Getting up and seeing any golf a washout this morning, it was off to Putah. Raining and 42 degrees, can't be many people up there, I thought. Apparently, quite a few other fly fishers had the same idea as me on this holiday weekend! Man, was I surprised. It was cold and wet, but other stubborn fly fishers like me were braving the elements.Thankfully, some new Christmas presents were quickly put to use ( warm wear under the waders).
One of my early turnoffs to Putah several years ago, what was the lack of etiquette on the river by some of the fishing crowd. For some reason, a lot of that seems to have changed. I'm sure that this board has something to do with that in one way or another. I was working a run right at access #3, and along the way way stumbled upon 2 other guys fishing in spots I was hoping to hit. Both people were very friendly as we briefly talked up the fishing. One person graciously let me slide in about 150 feet above him on the run!!!! If you guys are posters here, thanks again Unfortunately, no hookups here today. I've had some good fortune in the past at this spot.
Used small zebra midges, S & M nymphs and princes but only 2 hookups. Both were large fish, but on and off in a matter of 10 seconds apiece. Got to see the first do some tailwalking as it was laughing at me. I've had some good success at Putah when I've hit it over the last month, but not today. No other hits, fish,etc. to talk about. Everyong I spoke with seemed to have a pretty slow day as well. As far as I'm concerned, the 42 degree weather is to blame, certainly not our skills???? That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
You can always count on there being quit a few people up there this time of year no matter what the weather is, Fly fishers tend to be a hardy crowd. I think i fished about 10 days in december and if i had to sum it up I'd say inconsistent, A slow day one day and a good day the next, One just never knows. I start to think maybe its about figuring out the bugs more so then the trout.
I fished earlier in the week and also had a tough time. I did land one good fish, a slender 19 incher, and lost another one in the same size range. However, I hooked these fish in the first 40 minutes of fishing. For the next 3 1/2 hours I didn't get a single verifiable strike. I quit around 12:15 and on the drive home I counted 32 cars along the road. This did not include the cars parked in accesses where I couldn't see the cars. Besides the cold weather and the fishing pressure, the stream flow is also pretty high (93 CFS) for this time of year. I seem to do better when the flows are just a bit lower.
I fished for four hours on friday, two hookups but none landed. Others that I talked to said it was slow also. Monday we fished six hours landed six fish. the prime time was between ten and noon after the sun was out. The cool overcast has something to do with it.
Hi oneweight! I fished on Saturday 12/28 from first light until about 2pm. No hook-ups,tried every fly in my arsenal. When I was walking downstream I ran into a guy I'd met in the parking lot while gearing up. After a brief chat, I headed up the trail toward the bridge. Within about 10 seconds, I heard his reel screaming and I turned around to see His rod bent almost tip to butt! I watched in envy as he played the fish for what had to be five minutes and when I realized how big a fish he had on I offered to net it . He agreed and I got into the water about 20 feet below him. Eventually he was able to steer the buck near enough for me to net. I was carrying my shallow rectangular catch and release net and to be honest a boat net wouldn't have been too big. The beautiful kype-jawed male was a solid 23" and had to go 4-5 pounds! Probably the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen. I've caught them as big while float tubing in the Easterm Sierras (mostly Alpers) but this fish was dark and deep bodied and after a long fight and 30 or seconds out of the water for a couple of pictures, when released, he took off like a freight train! What a fish!! I didn't hook a fish all day, but I was far from disapointed as I drove home. We'll get 'em next time. Viking.
30 seconds is way too long to hold a fish out of water. Especially this time of year. Between 12-15 seconds the fish develops brain damage. The fish might not have made it even though he swam off okay.
FYI for the future for all of us. I was reading a flyfishing book, and the directions for the book were 15 seconds out of water. After 15 seconds, the gills become damaged!!! I always try to keep the fish in the water, but I was surprised that only 15 seconds was the number.
