Lower Yuba report

[yubaman]

I ran up yesterday and fished below the bridge, around the island area. The river is low, as you would expect. The water is gin clear right now. The fishing was a little on the slow side, but then again, I have not fished down there in about 2 years. A couple of the fish were nice and healthy and reasonably sized, along with a couple of dinkers. There was a BWO and Mayfly hatch around noon. Smaller fish were on the rise for the hatch, down in the flats. There were many fishing rising, of which all looked to be about first year fish. This could bode very well for the fish population in the river for the coming years.

The changes in the river topography down below the island, since the last big water event a couple of years ago, are amazing to me. The riverbed has lost much of it's structure down here as well. I found myself fishing mostly the spill-ins and a few riffles that still exist.

I had some goomba decide that he needed to hop about 40 yards under me and begin fishing just as I was getting started???? I passed him as I was working downstream, and commended him on his fishing etiquette as I was walking by. No apology from him, just a blank look. I try to help people when this happens, but his lack-of-interest look told me not to waste my time.

I really miss my stop at The Happy Viking for a good hefeweizen and the best chicken wings that I have ever eaten. Soon though . . . hopefully soon on that one.

[Rossflyguy]

I was in the area Monday for a quick 3 hr session. Fished the run just above the bridge. Probably saw 8 fly fisherman in that area as I was walking out. Running to grab the spot I just left. It’s getting ridiculous there. I might as well bring my meat stick and swing spoons there to stick any willing fish just to make a point. I don’t remember the yuba having such traffic like this year. There’s definitely lots of smaller fish. Gonna be good next few years if it stays this way.

[Smitty Fish]

Above the 20 bridge can get a great people hatch from time to time.

[PV_Premier]

If you think the angler hatch is bad now wait until the skwalas are out in a few weeks :rolleyes:

This time of year I like swinging small streamers/alevins...it seems to get the attention of the larger fish and even the small ones grab hard.

[cyama]

Watch out for the Goombas Bob! Once you cross the river you can usually get to a Goomba free zone.... Happy Holidays! Try a mahogany dun size 14 if you want to see a trout leap for joy!
I ran up yesterday and fished below the bridge, around the island area. The river is low, as you would expect. The water is gin clear right now. The fishing was a little on the slow side, but then again, I have not fished down there in about 2 years. A couple of the fish were nice and healthy and reasonably sized, along with a couple of dinkers. There was a BWO and Mayfly hatch around noon. Smaller fish were on the rise for the hatch, down in the flats. There were many fishing rising, of which all looked to be about first year fish. This could bode very well for the fish population in the river for the coming years.

The changes in the river topography down below the island, since the last big water event a couple of years ago, are amazing to me. The riverbed has lost much of it's structure down here as well. I found myself fishing mostly the spill-ins and a few riffles that still exist.

I had some goomba decide that he needed to hop about 40 yards under me and begin fishing just as I was getting started???? I passed him as I was working downstream, and commended him on his fishing etiquette as I was walking by. No apology from him, just a blank look. I try to help people when this happens, but his lack-of-interest look told me not to waste my time.

I really miss my stop at The Happy Viking for a good hefeweizen and the best chicken wings that I have ever eaten. Soon though . . . hopefully soon on that one.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

During the draught of the late 1970s Joe Patterson and Wally Westlake stopped at the Hwy 20 bridge in the winter time.

It was unusually low......lots of hatches.......they caught trout and steelhead on big dries.

Joe Patterson, the Cortland line Rep, reported this finding to us Baby Boomers at my fly shop.

In the ensuing weeks many of us went up there and had great fishing.

Friends like Al Perryman, Ed Letrell, Mike Ziem, myself and others caught lots of big trout and wild Steelhead on large dry flies.



This was the first discovery of this wonderful hidden fisheries...........normally the flows were high in the winter and spring.




Then amazingly, decades later, some good people got the special regs on the Lower Yuba river to protest this wild fisheries.

[yubaman]

Chris,

Sadly I had crossed the river, to apparently enter the goomba Zone. Dude sees me crossing the river, and runs down to the water, stoking across, under me, to ensure that he hits "his spot" first. I just started laughing, and as I said, commended him on his fine river etiquette when I worked past him. Sad thing was, he was a pretty good fisherman and did not leave many pickings behind. Packed up and moved down below the island.

Merry Christmas Chris. You been good?

[PV_Premier]

@BS — your alevins finally got a little swim today on the Yuba. One of them had an encounter. :D

Lots of peeps again today, most (but not all) seemed to be well behaved. I’m afraid the Yuba is losing its allure to me with all the people and the mountains of trash and junk being left all over the goldfields. Maybe we need to organize a cleanup day. It’s really bad out there right now...regular trash around primitive campsites, a couple of burned out vehicles, a couch... I guess maybe the Feather River riff raff is branching out a bit.

I think I will skip skwala season this year. Usually I take a couple weekdays off each year to fish it when it’s quieter but with the pandemic even the weekdays are nuts.

[BS]

@BS — your alevins finally got a little swim today on the Yuba. One of them had an encounter. :D

Lots of peeps again today, most (but not all) seemed to be well behaved. I’m afraid the Yuba is losing its allure to me with all the people and the mountains of trash and junk being left all over the goldfields. Maybe we need to organize a cleanup day. It’s really bad out there right now...regular trash around primitive campsites, a couple of burned out vehicles, a couch... I guess maybe the Feather River riff raff is branching out a bit.

I think I will skip skwala season this year. Usually I take a couple weekdays off each year to fish it when it’s quieter but with the pandemic even the weekdays are nuts.

PV.....That's wonderful. :cool::cool:

I'm not trying to drag this out, but, which color did the fish take ???? :confused::confused:

Thank you for the "alevin" report.

This really made my night. :cool::cool::cool:


Bob

[PV_Premier]

PV.....That's wonderful. :cool::cool:

I'm not trying to drag this out, but, which color did the fish take ????


Orange and silver, as I would have expected. Still a few (very dark) salmon around in the river so no doubt an egg or dead drifted alevin would've been more productive, but also not as enjoyable.

[Ralph]

@BS — your alevins finally got a little swim today on the Yuba. One of them had an encounter. :D

Lots of peeps again today, most (but not all) seemed to be well behaved. I’m afraid the Yuba is losing its allure to me with all the people and the mountains of trash and junk being left all over the goldfields. Maybe we need to organize a cleanup day. It’s really bad out there right now...regular trash around primitive campsites, a couple of burned out vehicles, a couch... I guess maybe the Feather River riff raff is branching out a bit.

I think I will skip skwala season this year. Usually I take a couple weekdays off each year to fish it when it’s quieter but with the pandemic even the weekdays are nuts.

The on-going break ins at both the bridge and Sycamore can taint an otherwise trashy day. I hope the tweakers go back home to the Feather or Discovery Park once covid is over.

[yubaman]

Bummer. I saw a burned out green Ram pickup down near Miner's corner. I would encourage reporting of break-ins that occur. About 10 years ago, I was broken into under the bridge. Of course they left a couple of fly rods and reels, as well as a brand new set of Titleist golf clubs in the car. Things that were actually worth money. They took a cell phone, CD's and a bag full of dirty clothes.

Next day, I thought about it and phoned it into the Yuba County Sherriff's Dept. The patrol Lieutenant followed up with me a couple of times following, said they had increased patrols down there, and had brought a couple of people who had no reason to be there in on warrants. He calls me about 6 weeks later to tell me that they had nailed the people. Tweakers in Marysville. So they do act on these tips and get lucky from time to time.

[Bob Loblaw]

I took my daughter up to the Yuba today and it was an absolute circus. Multiple people in every run on both sides of the river. We hiked up to the cliff pool where it was a little quieter and fished there all day. Hiking back I counted 19 NINETEEN people fishing between the last bend and the bridge. It was NUTS.

[Smitty Fish]

A Gauntlet!..... that’s sad.��