I took my wife up to central Oregon last summer for her first "real" fishing trip. She is hooked! She landed a 6lb Brook from Hosmer Lake, a hog bow from craine prairie and over 100 dinks on the upper deschutes.
I have fished Putah a few times but not too much success. is there any spots where she wont have too much trouble casting or wading? I want to keep the good feeling going.
I take my girlfreind to putah every so often. She usually cries once each trip from falling, wading in higher water, or frustration--she's not very outdoorsy though. The bridge area has by far the easiest access. There are a lot of planters there and throughout the resort area, plus casting is fairly easy; but I hate fishing there because of the people. Access 5 is pretty good if she can wade across to the island; the casting is pretty easy in spots also. My favorite area of the creek is from access 3 to the second split below the bridge, but you have to crawl/climb over downed trees and boulders, and avoid the poison oak. Another negative about that stretch is that there aren't many places for two people to fish.
If your wife is patient and has faith that she will eventually catch something, understands why she needs to mend and can put a fly in the water, then she will succeed. My girlfreinds problem is that after 30 min. or so she loses all faith in her abilities, the area she's fishing, and the possibility of her catching a fish. So I guess what I'm saying is, if your wife can handle hiking, falling, tangles, snags + moss...get skunked, and ask for seconds, then she can fish anywhere. But if she doesn't seem that interested, then Putah Creek might ruin her confidence and her outlook on fishing. This has been my experience anyway.
Putah might not be the best place to "keep the good feeling going" ... especially during the summer. In my opinion it fishes much better in the winter. Well not this winter since we had all that rain.
I agree Putah wouldnt be the best spot, I would find a small creek in the mountains with lots of eager small trout that will smack any dry fly that floats by.
I agree with you guys. I am taking her up to Ice House (just below) to silver creek. easy walk and plenty of space to cast. I have caught several fish up to 18" there so it should interesting.
If we dont get into any hold overs we can always hit the bar for a burger and a beer. Oh and no poison oak!
You can take her fishing for bluegill. She won't get into six pounders, but she will catch a lot of fish. They're hard fighting, too. There are lots of lakes in the area with bluegill, and when you find the fish, you can catch them non-stop for hours. My wife loves it. Bluegill are not the smartest fish in the world, so anything that they can fit in their mouth would be the fly of choice.
-- Edited by JT at 01:53, 2006-06-24
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