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Putah Creek Fly Fishing Report

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Putah Creek Fly Fishing Report

Richard Loft reports on 6.14.19 

The Grass is always Greener
It seems like every summer mid-day fishing slows down; temps spike and the new underwater grass growth make doing any serous nymphing problematic as flows ramp up. On the good side, the days are so much longer and that means that much longer time to seek and catch beautiful rainbow trout. On the tougher side, you need more and more weight with longer leaders and then, of course, I start picking up tons of new growth grass. So, in these summer months, I sometimes start my fishing sessions later in the day while fish are relatively active or and using a balanced amount of weight to lessen dragging the bottom and getting all that grass. I see this every year. As a guide I am obligated to fish under conditions that aren't always optimum but by persevering I still usually find a fish or two willing to play ball regardless of temps, flows and other adverse conditions including heavy fishing pressure but all these can and do affect the bite so I am starting to bring different rods and a good selection of heavier flys to get into sections of pocket water not easily fished with an indicator. Not that I don't bring my usual rod I do but it pays to have a few tactics and a willingness to fish in spite of the current heat and higher flows, 500 cfs as of today.

I've included a picture of one of the fish of my clients hooked and landed and was caught around 3 pm in the afternoon during the hottest time of the day so that just goes to show a great example of those surprises that I love about fly-fishing.

The grass is here to stay as long as we have spring and summer it actually helps the fish by providing cover for fish habitat for bugs and is just part of a healthy river and ecosystem; furthermore, it forces me to explore sections of the river I would otherwise pass over.

If you want to get out there, feel free to give me a call or email

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