Lower Yuba River Update

Some good news concerning the Lower Yuba River came this morning as the flows were nearly cut in half at 12am dropping down to 2,104 cubes. When I saw the graphs at 6am while drinking a thick cup of Joe, I made plans to get a firsthand look at the conditions of the river. Surprisingly all the puddles on the south road had ice on them as I made way getting first tracks and making observations at Long Bar and Miner’s Corner. First off the clarity of the water is looking better at two feet max. With current cold air temperatures and even colder air moving in, there will be little snow melt resulting in minimal runoff. We need the mud cloud that is hovering in Englebright reservoir to pass through for better clarity conditions. I did a quick seine in the drift this morning as well and there were small numbers of baetis nymphs #18, and midge pupa #22 in the sampling. Flipping rocks on the side water revealed some scouring, especially on the outside bends of the river. Look for conditions to improve in the weeks to come. The last 3 weeks have been torture for me and others not being able to fish on the Lower Yuba River. It’s time to play ball. Swinging dark sculpin patterns and salmon fry with a RIO 3ips Versitip would be my first choice, and dead drift nymphing a big stone with a S&M trailer would be my second option. See you out there…