The other other Putah Creek

Berryessie · Senior Member

The other other Putah Creek

brian clemens · Senior Member

Check your regs, i think its has regular trout season regs. Not 100% sure though.

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

Myself and Ken Davis were there 3 years ago to survey for aquatic insects (upper Putah vs lower Putah) I brought my fly rod with me and it was about this time of year (before the regular season). The regs were unclear as to wheather it was ok to fish so we called some connections within the DFG, even they were not sure! Finally somebody within the dept called us back and said that it was closed and opens during the general season. The problem with fishing it after the general opener is the water is too warm for the trout or salmon. On another note the variety and type of aquatic life in that upper Putah creek area is absolutely AMAZING!!! Totally blows away the Putah that we fish (interdam region), pretty cool stuff. Bono

Berryessie · Senior Member

I took my pup for a run up there today. The water was high and milk chocalate. I am not sure I was on upper Putah Creek. I took a look at a map and could not figure out how to get there from it. I was on a creek that was pouring in plenty of water and if had not been so muddy I am sure it would hold some fish. Anyway the pup had a blast. Just got an order in with a new sink tip and a bunch of streamers. Time to make sure the float tube still holds air.

shon42073 · Senior Member

I've crossed the creek several times at middletown on hwy. 29. I don't think it supports fish up that far, In the summer its nothing more then a series of puddles. I've wondered myself if theres a spawning run up there or in pope creek wich is nearby but is very small.

Nighthawk · Member

There is limited access near Berryessa Estates. Take Butts Canyon (just past Middletown to Snell Valley to Stage Coach Canyon. Most of the property up there is private but there is some access points between houses. If you walk towards the lake from there, you'll find some nice holes, boulders and a rock wall with smallmouth bass that love buggers. See very few if any trout up that way. Had a friend from Hidden Valley who caught some trout up that way but I agree the flows are thin and the water is too warm in the Summer.

davis angler · Member

are the smallmouth in there all year long or does the creek get too low in the summer to hold fish?

shon42073 · Senior Member

Theres good smallmouth fishing in the putah creek arm of berryessa. Good float tube spot. Easy access and parking lot near by. Probably will get pretty good sometime in april/may.

davis angler · Member

haha, I wish I would have read your post 30 min ago, cuz I just posted a question about the fishing in berryessa on the "other rivers and streams" section

Nighthawk · Member

The smallmouth are there all year, especially near that rock wall I mentioned. There are some deep pocket and pools that remain even after the flows are next to nothing. You've got to be willing to hike in some to get to them but you know 'em when you see 'em.

mike b · Member

Shon,
I live in Hidden Valley Lake a few miles north of the hwy 29 bridge. There are smallmouth in the creek all year. I haven't fished it in a few years but May and June can be good. The water stays suprisingly cool, even in late summer. I'm not talking about a trout fishery, but for smallmouth it can be fun. Most of the fish are small. The weekends get a lot of 4WD traffic. I've done a lot of sight fishing with nymphs. I need to get back to doing it. Email me if you happen to be in the area early summer. I'm not promising great fishing mind you. Mike Borba

East Bay Ed · Senior Member

I fished it 20 or 25 years ago. There were no trout, in fact, I don't remember anysmallmouth bass. I do remember the water was very thin where I was and there were carp stacked up near where ever there was any moving water. They were all good size and I had a lot of fun with a few of them. That was my first and last trip.

This reminds me of another misguided adventure, maybe 30 or 35 years ago, I decided that if there was a tail water fishery out of Berryessa then there had to be one coming out of Clear Lake. So I took a buddy, probably the same one, as the upper Putah adventure. We drove for hours to get to Cache Creek. The water looked wonderful. We started walking up the Creek and fish were laying on the side of the stream in shallow water, avoiding the fast water. Whenever we came to shallow water we could see fishing scattering. We fished for several hours until we got to a rock wall and decided to climb over it to continue upstream. I pulled myself up to the top of the rock wall and came eye to eye with a large ugly rattle snake. Needless to say, I lowered myself back down and we fished back to the car. I think we fished for 4 or 5 hours with nary a bite. I chalked that down to experience. Never went back.

East Bay Ed

101fish · Senior Member

You all should check the regs for Upper Putah, and all tribs out of Berry. They are closed during the trout spawning run. There are smallies in the lower stretches, especially during the pre-spawn.

aKidatheart · Newbie

OK,

There are trout way up the mountain all year round. They are very small 6-12 inches. Season is normal stream regs (last Saturday in April thru May 15). I fished there way back in 1969 so information is old. It was more rock hoping than fish as the stream was only a few inches deep with a few holes to fish.

You have to remember the orginal trout in Lake Berryessa were captured steelhead when the dam was built. I remember the waters before the dam was built but I was very young.