A Native Northern Californian with 49 years of hands on fly fishing for trout, Jon Baiocchi carries on the tradition of sharing the knowledge and the passion passed down from his father, a fly fishing hall of famer, and a legendary voice for saving California fisheries for over 40 years. Jon’s home is the rich flora and fauna of the foothills to the Northern Sierra. Fly fishing, guiding, public speaking, tying, writing, and teaching. The Baiocchi family legacy continues...
I have two spots open for my "High Water Tactics" workshop being held on the Truckee River on April 21st. You'll learn Short Line Nymphing and Streamer techniques that are effective on all western style rivers. Leader construction (materials included), rigging, fly selection, water to target, guided instruction, and a riverside lunch. Also included is a comprehensive high water handout for future use. Price per angler is $150. To book your spot, please call me at 530.228.0487 or email me at baiocchistroutfitters@yahoo.com Sharing the knowledge and giving back is important to me, I hope you can join me for a fun day of learning.
The lower Yuba River was fishing really well with the
continued success that I have been getting my guests into for the last few months,
then heavy rain slammed the northern California region and the river blew out
big time. On the 14th the Yuba got up to 7,627 cubes, while Deer
creek reached 2,859 cfs adding a whole bunch of muddy water. Typical with this
type of storm, Englebright spilled over and the river has been running high
ever since and currently flowing at 4,737 cubes. Just like last year I’m rescheduling
a bunch of trips, I just want to thank my guests for understanding that Mother
Nature has full control of the situation.
So let’s recap the conditions on the Lower Yuba River just
before the blow out. Skwala stone flies were in the phase of waning, there were
still adults in the drift during the late afternoon, and of course the fish
were still aware of them. Strong hatches of PMD’s and the trout were on them. A
few March Browns, seemed like there was more the first week of March, but you
know how every day is different. Little green stones were out, a really cool
and relatively unknown stoner. A little bigger than a yellow sally, with a
medium green color in a size #12. The neatest aspect of this stone fly is that
it mostly emerges mid-stream, and not on the rocks. I learned all about this
bug years ago on the Middle Fork Feather River where it typically hatches in
May into June. Yep, conditions were awesome, and my clients still were not
using nymph rigs; Confidence and dry flies, with the total visual experience.
We are going to get slammed again this coming week starting
on Tuesday with heavy precipitation. You can see in the flow predictions for
the Yuba River (above) that it will be running even higher. Records are going
to be broke after this next storm, and March of 2018 will be the snowiest one
on record, and beating overall monthly snowfall of January 2017. 6 to 8 feet of
snow fell from the last storm in the upper elevations, we got lucky this year.
Speaking of high water, in the April issue of California Fly
Fisher I wrote an extremely informative article on “Tactics for High Water” It’s
a recap of last winter and how we relearned to fish gigantic flows with Short Line
Nymphing, and Streamers. You’ll learn about leader formulas, equipment, water
to target, techniques, and flies. The article is definitely a keeper that you
will be referring to over and over. Check it out. Looking forward to getting
back on some moving water and good hatches, seems like it will be later than
sooner…
In
the last week the flows came up dramatically on the Lower Yuba River during and
after our biggest storm of the winter season. The river topped out at 3,188
cubes which is a perfect flushing flow with no harm done. Deer creek ran as
high as 1,870 cfs and as always pumped in a lot of dirty water. Currently the
Yuba River is at 980 cubes and there is just a tinge of color, ideal conditions
for sure.
Much
warmer weather today, with highs near 70 degrees and a slight breeze. It’s definitely
spring time in the central valley and foothills. Trees are leafing out, different varieties
of wildflowers are beginning to bloom, and there were new songbirds and wrens
patrolling the banks for food.
Also lots of western fence lizards buzzing around too, and the
tell all of spring – Pipevine swallowtails. Fishing pressure is moderate at the
more popular locations, but if you’re willing to cover some ground, you can get
away. Even though I have a slight case of the flu, I had to get out of the
house, and it did so much good for the soul. Glad I did because the fishing was
so good.
The
Skwalas were out in force today, and they love this current warm weather. They
move around much quicker too. I found one good size orgy under rocks with about
9 players. The stoneflies were in the drift too. I have not noticed any sign
that the hatch is waning, in fact I found fresh shucks today during my
observations.
From 1 pm to 3pm there were so many different bugs out.
March Browns, PMD’s, Pinkies, BWO’s, 3 different kinds of caddis, and midges.
My guests and I have still yet to use a nymph rig in the last 47 days. Keep in
mind we are starting to fish at 11 am, but if an angler were to show up
earlier, an indo rig would be a wise choice. More and bigger fish are being
caught, which is great to see. I found my first steelhead redd in a side
channel today, it was fresh, but nobody was on it.
Prime surface feeding habitat for trout, back eddies and foam lines.
Fly selection – Nymphing; Squirmy worms in flesh and red,
Jimmy Leg stones (black, brown, and mottled yellow and coffee) #8-10, Pheasant
Tail Flashbacks #14-18, Copper Johns (copper, red, olive) #16-18, Hogan’s S&M nymph (olive, brown, tan)
#14-18, and Hogan's Red Headed Stepchild #16-18. Dries; Unit Skwala #10, Morgan’s
Double Dutch Bug #10, March Brown Sparkle Duns #14, PMD parachute #16, Pinkie
Loop Wing #16-18, and BWO Hackle Stackers #16-18. Steamers; Alevins #12, Black
Bunny Leeches #8-10, Olive Slumpbuster #6-10.
There is more weather showing up in a few days with a weak
system, then into next week a stronger system moves in. We are supposed to
receive up to 4 feet of snow in the higher elevations over the course of the
next three weeks. We’ll take it. There should be periods of fishable conditions
in between storms, so make sure to get out there. See you on the water…
