Yuba River Access Blocked

[TahoeJoe]

It was only a matter of time, I guess. Hammonton Road is gated at Timbuctoo, again. Yuba County did it this time, so it'll probably stand up in court.

You can't drive down below Park's Bar bridge any more.

--Joe

https://files4.revize.com/yubaca/Board%20of%20Supervisors/Resolutions/Resolution%20No.%202023-058.pdf

[Woodman]

It was only a matter of time, I guess. Hammonton Road is gated at Timbuctoo, again. Yuba County did it this time, so it'll probably stand up in court.

You can't drive down below Park's Bar bridge any more.

--Joe

https://files4.revize.com/yubaca/Board%20of%20Supervisors/Resolutions/Resolution%20No.%202023-058.pdf

That's a major hit on a lot of the good wading access water on the Yuba. I need to move out of California. Too many people who live and behave like animals.

[JohnS]

Can someone mark on a map where the road is closed? Is the road on the North side of the river closed (leads into the quarry). Where is the road closed on the south side What about guides who put their boats in on that side?

19272

[Woodman]

Can someone mark on a map where the road is closed? Is the road on the North side of the river closed (leads into the quarry). Where is the road closed on the south side What about guides who put their boats in on that side?

19272

My understanding is the road on the south side of the river downstream of Highway 20 is closed.

[JohnS]

Is it closed at hwy 20 exit or where it begins to go down under the bridge or can you drive your boat down to the water under the bridge to launch it?

[tcorfey]

1927519275

It shows the road is closed upstream side of highway 20 bridge on Google maps...

[TahoeJoe]

What tcorfey shows is correct. I drove down on Sunday and had a look. There's a locked gate just past the historical marker on the south side of the river (left bank), 39°13'10.0"N 121°20'00.3"W. There are about 10 locks on the gate, so I guess each landowner gets their own lock and key? You can't put in a drift boat at Park's Bar any more unless you have a key to one of those locks. This is the same place that the landowner gate used to be, except now it's the county that closed the road.

Reading the Board of Supervisor's resolution, I think that there's another locked gate close to the Teichert Aggregates facility at the west end of Hammonton Road. Teichert paid for both gates.

I don't think that there's any closure on the north side of the bridge by the quarry. I didn't go over there but I could see a pickup truck parked under the bridge. I figured they were out fishing.

--Joe

[yubaman]

Bummer. If it is closed down on the west side as well, the only wade access below the bridge for aways would be by parking at the parks and hoofing across the river. That pretty much takes a lot of river out of access.

[Smitty Fish]

That’s a bummer. Most likely put the gate up due to homeless camps, discarded vehicles, trash.
Hopefully in the near future they will open it back up.

[Ralph]

That’s a bummer. Most likely put the gate up due to homeless camps, discarded vehicles, trash.
Hopefully in the near future they will open it back up.

When Eagle had the aggregate operations their attorney repeatedly told them to close the haul road but Eagle feared the public backlash. Their concern for liability was primarily from OHVs racing up and down and fire from homeless camps.

[Troutsource]

Bummer.

Are these now the only boat launch options?

1. Launch on the North/West side at the 20 bridge parking by sliding/carrying down boat to river (if even feasible).

2. Pay for a club membership above the 20 bridge for rights to launch from their property

Thanks.

[mattv-mcfly]

I've been curious about the gate myself and went down this evening to take a look. It looks like you can still hike in as there is about 2ft of space at the ends of the gate but there is no longer vehicle access. Some ideas on floating it from the bridge is with something you can carry down to the river. I'll probably bikeraft it myself. It sucks that you cant just drive down to the best spots but the effort you put into getting there on foot should make it all the sweeter. Plus no more people leaving trash and scrapped vehicles all over the place. I've honestly never seen the Yuba so quiet and clean.

Parks Bar remains unchanged.


19283

[Steve S]

And if we're closing that area what incentive is there to ever transfer the Army Corps' holdings south of the bridge to the BLM as been teased years, or for the BLM to open the rest of its holdings south of the bridge. Less than zero. Sounds a bottle of red and a few calls to the Board of Supervisors are in order.

[PV_Premier]

Sounds about right for California. Don’t clean up and manage the area for legal appropriate access, just shut it down and make us sue them to restore it. Sad but not surprising.

[JohnS]

This cutoff of the road does two things: first it cuts off an access that has been there for over 30 years. This closure will eliminate a great deal of very productive fishing waters. Second it deprives guides of a way to earn a living.

Certainly some bright minds could have gotten together and come up with a compromise.

[PV_Premier]

Sadly there are not really any bright minds in policy setting these days, on either side of the aisle.

[Ralph]

This cutoff of the road does two things: first it cuts off an access that has been there for over 30 years. This closure will eliminate a great deal of very productive fishing waters. Second it deprives guides of a way to earn a living.

Certainly some bright minds could have gotten together and come up with a compromise.

WA was sued twice for injuries incurred by knuckle dragging, red neck drunks who crashed their OHVs on WA property. One person broke her neck flipping an ATV and the claim was settled out of court. IMHO the gate is needed to secure their "attractive nuisance", but I wish they could place the gate lower down the river to allow anglers launch access. As it is the OHV assholes have ruined it for everybody. Anglers were NOT the target, just collateral damage.

[PV_Premier]

WA was sued twice for injuries incurred by knuckle dragging, red neck drunks who crashed their OHVs on WA property. One person broke her neck flipping an ATV and the claim was settled out of court. IMHO the gate is needed to secure their "attractive nuisance", but I wish they could place the gate lower down the river to allow anglers launch access. As it is the OHV assholes have ruined it for everybody. Anglers were NOT the target, just collateral damage.

If that is really the issue, why are OHV allowed and even encouraged on other state, federal lands?

Follow the money. That Teichert paid for the gates is all you need to know, even if Yuba county issued the order to erect them.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

75% of the United States of America's land mass is rural so some trout folks are moving to Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado.

If you choose to move, which is not possible for most, I would stay far away from any big city.


Having two smaller homes, one in the northern part of America and one in the southern part, is an interesting idea.


We like the Pacific coast for the warmer months because it is around a 65 degree high almost all summer.

I would look at the coast of Oregon and Washington for the cool summer weather, with clams, crabs, berries and fresh fish.


The southern Atlantic coast and the entire Gulf coast of the USA would be nice for the winters.


This way you can be outside, RVing/camping and fishing almost all year long.




Food for thought.................

[yubaman]

I wonder how far down the western most gate is, towards Marysville ? Is it possible to access the lower sections of the river from Marysville? Also, keep in mind that you can access from Sycamore Ranch, cross the river and hoof up to the island or thereabouts.

It is much more walking involved for sure, but it seems like lack of responsibility wins again. I take my OHV on your property. I am driving. I get into an accident . . . But wait . . . Now I sue you??? WTH?

[PV_Premier]

I wonder how far down the western most gate is, towards Marysville ? Is it possible to access the lower sections of the river from Marysville? Also, keep in mind that you can access from Sycamore Ranch, cross the river and hoof up to the island or thereabouts.

Yeah, I am not that concerned about my access being fit and comfortable with walking and wading. Others will be severely constrained. But at the current flows of 2400cfs or whatever, no one is wading across at Sycamore/Hammon Grove and walking upstream above the clay banks I don't think (maybe with a packraft to get across it's a different story).

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

What flow to wade across the river? 600cfs?

[Rossflyguy]

Time to invest in a small aluminum bass boat and fish stillwater. I’m going out this weekend and picking one up. Lots of lakes that don’t have heavy pressure.

[yubaman]

1500 cfs was kind of my bellweather flow to cross. A couple of spots, it could be slightly higher.

[peterkoistinen]

Does the public have a Prescriptive Easement in this case.

I would think several elements have already been met:

Open and notorious - Yes

Continuous and uninterrupted (in CA, for at least 5 years) - Yes ( unless it was similarly closed in the past)

Hostile (IOW without permission) - ?

[Woodman]

1500 cfs was kind of my bellweather flow to cross. A couple of spots, it could be slightly higher.

More aggressive wader than me. Above 1000-1100 cfs at Hammon Grove is dicey in my mind.

[mattv-mcfly]

More aggressive wader than me. Above 1000-1100 cfs at Hammon Grove is dicey in my mind.

Yeah I'm more in the below 1200 cfs at the minimum for crossing in a few spots. Below 1k you can pretty much cross most of the key spots.

[Ralph]

There is a massive Lower Yuba plan to redirect the river around the dam to allow volitional passage for salmon, steelhead, lamprey and sturgeon. This a joint state and fed project. There will be land exchanges to be sure but nothing like that proposed in 1977. In a decade from now the Yuba will be a different fishery, for better or worse. A bottle of wine won't derail a 73 million dollar project. As PV said "follow the money". I don't think that money is entirely from or for Teichert.

[amoeba]

University of California rangeland experiment station owns a nice piece on the north side. UC was supposed to provide public access in the interagency trade with CDFG for the old hatchery bldg on Polaris Creek on West shore Tahoe some years back. They didn't really. Banky Curtis agreed to 10 people per month by lottery. Now's the time to correct that. Provide boat and walk-in. UC and CDFW need to get it together.

[Troutsource]

Provide boat and walk in. UC and CDFW need to get it together.

:thumbsup:

[thumbs up emoji]

If it's UCD, it's funded by taxpayers.

[amoeba]

Yeah, well, UC got $20M in property and CDFW and it's license holders got 10 entries per month. Then there's Nordic, who got their LSAA from CDFW, and since 10s of millions in Federal contracts for waterway work, the lower American being a current example. Time for someone to give back, provide access.

[Bkane]

You will catch more and much larger fish, exceeding 10 pounds.

[Troutsource]

Has anyone tried sliding or rolling a drift boat down the short hill beneath the 20 bridge at the north side parking lot? Might be doable with 2 or 3 guys.

Picture below.

19335

[ryeflyguy]

Used to be doable, my brother and I would take the nuts off the bolts holding the metal guardrail pieces together, slide the boat down. Wasn't sure if was legal then, or legal / doable now.

I hope the statute of limitations, if any, are long passed.

[PV_Premier]

Your new boat probably weighs what 225? Three guys should be able to toss it off the hill into the river. Don’t forget to tie off the bow line before doing this :D

[Troutsource]

Where was this boat launched exactly

From Kiene fishing report:

“ Tom at the Reel Flyshop in Grass Valley says that he and a buddy floated from the bridge down to Sycamore the other day and did real well.”

[PV_Premier]

You can call Tom and ask him for any tips, he’s a very helpful guy. He runs the shop in Grass Valley. https://reelanglersflyshop.com/

[Ralph]

You can launch just above the bridge with a season pass at Tailwaters. Tom surely has a pass.

[Troutsource]

Thanks, Ralph. Any idea how to contact Tailwaters? Any web site, email or phone # I can find comes up dead. Thanks.