January Fly Fishing Ideas

LCO Staff Winter Fly Fishing Options

You might think the middle of winter isn't the greatest time to go fly fishing, and if you live in Montana, you might be right. But, luckily, in California, we have year-round fishing and a plethora of options in winter.

Here's a hit list of our favorite winter fisheries that are looking good right now:

• Pyramid Lake: winter is prime time out at Pyramid. The more stormy it is the better. It's only a 4.5 hour drive from the Bay Area to catch the biggest trout of your life. Remember you need to get a tribal fishing permit to fish the lake, which you can do here.
  
  
• Hat Creek: look for cool and cloudy days through the winter and put Hat Creek on your winter fishing list. Consistent flows and blue winged olive mayfly hatches are what you're chasing. Nymphing with small mayflies and midges is productive and if you're up for it, toss streamers.
  
  
• Lakes Oroville & Berryessa: If you have a boat, of any kind, do some winter bass fishing. We are fortunate in CA to have year-round bass fishing, so get to it and bust out the Float n Fly rig or the full sink line to strip streamers. Spotted bass are the main target and can be caught by the truckload. Large and smallmouth are also possible. 
  
  
• Stanislaus: the Lower Stan flows look good right now. Fish around Knights Ferry or up closer to the dam. Small mayflies and midges under a bobber is the ticket. Think Putah style fishing, with Putah style trout possible. Bonus points for the Stan because it's an easy day trip from the Bay Area.
  
  
• Eastern Sierra: Upper Owens, Lower Owens and Hot Creek are all good options during winter. The question is always access. If there is too much snow in the valley it gets tough to drive off pavement and hiking in can be a bear. The Lower Owens is flow dependent. Look for flows under 500CFS. Preferably more like 300CFS. To get there from anywhere in Nor Cal you need to go over Donner Pass. From So Cal you can go around and up 395. 
  
  
• Truckee River-Nevada side: The way lower Truckee, like east of Reno, fishes best during the cooler months and right through dead of winter. Good water and air temps mean big, mean browns and rainbows. Public access abounds. Start at the exit for the Mustang Ranch. Wade it or bring a raft. 
  
  
• Lower Yuba River: She's running hard right now, but with this cold and clear weather ahead, look for the flows to drop dramatically. Good wade fishing is around 1000CFS at the Marysville gauge. The Yuba is one of the best winter trout fisheries in the nation when conditions are right. Pack some skwala stonefly dries if you go. Don't be caught without dry flies when the trout are looking up. Try the Burkus Skwala for a high floating, tasty bug.
  
  
• Local Surf: Now that king tides are over, your local beach is back in effect. While January isn't prime time in the Bay, there's always a few stripers swimming around and herring are spawning, which attracts birds and predator fish (stripers). On the coastal beaches, surf perch fishing is in full effect for winter. Look for low swell and low wind days and fish a fast sinking line and anything with orange on it. One of our favorites is the simple Perch Krystal Bugger 
  
  
• Steelhead: Most of our steelhead rivers will be a bit before they're fishable. However, the Smith River clears quickly after high water and smaller streams generally clear quicker than large streams. By this weekend you will have a few steelhead options. Dam flows on the Trinity are high and likely to remain high, but keep an eye on the graph. If flows come down to normal levels, winter steelhead fishing can be quite good.