Noob on the American

**ninepoundjammer** · 10-14-2009, 12:26 PM

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and, though I've been fly fishing small rivers for trout for many years, I'm considering taking my first stab at steelhead on the American this weekend. It would be my first time on the American as well. I know the fishing is probably better further north (Feather, Sac etc), but I'm looking for a short trip from the bay area.

So I'm wondering (a) are there any halfpounders in the river right now and (b) if anyone wants to offer any tips on tactics or areas of the river to fish (PM is fine).

My arsenal includes a 9' 6wt and 10' 8wt, both with floating, sink tip, and full sink lines, as well as a shooting head for the 8wt (I've been having fun playing around with single handed spey casting with the 8wt).

Thanks for any and all info

**robdog** · 10-14-2009, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by ninepoundjammer

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and, though I've been fly fishing small rivers for trout for many years, I'm considering taking my first stab at steelhead on the American this weekend. It would be my first time on the American as well. I know the fishing is probably better further north (Feather, Sac etc), but I'm looking for a short trip from the bay area.

So I'm wondering (a) are there any halfpounders in the river right now and (b) if anyone wants to offer any tips on tactics or areas of the river to fish (PM is fine).

My arsenal includes a 9' 6wt and 10' 8wt, both with floating, sink tip, and full sink lines, as well as a shooting head for the 8wt (I've been having fun playing around with single handed spey casting with the 8wt).

Thanks for any and all info

Kiene's has an excellent article about the American River. Also, there are many guides to help enhance your experience. To me, the AR is a difficult river to sharpen your skills on. Good luck & tight lines!!!

**Steelie-Stalker** · 10-14-2009, 04:37 PM

If you plan on continuing to fish for steelhead...a good guide like Charlie Gonzales will shorten the learning curve by a TON.

Good luck!

p.s. now would be a great time as the rain should have brought up some fish...

**Dean Y.** · 10-14-2009, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by Steelie-Stalker

If you plan on continuing to fish for steelhead...a good guide like Charlie Gonzales will shorten the learning curve by a TON.

WORD! As a noob myself, Charlie G. taught me a lot in the time I had on the water with him and advice in the shop. Setup a one-on-one session with him. It helps!

The other thing to do is to avail yourself to the many generous people on this board (of which Charlie G. is one). Ed Wahl took me out a couple of weeks ago. David Lee helped me tie my first fly last Sat. Others have generously offered to show me a thing or two about every fly fishing topic that has caught my interest.

Good luck!

**ninepoundjammer** · 10-15-2009, 09:48 AM

Thanks for the tips.

I've certainly read Kiene's article on the American, which is how I know to hope for halfpounders right now.

I'm certainly not opposed to hiring a guide, but I've blown that budget for a while, maybe this winter. This weekend trip would just be a quick run out to get some lines wet and see what happens. A bad day fishing is still a pretty good day, no?

That said I'd love to hear if people are managing to find fish in the river right now and what sort of tactics might be productive. I'm planning to stop by Kiene's shop to get some local info and flies, but I'm trying to do as much homework as possible.

Cheers.

**kokaneejr** · 10-15-2009, 10:24 AM

Hey ninepoundjammer,
I am kind of in the same boat as you are, I have fished the AR only one time before and had absolutly no idea what I was doing. I fished to far up towards the dam and couldn't cast ffar enough to get into fishy territory.
I plan on taking a few trips up there this winter to try again as it is a nice day trip from my area as well.
Kepp posting and letting us know your progress and I will too.
Also PM me if you want to commute together as Berkley and Petaluma are fairly close. My best days are Thurs and Fri. Good luck this weekend Craig.

**WinterrunRon** · 10-15-2009, 10:28 AM

NPJ,

My opinion... that 6wt will work just fine this time of year with the present water level. Save the 8wt for later. Normal trout tactics work just fine. I use larger flies that for stream trout, but there's no need to match a hatch. I catch them on prince nymphs, zugbugs and pheasant tails when using a single hander, I'm sure others work just as well. Sometimes I have an indicator, sometimes not. Swinging flies reduces your chances greatly and is not nearly as effective... I do both.

Caught another solid, clean wild fish yesterday about 2lbs in about an hour, prince nymph, no indicator, couple of BB, out of the heavy current. Many times... nothing however.

Call/stopping by the shop is your best bet. The guys there are very helpful and have years of experience fishing the river. They'll get you set up and point you to the many public access points available. In other words, don't worry about the homework. Just bring your skills, get to the shop, get to the river and you have a good as chance as anyone. The fish are there. Hope this helps. Ron

**Charlie Gonzales** · 10-16-2009, 12:56 PM

Thanks for the kind words guys.

The advice Ron gave is right on. The American isnt a hard game to figure out, your basic trout techniques are all you need. Nymphing and swinging are always gonna find fish, and you can find fish on dry flies too, just dont expect it to be like the Yuba.

Remember the basics of nymphing... 1 1/2 times the depth of the water from your indicator to your split shot. I go about 8" from split shot to point fly, and another 8" to dropper. If two flies give you a problem, stay with one. Obtain the drag free drift by mending your line. I also like nymphing Rons method, no indicator, a couple split shot and swinging flies through a riffle. I prefer this to a sink tip(or on a sink tip) because I can feel the split shot ticking on the bottom(as close as you can get to spin fishing).

Basic Swinging..in a run thats about walking speed with knee deep(or deeper) water. Cast down stream at about 45degrees to the opposite bank. Allow the water to swing the fly back to the bank you are on and slow down the swing by mending the bellies that form in your line. A reach cast can be used to slow your swing also, but thats a bit harder for me to explain on paper.

Im not a camper, I am always on the move looking for active fish. If Im doing a walk and wade and am not happy with the success, I will fish a spot for a bit then get in the car and head for new water. You will learn more this way too(IMO) because your always fishing new water. You already paid to get in, you might as well see as much of the river as possible.

Hope some of this helps and Im sure there are plenty of people who will say their techniques are better, its just how I do it.

Enjoy your time on the water, and take in some of the natural beauty that the American has to offer. I always encourage people to leave their rods home sometime and just go explore and learn.

**Scott V** · 10-16-2009, 01:29 PM

I was out last night "Thursday" above Watt with Guppy and the flows are a little fast for wading above your waist line so be very careful out there. I was unable to get to a few spots I love to fish due to the wate rbeing to fast and I did not feel like going swimming. Saw about 3 fish rise and had no bites, Guppy had a bump but that was about it. Hardly a caddis hatch but I did see some.