Tony Buzolich
05-09-2006, 10:19 AM
The Feather River has finally dropped and cleared enough to become fly fishable again. Last Thursday the Yuba started blowing out mud and trees and is still sending out murky water but things are improving.
Last night about 6:00pm I launched at Boyd's Pump and thought I'd go explore at little and see how things were. Just got away from the ramp and started seeing fish exploding on the surface aways off. Moved up toward the action and could see fish on the surface. More boils all around then nothing. More boils and birds circling just like the delta. Looked like maybe baitfish are being chased to the surface. Lots of little dimples in the water where bait is jumping.
We make a few quick casts and get several short hits before they dissappear again. Normally I'd be casting and counting down but every hit came at or near the surface. Finally a good grab and hookup and the 10w. gets a nice bend. Nothing big but nice male about 5-6lbs.
We continue drifting downstream toward Star Bend and start seeing bait again this time trying to jump onto the bank. We fish a shallow sandbar area and watch the bait come and go. Obviously the bait is being chased and we decide to get closer. Our casts are sometimes within a foot of the bank with a quick short strip but it's getting dark and hard to see. My partner hooks another small striper just feet from shore. More large splashs, some are annoyed beavers, some are bigger fish but it's time to quit because of the darkness.
A friend was telling me he thought he'd seen stripers doing the same surface thing a day or two before. He thought they were spawning but the water is still cool at 58 degrees. I looked up spawning temps for stripers and they say 59/60 to 65 degrees as ideal.
All of the fish we've taken for the past two weeks have been males and most are spilling milt. Some taken on the Yuba have been in 51 degree water. A few females and bigger fish are starting to show coming in to our shop for weighing and pictures.
It's time to get out there if you haven't already done so,
TONY BUZOLICH
YUBA CITY, CA
Last night about 6:00pm I launched at Boyd's Pump and thought I'd go explore at little and see how things were. Just got away from the ramp and started seeing fish exploding on the surface aways off. Moved up toward the action and could see fish on the surface. More boils all around then nothing. More boils and birds circling just like the delta. Looked like maybe baitfish are being chased to the surface. Lots of little dimples in the water where bait is jumping.
We make a few quick casts and get several short hits before they dissappear again. Normally I'd be casting and counting down but every hit came at or near the surface. Finally a good grab and hookup and the 10w. gets a nice bend. Nothing big but nice male about 5-6lbs.
We continue drifting downstream toward Star Bend and start seeing bait again this time trying to jump onto the bank. We fish a shallow sandbar area and watch the bait come and go. Obviously the bait is being chased and we decide to get closer. Our casts are sometimes within a foot of the bank with a quick short strip but it's getting dark and hard to see. My partner hooks another small striper just feet from shore. More large splashs, some are annoyed beavers, some are bigger fish but it's time to quit because of the darkness.
A friend was telling me he thought he'd seen stripers doing the same surface thing a day or two before. He thought they were spawning but the water is still cool at 58 degrees. I looked up spawning temps for stripers and they say 59/60 to 65 degrees as ideal.
All of the fish we've taken for the past two weeks have been males and most are spilling milt. Some taken on the Yuba have been in 51 degree water. A few females and bigger fish are starting to show coming in to our shop for weighing and pictures.
It's time to get out there if you haven't already done so,
TONY BUZOLICH
YUBA CITY, CA