Putah Creek Fly Fishing Report

Richard Loft reports on 5.17.18

Hey, Everyone, I want to give my Putah Creek report for the last two weeks. It’s the most beautiful time of year on the Creek; whether you catch fish or not it’s the best place in the world to be; standing in the middle of a river, casting to wild rainbow trout and listening to the sound of flowing water. I love it every minute of it!

So summer flows are definitely here; in the mid 300s and still climbing upwards of 460. Wading is still possible if you know where to cross so I am still taking clients across at some places and getting into some fish with a few in the 15 to 16 inch range, one of my recent clients best was a nice 16 incher on a #14 soft hackle pattern as soon as I changed out flys. With that said, things can be tough every time flows go up above 350 to 400 cfs and not only for my clients, but the word I am hearing from my fishing buddies is that fishing has been a little slow for everyone with a few reports of good numbers. 

 In my experience this is where the learning really happens; when my numbers go down I try new strategies not used when fishing numbers are high and the usual techniques are working. So in these high summer flows and hotter days, I also fish water I would normally overlook so it’s about staying on the water trying new things.  So remember to move around to different spots; streamers have produced a few fish as well as high sticking in the water you might normally overlook.

Try going to a yarn indicator and fish softer water or rigging a shorter leader with a very small indi and fish the edges. At the end of the day summer fishing can be challenging so look around and fish water or rivers you might otherwise overlook and try new techniques….the list goes on and on. 

Whether or not we might not want to admit it, in the art and sport of fly-fishing, we are all continually learning or at least I think we should be. 

The creek is pretty crowded these days, so if you’d like to book a day with me, the weekdays are best since there will be less pressure and more available spots. The weather is good, you can still fish the high flows, and enjoy the best sport in the world! Please feel free to call/email for my available dates. See you on the water! -Richard Loft, 707-294-4738; napavalleyflyguides@gmail.com#frputahcreek #flyfishinglife #napavalleyflyguides