It’s been fun fishing on the Lower Yuba River the past
couple of weeks. I really enjoy sharing the rhythms of the river with my guests
and improving their skill set. If you want to catch more fish on the Yuba, hire
a drift guide as you will cover more water, learn the go to flies, and the
indicator rigs that constantly produce. That’s great and all, but what are you
really learning to be successful on your own? My approach to guiding the Lower
Yuba River is so much different as it is from a walk and wade perspective,
where deciphering hatches and the clues that Mother Nature provides to usable
information for the common fly angler. Reading water, proper presentations, casting,
the best access, river history, local flora and fauna, flies, fish handling,
the best flows, hook sets, fighting fish, and special leader formulas for every
application known. I take pride in my trips, and not once in the last 23 years
of guiding have I woken up at 4am and said “I don’t want to go to work today”. I
really do love it.
Flows have been stable, right around 1,370 cubes, which is
good as the trout can set up some long term homes and feeding lanes. Speaking
of which, check out my last blog post HERE on explaining the nuances of foam
lines. Fishing pressure has increased, and some days are downright silly. I see
way too many anglers racing upstream to try and beat the next guy, when they
are passing up some really good water. Oh well, my approach is to slow down,
and if need be, my guests and I will clean up the wake of their mess that they
left behind. All types of rigs are working right now but if want to play the
dry fly game, you can take your time getting to the river ‘cause those heads
and rise forms don’t even appear until after 12pm.
So, what’s on the surface menu? BWOs, PMDs, Brown Duns, and
Skwala stones. In the last week I’ve been observing more with my guests and
helping them identify when a hatch is about to go off (it’s all about the song birds),
the different species of mayflies, and trout behavior. The mayfly hatches have
been really short, about 20 to 30 minutes, a little longer on cooler moist days
as it takes longer for the mayflies to dry their wings from emergence and be
able to fly off – Trout like that, they can take their time eating. One key to
being more successful is to actually watch what specie of mayfly an individual
trout is eating. With 4 different
aquatic insects to choose from, it varies. Here is an example; yesterday my
guest and I were fishing multiple foam line/feeding lanes in an area, and there
were about eight different fish rising consistently. We were close, like 10
feet away so you could see every detail – To be honest it was incredible! Most
of the fish were eating BWOs, but a few ignored them and would only take PMDs.
There were Skwalas and a few Brown Duns circulating in a Merry-Go-Round foam
patch, and the fish ignored both of them. Just plain weird. Trout behavior
never ceases to amaze me. A classic “Masking Hatch” was happening, where other
aquatic insects mask what most of the trout are really eating. To complicate
matters even more, they can switch to a different preferred food item at any
given moment. This is what trout fishing is all about – Solving the ever
changing riddle.
Not many Skwalas out yesterday as it was too cold and not a lot of abundant sunshine. They chose to hide out under the cobblestones until a better day. They sure do like it warm. I’m amazed at how many anglers do not see them crawling around or in the drift. But then again you need to be on the water often to pick up the subtle clues and train your eyes to be able to pick up on those particular variances. When it comes to that, I might as well be an Osprey. I just see the surrounding conditions of such so clearly – it’s all about putting in time on the water, and I’m very fortunate to be able to have those skills, and the time/job to hone them. I want to help other anglers though, and why I created affordable workshops to help increase a fly angler’s skill set.
On February 12th I will have a Skwala Workshop on
the Lower Yuba River. You’ll learn identification from male to female, habitat for the nymph and the adult, where and when they hatch, plus other rivers that
hold good populations of them, emergence behavior, egg laying behavior, trout
response to the hatch, recommended equipment, leader formulas, flies,
presentations, and a highly informative handout that covers everything within
the workshop. $150 per angler, limited to 4. You’ll walk away after the workshop with a clearer
understanding of the Skwala hatch, and how to be more successful when plying
the water. Shoot me an email if you want in: baiocchistroutfitters@yahoo.com
It looks like we are getting some real precipitation this
week, with rain, snow, and below average temperatures. We’ll see what
transpires with the flows, and just have to wait and see how much falls from the
sky. Feel free to contact me with questions, it’s that time of year when I have
a little more time to answer emails (ha ha! up at 3am this morning to do so and
get caught up!). Put the resource first, give back, help a newbie, and I’ll see
you on the water…
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