Putah 1/1/09. A good start.

shon42073 · Senior Member

Putah 1/1/09. A good start.

drifter · Senior Member

nice fish shon, way to start off the year!� smile

Packrat · Senior Member

Awesome fish Shaun! Wish we hooked some of those last weekend! Did you see more fish in the system than when we were out there?

Black Cloud · Senior Member

Beautiful fish Shon on a perfect day for fishing.

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

I gotta get out there... How was the crowd today?

catchandrelease · Veteran Member

Nice hog......Nice hook up......for 2009

shon42073 · Senior Member

LilWhippersnapper wrote:

I gotta get out there... How was the crowd today?

I saw only one other person the entire day and that was at the end of my day as I was leaving. He told me the bridge area was just ridiculously packed.

-- Edited by shon42073 at 07:11, 2009-01-02

brian clemens · Senior Member

definitly a way to start out 2009 shaun, the 25"er is sick

i myself was on the AR, got into some fish, nothing of great size, my buddy hooked 3 landed one about 19"s, i hooked 7 landed one about 23"s. i hooked a fatty on the swing though on a ugly bright streamer i tied, was an ez 30" buck, but he did an air head shake hook popped out and went in the but. so i unhooked him. the crowds was crazy and the people even crazier, but it still was a blast.

curmudgeon · Member

Great Fish. Happy New Year!

live2fish888 · Senior Member

nice fish shaun! Here are some that i caught the day after christmas and three days after. �A nice 21, 23, and 25 incher. The 25 incher was caughten by my friend who has only fly fished one other time on putah. caught them on micro mays mostly.

-- Edited by live2fish888 at 21:44, 2009-01-02

ONEWEIGHT · Senior Member

Guys,

Beautiful fish!!!!!� Those are beauties!� Looks like the big boys are makling their way up the creek.� Way to start the new year off.� Shawn, that monster is huge . . . way to go.

Sadly, I was at the Blue Coyote watching the Niner game last Sunday, and the Peruvian waitress was not working.� I was unable to wish her Happy New Year from the 5 of us.� It hit 50 degrees in Truckee on Tuesday, and I could have shot myself for not bringing my fishing gear up.� A quick snowshoe out to the LT for a hatch could have been nice.� Something for the future.

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

ONEWEIGHT wrote:

It hit 50 degrees in Truckee on Tuesday, and I could have shot myself for not bringing my fishing gear up.

�Yeah, I was up there snowboarding on tuesday... It felt like it could have been 60.

Brundoggy · Veteran Member

-- Edited by Brundoggy at 09:13, 2009-01-09

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Brundoggy, use your own words... You're trying to get me mixed up in an argument.

AC22 · Senior Member

hes not holding it up directly by its mouth hes supporting the bulk of the weight near the tail chill out

btw way gorgeous fish bro i was up other day and had some sweet hook ups but no luck all got unhooked anyways good luck yall

-- Edited by AC22 at 13:07, 2009-01-03

brian clemens · Senior Member

ac22 let me know when that knee gets better, we will get you back out there on some more fish.

lightfoot · Senior Member

AC22 wrote:

hes not holding it up directly by its mouth hes supporting the bulk of the weight near the tail chill out

btw way gorgeous fish bro i was up other day and had some sweet hook ups but no luck all got unhooked anyways good luck yall

-- Edited by AC22 at 13:07, 2009-01-03

cough cough

the big j · Veteran Member

1/3/09 Hard to get a spot to myself today, so I just hiked and observed with my dog, left the fish alone. Highlite was seeing the Otters, and unfortunately a dead fresh hawk?????

shon42073 · Senior Member

the big j wrote:

1/3/09 Hard to get a spot to myself today, so I just hiked and observed with my dog, left the fish alone. Highlite was seeing the Otters, and unfortunately a dead fresh hawk?????

I fished again on 1/3 and saw one other person the entire day again, Everyone is fishing up near the bridge, I think the crowded thing has gotten a bit blown out of proportion. Fished the same spot, and hooked and lost one nice fish all day, Forgot to check flows, they took a major dive, that coupled with a bright clear day, Not very good conditions.

-- Edited by shon42073 at 07:04, 2009-01-05

sagedesigns · Newbie

Hope no one gets offended, but is it really necessary to take pictures of your catch, especially the large ones? Even though a thoughtful angler is trying to land these large fish as quickly as possible we all know in many, if not all cases, these large fish are exhausted when finally landed. The lactic acid builds in their bodies quickly. Then to subject the fish to being taken out of the water and held for a picture seems totally unnecessary in my opinion. It seems that it would suffice to know just the approximate length of the fish to know that a person has had a great day of fishing. Although I will be listed as a newbie I have fished Putah and read this forum for years. Respectfully submitted.

-- Edited by sagedesigns at 10:26, 2009-01-06

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

I don't think holding a fish out of the water for a few seconds to take a pic does any harm. How long can you hold your breath? Not saying you should hold him out of the water, but 6 or 7 seconds won't hurt him any more than the fight hurts him. That's 6 or 7 seconds of rest for him.

Beastie · Member

Why not compromise? Land the fish, then take a picture while you are releasing it back into the water. All it is is common sense. I do agree that the fish does not have to be held out of the water, but sometimes a picture is nice to have to really remember the occasion which is why you should keep the fish in the water the whole time. And by the way, 6-7 seconds might not seem like a long time to us, but remember, the fish has just been hooked in the mouth, fought for several minutes, then taken out of the water, which is how they breathe, and also the oxygen capacity is not nearly what a humans is. It really is common sense.

shon42073 · Senior Member

Funny to see the responses. The fish was fought for maybe 2 mins. max. was held out of water for 3 seconds max. it was revived nicely facing running water, and it swam off like a champ, The fish were not caught on a redd, the fish were actively rising and feeding to mayfly's, every fish took the fly in its mouth, none were foul hooked. Now I might plan to fish the lower yuba or lower stan. this weekend, Now I must ask if this is ok with guys like MX19,� brundoggy,� oR lightfoot�Because there just might be some spawning rainbows in the system, I guess fall fishing is now a no no as well since as we all know the browns are fall spawners, I guess that leaves the dogdays of summer and spring when rivers are high with runnoff. Looks like the options are getting limited if one wishes to pursue the ways of the elite. I totally foresaw this coming when I posted that pic. you guys are so predictable.

-- Edited by shon42073 at 13:29, 2009-01-06

-- Edited by shon42073 at 16:18, 2009-01-06

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

-- Edited by LilWhippersnapper at 10:53, 2009-01-12

lightfoot · Senior Member

Shon, as I mentioned before, the Lower Yuba fishery, and I'd guess the Stan, are nothing like Putah.� If you�truly expected the backlash you've revieved for posting the 4th photo� "I totally foresaw this coming when I posted that pic" then you have no gripe.

I�am in�support�of a seasonal closure to Putah during low flows, ongoing habitat rehabilitation with volunteer labor, enforcement and�continued education of the user groups.�

I'd love to hook a couple more fish from Putah in the 30" class ( 1 brown and 2 rainbows to date) but doubt that will ever happen without some sound resource management.� I believe the size and number of fish on Putah will continue to decline.� Good intentions or not, WE are killing our own fishery.

I wonder how the McCloud would fare if it had the traffic that Putah receives?

Have at it Keith smile

sagedesigns · Newbie

The next couple of sentences are tong in cheek so please do not take them wrong. Two minutes to hook and land a fish that is in the 23-inch size is a pretty great job of managing a big fish. Just as one thousand one, one thousand two, and one thousand three is a pretty short time to take a fly out of a fishs mouth, and pose for a picture. Look do not get me wrong, this is not personal, and I am sure you are not guilty of the following, but time after time I have seen fellow fly fishermen handle a fish with dry hands, drag them to shore hook in mouth, drop them in the water from waist high when the water is only a foot deep, and or spend little or no time reviving their catch after a long fight. Why release them if every caution is not taken to have the fish survive, especially trophy size ones. Personally, I think the protocol should be once netted revive the fish, then take a picture if it is necessary, revive the fish further, then release when the fish is ready. Bottom line is whether it is Putah or any other stream the goal is to maintain the health of the fish and the habitat that the fish are in so someone like you or I can take in a day away from our regular lives and pursue the passion of fly-fishing.

mx19 · Senior Member

Hey Shon,
� Dont drag me into your mess.
You must have read my topic in the rants and raves section .I named nobody and I mabe a general statement about my feelings on the subject of people who say they dont fish the redds�. Then I see that same person targetting fish on the redds a week later . Its a lot harder to resist those big fish once you see them in a foot of water.Talk can be cheap when temptation presents it's self..Its our actions that define who we really are when nobody is watching...I have more than earned my respect for the creek and this web site through years of unselfish actions.
�If I were to personally attack you in a unfriendly manner in a reply to one of your posts then I would expect a bashing in return.But I didnt and have not.
� mx19

Flyin4:20 · Veteran Member

Brundoggy wrote:

Once again he can give it out as to what is "ethical" and what isn't. But when it is something directed at him he gets beyond defensive, justifies, rationalizes and cries about it. Attack me if you want, I too do not fish putah in winter. I did my first year on the creek and that was it. The only big fish I saw that year were on the redds or in active spawn and was chastised in a post for even being near them. But, then continued to read how everyone else is out there killin' em. Hypocrites!
Yes everyone in winter are fishing to prespawn, spawn or post-spawn, but like lightfoot wrote, if you are trying to protect THIS fisherie why would you? I really don't care if you do, but then don't ream someone else over what thet're doing. Pointing the FINGER - 3 BACK!
Again, ripping someone about a fishing question, fly, spin or otherwise makes you look like an A**. The regs are the regs. The person asking the question may not be the one littering, exceeding his limit - it may be the "ethical fly fisherman".

totally correct, and tottaly agree with you when you said THE REGS ARE THE REGS.� As for myself everything else is common sense or unwritten law.� that's just my opinion.

anyway, nice fatty dude!� very nice. never imagined they get that huge.� lookls like it came out of a coloring book.

-- Edited by Flyin4:20 at 10:32, 2009-01-07

ONEWEIGHT · Senior Member

Please guys, let's get back to some sort of constructive narrative here.� This is getting personal and a bit ridiculous.� I suggest dirty laundry be aired by PM, or talk to one another personally.� Maybe we can deal with these issues in more positive fashion in the ongoing future.

Bob�

Beastie · Member

I know it is hard to always trust the governing agency, which is DFG, but who is the professional here? Despite peoples opinion of Fish and Game, they are the agency that sets the regs, and im assuming studies the watershed. The mission is to protect the fishery, so if the impact of winter fishing is that drastic and negative on Putah, why have they not closed it already? They are certainly not making money off keeping it open. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but look at any fishing or hunting activity in California, nearly any place you go, the numbers of animals and fish have been on a decline for years, not in all cases, but most. Fish and Game does their best to manage areas to the best of their ability. There will always be critics. How about this idea, THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD!!