Next weekend I'm gonna camp at solano lake with a few freinds (non flyfishers) But I'm workin on em. So I figured this would be a good oppurtunity to try something new I planned to put my float tube in at the island around access #5 and float down to the pleasants valley road bridge, maybe further down towards the diversion damn. Since I've never done this anyone have any advice, I've actually never fly fished in a lake before, I figured I'd take 2 rods a 6 weight with a sink tip to fish some wooly buggers and some nymphs down deep, and a 4 weight for dries and shallower nymphs, I was thinking waterboatmen patterns may work. When you lake fish do you give your nymphs alot of "action"? Dead drifting would seem kinda slow paced for me. I was thinking that I'd like to work struture along the banks, logs, rocks, trees, etc kinda like you'd bass fish. thanx for any advice, Hope to have some fish pics to post.
I have made that float once, last fall. Its fun and you definitely see a different part of the creek. Give your flies lots of action, and make sure you vary your presentation. I learned how to fish while fishing for bass/trout in lakes, and one of the first things I learned was if something wasn't working, change. In lakes, there is almost always something feeding, the trick is to find it. That is the best advice for you for that stretch. Wooly buggers tend to work for me, through em around anything that looks fishy.
I haven't been out to the lake this early in the year, but the water looks good and they have planted a couple of times already. My friend Andan and I usually take my canoe up to the split at the top of the lake and then work our way down, anchoring every so often. We always use olive woolly buggers on sinktip lines, casting out to the sides and letting the line swing. When the fish are there, you can have a great time catching them while stripping back, sometimes right by the boat. Two years ago Andan caught a nice 24 inch brown doing just that in May.
Neither of us nymphs much in the lake, but Andan sometimes has good dry fly action in summer evenings from his float tube.
Two years ago I started using the same rig on the creek when the flows got higher (500 cfs is perfect). Sometimes you can catch a lot of fish casting a sinktip downstream and then stripping back. Good luck.
I've never floated that section with the flows this low. It can be awesome in the higher summer flows. I've scouted this section in my kayak but fishing, I've always used a float tube or a raft. There are a lot of BIG fish in this area. My best luck here has been with a dry/dropper set up in the morning and evening or a damselfly nymph in the middle of the day.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
The float tube I use is a super fat cat, works great. I hope to try and float it saturday evening, hope to have a good report. And I hope the wind dosent come up. wind and float tubes dont mix well.
Good luck Saturday night. Look forward to your report.
Yes the Super Fat Cat is a great float tube.
I have never fished below the campground past the bridge heading towards the diversion dam. What type of fish are found in that lower stretch of Putah ?
You should haveno problems floating Solano. I have made that float probably 15-20 times from the island down to the bridge but it has always been in the middle of summer and subsequent high flows.
Spend some time right in the island area. There should be a large shelf that extends down from the tip of the island with a channel on the far side. Aside from that it was always water boatmen and dries for me with an occasional fish on a wooly bugger or leach.
The flows arn't at summer levels yet so you probably wont need it but a small anchor comes in handy if you get into an area of rising fish and don't want to kick against the current to stay in the same spot. I have used old barbell weights and heavy chain without issue though a legitimate is always an option if you have one.
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Winter eats heat the way darkness swallows light. The terrors of failed power and frozen stems are stymied with fire, smoke and white ash.
Where do you normally enter the water when you float tube ?
I always put in at the lower end of the big island at the top of Lake Solano.
Having 2 vehicles is nice but in all honesty the hike isn't that big of a deal. Pardesha? store used to charge like $2 for parking. I would leave my vehicle there and just hike up the road to start the float. It beats having to hike back to your vehicle at the end of the day when you're tired and it's dark.
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Winter eats heat the way darkness swallows light. The terrors of failed power and frozen stems are stymied with fire, smoke and white ash.
Sounds like the correct approach to take. I agree that hiking upstream first is far better than making it at the end of fishing day.
Did you ever float the stretch from Pardesha/or the bridge downstream ? I've only looked downstream from the bridge and really never saw anybody fishing down there. I'm not sure what to make of the water and flow ? Probably more curious than anything.
My float trip didnt produce much, I put in about 100 yards below the big island floated down to the bridge, hooked two smallish fish on a brown wooly bugger, both came unhooked. Not much to report other then that. The water is very clear, the bottom is very visible in about 10 to 12 feet of water. I know exactly that shelf you mentioned lightfoot, I should have started there but didnt, I caught some decent fish there last summer and one pretty big carp. What I was surprised at is that I did not see a single fish rise in the 2 days I was there, and almost no insect activity. I wanted to find some but I couldnt find any water boatmen patterns locally. Oh well, I'll try it again when the flows increase more, very good idea about parking at the store and hiking up, I'm usually draggin ass after a day working a float tube. I was lucky to have my buddy drop me off up river. I did manage to get a nice patch of poison oak on my arm, Don't know how that happened, I was watching closely for it, Man that stuff is everywhere.
This time of year the Poison Oak is hard to recognize. It is definitely everywhere and you have to be careful walking through the bushes. It is also time to start watching outfor rattlesnakes.Those things are everywhere! I keep a Sawyer Snakebite Kit in my chest pack, just in case.
Lightfoot and Bono, You have both mentioned waterboatmen patterns in the past.What size do you use? If you wouldn't mind, could you give a pattern recipe. I tied some up last year. I don't even think I used them. I can't find them now, though.
__________________
"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
) But I'm workin on em. So I figured this would be a good oppurtunity to try something new I planned to put my float tube in at the island around access #5 and float down to the pleasants valley road bridge, maybe further down towards the diversion damn. Since I've never done this anyone have any advice, I've actually never fly fished in a lake before, I figured I'd take 2 rods a 6 weight with a sink tip to fish some wooly buggers and some nymphs down deep, and a 4 weight for dries and shallower nymphs, I was thinking waterboatmen patterns may work. When you lake fish do you give your nymphs alot of "action"? Dead drifting would seem kinda slow paced for me. I was thinking that I'd like to work struture along the banks, logs, rocks, trees, etc kinda like you'd bass fish. thanx for any advice, Hope to have some fish pics to post.
