I have been researching the technique, but I am still not sure if I should give it a shot. The rod I will be using is a 9‘ 5 weight and I am concerned I won’t be able to effectively cover water that is too far away to reach. Also, with the fast, deep runs, I am afraid the only way to get my fly down is with a big heavy fly while the fish are keyed in on tiny flies. I have some ideas, but still don’t feel confident that they will work. I would like to get away from fishing with split shot. I figure if I can eliminate the use of split shot on this body of water, there won’t be many other situations where I will need it in other water systems.
Specifically Fall Putah: With the Fall flows coming or already here, I personally wouldn't put much effort into the euro technique at Putah. Add weight and "tightline" the faster water with your indo rig. Even at 350+ I'll do this time to time with my depth knowledge of the creek and its effective. The skinny water has staging fish that are usually quick to grab.
-- Edited by skylerjohnb on Thursday 1st of November 2018 07:22:31 PM
Use jig hook flys tungsten a 16 on bottom I just fished crazy fast flows and slow water tripled my fish to net with my 10ft 4wt euro rod and all euro fly fishing tournament are no weight if you wanna give it a try let me know I'll show you.we can do putah yuba or even feather for steelhead all euro it's been super productive.i do recommend a 10ft rod though.
There are a couple of excellent instructional videos produced by Devin Olsen and Lance Egan about Euro Nymphing. "Modern Nymphing - European Inspired Techniques" and "Modern Nymphing Elevated - Beyond the Basics". If you want to get better at Euro nymphing I highly recommend these two videos. You can download them for $19.99 each.
I find Putah Creek well suited for this style of fishing, with the exception, perhaps, of deep pools and slow, shallow runs...but I'm still a beginner at this technique. I have a 10ft 3wt rod.
Thank you everyone for the responses. I tried tightlining without an indicator this morning. I connected with a small fish briefly early on and failed to entice any fish for the rest of the day. I understand the benefits of a mono/sighter rig versus a fly line/indicator rig, but I felt like my distance and drift length was very limited. If I wanted to reach any further than “right in front of me”, every time I made a cast I could tell my nymphs we’re drifting towards me due to my rod tip. Would a heavier fly have helped? I got close enough to some fish where I felt like I was making drifts in their zone. A couple might have turned to look but nothing committed. I expected them to spook and scatter eventually but they almost seemed used to the commotion I was making. This style of fishing seems to be a lot of time spent wading as close as possible to fishy areas and wading all around them and trying to make very short, close range drifts from different angles. It doesn’t give me much confidence, but I will keep trying it and hope something clicks...it seemed like a tough bite too from how other anglers were faring.
My gut feeling is that maybe I would have done better with an indicator and fly line. Tight lining requires a lot of extra energy to lead your nymphs along all the bumps, changes in depth and complex currents. How do you tightliners attack a section of water? Is there a way to make an effective drift at some distance with this rig? I’m also starting to think that the ideal flies to use at putah are too small to make effective anchor flies.
You're definitely limited on distance when Euro Nymphing. That's why people like longer rods for it - at least 10 feet. Your line needs to be tight, so you can't be very far away from your rod tip. This is why it is mostly done in faster, riffle-y water - it breaks up the surface so the fish can't see and don't get spooked by you. It's basically just high sticking without an indicator.
Euro nymphing really shines in faster, more turbulent water. This time of year at Putah probably isn't the best time for this method due to the low flows. Although I remember a time where I picked through some shallow white water at Putah with 6 split shot and pulled out fish after fish after fish. You will need the weight to get to the fish some how or another. A lot of shot and tiny flies works.
I tried again this morning using a variety of methods. I landed one dink tightlining without an indicator in some small, fast water. I can't say I really noticed the strike with my sighter. I definitely need more bites to understand what to look for in a fish strike. Then, I spent the rest of the morning trying to entice fish on a run further upstream without success. I was sight casting to these nice sized fish all morning, throwing everything I could. They were rising all over the place, and some cleared the water completely to eat a fly I'm guessing. I believe I was making good drifts in their zone with both nymphs and small dries (could be wrong), but they didn't seem interested at all. Eventually, I tied a streamer on and got a couple fish to look at the wooly bugger only to refuse it. The way they were behaving made me think that they were very aware I was trying to catch them and didn't care. Putah definitely sees a lot of fishermen concentrated in a small water system. Thingamabobbers landing on top of their heads didn't seem to spook them and all my offerings were refused. I'm guessing that the drop in flow has made them a lot more wary or hard to catch. At least that is what I want to believe...ha. Has anyone else had this kind of experience? I am very beginner to fly fishing, and I keep wondering how someone more experienced would have hooked up. I do believe they were catchable because they seemed to be actively feeding, I just wish I knew how!
If you can see them, then they can see you. And I saw those fish too. They are staging up to go spawn and not much interested in being caught. I tossed a rock at them and they just moved aside to let it sink and then moved back to where they were.
Those fish are basically in spawn mode. Most of us leave the creek alone during the spawning periods (Nov-March) in order to allow for the next generation and not to ruin their redds and kill the eggs. Technically, per Fish and Game, there is no closure since this is considered an artificial fishery, but there is an unwritten rule that most follow to leave the Creek be during spawn.
Interesting...just when I thought I didn’t have to blame myself for not catching any of those fish, mudhen comes and crashes my party! I’m far from a trout expert, but those fish looked like they were feeding to me. Rising consistently and darting around like they were scanning for any foods coming down their path. I do want to fish until December but if they are staging to spawn, I would rather leave them be. Do they become harder to fool when they are in staging mode? Should I call it a season on Putah? Does the wintertime spawn rule apply to all the other streams in California? I would like to keep fishing if possible..might have to bug the surf perch around me for a few months...
Sokol, if they weren’t staging, would they have bolted when you threw that rock? I was surprised that they didn’t swim off when I got close to them with my clunky steps and casted all around them and on top of their heads...
I’ve seen a female cutting a redd in September, unusual for sure. The spawn varies each year as to when it starts.
We tossed dry flies the entire day with good response. Try 6x or 7x and change flies and approach until you figure out what they want to eat. I figured it out after about 6 fly changes today.
When the water is this low, dries definitely work and it's great fun. Generally, if the fish are staging, then the spawn is close. When they are sitting in one spot behind or next to a hen, they are waiting for her to lay eggs - and the dominant fish will be closest/next to her ready to fertilize, but then the rest of the fish in the area will also rush in and squirt from the side. It's pretty funny to watch everyone getting in on the action. Also, generally, you should be able to see the redds, although sometimes it is hard to identify them. This is why I think it is better to be cautious this time of year.
