Captain. Bryce Tedford reports on 5.23.19

Delta Fishing Report:

Striper fishing in the Delta has been tougher the last 2 weeks. Still getting 10-20 fish with some medium size fish mixed in but we are having to work for them. We have experienced heavy winds, rainy days & a focus on spawning the last week. Hoping the weather settles down & we see another 3-4wks of Striper fishing to finish out the Spring Delta season. Most fish we have been finding are smaller “schoolies” but 3-5lb fish are mixed in & the occasional larger fish can be found as well! Water temperatures are 62-66 degrees in different spots within the Delta depending on where you fish. For Stripers subsurface I continue to use 1/0-3/0 “Steve Adachi” style rattle Clouser flies in various color combinations.

Arrrggggh! I will not sugar this up, what gives with this weather?!? As I write this weeks report, not only is it snowing outside, BUT, it is sticking on the ground AND starting to pile up. Winter has a stranglehold on spring. Fishing? Get out there and enjoy the Sierra but keep your eye on the forecasts. The next ten-day long range forecast looks to be cold, unsettled, and damp. Oh well….. hang in there and dress warmly.

The Reservoir is brimming with water and poised for spring runoff. The flows have been hanging steady at 340 and the water temps are coming up stimulating some nice insect hatches, in particular BWO’s. The trout are moving around and settling into their new habitats. Fishing is good now. There are a lot of hogs in all the good places. Try skwala and baetis patterns.

Hot Creek

The creek is flowing through the canyon at 80 cfs. Target your casts to the feeding lanes between the grasses and rocks. You may not see fish, but they are there. Try a dry-dropper setup with a caddis or mayfly pattern above and a midge or scud below.

Upper Owens River

The flows are at 75 cfs but these are readings taken high in the river system. Once Hot Creek dumps into the mid-section the flows are closer to about 150 cfs. More and more trout are spreading out throughout the river system. The cutthroats are in the river now for their spawn so be careful where you wade and fish. If you see spawning beds AND more importantly trout sitting on their redds, please avoid the temptation of hooking into spawning fish. Leave the spawning trout alone, they are stressed out enough and can die easily during this important time of the year. Cast into the deeper buckets… there are a lot of fish following the spawn feeding on eggs being washed downstream from the cutthroats.

Lower Owens River

The Lower Owens flows have dropped (finally) to 380 cfs. This is still on the high side for this section of the river so exercise some caution when you fish. You can easily go for am impromptu swim and end up flushed downstream if you are not careful. Most trout are in that 10-12” range but if you poke around and get lucky, you can hook into some browns in the 15-16” category. There are some healthy midge and mayfly hatches throughout the day. I caught fish on everything from green caddis worms to black midges. 

Rob Russell reports on 05.23.19

     Putah Creek is fishing well this Spring. High water finally subsided in April and fishing has been consistently good.

It seems as if it may be the year of the pig! Putah trout are extremely healthy this year, and as fat, as I've seen wild trout anywhere

High praise for such a small creek perhaps, but Putah is a true gem. A resource to be enjoyed just an hour north of the city (SF), a more interesting trout fishery you may not find. Biased yes, but the opportunity for world-class trout fishing exists here at Putah Creek!

     If you would like to learn more about Putah Creek, or are interested in a guided trip, please call 707-888-2571. Cheers! 

 -Rob

Rob Russell Fly Fishing

Santa Rosa, CA

russellrob5@gmail.com 

Instagram... @robrussellflyfishing 

Shad are in! We have reports for the following rivers:

Russian River

Just came into shape, but then the recent rains and upcoming rains will likely affect the clarity.  

American River

A good number of shad and stripers being reported on the American River. She is flowing at 9k fishing from the bank though. 

Yuba River

High and Flowing steady at 6660 CFS. They plan to drop the river to 5k next week if you believe the river forecast. Yuba River Dam Release Schedule 5/14:

https://www.yubawater.org/190/River-Conditions

Short-term Forecast

Englebright Reservoir is expected to continue spilling until June. It is anticipated that total releases from Englebright Reservoir will range between 7,000 cfs, and 5,000 cfs for the next week. Flows in the lower Yuba River are managed to comply with license and flow requirements. Flows can change swiftly and suddenly, so be prepared when recreating on the lower Yuba River or avoid the river for your safety.

Putah Creek Report 5.16.2019

Putah Creek flows are absolutely perfect right now which is probably why we have been hearing such great things about the fishing and bad things about the crowds. A variety of midges is important on the creek, but san juans in squirmy and non-squirmy varieties. Small Streamers and dead drifted leaches have been a solid bet. 

Dave Neal reports on May 16, 2019

A return to whacky weather has us pulling out the Gore-Tex shells
and waders… again. The winter won’t relinquish! Before the rains returned we were experiencing solid days on the Lower Sac during that last warm and sunny stretch these past few weeks. As you would expect, caddis have been the main event
driving the good fishing - especially in the sunny and warmer afternoons. Trout are also looking for and chowing on random stonefly nymphs – a testament to the amount of fish netted on Rubber Legs these past few weeks. Have some of these patterns in black and brown, #6-10 but don’t forget the little yellow stones, too,
UV Sallies #12-14, Mercer’s poxyback #14 The entire river is fishing well from Redding to Cottonwood, which has been nice because the crowds and guide boats have spread out accordingly. It will be interesting to see how this return of colder, wet weather changes things this week… be prepared to observe, adjust and “keep fishing”. In other words, be flexible. What you caught em’ on last time may not be what is happening now. I suspect we’ll see a few more mayflies enter the game on these rainy/cloudy days. It’s only mid May and there are plenty of bwo, pmd
and maybe some of the bigger clinger bugs still looking for an opportunity to make a push for the surface and party. Oh, and eggs. Eggs and cloudy days on this anadromous river are synonymous. I have a few open days I’d like to fill… May 28, 29, 30. Lets go fishing!