Planning to fish the lower yuba this weekend, was considering the american as well but i think the yuba will be a little less crowded. I have never fished this river before, i have never fished this water and need some info, as i will be heading up there with no more then a map and whatever info. i can gather on the net, I am planning to most likely start at the parks bar access area and work down stream. Is this big water, is it wadable, and is access good ? Basically any info. on what to expect would be greatly appreciated from fellow putahites. Hope to find a hotel/motel room near by, not sure my back can take another weekend fishing trip sleeping in the car
Start at the Hwy 20 Bridge. Park there and fish right below the bridge for a bit. Walk down a little and fish those other runs. Get back in your car and drive down the dirt road that is on the Nevada City side of the river. Follow the road down river and pull off and stop where it looks fishy. You can follow the dirt road for a few miles. Lots of big stonefly nymphs last time I was there a few weeks ago. I hope this helps. Tight Lines Matt
thanx guys, hey matt is that dirt road maintained ok, i only have a car. and yeah i planned on stocking up on glo bugs. hope to get my first ever steelie, or at least a hook up.
I havent driven on that road this year. I was in a drift boat my most recent trip on the Yuba. You could always drive as far as you can and then park and use the road as a trail. It runs right along the river.
If the road looks too rough and you decide to park at the bridge, just be sure to park on the Nevada City side of the bridge ... better access
Also, I am pretty sure upriver of the bridge is closed to protect spawning salmon right now. So obviously dont head up stream. I think its also barbless and C&R.
My fishing buddy and I drove that road from outside Yuba City up to the bridge this summer. It can be a bit rough, with lots of holes, but doable with a car. Just don't go too fast so you can drive around the rough spots.
I'll be there this weekend as well. I fish this area extensively year round. Send me a note later and I'll try to find you there. I drive a grey Tundra p/u. Bring some large rubberleg stimulators.
I fish the yuba a lot, but this year I've only fished it twice. In April, after the rain storms (it was flowing 100K CFS - 33X normal summer flow), it washed all the insects away. Killed the fishing. A guide buddy of mine said it had picked up recently (last several weeks) and that the egg bite was OK - and that there were some residual caddis, and some mayflies.
My experience at this time of year has been an egg (glo bug or pettis unreal) and a dropper with caddis pupa or pheasant tail. Fish the reds, but DONT wade on them. You see salmon in water more than 10 inches deep that's moving OK, e.g. a riffle), fish it. You have to be very stealthy in your approach though. Fish the drop offs behind the salmon beds as the light gets on the water, as the trout will seek shelter. Fish the reds again as the light moves off the water. I've had 30 fish days wade fishing this time of year on the Yuba, it can truly be fantastic. If you hook a salmon, and you hook won't pull free (if you use barbless this usually isn't a problem), break your line and retie.
I wouldn't start at the HWY 20 bridge. Look into hammond grove. Cross rightaway and head upstream (not down). I'm not sure what the floods did, but if they didn't dramatically change this area, there is great fishing from there all the way up about 2 miles (if you're willing to hoof it). Strike indicator and about a 9 foot leader with 3-4x tippet to your egg, and 4x-5x to your dropper. Weight those flies in fast water to get them down fast, and be sure to be wary of the Reds and your approach. If you do it right, the Yuba will reward you handsomely. I may hit it myself on Sunday.
Thanx for all the info. guys. Made it up there at about 7 a.m the fog was really bad on the drive up. Well, to put it bluntly that river kicked my butt, fished almost 9 hours and did not get one single bite, started at the hammond grove area fished a little ways down stream then about a mile upstream, then went to the hwy 20 bridge, worked well over two miles downstream, theres still alot of salmon in there, i set up right behind em with various egg patterns, i really thought this stategy was gonna be the ticket but nodda. I watched several others fishing and didnt really see much action, saw one guy who obviously new what he was doing land three in about an hour, nothing large. there was very little insect activity, started to get a few rises in the evening but nithing to get excited about. the water is ultra clear, its a very different type of river then i am used to fishing, i like smaller waters, i also found this river to be quit diffucult to read, theres just so much water to cover i think i should have stayed for another day to try and figure things out, anyways i'll give the yuba another try a little later in the year, i'd also like to try and check out the shad run, never fished em before. I may try the trinity on thanksgiving day and stay for at least 2 days, i bet thats one sure fire way to get away from the crowds up there, after all you gotta be pretty hard core to fish on turkey day, hmmmm a warm house with tons of food or a cold wet day of fishing a beatiful river, its a no brainer i'm goin fishin!
Were you just below Hammod grove at dusk ? I was on the opposite side of the river. I too started up by the bridge and found it tough. Did you see the Adult stones returning to lay their eggs? I've never see them before. I caught a few decent fish fishing giant rubberlegs. I did land 3 huge salmon in the fast water just below hammond grove. Two were mouth hooked, the other snagged in the head. I've had alot of success this year with big yellow and pink flys for salmon both on the Yuba and the American.
yeah, good chance that was me u saw, man those salmon are freakin huge, i am surprised you landed em, i thought about tryin to get one for fun but was afraid i might get spooled, anyways i may try it again this coming weekend i'm still tryin to decide where to fish this weekend, i did see a nice trout or was it a steelhead jump a few times down from hammond grove it was pretty big at leats 25 inches. up At the bridge i started to find better looking water after i got about a mile downstream, it just seems so shallow up near the bridge. I am looking forward to working upstream from the hwy 20 bridge. there are an awfully lot of stonefly nymph shells all over up there.
First, when I fish the Salmon, I use a 9wt with about 350yds backing and 25# tippet. Did you see the great big one with the huge hump on his back? (I'm guessing 40+#) I was hooked up with that fish as I was wading across the river to get my camera as you were approaching. That run just below the bridge is much deeper than you think. I lost my glasses earlier this year and had to snorkle for them. That water is super freakin' cold. I have always had better luck in the shallower sections. I primarily use the biggest golden stone nymphs I can find and fish the edges. If the nymphs don't work I have a couple of different stimulator patterns I chunk; always rubberlegs. I'm sure everybody has their favorites for the same area, but I never been skunked there. We have a cabin up in nevada city at one of the campgrounds there. The run at hammond grove was totally washed out by the floods this year. Last year that whole stretch was 2' deep except right near the hammond grove bank. There were a lot of medium-size bows (16"-22") working the deeper water just upstream from hammond grove. The Yuba is an awesome fishery as far as I'm concerned. This summer there was a decent run of summer steelhead. Most fish in the 25"-29" range. When the water is gin clear it fishes really tough. Maybe we'll meet again someplace else...I'll be back up there around mid-December. One word of caution....once the river get riddled with dead salmon, the bears tend to hang out close to the river. I saw two last winter before the rains came.
I am thinking about heading out to the yuba this saterday, I have never had that great of luck out there, but I have only fished it a couple of times too. How is it fishing right now? Are the salmon still in the river? Other than glo bug and stoneflys is there anything i should throw into my box?
Fished there last Friday, all day, and got one strike, on an egg pattern. There are still some salmon, but not many. As far as other bugs, streamers, etc. I had NO luck. One guy got five trout on an olive bugger in a few runs - but he was the ONLY person I saw that day (including guys in boats) who had any luck at all.
There was a decent baetis hatch and some caddis and ZERO surface activity.
So, I would say, wait until next year.
If you do go, try below the bridge. I fished up from Hammond grove and got skunked.
pretty much the exact same luck i had two weeks ago, i read somewhere that the big floods of last april flushed all the insect life from the river. i was gonna hit it again this weekend but after reading the last report i guess i'll wait. guess it'll have to be the ol stand by putah trip.
Local guide Kieth Kaneko spoke at the Davis Flyfishers meeting last night, and he even noted how slow the Yuba has been. Hopefully the bugs will be back next year if it doesn't get blown out again.
I have to disagree with the bug gone theory. On any given day, observe the numbers of stonefly husks clinging to the rocks. Those guys live 2-3 years as nymphs and then migrate and hatch. Where did they go during the floods ? Nowhere. I fished all year long and catch fish every time I go. I might have to go through 10 or 15 patterns until I find one that works. The Yuba does not follow the conventional wisdom of fly angling in my opinion. It gets really tough this of year when the water is gin clear. These fish are super smart and are very spooky. My best days are always fishing the fast broken water sections where surface rises go unnoticed. In the slower flat pools, I've had horrible luck. But, look up to the trees for a clue. Have you ever noticed the number of ospery nests nearby ? Those big flat pools might look appealing to us, but the trout will seek the best lies that offer food, shelter from current, and camoflouge from predators. I have fished the Lower Yuba for two years now; one before flood and one after flood and I keep a log book of what the conditions were and what bugs I saw hatch and the patterns that caught fish. A quick look back in the past gives me a pretty decent start that usually results in fish. Log books can be worth their weight in platinum if you are serious about keeping one.
I'll side with Rich on this one. Though I havn't fished the Yuba in a number of years I did fish it after the 1997 floods. If I remember right there was a 20+ foot wall of water flowing over the top of Engelbright dam and the river was churning along well over 100,000 cfs.
The following year I found that a some of the areas I used to fish were no longer there and other spots that used to be high and dry were now deep pools. The bugs however were still there and we still caught fish.
Try some different patterns, different techniques and different kinds of water before passing judgement though I think the Yuba of the early 90's is gone forever.
If you want to try something different try floating from Engelbright down to the hwy 20 bridge. Serious inquiries only.
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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.
When are you going? It's open now. I'm headed up to The American for some late run salmon in the morning. This full moon should have brought some fresh fish in. It was about this time last year that they took down the racks. We had a few weeks of awesome fishin' before the flood.
Those big flat pools might look appealing to us, but the trout will seek the best lies that offer food, shelter from current, and camoflouge from predators. I have fished the Lower Yuba for two years now; one before flood and one after flood and I keep a log book of what the conditions were and what bugs I saw hatch and the patterns that caught fish. A quick look back in the past gives me a pretty decent start that usually results in fish. Log books can be worth their weight in platinum 
if you are serious about keeping one.
