Well I couldn't stand being skunked for more than a couple of days so I decided to pack it up and hit the Yuba this morning. After picking up some Skwalas at american fly and getting some good advice from Sloan the Yuba genius I hit the road with a couple of family friends and was on the water by 10:30am. We parked at the hwy 20 bridge and walked upstream from there. Things got off to kind of a slow start in the morning. We saw some PMD's coming off but nothing rising so we decided not to bother and just nymph it for a while. My buddy Tom got into the first fish which hit while he was drifting his black ugly bug through a nice slot and promptly shook him off. Shortly after he was into another one from the same slot. This one he landed, but I didn't see it because I was across the river. There were a lot of guys out in the AM and it was hard to get a good spot. It didn't look like anyone was having much luck. We kept moving upstream and working the nymphs but it didn't seem like much was going on. Around 1:30 the Skwalas started showing up, but nothing was taking them. I drifted a foam dead skwala along some nice banks with no luck. Finally around 4:00 we came upon a bank with some splashy risers. Unfortunately it was on the other side of the river and it was too deep to cross. I waded out on my tiptoes and bombed a cast to the opposite side. As my fly drifted over the likely area about 3ft from the other bank a fish came up and slammed it. I was so excited to get my first dry fly take of the year I pulled the fly right back into my face!! We finally found a way to cross and hit the spot hard, getting several takes in the next hour. It was difficult to get the timing right on the hookset and out of 6 takes a piece Tom and I each landed 2. There was a surprising moment when I stopped fishing to answer my phone, and while I was talking to our other fishing buddy who had lost us on the river a big 17" bow came up and destroyed my skwala as it swirled around in a bankside eddy. With phone in one hand and rod in the other I set the hook and let the fish take line. I told my friend I had to go and fought the fish to the net for a picture perfect end to the day! What a way to bring it back after a tough weekend on the Truckee!
ya to go chuck, man wish i was there with ya, but hey maybe we can try some action on the AR tomorrow, got you message, and no worries you and me will hit up the Yuba soon enough. ill call ya later
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
I agree the Yuba is a blast! I have not caught many big putah fish but I would rate Yuba trout as top contenders as far as fighting goes. Up there with Lower Sac fish for sure. That fish in the net gave me a real tussle on my 5wt with 4x tippet! It would have taken my line pretty far if I hadn't been able to chase it downstream and gain some ground. Plus there's nothing like having fish slam #10 stoneflies when everywhere else you have to use nymphs or tiny dries. chuck
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"when you put your hand into a flowing stream you touch the last that has come before and the first of what is still to come" -DaVinci
What a beautiful fatty on the Yuba. If you wre busy sipping a quick beer I'd have felt sorry for you, but answering a cellphone???? The amazing thing is that very, very few cellphones get reception up there, you must be paying for some killer service! I'm envious, that is a nice fish. Those Yuba fish can pound out a fight. A fish like that must have been a good bender. Congratulations.
It sounds like a few of us have been hittin' the Yuba. In 3 months, a normal day on the Yuba river there will be 100 degrees +, way too hot for us inner bay area boys. That's when it will be time to hit the North Yuba, Truckee, Little Truckee, etc.
It sounds like a few of us have been hittin' the Yuba. In 3 months, a normal day on the Yuba river there will be 100 degrees +, way too hot for us inner bay area boys. That's when it will be time to hit the North Yuba, Truckee, Little Truckee, etc.
Thanks for the great report.
ahhh grasshopper, mid-day siesta with a moving broken top is not what it may seem in the summer heat
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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.
Nice fish Chuck! That's funny how it hit when you weren't expecting it. I had one hit when I was on the phone also. It seems that happens a lot, when you least expect or when your attention is elsewhere.....SLAM.
I agree captain, Yuba fish are very hard fighters. I would have to rank them right up there with Lower Sac fish on there fight.
I am still trying to figure that river out also. I fished it about 5 times and have caught about 5 trout.
I'm still trying to figure it out as well, fished it about 5 or 6 times and best i have done was 3 hookups in a day, but ussually i get skunked or I get 1 fish. It's a different river then i am used to fishing, for the most part the things you may learn on a river like putah ain't gonnna cut it on the yuba. I'll be up there sunday morning if anyones around, Be at parks bar upriver from bridge and maybe sycamore ranch for the afternoon. A very knowledgable guy once said, On the yuba you better bring your A game cause half a$$ed drifts aint gonna cut it up there .
that would be mx-19 if i am not mistaken. hahaha, and he is right now. got to have the A game on the yuba. i can tell you this, i feel way way out of place out there, completely out of my element, and out of my game, just cuz you do good on the lower sac or the ar, dont mean crap on the YUBA. and fishing the yuba its like you really do need to become one with it to understand it. thats why i love it sooooo much. its a challange and well i just love a challange, i feel like david, in the story david and goliath. its a great feeling. the few fish i have hook i know has been luck, i hope to change that a lil bit when i go up on friday with oneweight, would like to hook a fish on a dry fly. one of those new yrs resolutions i made myself.
but yes the yuba is a river that if you have A$$ it, you are gonna get skunked.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
well ill be out there on the water tomorrow all day with one weight, hope to knock a few chapters out of that book tomorrow.
hey cappy, lets figure out a place to fish the 29th and the 30th at the end of this month, i have the 29th through the 6th off, and my saturday and sunday is wide open for fishing those 2 days, so hit me on the pm and lets figures something out.
shoot i might even get paid vacation. hell ya.
so truckee, upper sac, walkers, hot, east carson, lower kings, maybe even trinity or something like that. lets do it bro.
-- Edited by brian clemens at 12:07, 2008-03-13
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
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