Are there any fish in the Yuba?

[TigerLilly]

A friend and I enjoyed a wonderful bluebird day fishing the Lower Yuba in tee shirts! Tried everything but grenades. Caught exactly no fish. Heard rumor of a guide getting a very few on deeeeep nymphs and indis. Seemed everyone else was sharing our success rate. A very few ragged salmon wallowing around. Water looks perfect. A tiny sprinkle of mayflies but no rises.
Yesterday went to Lower Sac and both of us hooked up within 15 minutes fishing the same stuff as we did all day on the Y. What goes on with those gold country fish? I've had some great days there but the Y routinely seems like the most discouraging place to fish in the Valley.

[M Duper]

I go to the Yuba with a fly rod and box of flies and watch the water work. Take another walk. Stop, watch some more. Take another walk and watch a bit more Stop, eat lunch. And then watch some more. I always learn something when i do that....

[amoeba]

A friend and I enjoyed a wonderful bluebird day fishing the Lower Yuba in tee shirts! Tried everything but grenades. Caught exactly no fish. Heard rumor of a guide getting a very few on deeeeep nymphs and indis. Seemed everyone else was sharing our success rate. A very few ragged salmon wallowing around. Water looks perfect. A tiny sprinkle of mayflies but no rises.
Yesterday went to Lower Sac and both of us hooked up within 15 minutes fishing the same stuff as we did all day on the Y. What goes on with those gold country fish? I've had some great days there but the Y routinely seems like the most discouraging place to fish in the Valley.

To answer your question as to "what goes on...?":

1. fishing pressure/clear skies/low water on the Yuba = picky fish. It has a fair amount of fish, but it isn't the lower Sac in terms of numbers or size of the system. It gets pounded and then some.
2. there are fish there, at times they may not bite for you or anybody else. hatch/conditions/fish action, varies daily.
3. frequent reports on this website by a lone guide about 20-fish days, hawking discounts does not = reality. You don't see any of clients verifying those numbers, do you? Take it FWIW, considering the source.

[DAVID95670]

i heard it best from an old guy at The Flyshop, guides and flyshops perpetuate the myths of steelhead and in this case trout. Just look at bill kiene's posts hahahahahaha

[cyama]

No bullshit on that boat.
"3. frequent reports on this website by a lone guide about 20-fish days, hawking discounts does not = reality. You don't see any of clients verifying those numbers, do you? Take it FWIW, considering the source."
I can verify that there is no bullshit on that boat or from that great guide. I can also verify that hooking 20-25 fish is a normal day. He knows his rivers and is a great guy and guide.
That said the Yuba is pretty slow if you are on foot. There are people floating from YOA down to the bridge. Some areas are better than others if you know where to go.... There are an unusual amount of fin clipped steelhead being hooked on the Yuba.

[Hogan Brown]

Tiger Lilly don't get discouraged on the Yuba it is a tough river to wade fish. I was born and raised on it and it is not an easy wade fishery. It is deceptively wader friendly even at the low winter flows we have now. As a guide in a boat I expect 10-20+ fish most days but there are days I scratch out 5 and days I hammer out 20++ so it all equals out in the end. The river has about 900 fish per pile is what I have always heard but I have no scientific reference for this other then it has always seemed about right to me. Fish are sensitive to hatches, weather, flows, and all the normal things but if you know where they like to be at various flows in various conditions you can string some consistency together with your catch rate. It takes a long time to learn that river on foot and where to be when. Guides in boats have a huge advantage no matter what the flow based on the amount of water they can cover in a day.

[Dan LeCount]

Pay attention to stream flow and water temperature. Its has a huge influence on where the fish like to hold.

[peterkoistinen]

Pay attention to stream flow and water temperature. Its has a huge influence on where the fish like to hold.

Hi Dan,

How, specifically, do stream flow and water temperature affect where the fish like to hold?

Right now it's low and cold, so where do you guess fish the will be?

Thanks, Happy Holidays,

Pete

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I don't think it is fishing well right now because it is low, clear and cold with sunny weather but when it is fishing well, it can be fantastic. The fish are wild and super hot.

When it is good, on average, in the spring and fall, it can be good for those who know it.

Top drift boat guides like Bill Lowe, Keith Kaneko and Hogan Brown can get you into a nice number of strong wild fish during the good periods.

I can relate to driving there today, wading and fishing hard and getting skunked myself.

If I was in a boat with a top guide today we would get a half dozen fish even in these tough conditions.


Now remember in low water years we will be getting Skwala stones and Mark Browns in a little while, then it will be different.

If it rains a little it will perk up too.

If it rains a lot we are screwed.............


Right now try the Lower Sac, Lower Feather and Lower American.



.

[Dan LeCount]

Hi Dan,

How, specifically, do stream flow and water temperature affect where the fish like to hold?

Right now it's low and cold, so where do you guess fish the will be?

Thanks, Happy Holidays,

Pete

Fish are cold blooded creatures. So when the water temps are colder, their metabolism and energy levels go down. They'll move into slower water. They also tend to favor any warm water inflows like springs or shallow creeks with lots of sun exposure, etc. Find warm, slow water and you'll find fish. Stream flows effect current speeds. High flows will push the fish out of the main current to the sides and into eddies.(or deeper underneath the main current) Low flows will cause fish to try to find the few places with deeper water for security from predators.