Got rain? We sure don’t. The weather patterns for precipitation are looking really bleak. According to Bryan Allegretto of Tahoe Daily Snow we will see much of the same nice weather with a few weak systems moving through in the weeks to come, and the first real chance of a storm maybe at the end of the month. Hard to say what will happen when you forecast into the fantasy range. The Lower Yuba River has been extremely busy with anglers, and now that upstream of the bridge is open, it will hopefully spread people out a little bit.
I’ve been fishing and guiding in the upper section and you
can really tell a difference with the aggressive eating behavior of the trout
not seeing anglers or flies for months. They are very receptive to your
offerings right now. The flows out of Englebright dam have been stable at 930
cubes. Storm flows may dictate additional releases, but it’s going to take
quite a bit of rain to do such as the ground is parched. Many runs and areas on
the Lower Yuba River do not fish well with these flows. It’s easier to cross
the river at the current levels now, but a good flushing to mix the pot up
would do wonders. Fall colors are blazing right now too, absolutely beautiful!
Yuba Master and long time guide, Frank Rinella hit the jackpot on the opener above the bridge on December 1st. Look at that athlete! Frank is heavily involved with fisheries conservation for the Yuba River and volunteers his time on the board of Directors for Gold Country Fly Fishers and Fly Fishers International. He is a wealth of knowledge on the Yuba River, and a good dude. Photo by John Simms.
Fishing remains to be good. It helps to be the first angler in a known fish pot where they have not seen flies since the day before. Make sure to be on your game when you do such as you’ll receive takes right away. The fish downstream of the bridge have seen plenty of beads drifting by them so they are not as receptive as the fish way above the bridge. Mottled natural roe and shades of orange are still the top producers for my guests and me, along with some custom paint shop beads. Still some salmon in the system and some newer redds as well.
Check out this blog post on the current situation of “The State
of Yuba River Salmon” from my buddy Tom Cannon of California Sportsfishing
Protection Alliance here: https://calsport.org/fisheriesblog/?p=3409
My dad who was one of the founders of California Sportfishing Protection
Alliance, and the executive director for over two decades, saw this coming in
the late 80's. He had incredible insight on the problem from studying huge
volumes of historical data including hatchery programs, releases from central
valley dams, and how our state and federal agencies interact with each other
(if at all). He called it way back then. We are just using band aids for the
problem, and it's never going to heal, it’s also now infected (hatchery fish
and wild fish producing offspring). More people in the state equals more water
for human consumption and less water for the fish. Still though, we should
never give up on good water regimes, improving a degraded habitat, and more
funds for enforcement of the current fish and game laws (poaching). Enjoy what
we have left, and appreciate it. Fish as often as possible and take the time to
look around at the natural beauty all of our rivers, streams, creeks, and
stillwaters provide. I just don't see it getting any better. I hope I'm wrong.
Long line Euro nymphing remains to be the best way to get fish in the net for my guests and I. The river is in a transitional state right now with fish the resident trout seeing fewer eggs in the drift and more aquatic bugs. Baetis and pmd hatches are getting stronger, but they have been inconsistent with a daily rhythm, and numbers of them. Still though, I’ve seen plenty of dry fly eats in the past two weeks and a good reason to bring along a dry fly rod already rigged up and ready to go at a moment’s notice. For sub surface flies, rubber leg stones in coffee/brown #8-10, Hogan’s S&M (baetis, pmd) #14-18 and his Red Headed Stepchild #14-18, San Juan worms is flesh and red, beads, and Red Copper Johns. On top you’ll want baetis patterns in both emergers and duns #18-20, and pmds #16. Go smaller if you get a refusal.
More than anything, a perfect drift is essential. Fly first, drag free, and in the correct feeding lane, or foam line makes a big difference. The rainbows are fat right now and extra strong with all that salmon egg protein in them. Red hot runs too. Check your knots and rigging often, you’ll want a clean and reliable system when that big athlete finally eats your fly.
If you want to really understand how to fish the Yuba on
your own, including the stealth factor, rigging, flies, presentations, long
line Euro nymphing, specialized dry fly techniques, and entomology, shoot me an
email at baiocchistroutfitters@yahoo.com,
or you can try me at 530.228.0487. I’m all in on sharing the knowledge to
increase your skill set for a more productive time on the Lower Yuba River!
See you on the water...
No comments:
Post a Comment