After a late night of celebrating on the 4th, I managed to get up around 5:30am to drive over to Putah. I started out at #5, as there has been quite a bit of hype about it on the message board...I was definitely not disappointed. In roughly a decade of fishing Putah, I'd never fished down that low. It's a lot more quiet and pristine. There was one other guy who went in just before I did, but I didn't see a soul for the entire time I was down there. I hit a couple smaller holes without success, but did well in a long run with a waterfall at the head...it was off to the right at the base a large island. I couldn't figure a way to get past that though and was quite hungry, so decided to grab some lunch at my car before heading upstream. All in all, I hooked 7 and landed 5 (3 hatchery, 2 natives) in my first effort at #5. I hooked most of them on a green poopah and micro may combo, though one fell for the old san juan worm in red.
In the afternoon, I went above the bridge and tried a great go-to hole during the Fall, but the fishing was pretty tough. Plus, there were some really annoying rednecks on the other side of the river who were throwing rocks in the water purely to piss me off. I eventually yelled at them and that seemed to do the trick. I soon spotted a couple big hawgs holding about 10 feet off the bank and fished to them without success for about an hour. They were steadily picking insects out of the current and sediment with ravenous intensity, so I knew my chances were good to fool them eventually if I didn't spook them first. So I threw a bunch of different caddis and mayfly pattens at them in addition to a few wildcards like a scud and callibaetis...all which have worked for me on Putah at various points...but this time, all that happened is the light changed and I couldn't see them anymore. I knew they were around though, and eventually got a fat 19-20" hen to fall for a black WD-40 in a size 20. She put up an impressive fight, with two blistering runs, a couple cartwheeling explosions on the surface, and some heavy headshakes. I got her to net and then went downstream for a couple hours to close out the day. I was shocked at how little action I got in those two holes below the bridge. I almost always catch a bunch of fish out of those spots and expected to at least get some hatchery fish, but only pulled out a couple of 8-10" natives, which were nice to see, but not exactly what I was looking for.
Overall, it was a solid day. The flows were just about right, the water was clear, the weather was perfect, and I brought a few wild trout to hand...I'll be back very soon to pick up where I left off.
I thought we had agreed on this board that we dont post exact locations where we are catching fish. One of my favorite spots just got blown up. Im sure there will be a few cars in that location now when I go this week. It was one of the few places I could actually get away from people. You guys need to think about what your doing before you post.
My apologies if this information was too revealing. I thought the purpose of this message board was to provide fellow fly-fishermen with up-to-date information on all things Putah. I guess discussing fishing locations is a hot button...I personally would not mind others sharing the enjoyment of knowing about a good hole, but out of respect for everyone on this message board, I will be more discreet in the future.
