Lower Yuba Fly Fishing Report

Jon Baiocchi Reports on 2.8.2018

Winter is the new summer lately. Hard to believe it’s the first week of February, above normal temperatures with bright sunny skies. I really like it, but fear the next to nothing snowpack in the Sierra. We need more snow, with high water content, or things will be bleak this coming summer and fall.  Pray for a March miracle. The Lower Yuba River still amazes me with how quickly it has come back. Lance Gray and I had another Yuba Tour today, and the entomology sampling was as good as the last one with a few exceptions. There were tons of baetis nymphs, and quite a few March Brown nymphs in the mix. So good to see. Current conditions has the flows right around 910 cfs, though today there was a short spike in the flows from releases from Scotts Flat reservoir into Deer creek that bumped it up to 1,101 cubes. Short-lived and back down. My guests and I have still yet to use a nymph rig, it’s been all about waiting for the Skwala stones to get active during noon to 4pm and making dry fly presentations. Every day has been different, and sometimes you see many adults scurrying around on the rocks, and floating down the foam lines, while other days not so many. Regardless, most of the fish are keyed in on them. Mayflies have been sparse but still present. BWOs, and PMDs mostly. You’ll find more mayfly eaters in the calmer flats. We should see these conditions to last for quite some time, and you can expect the Skwalas to be present clear into the middle of March. Decent numbers of smaller feisty rainbows with the occasional legit fish are being fooled with Skwala patterns that are the right size, with that unique Yuba River color. I’ve got a few open dates heading into March. Shorten your learning curve, gain knowledge, and advance your skill set for future endeavors. 530.228.0487 Jon Baiocchi