I'm sixteen years old, passion for fly fishing, I wouldn't mind advice about Putah Creek, because thinking of heading there in a week or two just to try it out because I hear about it a lot.
Welcome OTF. Fishing Putah this time of year is complicated. This is a very special creek and many of us hold it's secrets close and it's vitality even closer. Spawning fish are beginning to make their redds for the winter and are usually easily visible. DO NOT FISH for these guys. Many Putah Creek veterans will not fish the creek over the winter because of this reason. Letting these fish reproduce without harassing them is critical to the future of the creek's amazing trout population. Do a search on this forum of spawning posts from previous years and you'll see what I mean.
Having said all that, most people use small nymphs under an indicator generally sz 18-20. Don't use tippet smaller than 5x, it's not necessary, and ........good luck!
I know what to avoid when I go fishing, spawning fish is a big no-no, I have already seen a couple of videos what to look out for. Thanks for telling me about what to use :)!
You'll read in a lot of posts here that you'll want to be sure you get your flies at the bottom with a drag-free drift. Midges and bwos are common, and light colored caddis larva could also be good.
Welcome to the forum and thanks for reaching out to us for a little help. If you decide to fish the creek from December through March you must be really careful not to disturb the spawners as previously stated.I actually guide the creek and this is my forum, and I decided about 3 years ago not to fish the creek at all during the spawning period. I found that even though we were staying away from the spawning areas we were still catching spawning fish.Its impossible to see underwater and see all of the redds, so as a result we were still hooking the activly spawning fish and as a result stressing them to the point of releasing their eggs or dying. Even though you think you may have successfully revived and released the fish and it swam away just fine, its highly probable that it will die later. Back when I used to fish the creek during the winter, I would see quite a few dead fish and that really disturbed me but I didnt know the cause. Now that Im older and wiser I realize the reason and thats why I now stay off the creek altogether. Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions, not only about the spawning issues but about any other questions you may have about the creek. Good luck in your flyfishing journey!!! Greg
Well said Greg! Its the same reason I stopped fishing in the winter myself years ago. Now if *all* the other guides/fishermen would see the light and quit puddle pitching it would help as well.. Also a much needed winter time closure is well over due.. Some would hate to admit it but it has to happen eventually. There is nothing wrong with general trout season regulations like on the hat/fall/mccloud and many other streams here in California..