Lower Yuba & Lower Sac Fly Fishing Report
Hogan Brown Reports on 1.12.17
So, if you have read any of the fishing reports you are probably already under the realization that most everything is blown out…That amount of water that has come down the Lower Yuba and Lower Sacramento is incredible. Outside of Chico the Sac got up to 115,000cfs and the Yuba got up to 81,000cfs (as of 9 Jan)…those are river channel changing flows. New runs, riffles, and even paths of the river will most likely result in addition to fish displacement, complete scouring of the river bottom resulting in the wiping out of insect populations, bank habitat, willows…etc.
Here are a few reports from what I have heard or seen but for the most part I am tying flies, playing guitar, and catching up on movies/shows in my free time.
The Lower Yuba River was fishable for a few days at most, but with all the rain there has been massive amounts of water coming down the Lower Yuba, lows reached over 80,000cfs this last week. Who knows when the river will be fishable again… My best guess is it will take a good month for flows to drop to anywhere near fishable and then any storm will blow the river out again so who knows consistent flows may not come until May/June. No matter when it is going to be a completely different river when the flows do drop.
The Lower Sacramento Riverwas kicked back up to 15,000cfs only after being down around 5500cfs for only a week at most and then the rain came, and flows are now up over 21,000cfs out of Keswick with flooding throughout the water shed down river. The Sac outside of Chico reached over 100,000cfs cresting at about 115,000cfs on Jan 10th. Flows over 20,000cfs out of Keswik are not unfishable but I am not sure what the clarity coming out of Shasta is. I can’t imagine it is very clear. Not sure when flows will clear and drop
Butte Creek is blown out and will need a week or so of dry weather to be fishable again. May get a week or two of fishing in before it closes Feb 15
Feather River, I have not heard any reports sense the upper stretch above Hwy 70 opened Jan 1 but I did drive over the river this afternoon (Jan 7) and the river was starting to color up meaning that Lake Oroville was getting muddy.
Capt. Hogan Brown
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