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View Full Version : Lower Yuba R report 8/19/16



yubaman
08-20-2016, 12:42 PM
Chris, here's your report:

In one word . . . HOT, as in 102 degrees yesterday. When you're from Albany, where a warm day is 75 degrees, man was it hot on the Yuba yesterday. Started very early in the morning, knowing the heat would probably chase me off by 2:30, which it did.

Got a couple of fish, had a nice one break me off right on the take as well. Got one on a hopper on top, another on an S&M down below and a couple on the trust Rubberlegs. I'm guessing most of the fish are down deep in the holes right now. I did see a few smaller fish rising sporadically during the day, but not much to speak of. Pitched some streamers for awhile, but no takers.

This was the first that I had fished the upper-upper section of the river, near the narrows, since the high flows. Dramatic changes in streambed topography to say the least. The river looks great. The gravel push-around has the river itself looking in excellent shape. The rocks seem to have gotten a good cleansing this spring as well. Some runs filled in, other were gouged out, but all-in-all, the Yuba is looking to me to be in great shape. Once the bugs become re-established, this could be the start of another real upswing in the life of the river. The fish were very healthy, nice and chunky. I'm thinking we could be in for a great winter and spring of the upcoming season, keep our fingers crossed.

Here are a couple of pictures from the day. As you can see on the rock, and I saw this all day, the Stonefly population looks very abundant. I thought the log looked very cool. It looks like it became trapped somewhere on the river during the high flows, where the flow just worked the log over on some gravel and produced this nice sanded effect on the log. It really highlighted the grain of the wood. I'm thinking one coat of sanding sealer and about 4 coats of gloss lacquer, and you've got a nice piece to put in the home somewhere?

That was last gasp on the upper river before the September 1 closure for me.

12267

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cyama
08-21-2016, 09:30 AM
Thanks for the report Bob. I am happy to hear that the fish are healthy and chunky. I'm sure you remember the scour event a few years back when the fish looked like snakes the next season. I guess they are finding something to eat! Some of those husks look like salmon flies.

Troutstalker55B
08-21-2016, 01:07 PM
The stonefly shucks are from the Stub Wing stonefly (Classinea subulosa) also known as the Summer stone. Males have a stub wing and cannot fly, yet females do have wings but prefer to run out onto the water to oviposit. You can read more about these special stoneflies here; http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/entomology/stonefly/shortwing.shtml - J.

Troutstalker55B
08-21-2016, 05:28 PM
[QUOTE=Troutstalker55B;168905]The stonefly shucks are from the Stub Wing stonefly (Classinea subulosa) also known as the Summer stone. Males have a stub wing and cannot fly, yet females do have wings but prefer to run out onto the water to oviposit. You can read more about these special stoneflies here; http://www.west-fly-fishing.com/entomology/stonefly/shortwing.shtml - J.[/QUO

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i424/moto55b/Yuba%20124_zpshzqzjude.jpg (http://s1093.photobucket.com/user/moto55b/media/Yuba%20124_zpshzqzjude.jpg.html)

Many stoneflies will follow others scent pheromones while crawling out of the water to a certain area, or a larger rock. This is where they meet and greet before and after their metamorphosis. Where the riffles end into a tailout of a run is a prime area to drift stonefly nymphs. The brown Jimmy Legs stone pattern is a favorite of the resident wild trout of the Lower Yuba River. - J.

PV_Premier
08-24-2016, 01:53 PM
Thanks for the report Bob. I am happy to hear that the fish are healthy and chunky. I'm sure you remember the scour event a few years back when the fish looked like snakes the next season. I guess they are finding something to eat! Some of those husks look like salmon flies.

with the salmon coming back into the river here soon, if the fish made it through the summer doldrums they will now have plenty of protein coming their way! eggs and bacon all around!

cgrubs
08-26-2016, 02:58 PM
Any idea of current water temps? I couldnt find any temperature information on the NOAA stream gage site.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=sto&gage=mryc1

PV_Premier
08-26-2016, 04:20 PM
Any idea of current water temps? I couldnt find any temperature information on the NOAA stream gage site.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=sto&gage=mryc1

As a bottom release tailwater the temps are fairly stable all year. Will be between 55-63.

Ron B
08-27-2016, 07:27 AM
According to data provided by CDEC, water temps at the Smartsville station are around 53F.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/jspplot/jspPlotServlet.jsp?sensor_no=9709&end=08/27/2016+07:23&geom=small&interval=2&cookies=cdec01