The fishing on the creek has been pretty good ..Walked the normal loop at #5 yesterday and pulled fish from every spot ,but one.The smaller fish are everywhere and the bigger guys are playing hide and seek.I found a small section of water that has been holding browns, and I found another spot on wed.I have not changed my fly selection since the middle of spring .My #1 fly has been a micro may on a oversized hook.There are a few spots that are just stacked up with fish.I think JL found them the other day as well.No indicator no weight, just sink and swing and you will get lots of action.I dont even think the fly choice will matter much. The middle of the creek is fishing really good .dead drifting the deep pools with no weight and ??? flys.I tried drifting some of the deep slow water with a very small amout of flow to it.I have had good and bad results.we all know the big fish are in there but its very hard to drift and get to the fish .I have a few spots that I have been lucky and Iam going back with a new leader set up with no indicator or weight...Its been fun doing long slow drift all the way to your backing and the hooking a fish with so much line on the water..The fish I have caught so far are fattys and they have room to run..It reminds me of mini steelhead....
Hey Frog, I learned the creek by leaving the fly rod at home and just hiked the creek.I have hiked from the top down to the bottom ( dam to #5 ) a few times now.Each time I find new spots to fish and in some cases Iam able to spot fish holding and feeding in some areas...I did it durnig the low flow months and I have done it during the higher flows...You can learn a lot from a good slow hike.you have to stop a lot and really look at the water ....
Thanks for the report MX19. I'm still trying to figure it out with the high flows. I have been to Putah 4 times since the high flows with limited sucess... a skunk and then some little guys with parr marks and one or a few planters each time. Guess I'm paying my dues for the good fishing of last fall when I started fly fishing... It's an all new game for me, the creek is totally different than with 100 cfs flows, seems like everything I learned last fall and this winter is of very little use. It's an interesting challenge.
I was there until darkness the last 3 times, ran into some dry fly action at the very end the last 2 times at a particular spot (that looks good but I usually don't fish because it's right near the acess and there's plenty of good water elsewhere). They were taking something at the surface (too dark to see what), the raises were very gentle and tough to spot with the current, but several fish were raising in that spot, I got a few on adams and elk hair caddis.
Just a quick note for some of you guys who have not fished putah in the summer... keep an eye out for snakes. I know in the fall and winter when I am fishing putah I usually dont pay attention or even think about snakes, but in the summer its a different story. I recently heard about a fellas dog who got poped by a rattler... the dog is ok, just has a swollen nose. Just something to keep in mind with the higher flows when you are moving through the brush.
I have not seen a snake yet this summer..I know there watching me ..I run into more of them later in the summer...Aug and sept..I dont see many in the middle of the dirt paths.They like the rocks and the dead wood....It makes me feel a little bit better that I use really thick waders, but I know a good bite will poke through....
I saw a snake when I was there last time. It crossed the river and some black birds were trying to attack it. I was glad I wasn't in the water when it crossed though. But snakes are something you have to look for. Especially rattlesnakes. I almost stepped on one at a lake by my house. Scary let me tell you.
