Oct 5th afternoon - another epic

JL · Senior Member

Oct 5th afternoon - another epic

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

Hey JL it was good seeing you on the creek yesterday,yeah I had a semi slow couple of hours and maybe if I wasnt so stubborn I would have switched over to a prince as well!!Anyway maybe I'll see you out there again soon maybe I'll redeem myself! Bono

greg · Member

Good morning. My name is Greg. Wanted to ask a question or two. Moved here to SF a couple years ago from the Midwest and have been fishing up north on the upper Sac, McCloud, camping at AhDiNa etc..Came across Putah Creek last year with no luck. Went up there last Sat slow during the day but good rising action in the evening. Noticed the high water, am i to understand that after November the stream level is lower and you can fish with barbless hooks and catch and release through out the winter months? If so, is the level adequate and generally is the fishing good? Suppose I should take a trip with Bono?

brian clemens · Senior Member

hey jl, tried the spot you told me about, really fast water, either have to go above or below, like you did, went above hooked into a few, nothing major,

BUT GO READ MY NEW POST,

ill have it up in a few

mx19 · Senior Member

Hey JL...my friend fished that rock mid week and had very little luck...That spot has always been like that..Its will be great then with no notice it shuts downs..I see you figured out the fish�had to move up and down ..sounds like you and I need to hit the creek together and see if we can put up a record day...I think we can show each other a few things..Wait till you see the bug Ive been tight lining in that fast water...you will understand why I land so many fish..

� mx19

JT · Senior Member

Greg, welcome aboard.� The flows on the creek are currently dropping.� In my opinion, they are at optimal flows right now.� Many feel that the best flows come later in the year when they bottom out below 100 cfs.� The fish are much easier to catch then.� The water is low and clear, and the fish are spawning.��During this period, outside of trout season, the regs change.� You can keep fishing but�must use barbless hooks and release all landed fish.� To learn the�secrets of the creek�you may want to book a trip with Bono.�

greg · Member

Thank you!. I will hook up with Bono. Hope to meet you all on the creek someday.

ConcordBob · Veteran Member

JL:

Good report.�Also providing the behind the scene activity(poison oak and swimming trips) provides some good perspective in regards to what it takes sometimes to hook into some fish.��

By the way(this could be a stupid question)�, what influenced your decision to use bigger bugs( #14's) on this outing ?

JL · Senior Member

Bob:

I always use the biggest bugs and tippet I can get away with. So much easier to catch fish that way.� Putah has a rep for small bugs, and that's usually the case, esp. in water that gets fished alot, or in skinny, slow moving, or super clear water.� The sections of Putah that are opening up right now meet none of those conditions.

The other part is common sense.� If you're a big fish, you will eat a big bug, because the energy required to swim after and eat a small one is equivalent to that required for a big bug, and the big bug delivers more calories for the effort.

Having said all that, if there are no big bugs in the water, or if there are tons of little ones, the fish may not think big bugs are food.� Witness the first few days of the salmon fly hatch.� It takes the fish a few days to realize those big floppy bugs on the surface are food. When they do, watch out.

JL

ConcordBob · Veteran Member

Thanks JL.

I was just curious since the trend generally for Putah(based on the reports) is that the smaller flies were getting the attention. On my outings, I have been fishing the smaller bugs and having some success.(not to the extent that many of the others are having but success none the less).

I also understand the concept of trout expending the same amount of energy to chase a small fly as they do for a big fly. Based on your and others experience, what seems to be the top end in terms of fly size( #14, #12,#10 ?)�when fishing Putah ? (with the understanding that it depends on the conditions, time of year etc. as you point out).

I do agree with you that�using bigger flies makes holding onto the fish easier.�Using bigger flies is also�easier on the eyes. biggrin

Bob

JL · Senior Member

Bono would have better knowledge on the subject than me, but I'd say 12-14 would be about the max.� Bono said he saw a green drake the other day - but those are rare, and I've seen some small stone flies, but most of the bugs are pretty small.� I'll use a #12 caddis pupa at times and that does well when the caddis are moving.

Honestly, I think I could have used anything big and dark in the water I was fishing and it would have done well.

JL

JT · Senior Member

I've caught them on #12 damselfly nymphs, but I guess that's a little different.� I was fishing it more like a streamer.