Life on the rocks in Yuba county

mx19 · Senior Member

Life on the rocks in Yuba county

Emerger · Senior Member

Way to go mx19. thcaptain, chucktheduck and I all fished the yuba on sunday as well. We saw that truck you mentioned as we were walking out, what a trip! Thecaptain said someone had to get helicoptered off it.

cole · Senior Member

Are there really Steelhead left in the Yuba.� Allow me to offer you a little something from Northwest flyfisher, Fall 2006 written by Hogan Brown.� "Fisheries biologists are currently doing a mutiyear DNA study to evaluate and determine the life history of the lower Yuba trout and steelhead.� These studies have produced interesting findings that contradict many widely held beliefs.� Based on the DNA samples many fish that anlers would consider to be steelhead have instead turned out to be resident trout suggesting that with the creation of New Bullards Bar Dam, the few remaining steelhead that returned to the Lower Yuba and their resulting offspring could have elected not to migrate back to the ocean.� With year round cold water releases and abundant food the fish simply had no reason to leave.� In theory these fish could have interbred with with existing trout creating the lower Yuba River unique strain of hard fighting rainbows.....DNA studies have yet to reveal a fish that has been to the ocean....despite countless reports from anglers certain they have caught a steelhead 18-24" the studies say otherwise.� Each year anglers land a few chrome bright 28-30 plus inch rainbows that biologists agree may be steelhead proving as much may be as simple as having the biologist on hand".� I am not trying to bust your steelhead bubble MX but they seem to be few and far between these days.�

shon42073 · Senior Member

I saw that truck right after it happened, one guy had swam to shore and the other guy was scared to try it so after awhile a helicopter lifted him of the truck. Mx19 if you guys were above the bridge i'm sure we saw you guys at some point.�� If anyone wants to hook up, let me know i'll probably be making some trips up there in the next month or so, Especially if you know the river well biggrin . As far as steelies on the yuba, I dont care what a biologist calls em there still some awesome fish.

-- Edited by thecaptain at 18:39, 2008-03-17

ONEWEIGHT · Senior Member

I had a buddy fishing up above the 20 bridge on Wednesday, and he actually landed a hatchery clipped steelhead.� From time to time it seems as though some Feather River steelhead take a wrong turn and end up in the Yuba.� Being that there is no hatchery on the Yuba, his clipped�fish would support this I guess.

What kind of moron would try to cross the Yuba under the HWY 20 bridge?????� That one is amazing.� I'm sure CDF will be sending him a huge $ bill for that one.

I'm planning on hitting the Yuba a few more times as well in the next 6 weeks.� I'll try to connect with anyone who's going.� Sounds like there were a few of you on the same part of the river Sunday.

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Hey Captain, I'de like to hit the yuba with u guys again.... let me know when ur going.

NorcalBob · Newbie

I'd be real cautious about an article that claims "DNA studies" are identifying steelhead as resident rainbows versus fish that go the the sea. Maybe one of our fisheries biologists (Chris ?) can chime in here, but I was under the impression that scale samples and examining otoliths are the only way to determine if a fish has actually gone to the ocean. And while DNA may identify the parentage of the fish, all California Coastal Rainbows (those fish present in drainages that connect to the ocean-like the Yuba) have some degree of "steelhead" DNA in their genes any ways.

cole · Senior Member

-- Edited by cole at 21:31, 2008-03-17

-- Edited by cole at 22:11, 2008-03-17

-- Edited by cole at 05:46, 2008-03-18

mx19 · Senior Member

hey Cole...

I know the Yuba dose not get a run of steelhead like the Feather, AR, Trinity and all the other rivers..But it dose get a very,very small handful of steelhead..I would take one wild run steelhead on the Yuba over a few dozen fish in any of those other rivers.It's a huge reward to get one on the Yuba because they are so limited. It might take me 5 years or longer .I do have a few spots on the Yuba that I know people have caught steelhead in..Just ask hogan ,he had 2 huge ones this year on the lower half of his normal drift..
Im not going to complain if the big fat steelhead I might some day land on the Yuba ends up not being a steelie..I would be just as stoked to land a rainbow that big..Either way I'am going to pee my pants like a litter girl...
I know it's a long shot, but I do have some spots on the river that are the perfect environment for a hold or transitioning steelhead..Call me crazy but I will always pound those spots in hope of that controversial Yuba steelhead...

mx19

mx19 · Senior Member

hey captain..I was not above of around the bridge..I do fish up there, but not this time out...

mx19

shon42073 · Senior Member

Whippersnapper I'm gonna go to the yuba or lower stan this weekend, your welcome to come along. Mx19 I've had my best luck around sycamore ranch, You have to be able to cross though, good water around that island down there.

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

what day captain?

brian clemens · Senior Member

hey cappy you dont have to walk up as high, you can cross a lil above the cement block that is in the water, as well as down stream below where the split, where you and me hooked into those to rocket ships, its just around the deep bend there where you can row your boat up into the take out area. you know where that deep hole is where i always like to fish, just below that is a nice tail out you can walk across ass well. just dont know how you would cross that lil channel there??????

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

I was looking at that Brian, and it looked like it got pretty deep... You're talking about that spot where there's a tree in the water right?

brian clemens · Senior Member

down stream just a tad bit farther. i usually fish just above that tree, but if you go below that tree you will see where you can cross. oh ya there is some nice dry fly fishing in that area when there is a hatch. hint hint

JL · Senior Member

So, I didn't have a chance to provide MY report of the events of last Sunday with MX19.

We started out relatively early, getting to the bridge about 8:15-8:30.

There were some people already on the water up there so MX decides to drive down the public access road.� Well, suffice it to say we drove a lot.� We got on the water about 10:15.

Our first spot had me crushed for the first few hours.� I usually kill it on the Yuba, but for 2.5 hours, not a twitch that wasn't nasty slime.� I must have cleaned nasty slime off my flies 50 casts in a row.� In the wind, in deeper, faster water, where you wouldn't expect a lot of slime, to get slime every cast can be frustrating.� To top it off, I wind my way back up to where MX is fishing and he's killing it, in the spot I was just a bit before.� Talk about humbling.

Here I am, this 'experienced' Yuba fisherman with zero fish - and MX - who by all accounts is as experienced as me - has 7 fish.� Ummm, I'm getting taken to school.

But - this is not about competition - I just felt like a hack.

Anyway, we moved up stream after lunch and at the next stop, he went down stream and I went up (opposite as before) and I got into a pod of fish.� Three casts, three fish.� 10 more casts, three more fish.� 1 more fish in a few more casts.� then nothing the rest of the day for either of us but the one fish MX lost in his favorite steelhead holding water.

Turns out the fly of choice might have been the difference maker.� This time of year, the fish feast on one fly in particular with reckless abandon.� All I'll say is that it's not a typical fly.

MX gave me one after lunch and it seemed to make all the difference.� All fish to hand were on that fly.

Other things of note:

The march browns are starting to move.� A good hatch from 4:00 to 7:00 PM - with sporadic rises to them.� I couldn't get any to follow my imitation - but the fish weren't really keying on them yet - just opportunistically feeding.� Some PMDs and lots of midges were active too.� We even saw some skwalas - but they are done.

The truck in the water at the bridge?� What the hell's that all about?

BIG SHOUT OUT to the guys who helped us dig and drove me to the gas station to try to get help for MX's van.

Crazy end to a mediocre day on the Yuba.� Nice day though - if a bit windy.

JL

shon42073 · Senior Member

The yuba is a humbling river for me anyways. Come on guys lets hear what that fly was biggrin

. I'm goin up tomorrow and need all the help i can get. 6 or 7 trips up there and i'm averaging one fish a trip cry

.

Emerger · Senior Member

What a tease :)

JL · Senior Member

A guide buddy of mine swore me to secrecy about that fly.

MX knows what it is.� Maybe he's not sworn to secrecy.

JL

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Hey mx, Are you sworn to secrecy? We need that fly.

mx19 · Senior Member

I caught fish on 3 different flys ..the first was a # 16 red copper john.the second was #12 skwalla brown. and the last one is a guide�secret...I got the same number of fish on each fly...No�favorite at the end of my line...

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Cool, at least you gave us some other flies that were working. Thanks.

lightfoot · Senior Member

Next time you think your getting to the point of "stuck" try letting some air out of your tires and stay off of the skinny peddal.� Gravel bars alongside the river can be tough with street pressure.� A little cheapo air compressor is all it takes to air back up for the highway.�

Out of curiousity how are the crowds on the Yuba?� I havn't fished it in probably 8 years or so.� Below the bridge at toohandy road was a sweet spot but other than that above the bridge ruled.� The problem was trying to fish a run with 30-40+ other people on the water.

Anybody bothered to hike up to the narrows any more or do folks just fish the lower sections?� Taking the higher route it was a 45 minute hike if you really hussled.� Now thats not pc and I imagine hugging the riverbank would take 1 1/2-2 hours...but worth it.

mx19 · Senior Member

As�far as the narrows go..The dude who owns the land is not a happy guy..he�WILL have you arrested if you are on his land...That makes it hard to get up there..people still make the hike and fish it..there are a lot of great places to fish with out the work or hassle so most guys dont go up that high..thats about all I know and I dont know much...

-- Edited by mx19 at 18:38, 2008-03-21

shon42073 · Senior Member

I had a run in with one of the landowners goons last year. I didnt know it was pvt property, I was on the far side of the hwy 20 bridge and started climbing up the hill about 100 yards downstream of the bridge, This guy starts yelling at me that i cant come up right there, So iwalked up a bit and came up, i just ignored him, But he was an a-hole.� I was thinking of doin some serious humpin up river tomorrow, at least a few miles, How far up are the narrows ? Lightfoot I havent really had any crowd problems up there, Last weekend was the busyiest i have ever seen it, during the week or when its not so good weather i had whole entire days without seeing another soul. Theres just somethin that keeps me coming back to the yuba although i have yet to have a "good" day as far as numbers of fish go, But hey its always a good day when im on a river with a rod in hand.

lightfoot · Senior Member

mx19 wrote:

As far as the narrows go..The dude who owns the land is not a happy guy..he WILL have you arrested if you are on his land...That makes it hard to get up there..people still make the hike and fish it..there are a lot of great places to fish with out the work or hassle so most guys dont go up that high..thats about all I know and I dont know much...

-- Edited by mx19 at 18:38, 2008-03-21
�
Which means more pressure down low and more fish up high. One of these days I need to float down from Engelbright again
Only one spot you really have to worry about, the rest of it is an easy float.

�

-- Edited by lightfoot at 19:21, 2008-03-21

shon42073 · Senior Member

MY LORD THAT IS SOME GOOD LOOKIN WATER ! If you scroll up a bit with that map lightfoot provided theres a bunch of cars parked just below the dam, Is it cool to park and fish from there ? How do you get there ?�I wanna hit that spot tomorrow defenitly.

Packrat · Senior Member

From what I've heard you either have to hike to it or know someone who has access through private property. A lot of the land up there is private and owned by UC Davis. I've never been more than maybe a mile above the bridge. You can cross uo there to the other side but it's not super easy wading, about hip high and lots of pressure. I did it last weekend and didn't really feel that comfortable crossing.

Captain, see you at the bridge around 9.

Chris Laskodi · Veteran Member

If you ever get hassled by the landowner about trespassing and you are below the high water mark, tell him to go ahead and call the sheriff. The lower Yuba is considered a navigable waterway and under CA law, anyone accessing the river from a legal point can access any piece of land below the high water mark. There's a website online, one of the kayaking websites, that has all the laws so you can print them out and keep them with you but I can't find it now. I'll post it when I do.

There is also a drawing every month to access the UC Davis property. I think they allow 4 or 6 people whenever they hold the lottery. I think you call the reserve itself to get put in the lottery, I'm not entirely sure. Maybe someone here knows? All I know is that there is a drawing for public access.

Here's the link:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/966/#_Toc52858586

-- Edited by Chris Laskodi at 21:14, 2008-03-21

ONEWEIGHT · Senior Member

Chris is completely correct about the high water mark being public access.� There have been some problems with landowners on the Yuba,�in regards to their interpretation of the law.� Basically, some people are just jerks and think they own all land up to the water despite what the defined property line is.� The funny thing is, after the flood of 2005, when the Yuba was running over 100,000 CFS, the high water mark is way up there.� The definition of high water mark in this case can be pretty liberal.� I figure that as long as you're on gravel at the Yuba, there's no argument.