Lower Sac and Yuba Fly Fishing Report

Hogan Brown Reports on 2.1.2016

Lower Sacramento River

River is fishing well down to the cow creek area so mainly Posse to Anderson. Cow and Cotton wood should clear over the next week but it will take awhile as both were pretty high and muddy as of Sunday. The clarity from Bonnie View down to Anderson was about 2-3’ and it was off color enough I did’t have much confidence fishing smaller mayflies like I usually would in the morning.

Fishing has been pretty typical winter trout fishing. Best fishing seems to be from about 11am on. I saw my first caddis hatch on Saturday during the warmest part of the day and fish definitely got on them when they were hatching. Before that we were catching fish on rubber legs and #14 pheasant tails. We caught a few fish on attractor egg patterns as there are winter salmon around but none that I saw on reds. I imagine that on some of the warmer days this week the caddis will get going and there could be some good to very good fishing if they really get going.

Lower Yuba River

is high and off color but dropping. I doubt though that even as it drops it will clear very quickly both the Middle and South Fork Yuba are pumping mud and the lake will most likely blow out making for a very dirty river for a while unfortunately. That said I will fish the Yuba muddier then any other river I guide with confidence. Fish big bugs and swing streamers as the river drops and clears. I wouldn’t put much confidence in dry flies with poor clarity.