Crowds

Jared_William · Newbie

Crowds

Bob Loblaw · Senior Member

Make sure you know where the redds are....they should be marked and if not they should be obvious. If you see big fish in shallow water, they are spawning. The fish will begin spawning soon and you don't want to go tramping around on top of fresh eggs or interfering with romantic fish. This is what to look for and avoid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSxU-RYUJ1M

You can fish Putah when the flows are high in Summer too. Fish the edges more. Different kind of fishing, but it can be done.

Start with the marked access areas and you'll see the beaten paths to the "good" spots. From there you'll learn the creek pretty quickly. Its not very long and there are only so many "secret" spots. that said its a very different creek summer and winter and needs to be learned all over again.

Fish deep and fish the smallest nymphs you have on 5-6x and make sure your drift is perfect. These fish have seen everything and aren't easily fooled.

Personally I quit fishing Putah when I see fish in spawning behavior and that's usually around mid December thru February. There's a lot of debate among Puttites about fishing the spawn, and I'm not going to lecture you, just jet your moral compass be your guide.

It will be crowded on the weekends and you will have people fishing next to you and occasionally on top of you, through and around you. Try to be nice and don't let it get to you.

Good luck and be prepared to be in the trees a lot!

-- Edited by Bob Loblaw on Tuesday 28th of October 2014 12:40:15 PM

-- Edited by Bob Loblaw on Tuesday 28th of October 2014 12:49:52 PM

-- Edited by Bob Loblaw on Tuesday 28th of October 2014 12:50:30 PM

DrDan · Administrator

Welcome Jared,

The Putah is relatively small and therefore it doesn't take many fisherman to make it feel crowded. That being said, the area around the 128 bridge and access 3 always seem to get the most pressure. More people can fish those areas as there is a bit more room to spread out. If you are solo and you see cars already in those areas, I would recommend moving on to other turn outs in the intradam stretch. These access points are more like vignettes - smaller 1 person areas. If you see another car in those spots, don't even bother. You'll either get the sloppy seconds or inevitably need to get uncomfortably close to another fisherman.

If you can, I would definitely fish mid week as it is definitely less crowded. Just don't fish on MY mid week day biggrin . Good luck!l

-- Edited by drdan on Tuesday 28th of October 2014 08:24:40 PM

Rossflyguy · Senior Member

Fish are everywhere. There are fish through out the river so any spot will produce. Just keep away from the spawners (very sensitive subject).

Jared_William · Newbie

Wow, thanks for the information guys, I really appreciate it. I am an avid C+R fisherman and definitely will not be targeting spawning trout... why anyone does is beyond me. Logically it makes zero sense if you are a fly fisherman, but that's just my opinion.

Midweek sounds like the plan then, I grew up fishing the South Fork of the Kern river and rarely if ever saw another person where I fished, just trying to figure out a winter fishing plan.

Tight lines guys, and thanks again!

clubby · Member

I was out on Saturday morning at access 3, and got blanked while fishing small bwos and midges. I talked to several others who also didn't catch anything. Have people found that the crowds near that access are pushing out the fish? There were people at nearly every hole...

Rossflyguy · Senior Member

No the crowds don't push out the fish. You just have to figure out what they're eating. Try something slightly bigger. Like a size 16 caddis followed with an 18 mayfly. Change colors and amount of weight. When it gets colder midges become more effective (from my experience only). Fish are throughout the river.

clubby · Member

Great, thanks for the tips!

On a related note, are there many caddis in the river? I thought I had seen a lot of caddis cases made out small pebbles. They were on the top side of a boulder though, which seemed a little odd.

SK60 · Senior Member

Caddis populations are down currently because of the silt covering over habitat. The most common now, and you see them all over the cobble in riffles, is Glossosoma. These are the saddle case makers that cement grains of sand to their bodies. Size 18-20 larva in white with black head. Pupa is partially pink, size 18. The silt has turned the creek into a midge water wherever it deposits. Most mayflies are small and I see them in sparse hatches at #3 and #5. I personally haven't seen what one could call a decent hatch in at least 10 years. These days, small fish seem to be the main takers.

clubby · Member

Very interesting, thanks a lot for the info. I feel like people usually talk about bwos and midges on Putah, so this is helpful to know. I'm pretty sure I saw a bunch of pebble cases a little ways upstream of the boulder garden at #3.

MDS · Newbie

Hey Jared,

Wasn't too long ago I was a transplant. I wanted to go fly fishing so badly I would have cast into most puddles in the city if I thought anything were swimming in there. So I can relate and hope you're a responsible fisherman.

I was told about Putah at one of the now closed fly shops in the city a number of years back, did some homework and gave it a shot. My skills weren't very good at the time and I got skunked. I'd fished the amazingly beautiful Sierra for awhile and Putah is not that type of experience. Coming from the Kern you'll have a better time realizing this going in. The creek receives a lot of pressure all year so you have to pick your times or accept that you'll have lots of company. In addition to fisherman I had two gang bangers behind me my last trip so be prepared for all kinds of company. I've only had one guy be an inconsiderate jerk on the creek.

After not such a great first trip I didn't go back to Putah until last year. With far better nymphing skills and some luck I've had some genuinely great times on the creek since returning. I can offer you a little advice that might help you find a few fish. First, fish deep and when you think you're deep enough add more split shot until you're bumping bottom and losing some flies down there. Not everytime but 9 out of 10 you're going to find fish deep. Despite seeing Caddis, Stoneflies, BWO and midges I fish 3 midge patterns, nothing else. A good day can produce 20+ fish in the 8-12" range plus the chance of a very large specimen. Guys say 5-6x tippet but I do just fine with 4x while feeling a little more comfortable if I hook something large. Be prepared to lose flies to the trees and on a bad day, maybe a lot. Everyone watches everyone else and what I see is a lot of people fishing the same water the same way. Think outside this box and you'll up your chances. Last, they've probably seen every fly produced to date at least 1,000 times so if you can show the fish something different that will help too.