Fishing Spot info...

[Jared]

I'm thinking about going out to try and fish the Yuba at Hammond Grove later, just to get on the water. I keep hearing about Hat Creek and the Pits but I am not sure what or where those are. I live in Yuba City and I'm relatively new to the state. Can someone educate me?

[mattv-mcfly]

Hat Creek and the Pit River are up north near Cassel, CA. We usually fish below Powerhouse #2 for Hat Creek and below Lake Britton dam or powerhouse #3 for the Pit River. The Pit is high right now because of repairs? I was just at Hat Creek and did okay. Lots of California fly fishing history and good water up there but locally since I'm from YC too I would stick to either small streams up in Nevada county or Putah Creek near Winters, CA. I miss the Yuba River...

[eastbayed]

My advise is to avoid the Pit River right now. It is a tough river to fish in normal rain years. With this years rain I believe it could be down right dangerous.

[cdevine]

My advise is to avoid the Pit River right now. It is a tough river to fish in normal rain years. With this years rain I believe it could be down right dangerous.

Jared,

You probably know we've had a record rain/snow year. Normal years the Pit or Hat would be a wise choice in early June as would upper sac/mccloud. Much better options right now. Stay away from the Pit. Its very technical wading and dangerous right now.

Honestly if you have the funds pay for a guided trip down the lower sac. Lots of good guides out there. (PM if you want my opinion). Its arguably the best wild trout fishery in the west. You will get into 20+ fish and have a blast. Flows are 12500-13000 right now and its fishing very good. I'm headed out in another week myself with my son. But you need to do it from a drift boat at these flows.

As for moving waters find some creeks in the north yuba area. NFYR is too big until july probably this year but local feeder creeks can be good if you scout them out.

[JasonB]

All good advice so far. I'd say that right now some of the mid elevation creeks are just starting to come into shape, fishing wise. This heat will likely push flows back up significantly for any creek or stream with headwaters higher than 6,000 feet or so, but the smaller ones should drop/clear pretty quickly I would think, while the bigger streams and rivers will likely stay high (or VERY high) for quite a while still. You could probably do ok by just hitting the maps (and the roads), but you will do better if you bring your thermometer. Check out as many of the smaller creeks and streams in the upper American and Yuba drainages as you can (most of them have fish); be cautious about wading, and take water temp readings as your guide to how far up the drainage is worth your time. There are fish being caught in many streams right now, but this is a challenging year for certain, and some exploring will likely teach you quite a bit about how to deal with some of those challenges. Good luck,
JB

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I think July will be a good month for most of our medium elevation trout streams.

On a normal year June and July are very good.

August is good if you get up a little higher elevation.


The Lower Yuba River is the best trout stream close to where you live.

It has wild Rainbow trout, American Shad, some Stripers, Steelhead and salmon.


I like the Upper Sacramento River for a good medium size quality trout stream.

The Lower McCloud is also a great stream.


June will be good on some rivers and lakes but you need to check here or at a good fly shop before going because of the high snow pack this year.


Locally at low elevations we have Stripers, and Shad getting better as it warms up and hopefully flows come down.


We also have good warm water fishing with bass and panfish.


We are going to have a good year in California.

.

[PV_Premier]

Lower yuba is still at 7000-8000cfs. I have been meaning to go out and take a look but until it drops to 5K I can't bring myself to waste the time and the gas driving out there. I think if you go out there, you'll be frustrated. Next time I go to Grass Valley I am going to stop out there but that might be another week or two away.

Anyway, I would recommend buying or borrowing a couple of books that are very good baseline educational tools for the rivers you keep hearing about...but don't know how to approach...

https://www.amazon.com/Flyfishers-Gu.../dp/1932098151

https://www.amazon.com/Californias-B...ia+fly+fishing

https://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Tahoe...fishing+sierra


Here is another useful and free website...check "hatches" and "maps" links at the top:
http://stevenojai.tripod.com/


Finally, another thing to consider as you try to learn some new waters is the various "clinic days" that some guides have. For instance, Jon Baiocchi offers single and multi-day clinics on the Truckee River, Feather River, Yuba River, Lake Davis, and others. These are group outings focused on learning the body of water and access points, with perhaps the added bonus of catching a couple of fish. The rates are usually pretty reasonable as they are 'classroom' format with multiple anglers/students participating.

Lance, Lincoln, and several of the other guides who post here offer the same things on various local watersheds. These are advertised on their various websites and also on this board when they are announced.

[Jared]

Thanks everyone for the tips and info. I'll definitely have to check out some reading material and study a bit. I grew up equal distances from the Oregon coast and Mt. Hood so finding spots was a simple drive down the highway. mattv-mcfly let me know if you ever want someone to fish with around the area. Learning new spots is more fun when you aren't exploring alone.

[PV_Premier]

Thanks everyone for the tips and info. I'll definitely have to check out some reading material and study a bit. I grew up equal distances from the Oregon coast and Mt. Hood so finding spots was a simple drive down the highway. mattv-mcfly let me know if you ever want someone to fish with around the area. Learning new spots is more fun when you aren't exploring alone.

In addition to the other guides I mentioned, you might want to also contact Brian Clemens (NorCal fly guides). He's a really good teacher and an awesome guy to share the boat with for the day. He doesn't do those types of group classes I mentioned before which are geared toward a download on a broad body of water or technique, but he does do lessons and on the water consults with individuals or self assembled groups. Like many of the other guides in this area, he's more than happy to share advice and insight with you as a past client. I've gotten a lot of help from him to help figure out the Trinity. I had him for a day with a buddy last winter and he's been more than generous with intel when I've contacted him thereafter.

When it comes to guides always remember if the cost of a solo day isn't feasible, you can always look for shares here on the forum!