Hey guys so I go to Santa Clara University about an hour and a half away from Putah. I grew up in Seattle fishing for salmon and Sea Run Cutties while spending my summers fishing for trout in Idaho. I just broke my first cheap rod which was a 9ft 5wt and upgraded with a 7'6 4wt fiberglass rod. I now have a 8wt, this 4wt, and a 7'6 fiberglass 6wt as well. I love fishing dries more than anything hence all the fiberglass rods (I also love the feel of the rod loading all the way through with slow action). I know Putah is a nymph fishery primarily and I was planning on just using my 4wt even though it is much shorter than most prefer for nymphing. I plan on going up on the weekends and camping Saturday night (if possible) so i can fish afternoon to evening saturday and all day sunday to get a lot of time on the water. Are there any recommendations you guys have for nymphying with a shorter rod? I plan on tying lots of small nymphs and midges this winter and using a traditional 2 fly rig. I also hate fishing with split shot and tie my flies very heavy to get down quicker which is not what most people seem to do on Putah. Ive read tons of posts on this forum and pretty much everything online I can find about Putah including every youtube video and have yet to see anything about dry fly fishing or fishing with shorter rods in general. Sorry for rambling on but thank you for any help!
So you may find that people don't respond a ton to this questions right now. Most of the fly fisherman that post on this site are very protective of this fishery, and take the winter off so as not to upset the spawning trout. This fishery is still in the process of coming back from being hammered for a prolonged period. If you go, just be sure to avoid any of the redds. As far as the shorter rod question, I will leave that to the experts on the site to answer.
While this is not an absolute necessity , I've always found that longer rods really do help when nymphing . It is easier to hold tight line and keep slack off of the water. You might want to think about investing in a longer rod. I use a 10 foot 4 weight rod and find it to be fantastic on the Putah and many of the other Valley rivers. Check out The Cortland Competition Nymph rod or the Cabellas CZN series for a dedicated nymph set up. Good luck this spring.
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See I have heard over and over that a longer rod is better and I know it isn't a necessity but unfortunately I really am not in a position to buy a new rod as I just got my 4wt and a lot of tying stuff. From other's experience are there good places to camp (such as at the fishing access points) and are they going to be safe places for an overnight stay? Also I saw the flies for sale section here and plan on tying up lots of the patterns listed. I am no stranger to hiking and exploring and I don't want to ask for anyone's secret places but I hear a lot about how over fished Putah is and was wondering if it is worth going to the access points and then walking a mile or two to a less pressured stretch of river or if the well known spots really are the best (hence all the pressure)? I can't wait till late Feb or early March to get out there!!!
-- Edited by szigtopher on Sunday 27th of December 2015 08:20:53 PM
Hey Chris welcome, both my sons went to Santa Clara great school. No overnight camping at parking lots I think you can camp at Lake Solano up the road toward Winters. To move from parking area to parking area on foot takes some bushwhacking or to try and wade up creek not easy. I live in Redwood City it is a about 2 hours to Putah on the way home weekdays 4-5 pm it takes about 2 1/2 plus to get home.
