FALL/WINTER Conditions

TMS · Veteran Member

FALL/WINTER Conditions

101fish · Senior Member

I dont know, but i would like to second your opinion. And also ask about winter patterns/hatches and nyphs. good question man

chemdoc · Senior Member

I started fishing Putah last fall and found many helpful posts on this site that offered fly and locations suggestions. While no two years are identical, you might look at the archives and check the old posts. See the earlier post regarding accessing the archives on page 3.

Phil

Otter · Senior Member

You can expect plenty of anglers on the water. The best time to fish during the fall and winter is from Tues through Thurs. The fish get very wary of anglers, as they are in shallow water. The flows will drop down to 50cfs, and you can see very large fish as you walk up to spawning areas. You will need to use fluorocarbon tippet down to 6x. Some people use small egg patterns to catch fish, but I prefer to catch them on small midges down to size 22. Yesterday I landed a 20" fish between access 2 and 3. The spawners are moving up towards the dam. The ultimate at Putah is to land a large fish on light tippet. Keep in mind that the fish get weaker as winter approaches. If you don't land the fish quickly you could kill it. Make sure you revive the fish so that it can swim off on it's own. Keep the fish in moderate water and hold it below the belly until it swims away. Also don't wade through the spawning areas, as you will smash all the eggs. As the spawning season progresses into late November and December you should stay away from spawning fish, as they are fairly weak, and could die if you don't get them in quickly.

KHB · Veteran Member

Thats excellent info Otter. Some of those things many of us may not have considered.

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

Great info Otter but I would like to stress the point about the spawning fish.I really make an effort not to fish for the spawners at all,it really stresses out an already stressed fish and can easily kill the fish.I've seen more and more dead spawners over the last few years than I've seen in the past 20 years as alot more people seem to target them.Sometimes it's alomost impossible not to hokk one or two but standing right on or near the obvious spawners is in my opinion unethical.Also I try not to use 7x or lighter tippet as an angler would have to overplay the fish to not break it off.Its just really important to let Putahs broodstock continue to procreate for obvious reasons.

KHB · Veteran Member

Hey guy's. This is really a good topic. How do we know what are spawning and what are not? May seem like a silly question. But to be honest I don't think I have ever been out with spawning fish, and I too would like to respect them. Is a there a certain spawning area I should avoid? Is there certain behavior the fish exhibit that would indicate to me they are in spawing mode.

Thank you very much.

-- Edited by KHB at 09:31, 2005-10-21

steamer · Newbie

How to spot spawning fish is an important question. As others have pointed out they are generally weaker hance more sluggish in behavior. They will be hanging around the redds up near the dam. A very good place to steer clear of during active spawning. Spawning fish are often not interested in feeding, in my experience. Fish the faster water away from the spawning areas.
Tight Lines

101fish · Senior Member

What about flies, it would seem to me that fishing behind the spawners with a glow bug might pick up trout, as you can do with trout aorund salmon, but can you catch the spawners doing that? what patterns tend to work on the rest of the putah? good advice though.

TMS · Veteran Member

Thanks for all of the info everyone.

Otter, I'm looking forward to the low flows. Hopefully, the creek hasn't been over-fished this Summer. TMS

bono · Master Fly Fishing Guide

In reference to the spawners and where they are in Putah.There are numerous areas these fish spawn in general from mid to late Nov thru late Feb.Usually the water is pretty shallow 1 to 3 ft and moderate in flow rate,also smallish gravel bottom.If you look carefully you can see cleaned out areas maybe 2 to 4 ft in diameter that is the redds or beds,its on or very near these areas that the fish can be seen , sometimes chasing each other around.Yes egg patterns can be effective behind the redds just be careful not to disturb the actively spawning fish.