Lower Yuba River Fly Fishing Report 1/16/2018 ~ Top Water Game Is On!

The perfect day on the water. We’ve all experienced a few, and when it plays out you wished time stopped so the encounter lasted forever. It could be a number of different scenarios that makes a unique day so special. Like a video on loop mode it plays over and over in your mind after the event is long over, and you can’t get enough of it. The 15th of January was one of those days. Current conditions on the Lower Yuba River have the flows back down to 1,070 cubes, and the water has some color to it with about 3 feet of visibility to it. Deer and Squirrel creeks are running fairly clear for the most part so the source of stained water derives from the upper forks of the Yuba River entering Englebright reservoir. 3 feet of visibility is all that is needed for those Yuba rainbows, if the food is drifting overhead, they will eat.  The fishing pressure was moderate above the Parks Bar bridge, yet so many anglers were lost in their approach. You don’t huck a bobber when fish are rising for five different bugs drifting among the currents.

The Skwala stonefly hatch has started, I saw a half dozen in the foam line today but with so many hatches of different aquatic insects, they rode the currents unmolested. It won’t take much time for those fish to figure it out. The Yuba River is a freak show when it comes to hatches, and it does not follow the annual seasonal appearances like a classic Sierra freestoner. PMD’s, BWO’s, Pseudos, and the grand finally – Gray Drakes were all present.

There were a lot of Drakes out and the fish noticed their presence. It’s awesome to see the bugs rejuvenate after the floods of 2017, they are so hardy and resilient. Yep, the perfect day, in all its glory. The weather had much to do with the outstanding conditions my guest and I witnessed today. Clouds at first, then a slight west wind poured in, and with it bands of fog. Mayflies love damp conditions. The sun would peek out from time to time, and the hatches would stop, but when the clouds came back, the bugs flourished once again.

It doesn't take much to move cobblestones. The last storm was enough to do so according to the picture above. This no name seasonal creek that enters the Yuba River upstream of the Toilet Bowl on the Yuba Drifters property dispensed a lot of material into the river. Enough cobblestones to cut the river's size in half and change the structure of the current run. Amazing.

My best advice for hooking into a few wild trout is to place yourself in a productive section of the river from 11 am to 3pm, dry fly in hand. If you spend enough time on the river you’ll figure out areas that have fish rising day in and day out. When approaching a pod of rising fish, make calculated presentations, and if the results are sub-par, quit casting and rest them. You may need to switch flies. What worked today may not work tomorrow. Effective dry flies today were Andre Puyon’s Loop Wings with accurate tails of micro fibbets, both in PMD and BWO versions, and for the Gray Drakes, a size 10 Adams parachute. 

For the Skwalas, the proven pattern of the Unit Skwala is my choice. So many commercial patterns for the Skwala stone are way too big. The female is much bigger than the male and often has a black iridescent egg sack hanging off its ass. For the color of the skwala stone, think of different tones of spicy brown mustard with a little olive mixed in. That’s the color. Hogan Brown is spot on when he labels the Skwalas as the most overrated hatch. It’s true because of the hype that comes with the marketing of guides within our industry. If you are experienced, then you truly know the game of the Willow fly. The same patterns I’ve listed for nymphing in the past month are still solid. For swinging, Black leeches, minnow patterns, and Pheasant tail softies would be my first choices.

We’ve got some much needed precipitation coming in this week, light rain at first with a stronger system coming in on the horizon. Snow levels will be lowering as well. Check the gauges, calculate your plan of attack, and be smart about your approach to active rising tout. Winter time on the Lower Yuba is truly about the experience. See you on the water…