I have been in the area for two years now and fishing Putah for one. Has there ever been or will there be a time when Putah might become a year-round fly-fishing only creek. I would like to know how many people might be interested in forming some sort of organization that could lobby this cause and then maybe get together to improve conditions at the creek by organizing formal clean-up days, improve the fish stocking program, etc.
It would be nice to see fly-fishing-only regulations on the creek. It would take care of most of the trash problems and make for an incredible fishery. I think that the fish population would have to be in some sort of danger before something like that happened, though. Anyway, it's worth looking into.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
I think it is nice the way it is personally. A designate fly season is fair in my opinion. As far as trash is concerned I would be willing to help keep the creek cleaned up. It is the responsability of everybody; fly fishermen, spin fishermen, rec. users and everybody else to "pack in and pack out." I notice the problem exists most heavily around the bridge. Also, maybe make it a catch and release stream all year round. Just my opinion though.
The more years go by the more bizarre the whole put and take fisheries management approach seems to me. Personally I'd like to see it be the exception to find waters that DON'T have a trophy trout or wild trout management approach. For waters where the fisheries have crashed it would force people to address the true reasons: loss or destruction of habitat, erosion, dams, silting, polution, overfishing, channelization, whatever. Stocking bathtubs full of hatchery trout just creates an illusion of a healthy fishery that is more than likely causing long term irreversible damage by disguising the true state of the fishery while adversely impacting the diverse gene pool of native strains. Want to catch fish? Then take care of the habitat and manage the fishery in a high quality, sustainable manner. Want to keep fish? Sure, go ahead, within carefully controlled limits. Would there still be a put and take fishery? Sure, there's room for that, but not on the scale that it's being handled today with a not-so-discrete emphasis on catering to children ala fishing derbies and such. I don't have a lot of interest in pursuing a quarry that up until a week or so earlier associated the silhouette of a human with a pending deluge of Purina Trout Chow pellets. In a perfect world regulations would be based on what the fishery could support, ranging from everything goes, to single-barbless-hooks-artificial-lures-only, to fly fishing only, to fly fishing/barbless/catch & release only, to no fishing at all.
Full disclosure: My heart is in fly fishing but I'm not above spin fishing or drowning worms with my nephews or a newbie to get them hooked, and I've tried and enjoyed private trout waters like Oasis Springs and Sugar Creek Ranch. But when I'm on my own or with a trusted fishing buddy I'm heading for the remote hide-aways with my fly rod. I'm 98% catch and release. For me, a 6" wild trout caught and released is worth more than any number of multi-pound hatchery fish kept or released. Large wild trout are a legacy we should strive to preserve for future generations to enjoy. A large hatchery trout? Who cares. Stepping off soap box....
My opinion is that putah creek should no longer be planted with hatchery fish. That would for the most part get rid of most of the unethical, unskilled morons that trash putah. To make it fly only would not be right, i have a few freinds that i take up there once in awhile, that are really good spin fishers, they love to fish putah and i really dont think to deprive people like this from quality trout fishing so close to home would be right. After all most all people who fly fish started out as spin fisherman, right? So my point is that todays guy that is using spinning gear is tommorrows flyfisherman, and the more people we have enjoying our sport the stronger the sport becomes.
I would also not be in favor of making it fly only. There is a strong elitism among fly fishermen that really pisses me off quite frankly even though I grew up fly fishing. The funny thing that I have noticed is that in my experience it is most prevalent among people who have only been fly fishing a few years. You very rarely find it among professional guides, especially ones who guide both fresh and sal****er.
There is nothing wrong with spin fishing and while the bad apples on the creek may indeed be primarily bait people, it is not fair to generalize when 99% of them are ethical and practice good behavior on the creek.
While I too practice primarily catch and release, it also annoys me when anybody implies it is wrong to take fish. Fishing is a form of hunting, which some people for some reason want to resist. Without the hunting aspect, you might as well rename it 'Drag a fish around the creek for my amusement'.
I am sure this post will annoy some people, but the dominant 'Fly fishing is the only good type of fishing and unless you release all your fish you are a bad person' mentality does rub me the wrong way. There is nothing wrong with releasing fish and there is nothing wrong with keeping them as long as the fishery is healthy.
