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View Full Version : It's Skwala Time



Tony Buzolich
02-05-2007, 08:27 PM
If you guys are tired of chasing steelhead on the American you might want to hit the Yuba with some skwala patterns fished dry..

One of my good customers came in the other day and wanted me to identify some live bugs he had collected. He had been up at the Hwy.20 bridge area nymphing and did take a couple of nice trout about 14"-15" but he said that fish were jumping all around him chasing these bugs and he didn't have any dry pattern that looked anything like what was flying around.

Sure enough, adult Skwala Stones.

He said they were crawling all over him as he waded and couldn't wait to get back up there after changing lines and grabbing a few new patterns from the shop.
TONY

dtp916
02-06-2007, 03:51 PM
Hmmmm. I hope this is better than last year :?

I'll try to get out this weekend, I need to tie some skwala dries.

Tony Buzolich
02-06-2007, 09:43 PM
The best pattern I've seen for an adult looks like a dark gray stimulator with a black butt for an egg mass.

Probably a #8 or #10 would be just about right.
TONY

FireFly
02-08-2007, 10:30 AM
I fished the Yuba 2/6/07, and I am getting ready to roll down there again
today. I hooked a few fish on Tuesday with a bunch of should haves.

I have been fishing a #6 black and green stimulator pattern.
Also picking-up fish under a indicator with a poxyback haresear,red copper johns,and small micro-mays.


Go Fish

Bill Kiene semi-retired
02-08-2007, 11:45 AM
Warm sunny afternoons are usually best for the big stones to be flying around.

If it's cold and foggy look for mayflies on top.

MSP
02-08-2007, 06:01 PM
Fished the Skwala hatch a few times in the past and found this pattern worked real well. When a Skwala hits the water they just lay low and flat, unlike other Stoneflies that flutter. This pattern looks real good on the water. The fish seem to agree.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/MPutman/skwalla2.jpg

dtp916
02-08-2007, 06:49 PM
How do you think the Yuba will be fishing this weekend with all the rain were getting? :?

Probably no skwalas flying around if there's no sun......but i've caught browns on top in the middle of a November BWO hatch on hopper patterns...maybe I have a chance 8) That wasn't the Yuba though :lol:

hookedupanglers
02-09-2007, 07:03 AM
I fished the Yuba yesterday with a few clients from Utah. They didnt want to use an indicator setup so we used drys all day. I found lots of large stones under rocks and even saw a few of the Skwala's on the surface.

After a slow day I talked them into adding #16 olive bird of prey as a dropper and we picked up a few fish below sycamore. Every time the sun came out we saw good may fly action.

You would be amazed at the amount of out of state clients I get from the artical 2 years ago in western fly fishing mag.

davkrat
02-09-2007, 07:07 AM
Tou should link your response to the poll on fishing reports. Pretty much sums it up!

SullyTM
02-09-2007, 08:47 AM
Nice fly MSP...How was the wine? :D

Later...

MSP
02-09-2007, 09:27 AM
Hey Thom, the wine it turned out was better than the fly :shock: . Maybe I should have tied the fly before I opened the wine. :D

FireFly
02-10-2007, 11:44 AM
Yuba 2/9/07, picked-up several fish. Skawala dry was not the ticket on Thursday, I think the weather had something to do with it. Small nymphs did the trick. #18 glass bead micro-may(brown).

I saw HookedUpAnglers go by, glad to hear you guys picked-up a few fish the second half of the drift. How has the fishing been between Sycamore
and the gun club? I have access to the club now, we are going to float a couple of days this week.

This weekend on the Yuba ? Deer Creek,Squirrel Creek and all the other water that dumps into the Yuba is pretty high and looks a bit like chocolate
milk. Midweek a better bet. As things start to clear , San Juan worm & and
a black AP worked in the past.

Getting the Skawala riding low in the water is a must, great point, many more hook-ups that way.

Go Fish

Ed Wahl
02-10-2007, 02:22 PM
Mike, is that a standard pattern, or something you came up with? Ed

MSP
02-10-2007, 04:53 PM
Well Ed I haven't seen it in this exact form. There are few Standard Stonefly patterns that it basically is patterned after. I think any Stonefly dry pattern will work, just keep the wing from flaring up. I use my carpet material for the wing and underbody and just normal yarn for the body. I think the most important part is keeping a low profile. They are a little tough to see sometimes but that just keeps you more focused! :shock:

Ed Wahl
02-10-2007, 05:14 PM
After watching Golden Stones drifting by and getting gobbled up one day, I trimmed the bottom hackle off of some Stimulators, they don't stay afloat nearly as well but the fish sure seemed to approve of them. If the weather clears again this winter maybe I'll drift up to the Yuba myself. Ed

hookedupanglers
02-11-2007, 01:59 PM
Firefly,

As of this last night the yuba was @ almost 10,000 cfs. Im not sure if the meter is wrong or what. be sure to check before you go.

We have been doing well between sycamore and the gun club. I think a lot of fish are holdind in that area. I would be sure to time your float so you hit sycamore around 2:00 pm. That gives you a lot of time to spend on the less fished area.


Good luck, Damain

chemdoc
02-11-2007, 11:20 PM
I suspect that those flows are correct. According to the reservoir data, Englebright is at 99% of capacity, so they are releasing nearly all of the water flowing in from upstream, still over 4000cfs tonight. I found a useful website that gives inflow and outflow information for the major reservoirs. The link is http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/current/RES.

Phil

FireFly
02-12-2007, 10:26 PM
Damian,

Thanks for the heads up on the section of the Yuba below Sycamore. 10,000 cfs is a bit much for me, although last year we had many productive days with the river between 5,000-7,000 cfs. You are still able to take a boat out at Sycamore during those flows, not real sure the takeout looks like at the gunclub when that kind of water is in the system. I think I will wait until 4,500 cfs shows up. Is it me or are the guys that o
pen and close the valves at Englebright a little paranoid :?

Go fish,
Rich