Our good old frien Alastair Rimmer ( African Angler) is in town visiting and we headed up to the Yuba yesterday for a day trip. The weather was perfect I must say, and that, besides the scenery, was the highlight for the day on the river. I have never seen the Yuba so damn clear. It is fishing like a spring creek right now, very technical to say the least. Visibility is unlimited and extremely clear all the way down. We went for a double blanky, with no hits at all. That was my first skunk on the Yuba in 3-4 years. However, I did put on a show for Alastair, as I took a full dunk in the river. Fortunately, I had a complete change of clothes and waders as i took a complete soaking in the cool waters of the Yuba.
We fished below the island, above the island and above the bridge, changing bugs about 20 times and nada. The river seems to be in the post egg bite doldrums, waiting for Skwala'a and maybe some inflow from some rains? Guys, the Yuba is not giving it up very easily right now. Low Flows and excellent clarity are giving the fish a bit of an edge at the moment, a far cry from the egg-bite fishing of only a month ago.
No matter the fishing, a stop at the Happy Viking in Yuba City for rehydration, their excellent chicken wings and sports is always a welcome reward at the end of the day.
it was slow for me above the bridge a week and a half ago too. Very tough out there now that the salmon have left, the clear days, clear water, etc, as you noticed.
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all of a man's addictions end and begin when he learns to fly fish
Ditto for me on 12/28. Water was low, which made wading up to the UC property very nice and easy, cold (checked at 46 degrees mid day) and very clear as mentioned. There were 5 of us fishing. One 18 incher and 4 dinks were all that were had between us all day. We also ended the outing at the Happy Viking with beer, wings and burgers. It was a good time out with friends even if the fishing was pretty slow.
