Putah Creek

Putah Creek Pride

by Matt

I feel like I’m getting old and these knees just aren’t like they use to be. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore most of California’s great fly fishing streams and will continue to seek new adventures however now at a much slower pace. With life’s priorities having been shifted and time being limited I plan on sticking to streams within the hour to get my line wet. I’ve been visiting and fishing waters that are near me and had some time to check out Putah Creek. It’s been about five years since I’ve last fished Putah Creek and I was excited to see what’s changed.

Putah Creek is one of my favorite places to fish provided it not being crowded. My favorite flows to fish the creek are between 250 – 450 CFS. The flows have been high since February with no relief until recently mid-April. I manage to catch the flows at around 330 CFS which was perfect. Some new things I noted were new boulders around the Cold Creek run, the game trail below Staircase being overgrown, and a closed off parking area at access #3. Overall not too many changes.

I like to start fish the section around the bridge and make my way downstream throughout the day. I find that the fish are most active between 8am – 1pm with peak activity around 10am – 11am. I fished on a Monday and was lucky enough to have a lot of the creek to myself. There were people holed up in the popular spots but I’m familiar enough with the creek to be able to find productive areas. The fishing the was great. I was able to find fish in all the fishy spots and caught them on a combination on BWOs and midges. Most of the fish were in the 10″ – 12″ range with the fish of the day at around 16″. A lot of people judge the health of a body of water on the biggest fish it can produce but I say finding fish in a range of sizes is the true indicator of great water.

The flows on Putah Creek are starting to fluctuate now and will soon be in the 600 – 700 CFS range as the summer rolls in. Fish can still be caught during the higher flows but limited access makes it a tricky fishery.

Yuba River

Another High-Water Year

by Matt

It’s been a while since I’ve done any good fishing and the last time I made a big trip was in the fall up to the Eastern Sierras. Unfortunately that trip was a was a bit of a bust and the window before the winter storms came sooner than expected. Mother nature did her job this winter with all the snowpack so it looks like we’re in for another high-water year.

The flows on both my home waters, the Yuba River and Feather River, have been high since the end of December along with many other tailwaters in Northern California so it doesn’t seem like I’ve been missing out on much. Blowouts and high flows tend to kill the Yuba’s good late winter and early spring hatches of skwala and march brown. Dry fly fishing is either extremely tough or non-existent making nymphing the name of the game. The new road closures on Hammonton-Smartsville and most recently Parks Bar Road is another reason the Yuba River isn’t worth trekking out to fish anymore. The fish there are still as feisty and beautiful as ever but you have to do a lot more work to find them.

Public access to the Yuba River is now limited to walk-ins below HWY 20 bridge and Hammon Grove. I’ve been anticipating public access closures on rivers and streams for several years now (because when does public land ever become more accessible?) and bought an Alpacka Raft that I could easily pack and carry. I feel like a raft or kayak is now essential for covering water on the Yuba unless you’re game for the hike. A mountain bike could work too but the large cobblestone rocks are a pain and potentially dangerous to bike on. At 6,000 CFS the Yuba River isn’t very accessible however I did find it somewhat fishable.

I fished around HYW 20 bridge as it was the easiest to access. The higher flows created a lot of good structure with different types of water to fish. The fish I found were closer to the banks of waist deep runs below the riffles. All of my fish came off of the rubberlegs stones which made perfect sense as I observed a lot of stonefly shucks in the water and adult golden stoneflies along the bank. I fished about three hours and went 2/3 which was pretty good considering the high flows. Flows on the Yuba will probably stay high until the fall so I won’t be returning anytime soon.

My time is now very limited. It definitely feels like my previous chapter of being a child-free trout bum has come to an end but with that comes a new chapter of father who takes his kids fishing. I’m still figuring it all out and hopefully all the kinks will be worked out this year so me and the kiddos can start catching some fish.

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Keep Calm and Fly Fish™