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
Feather River

Fly Fishing the Feather At Shanghai Bend

by Matt
Shanghai Bend Rapids

Shanghai Bend is a well-known access to the Lower Feather River in Yuba City. This area was once known to have had several beautiful wide waterfalls that were form from clay deposits. However in 2012, heavy floods caused the falls to collapsed and in effect reshaped the falls into a narrow rapid. The fishing remains good despite the collapse and crowds of anglers continue to visit Shanghai Bend during the peak of the striper, shad, and salmon run.

This was my first fly fishing visit to Shanghai Bend. After scouting the area a few months back, I  found that the river had an abundant amount of bushes and trees that would make backcasting difficult to perform. My switch rod would be the best choice to fish section of the Feather. After finishing my errands for the day, I packed my switch rod and drove to the Shanghai Bend access which was only five minutes away from my apartment.

Shanghai Bend Parking Lot

This section of the Feather is more seasonal as fishing varies from which anadramous fish is in the system. In the spring from March to June the stripers are in town eating everything in sight. In early summer from May to July the shad run is hot and a lot of fun. And in late summer to fall the salmon followed by the steelhead make their run up the river to spawn. From my visit, I found that nothing was really in season right now although there were a lot of spotted and smallmouth bass that were easy to find and catch on a fly.

Rapid Smallie

My day started fishing above the falls where there was a big pool before the tailout. Although the water was warm, I had some hopes of hooking into a salmon this visit. It didn’t happen but I did manage to hook into a nice 4# spotted bass after dicking around in the water for small fish.

Watch Your Step!

After two takes with no hook ups, I found an odd looking fish that I’ve never caught before. The fish looked like a bluegill but it had a crappie coloration. Some kind of perch? I dropped my switch rod to the side and tied some tippet to the end of my wading staff. While attempting to catch these small disc shaped fish, a gang of huge spotted bass showed up. These big fish could clearly see me so my hopes of hooking into one was probably pretty low but hey what the heck? I grabbed my switch rod and threw my fly into the water. They weren’t interested in chasing my streamer but once it hit the bottom they were on it. I watched as my streamer was inspected and finally sampled. I set the hook! Perfect timing!

Fat Spotted Bass

After hooking into the biggest spotted bass I’ve ever caught, I started fishing downstream. First the falls then the run that it flowed into. I managed to hook a nice size smallmouth at the falls and a few small spotted bass in the run.

Little Spotted Bass

Overall a productive day. This section of the Feather in the Yuba City area definitely seems like the spot to be in terms of fishing. I will be returning soon to Shanghai Bend to micro tenkara fish it in hopes of catching my first perch.

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Keep Calm and Fly Fish™