Lower Yuba River Fly Fishing Report ~ Truckee WildStream Session ~ Christmas Gift Certificates ~ 12/19/2020

 

Brandon Hardy with a 23" lost Feather River fish 

It was nice to see a little weather push through last Wednesday into Thursday. I had a few hours of good rainfall here at the house in Nevada City, still a pretty wimpy series of weak systems though. The Lower Yuba barely came up in flows during it all. Yuba Water Agency did drop the flows down from my last report which is currently running at 839 cubes. Deer creek went from a whopping 6 cfs to 18 cubes during the storm. The ground is still pretty dry and it will take some heaver storms in succession to really saturate it. When that happens, we'll see more run off. It looks like we go into another dry spell with a chance of moisture near the end of the month.

Pressure has been heavy upstream of the bridge, my guest and I counted 18 anglers on my last trip up there, a mix of Yuba Drifters club members, and the general public. Because of all that continued pressure, the trout have wised up a little. A unique observation since I’ve been guiding the river the last 2 months is the increased number of Feather River fish in the Yuba system. You can tell these fish from the wild Yuba bows and steelhead by the adipose fin being clipped off. Personally I've caught 3 Feather River fish so far this fall. From 2008 up to this fall, I’ve caught 2 Feather River fish. I have no idea why there are so many of them in the Yuba right now, except the water must taste better.

Fishing remains to be decent, some days we have to work a little harder than others. We are getting most of our fish nymphing, long line Euro style. Stones, worms, baetis nymphs, S&Ms, Military Mays, and Copper Johns. I’ve been seeing some light bwo and pmd emergences, hopefully that will increase soon. We had much better mayfly activity last December. 

I’m also starting to see more salmon fry in the side water, so swinging alevin patterns will be a good way to go here for the next few months. Skwala nymphs are starting to pre stage in the idle side water downstream of major riffles. I saw my first adult skwala on December 26^th last year, so any day now. My best advice for getting more numbers of fish is to stick and move, and cover water. Unless you have a pod of fish rising in front of you, then ya stay put and figure out the riddle.

Truckee session

Last Monday I finally got out to fish with WildStream Ambassadors Jamie Jorgensen, and Shane Schuster on the Truckee river. I didn’t get to fish very long as I had some business I needed to attend to in Reno, but it was a pretty good session. #20 zebra midges were best for me, and as soon as the water temps came up a little, the fish were on the feed. Another thing, fish were stacked up in certain areas, mostly transition zones of riffles into a run/tail out. Thanks for a great time Jamie and Shane, and thanks for the custom flies too!

Looking for a great gift for your favorite fly angler? How about a Baiocchi’sTroutfitters Gift Certificate! They are good for trips, clinics, workshops, and tours – Use it any way you want! 

It’s super easy too, first, go here and print the certificate: http://www.baiocchistroutfitters.com/.../BT-Gift... Then contact me for the special authorization code. Next, pay for your trip here: http://www.baiocchistroutfitters.com/baiocchis.../ Fill out the gift certificate, and place under the tree. - You're done! 

Baiocchi's Troutfitters thanks you for all of your support for the last 24 years. Happy holidays!