Welcome aboard, Paul.  How long have you been fly fishing?  What kind of water do you usually fish?  One key bit of advise that everyone should know is to disinfect your gear (boots, waders, net, etc.) after fishing the creek.  The creek is full of New Zealand Mud Snails (NZMS).  They reproduce quickly and compete with other invertebrates (i.e. aquatic insects) for food.  They are of little, if any, nutritional value to trout.  So, to stop the spread of NZMS, clean your gear.   

November 15th is the last day to fish with bait and keep your catch.  If you fish with barbless flies and release everything, it doesn't matter.

-- Edited by JT at 11:10, 2007-10-29

Thanks guys. I only fish barbless, unless I am fishing ocean quarry other than salmon. And I never fish with bait for trout... my friends and I call it "throat candy". And I know what you mean about some people being jerks, whipper, and they can be more than frustrating. To answer your questions, JT, I fish my local streams and creeks... San Luis Creek (small natives), San Carpoforo, Arroyo de la Cruz (between Big Sur and San Simeon), and the Nacimiento River. I also fish mountain lakes... Courtright near Shaver is one of my favorites. It holds a nice population of browns, but geez, talk about bait dunkers! I always travel with my gear and a reg book so I can try new water when I come across it. I used to live in Arcata, north of Eureka, and fished steelhead a lot on the Trinity, Mad, Smith, Eel and Van Duzen rivers. I have only been fly fishing seriously for about 3 years now, and I am sad to say it, but I didn't discover fly fishing until I moved away from the north country. I am really liking this trout thing. I guess it's never too late to get your head right.

I am closer to the American than Putah, i think, as I am in West Sac, so I was thinking of going after work one day to check out the half pounder run. My problem is I have zero local knowledge, so maybe someone can steer me in the right direction?

What is the best way to disinfect my gear?

Thanks,
Paul

PS sorry Captain, I wasn't trying to poach your name. My friends call me capn paul cuz that's what I've done forever.

Ya Phil, thank you. That's where I found this forum, on Kiene's. My biggest obstacle right now is that I have been finishing work too late to go fish or to visit those shops. Soon, though...... maybe this weekend?

You can freeze your gear overnight, which is probably the easiest way to kill the NZMS.  Another option is to use heat to kill them.  Immerse your gear in 135 deg. F water for about 10 minutes. 

Welcome to the board CapnPaul,
For the Gore-Tex use the methods JT is talking about. I talked directly to the Simms rep about this and I was told the best way is to heat kill them by immersing your waders in hot water like JT was saying. That way you don't risk damaging expensive gear with foreign chemicals. I might have to try that freeze method sometime though to save time!
chuck

You should also check and clean your net.  I have found a few stuck on my net when I got home. Have you guys read that the snails offer no nutrition to the fish and if eatin ussualy pass thourgh em and are still alive ?

They don't carry whirling disease to my knowledge.  They just compete with the trout's main food source--aquatic invertebrates.  As long as your gear has some moisture in it, the snails may be able to survive.  They can close their operculum (trapdoor) and survive through some pretty harsh conditions.  You have to actively kill them. 

Just checked on the whole whirling disease thing. Turns out JT is right the NZMS and Whirling Disease have nothing to do with eachother, just two bad things that my bad memory blobbed together after too many long days fishing in the sun! The only known aquatic hosts for whirling disease are Tubifex tubifex, also known as the brown sludge worm, and the trout themselves. Luckily there is no whirling disease in Putah so sorry if I got anyone worried for a moment.
chuck

Ok, today I just may get a chance to fish Putah after work, or maybe try the American for some half-pounders. Can anyone help me out with a good place to start? Also, is Putah all pay-access, or are there free sections? Directions would help a lot, as I probably won't have much time to spend looking around. Not asking for secret spots, just somewhere I will have a chance to spend an hour or so and learn something.

By the way, the photo album was superb! It got me totally fired up.

Thanks!
Paul

you can check out my posting about the american. there are actually 2 access for the american river on american river drive off watt ave. one you have to pay its right there next to watt ave bridge. 5 bucks and you can drive down to the water, and up and down the river. the other spot you drive east on american river drive till you hit a 4 way stop take a left and drive down you will see the entance right where the road turns left. its an ok spot. its right there where there is some ok fishin, but when i was leaving in the am time to go to my work meeting i noticed some broken widow glass. it is in a nice neighbor hood but i wouldnt trust it. i would pay the 5 bucks and be able to drive up and down the river. other spots that are good. goethe park off bradshaw, hagen park, sailors bar which is up near nimbus dam, nimbus dam is also good. howe ave is an ok area. putah is slow but still fishable. i brought my boss out for the first time yesterday and he went 3 for 6, i went 6 for 6, the fish were very very picky yesterday. i think it was from the front that just went through just a few hours earlier. once it started to get sunny and warmin up the water around noon the action started to pick up some. we didnt catch anything but the fish became more active.

Welcome capn paul. Good luck at putah I'd start at the bridge. Easy quick access, And some nice fish. Hey, my freinds started calling me captain cuz I was always fishing the bay and just outside the golden gate along the coast in my boat and I'd always bring people along and so thats what they always called me. A 15 footer outside the golden gate is defenitly an expeirence, Not for the faint of heart.Ya gotta love foam filled fiberglass boats, basically unsinkable !

Congragulations JT.