdated low head dam constructed in 1906, separates the last 10 miles of the Yuba where it meets the Feather River between Yuba City and Marysville. The water below Daguerre Dam is well-known to have runs of striped bass and shad during the late spring and summer. Although I was late to the anadromous party it was never too late to explore the rest of the Yuba. My plan was to float from Sycamore Ranch, portage around Daguerre Dam, and drift all the way down to Mosquito Beach where home is only about 5 minutes away.

I calculated that the float would take me about 8 hours; about 5 hours to float and 3 hours to fish. I was mainly going to be targeting striped bass but downsized my streamer in hopes of enticing trout. I used my 8wt Echo Blue Boost with a Scientific Angler Sonar Line rigged with a small sculpin pattern for this trip.

I started the float at around 930am which was a lot later than I had originally planned. I quickly floated down to Daguerre Dam to make up for time and portaged below the dam for the first time. The water below the dam looked fishy but it’s illegal to fish 250ft below it. Low head dams are also one of the most deadliest structures that can be found on rivers as they create a powerful circulation of water that is next to impossible to get out of once caught in. There are several signs as you approach the dam warning you of the dangers that lurks a few hundred feet below. At the final sign the portage around the dam can be found river left.

I continued to make my way downstream and fished spots that I had marked previous that looked fishy. After a few spots I hooked my first fish and it felt like a good one. I was expecting the fish to be either be a pike minnow or trout considering how far upstream I was. Once I finally landed it I was surprised to find that it was a decent sized striper. My first Yuba River striper.

I hit a several more spots but didn’t get a single grab. The fish I observed were Sacramento sucker, pike minnow, and striped bass and I believe I may have also seen a pod of salmon that were making their way upstream. Overall I feel like the river was pretty barren fish density wise. It seems like the Yuba River is a restrict anadromous river with the exception of the famous resident rainbow trout population below Lake Englebright.

After about 9 hours of rafting and fishing I had floated about 10 miles to Marysville. My arms were dead. I had about 30 minutes left of daylight and decided to call in quits below the Shad Pad near HWY 70. At 730pm I phoned in my ride and made it home safe and sound.

This float was a fun experience and now I can officially say that I’ve explored and fished about 80% of the Lower Yuba. It wasn’t a tough float but definitely a long one. I plan on doing this float again in the summer when the shad and stripers are in to hopefully catch my first Yuba shad.

Black's Beach, Mission Bay

San Diego Summer Salt

by Matt

Fly fishing saltwater is one of the most unique experiences a fly angler can have on a fly rod. Similar to the different types of freshwater that can be fished such as lakes, rivers, and creeks, saltwater can be anything from the surf, lagoons, flats, and more. Of all the water that exists on Earth 97% of it is saltwater and 3% is freshwater therefore learning how to fish the salt is a good idea to make sure your rod is always bent.

Most of my experience fishing saltwater is along the Northern California coastline. The species that fly anglers target up here are striped bass, halibut, and surf perch. The water is colder and the swells are stronger making it a tough but rewarding fishery.

It’s amazing how much the coastal fishery changes as you head south. The fishery for Southern California begins below Point Conception and is home to many different species such as corbina, croaker, spotted bay bass, and calico bass. The water is much warmer and the swells are calmer often making the ocean look more like a lake. I’ve only had one opportunity to fish Southern California since I’ve started fly fishing and unfortunately the conditions were less than ideal. Note to self, fly fishing San Diego in February is not a good idea.

This summer I finally had the opportunity to fish the San Diego area again but this time during the peak of the fishing season. Water temperatures have a significant affect on this fishery and I’ve read that things really don’t get fishy until April when the water temperatures start warming up. My uncle who lives in San Diego and frequents the ocean tells me that the fishing season is typically from April to about October/November.

This visit to San Diego was primarily to go the Safari Park, SeaWorld, and visit family so I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time on the water with my fly rod. Out of the four days we were there I probably had about six hours of fishing time.

I spent one of those six hours fishing Mission Bay mid-morning on a rising tide. The water was incredibly warm at about 70 degrees and I was hopeful that this visit would be different than the last. I fished Crown Point Park and covered water walking south towards the bridge. I was using my Orvis Frequently Flyer 6WT with a full sinking line and a chartreuse clouser. In hindsight I should have brought a floating line with a few versileaders or an intermediate line to avoid snagging on the eel grass. I like to have my flies in the bite zone for as long as I can however due to my fly line sinking too fast I had to modify fly presentation with a faster retrieve.

Out on the bay I observed what I believe were bonitos crashing bait and stingrays combing the shallows. The tide movement was noticeable as I made my way around the shoreline. It wasn’t too long until I got my first hookup and landed my first spotted bay bass. These fish on the end of a fly line appear to hit like a snag and like to sit where they are until you strip them in. I caught two more fish within the hour and felt satisfied for finally figuring something out.

The following morning I made my way down to Black’s Beach to try my luck for corbina. I started the day before sunrise at the bottom of the tide and fished an incoming tide. The conditions I fished weren’t the greatest due to heavy morning overcast and the bigger swells due to an incoming stormfront. I walked a ways north of the beach to avoid fishing in the marine protected area and fished a few decent holes and rips along the way. Jacob at the Fly Stop recommended fishing an orange Merkins pattern to imitate the local sandcrabs. As the sun began to brighten up the morning I was able to observe all the creatures that were in the surf. The most abundant species I saw were stingrays that would slowly hover the shallows scavenging for food. I also saw guitarfish that ranged from a foot to at least three feet. It wasn’t long until I spotted the most prized fly fishing surf species of Southern California the gray ghosts themselves, the California corbina.

Having no experience targeting this species before I imagined them to be similar to bonefish. One of the factors that complicated my approach to targeting corbina was that they were surf fish and not flats fish. I didn’t know what kind of water or structure I needed to be in order to find a fish that would eat. Most of the corbina I saw were cruising parallel to the beach with the exception of ones riding the surf back and ones that I spooked. I was blindsided to learn how incredibly spooky corbina were. It makes sense why they’re so spooky due to feeding in super skinny water but I was not prepared to engage super stealth mode. I spotted several fish throughout my time on the surf that day however none of them were interested in my presentation. I did manage to snag and bring in a guitarfish.

One of the most important things I learned about the California corbina is that it isn’t an easy fish to target. One does not simply go out to fish for corbina and catch one. It looks like I’ll need to put some more time on the water in efforts to land my first. My approach for the next time will be walking the beaches more, finding sandcrab beds, and looking for fish that are feeding. I also purchased a copy of A Corbina Dairies from local fly angler Al Quattrocchi to learn more about their behavior and patterns. It may be awhile before I can get back down to the SoCal surf but when the time comes I’ll be more than prepared.

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