Putah Creek?

[Jared]

I have fished the Putah near that little bridge by Middletown but a guy I work with was telling me that there are much better locations down stream. I'm not sure where the river goes so I'm hoping I can get some landmarks or directions I can google. I've almost lost all hope on the lower Yuba at this point.

[Rossflyguy]

The good fish are sitting on redds at PC. Probably best to let them do their thing. What’s wrong with the lower Yuba? Caught several fish there yesterday.

[Jared]

I don't know maybe it's just me. Last year I did great, this year I've caught 5 total I think and been out 20 times probably. I stopped at parks bar on my way home from work friday and fished below the rapids under the bridge until dark and got 1 bite.

[Rossflyguy]

Try using small mayflies? Bwo imitations.

[Jared]

I've been working in Penn Valley a lot so I stop on my way home when I can. I'll give that a try next time.

[cdevine]

I'm not a "Putah" guy but I know a bunch who are and most people choose to stay off the river until March or so now due to the spawn. Let the fish do there thing and they will be happy in a few months. Good time to learn some other water like the Yuba!

[Jared]

I've only lived in Cali for about a year and a half and still haven't done much exploring which is why I ask for directions and landmarks. I want to explore new areas but dont know the roads so I don't even know where to start. hammond grove and parks bar are my go to spots only because they are close to yuba city (where i live) and i spotted them on my first day of work during my drive down hwy 20 to auburn.

[Rossflyguy]

Look up rivers or lakes close to you on google earth and fish them. Or try steelheading. Nows the time. Check regs on rivers because some are closed for the season. Probably best to learn to fish multiple species since CA has lots of species. Plus, CA rivers are super pressured. They aren’t your Montana/Idaho/Pennsylvania rivers where they’ll eat anything you put in the water. They’ve seen it all. Just gotta step your game up bud.

[PV_Premier]

It takes time and effort to branch out beyond your comfort zone. The first several times I fished the truckee and the LT, I didn't catch any fish. But I kept going. Now, I sort of know how to catch them...sort of. If you keep doing what you're used to doing, you're not going to have different results. The Yuba has changed a lot. The fish are still there (sort of) but their demands are much different than they were at this time last year.

Required reading when it comes to finding new water to fish: http://stevenojai.tripod.com/homepage.htm
See "maps" tab. -- many of these rivers are currently closed to fishing, but not all. Check the regs.


Hiring a guide, while not cheap, is a good way to boost your learning curve quickly on a new river. This is particularly useful for more demanding technical waters.

The Feather would be a better option for you in Yuba City...about equidistant as the Yuba, but with more and bigger fish right now than the Yuba seems to have.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Living in Yuba City, California, I would be fishing the Lower Feather River and Lower Yuba River.

Both rivers are good fisheries and have resident trout, Steelhead, salmon, Stripers, Smallmouth Bass and American Shad too.

Timing, location, tackle and techniques will very some.

Lower Sac and Trinity Rivers would be other obvious options for you.


You can get tons of information about your area by visiting Lincoln Gray at the Sierra Stream & Mountain fly shop in Chico, CA.



As someone said going with a recommenced local fly fishing guide would be a good idea.

You might find someone here that would share a day with a guide?

Hogan Brown, Lance and Lincoln Gray are some of the guides that fish these Valley rivers.

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