To introduce myself, I come from france to work in the bay area for 5 years. I took naturally all my stuff to fly fish in California.
Unfortunately, I'm lost and didn't find yet some good spot around my home. I live in Lafayette ( near walnut creek ).
I tried Putah creek a few weeks ago down to berryessa lake ( along the road 128 ) but too much water and impossible to make wading.
So I need your help to find good place around Lafayette (1h30 max if possible ) to be able to fish after works and go back home and avoid to take a night in a hotel :)
Putah is fishable. You just need to explore the entire River and be able to fish fast water and frog water. You don't need to wade to be able to catch fish.
From the way I read it, he fished Putah as it feeds into the Lake, maybe not though. I can imagine that was a piss trickle. If he did fish below the dam (he did say along 128) there's plenty of water to wade.
Love the high flows in the summer, lots of double digit days when I fished it, haven't fished it regularly in over 3 years since I got hooked swinging flies for Steelehead, something I'd recommend a guy from France should do!
-- Edited by bwag on Tuesday 28th of June 2016 09:12:16 AM
Your absolute limit of 1 1/2 hours traveling time reduces your options. You might try the confluence of the North Fork and Middle Fork of the American River along Highway 49 just outside of Auburn, CA. You can make good time heading East along Highway 80 to Auburn in the early morning and be there in in just about 95 minutes. The water there is still a little high and fast for this time of year but there are gravel bars that are wadeable. Be sure to take a wading staff.
Throw that 90 minute drive time out the window and a lot of water opens up to you. If your visiting (5 years) from France, there is no reason to cheat yourself out of seeing as much of this state as you can. A sleeping bag and a camp stove will save you the hotel costs and keep you near the water for an overnight weekend trip.
Join the commute nightmare on Friday after work, fish all day Saturday and make your trip home on Sunday. Get an early start and you can avoid the return hassle with traffic. You could easily fish 100 different lakes and streams over a 5 year period.
Heck, outside of fishing or combine trips, a weekend buys you an easy trip to Yosemite, Joshua tree, Devils Postpile, Mt. Lassen, Sequoia, Tahoe, Lava Beds, Redwoods, Pt Reys, etc etc etc. I don't advocate driving anywhere on the 4th of July weekend due to drunk drivers, but there are plenty of other extended weekends that make distant parts of the state worthy of a trip.
Heck, Redding is only a 3 hour drive from Lafayette. Hire a guide and float the Sac. Wait until winter flows and wade the Sac. Head West or East on 299 and fish the Trinity, Hat or Pit. It's under 3 hours to Truckee. Just over 3 hours to Markleeville.
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Winter eats heat the way darkness swallows light. The terrors of failed power and frozen stems are stymied with fire, smoke and white ash.
