Floated the Middle Fork this weekend with a bunch of friends. Didn't catch one fish. It was a ton of fun even though I didn't have a fishing pole. We were carrying super soakers and blasting away. I did spot a big fish in the clear water. The guides were saying there are monster fish in the area between oxbow and foresthill. There are some great rapids!!! Our guide said there is a trail that is used for the 100 mile race that runs along the middle fork. Supposedly it can be accessed by mountain bike. The flows are pulsed for rafting they release 1000 cfs in the morning at oxbow. After a few hours the flows are dropped to 250cfs later in the day. I don't see how this can be good for the fish, but it does work for the rafting.
The pulse flows are for the rafting companies. The flow pulses are pretty much diminished after labor day. I did read about a similar proposal for the the north fork feather. They wanted to increase flows for whitewater activities. I don't fish up there, so I don't know if that one passed. I think the fish do get used to the flow changes as they do on other rivers. The middle fork has plenty of wide sections where the fish can hide. It is probably one of the least fished tailwaters in the state. It looks like the fish would be all along the stretch we rafted.
One of the best tailwaters in the state flows at 10,000 cfs plus. That is the lower sac. One thing I have often wondered about is width of the river.
Is say putah creek at only ten feet wide at 600cfs the same flow as the lower sac at 100 feet wide at 6,000 cfs.
The trail is the Western States Equestrian Trail. Many parts of it are extreme to say the least. I've used the trail to access some streams in the area of Deadwood and it was one of the most difficult humps I've ever made, but it led to great fishing!
