Putah Creek newcomer

Bob Loblaw · Senior Member

Putah Creek newcomer

Cole Davis · Senior Member

Since nobody is jumping in here Bob I will tell you to be patient at Putah. It's a very tough fishery. I fish all over and Putah is still one of the hardest places I fish. Without giving away specific patterns the best flies for the creek are small mayflies and midges. Don't be afraid to rip some streamers as well there are some meat eaters hanging around. 2-3x is a must for this kind of fishing. Many of us put in hours, days, weeks and now seasons to unlike it's secrets. I suggest you do the same. Nobody owns the creek so don't worry about "someone else's hole". Good luck.

Bob Loblaw · Senior Member

Thanks Cole,

I've heard it is very heavily fished and that the fish even know when its the weekend and lie low!. I don't mind not landing bags of fish, just getting back out there will be plenty of fun enough.

I picked up some microscopic nymphs and midges this weekend that don't look big enough to get a rise out of a goldfish, I hope my old eyes can deal with them. I also tried casting again and its certainly not like getting on a bike. After 30 minutes I had half a dozen knots in my leader.

much thanks.

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

Welcome to the site and to Putah creek, fishing during the mid summer months will be difficult due to high flows and the access to the fish is difficult as well. The crowds you mentioned are not what they used to be, the creek has been fishing slow compared to the "good old days" therefore the crowds of people just aren't there anymore. As far as casting is concerned, its all about timing! Good luck and welcome back Bono

iamamultitasker · Senior Member

I just finished with a couple of huge programming projects and am ready to fish again. I haven't been out there in 4 years and I have a few questions:

1. I keep hearing that Putah isn't as good as it used to be. 4 years ago I routinely had 20 fish days with occasional 40 fish days. I remember that at least 1/2 of the fish were stocked, some recently, some feral. Can I expect the same qty of natives in the water or has that gone to pot as well? If the natives are still there without the stocked fish, I would consider that a positive development!

2. I also hear that the crowds have diminished which is probably related to #1 above, but is it actually feasible to fish on weekends now? I used to only fish on Wed and Thur as on weekends, every good spot was filled.

3. When is the earliest day starting from now that the creek is actually fishable based on flows and hatches? I thought I would try going out a little early this year as I used to wait for the middle of Sept when the flows were cut back.

I fished the creek for 10 years and had a lot of fun and learned a lot about fishing for trout. It would be a shame if the fishery were to die. It is the closest spot to Sonoma County with bonafide trout.

tks.

Bob Loblaw · Senior Member

I grew up fishing very skittish wild brownies in Ireland...40 fish was a good year! 40 in a day is crazy.

iamamultitasker · Senior Member

Bob Loblaw wrote:
I grew up fishing very skittish wild brownies in Ireland...40 fish was a good year! 40 in a day is crazy.

Not that crazy. I am also talking about 40 hookups, i.e. fish hooked, not necessarily in the net. I think you will find that a lot of the regulars here do about the same or better. This ain't Ireland! wink

My question is if the native trout are still in Putah Creek or is the population diminished. I could care less about the planted fish.

Ty · Senior Member

I'll chime in on the native/ planted trout question. I guess there may be a holdover planter or 2 in the creek, but I would say 99% are wild (having been born in the creek). Not to be confused with native.

jvento · Senior Member

Bob Loblaw wrote:
I grew up fishing very skittish wild brownies in Ireland...40 fish was a good year! 40 in a day is crazy.

How about 54 landed... ranging from 7" to 25"... in 2.5 hours... ;) Gotta love the Owens River

-Jon

lightfoot · Senior Member

jvento wrote:

How about 54 landed... ranging from 7" to 25"... in 2.5 hours... ;) Gotta love the Owens River

-Jon

That's really not that different from Putah, back in the early 90's. !!!!!!!

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

I'd have to agree with Rob, Ohhhhh the good old days I remember them well!!There is to my knowledge no hard set date as far as "when is the earliest date to feasably fish the creek".The flow rate is dictated by water usage and that varies year to year day to day, but it usually starts to slowly drop around late Aug to early Sept then really drops around Oct.

iamamultitasker · Senior Member

I guess everyone misinterpreted my main question which is:

Has the native population of trout declined significantly from 4 years ago?

Tks.

SK60 · Senior Member

Probably-data is sparse; hearsay reports would indicate yes, there has been a decline. I don't think anyone will have big days until the flows drop in September-October, and then it will be small wild fish making up the bulk of the catch.