Yuba report 1/9

[Chris Gearhart]

Decided to leave the driftboat at home and wade. Had a pretty good. Caught and landed one brightly colored fish in the morning. Slow afternoon with just a couple of grabs ( I was trying my hand at swinging streamers when indo/nymph wasnt working.). Then just before sundown the fished showed up! Hooked 4 landed 3. All fish including am were in the 18" range. Really a beautiful day almost t-shirt weather.

[Kurt P]

Chris, I went to the Yuba the day before you did (the 8th). I had different weather than you (foggy/drizzle all day), but the fishing was just as good. The Yuba has always been tough for me, averaging about 1 fish for every two full days of fishing. My buddies kept telling me to stick with it and I'd eventually have an epic day, and they were right. I fought 9 nice fish, landing 6 of them (all measuring between 17-22 inches). The way those wild Yuba 'bows fight makes a 9 fish day epic, in my book. According to DFG guidelines I recorded them all as steelhead on my report card, but most were colored like regular (albeit big) rainbows. The largest I had on looked to be about 22-24 inches and more silver than the others, but she got into the heavy water and broke my 6X tippet. Not that it matters that much since they all fought so well, but how do the other memebers of this message board distinguish between half pound steelhead and big resident rainbows?
Kurt

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Wow Kurt......that sounds like one of those days you dream about?

Great photos.....we do hear good things about the Lower Yuba River.

On sunny afternoons look for those big Skwala Stone adults.

Guides Ryan Miller and Jason Hartwick have been using two handed rods with sink-tips and big olive streamers too.

[Kurt P]

Bill, you're right, it WAS one of those days you dream about. Recognize the midge pattern in the head shot photo? I picked it up in your shop the day before I hit the Yuba. I forgot my wallet and with the change I had in my ash tray could only buy 3 flies. The guy at the counter was very helpful and all 3 patterns he recommended produced fish. I had planned to try some of my old stonefly patterns but was having such good luck with those three flies I never got to them. I didn't see any adult stones (it was a cold/dreary day), but quite a few nymphs were on the rocks near shore. Hoping to get back to the river sometime this week--sunny and warm, hope the Skwalas are out.
Good fishing,
Kurt

[Ryan Miller]

Good work on the Yuba guys, it looks like you fooled a few nice ones. I guided the river yesterday and had a good morning and then a dismal afternoon. The good news is that we saw a half dozen skwala adults and a few March Brown Adults. We threw both nymphs to no avail... I will be out there tomorrow, we shall see what happens.

Ryan

[Chris Gearhart]

Kurt, good looking fish!! One of these days I will have to figure out how to post photos. I wish it was as easy as craigs list. I only saw one adult stone late in the day, but soon it should be time!!! Congrats on a great day.

Chris

[RJSFLYTRIP]

I guided the Yuba last Wednesday and the fishing was great. It was one of those days were it seems like everything was going right. To be honest I think we got a little lucky with the weather. With a little patience and quite a bit of bug changing we were able to pull a fish in about every dependable spot. In total my clients hooked 24 rainbows and landed 19 of them. We were lucky enough to get two fish on baetis dries. Most of the fish we caught came on stones, eggs, and small mayfly nymphs. The hot bugs were Hogans S&M, small FB Pheasant tails, Rubberlegs, and orange egg patterns.

What was crazy is that we hooked and landed a 25'' rainbow about a mile or so above Sycamore. When I netted the fish I thought that it was around 21'' because of the size of the rainbow. I put it up to the tape to get an accurate measurement and it stretched all the way to the 25'' mark. The rainbow probably only weighed three pounds when it should have gone 5 or 6 lbs. The fish was really snaky looking. It was an awesome fish but to be honest a little disappointing.

For anyone who wants to fish the Yuba or the Lower Sac this week I will take $100 off any trip booked

Fish Hard!

[Mik]

Awesome!!!! Those fish are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[Adam Grace]

MSP and I will be fishing the Yuba tomorrow and I'm wondering if anyone who has fished the Yuba lately has any specific successful fly suggestions.

We both know about the possibility of some Skwalla action and we are both prepared for Skwallas. There is also a slight possibility of some March Brown action. We both also know about the chances of BWO activity. I am also bringing a sinktip with some woolly buggers and other various streamers to dredge the bottom if all else fails.

Please post a reply or send me a private message if you are feeling generous with fly information.

Thank you in advance.

[MSP]

Geez Adam, I'm much more interested in what might go best with Yuba Skunk, domestic or a micro-brew, perhaps a Merlot or possibly a Sarah?