Lower Yuba River Fly Fishing Report 2/13/2018

Photo courtesy of Tony Bellaver, Alpenglow Bamboo Fly Rods

Cooler weather and a dusting of snow here in Nevada city on Monday morning, north wind had a bite to it as well. Making good upstream presentations posed major problems too, but a switch in tactics with a downstream fly first delivery solved the war against the wind. Flows have been stable for the most part on the Lower Yuba River and are currently flowing at 950 cubes making wading and crossing the river easy. Last weekend the river was packed with anglers, gold panners, and OHV enthusiast. Weekdays have been fairly quiet. The water clarity is ultra-clear and those rainbows are spooky and selective when it comes to dry fly offerings. 

You’ll have better success fishing water that is a little rougher as it masks your profile and mistakes, smooth flat water gives the fish all day to look at the intricate details of your fly and your presentation. Going on week 3 of not putting a bobber rig on for my guests, and there is no need to. One single dry fly or a dry/dropper rig is all you need. Those trout are looking up and placing themselves in major foam lines in the afternoon. Overall fishing has been good, but an angler needs to put in some observations, and work, to get results.

Skwalas are still active and the fish are keyed in on them. There are more PMDs in the mix and some fish actually prefer them over the big bug. A few Gray Drakes are out, and it seems the BWO hatches have been on the light side. The warm sunny weather of late has a more than a few caddis fluttering about, fruit trees are in blossom mode, and the honey bees have been busy. Whatever the land of extremes throws at us, I sure love my native Northern California.

I’d like to share a few tips that will help you out on the water with your dry fly game. First is line management, especially dealing with slack. During your drift, an angler must be aware of their line. You want the straightest line possible to your fly, often, just mending the first 10 feet of you fly line from your rod tip makes a big difference. Remember when it comes to setting the hook, you want to do so with the path of the shortest distance, which may entail setting to the left even though your fly is downstream of you on your right. Second, if your casting to an active rising fish and not getting any love, stop casting and rest them. Let the fish eat a few naturals and try again. If you have no results, go find another fish. You don’t want to spend all day on one picky fish, find the aggressive eater, and moving around and fishing many different water types will help with that. 

Give me a ring at 530.228.0487 and let’s prowl the banks. Conditions are at their best right now, don’t delay, and get out there. See you among the cobblestones…