The New Lower Yuba River

[cyama]

The new Yuba is flattened out and in some ways better for the wading angler vs a drift boat. Riffles are longer and wider so the fish are spread out. Saw some redds, but no salmon. Fishing with dry flies was better than nymphing so I was pretty happy about that. Cover water with big dry flies and attractors!!!

[Troutstalker55B]

I had a trip yesterday above the bridge, it was the first time up since the high flows of last winter. We worked up to Cliff Pool and a little further. Great new water in opinion, and with a bonus new side channel. One area that in years past was redd after redd, now is a blank canvas, too big of material for salmon to dig into. Look for an article I wrote aptly named "The Newba" in the next issue of California Fly Fisher. It covers before, during, and after the 7 big water events of 2017 that ranged from 20 to 80K, and some insight on the habitat and fishery.

Fly anglers can always get a honest and detailed accurate report from my blog, like my last Yuba River update here; https://jonbaiocchiflyfishingnews.bl...ng-update.html

Feel free to message, email, or call me if you have any questions on the Lower Yuba River. I'll be on the river exclusively until the end of March before heading back up to the Northern Sierra - J

[TigerLilly]

Where did all the larger fish go? I've put in 10 days in the past 3 weeks and have been sorely disappointed by the average size of the fish. Drinks seem to be the rule, and not a whole lot of them either. Salmon are basically AWOL. Grim. I'm starting to think the hassle of getting up to the Y is hardly worth the effort. Putah is probably the better option for a while. Looks like 2018 will be a recovery year after the drought and then the flood. Hopefully this winter will be kind.

[Troutstalker55B]

Where did all the larger fish go? I've put in 10 days in the past 3 weeks and have been sorely disappointed by the average size of the fish. Drinks seem to be the rule, and not a whole lot of them either. Salmon are basically AWOL. Grim. I'm starting to think the hassle of getting up to the Y is hardly worth the effort. Putah is probably the better option for a while. Looks like 2018 will be a recovery year after the drought and then the flood. Hopefully this winter will be kind.

That's the question, and I don't have the answer. One theory I have is that the smaller fish were better able to hide in the nooks and crannies while massive amounts of material moved throughout the system. Was mortality an issue with the larger fish being crushed? Or did simply the big fish get pushed down into the lower reaches. Regardless, it's been fun making challenging presentations with dry flies, and for novices the Yuba River is still a graduate school for learning the ropes. The river is in recovery mode no doubt, but it will come back much quicker than we anticipate. You might be better off on Putah if large fish is your quest. Yeah, we'll have to wait and see what the winter storms bring. That's all we can do. - J.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I think the high water can push the fish's food and the fish down stream?


We are so lucky to have this wonderful wild trout stream so close to Sacramento.

We are also very lucky that it has special regulations too.

Access has always been a controversial issue too.


40 years ago it seemed we had more Steelhead and more King salmon.

In low water years in early spring we would catch nice Steelhead on the Skwala and March Brown activity.




How do we feel about removing the Diegerra dam on the Lower Yuba River?





My first exposure was driving into the Yuba Gold Fields property with some old timers in the 1970s.

I was lucky to get to ride up there with veteran anglers Joe Patterson, Joe Shirshac and George Martin.

They charged $2.00 per car to go into the property so you could fish for Shad below the dam on the south side of the river.

The Lower Yuba River below Diegerra dam is a real treat because it is usually so small and so clear.

There are a few local guide who can get you in there today.

Having the right amount of water is an issue.

I think June is a top month......

.





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[yubaman]

Daguerre does have 2 fish ladders, but removing the dam would be great! It's main purpose is for debris control as well as a hydraulic monitor to help regulate water distribution to agricultural uses. I would bet it would entail one hell of a fight with the rice farmers to make anything happen with a removal?

I have fished the private water above the UC property for a few years now. I was really disappointed in the changes up there myself. Some of the best water was just ground into these featureless, straight runs. The first turn out of the narrows was fantastic the last few years . . . not much there now. Below that about 400 yards was the section of water I liked the most. Again mostly ground out. It seemed like the area where the water has really improved, especially for wade fishing, is below the island, well downstream. The Foundation hole has lost most of the great riffle that dumped into the hole. The best section of salmon redds on the river were up here as well, at the Upper put-in on the private property. It was just packed with fish only a year ago. I was wondering what would happen up there as the gravel was replaced with large sized cobble. It's part of the life of the river unfortunately.

When the river had another epic blowout, I want to say in about 2007(?), fishing was very tough for a couple of years, and then it exploded. Hopefully the same will happen here.

I cannot theorize on why the salmon have not returned to the Yuba. I heard the return was almost non-existent this year? I wonder what the final count was that went through the ladders at Daguerre? My educated guess for the trout is a severe depletion of food source resulted in mortality and a movement of the population. The streambed was really moved, and with it went much of the food in the system. In turning rocks when I have been up, the food source has become so minuscule right now, I am sure it would not support the previous population of fish in the river. I would bet the ranch that in a few years, the Yuba will be back as good as ever. I hope that is the case.

One good thing that has come of this for me, is diversifying my fishing locations. I got to where I was grabbing my gear and heading to the Yuba, Truckee or Trinity. This has helped get me searching out and fishing new waters once again.

[TigerLilly]

Dead on Yubaman. The UC stretch has lost much of its diversity and the fish along with it. The best fishing BY FAR this year has been the last few miles above Sycamore (no secret- it is already getting crowded).The higher you go in the system the fewer fish, the smaller fish, and most noticeably a diminishing load of bugs. I had hoped the salmon would spawn high this year and nourish the upper waters with eggs and carcasses but that utterly failed to transpire. This will be a multi year recovery. As the season progresses I expect the party will quickly move from the Yuba to the Trinity, Putah, Truckee, or Pyramid. It will require "fake news" for guides to convince their clients that it's worth dropping $500. for a day on the Y this season. Maybe the water downstream of Daguerre is where the fish are??

[Fly Right]

Daguerre does have 2 fish ladders, but removing the dam would be great! It's main purpose is for debris control as well as a hydraulic monitor to help regulate water distribution to agricultural uses. I would bet it would entail one hell of a fight with the rice farmers to make anything happen with a removal?

I have fished the private water above the UC property for a few years now. I was really disappointed in the changes up there myself. Some of the best water was just ground into these featureless, straight runs. The first turn out of the narrows was fantastic the last few years . . . not much there now. Below that about 400 yards was the section of water I liked the most. Again mostly ground out. It seemed like the area where the water has really improved, especially for wade fishing, is below the island, well downstream. The Foundation hole has lost most of the great riffle that dumped into the hole. The best section of salmon redds on the river were up here as well, at the Upper put-in on the private property. It was just packed with fish only a year ago. I was wondering what would happen up there as the gravel was replaced with large sized cobble. It's part of the life of the river unfortunately.

When the river had another epic blowout, I want to say in about 2007(?), fishing was very tough for a couple of years, and then it exploded. Hopefully the same will happen here.

I cannot theorize on why the salmon have not returned to the Yuba. I heard the return was almost non-existent this year? I wonder what the final count was that went through the ladders at Daguerre? My educated guess for the trout is a severe depletion of food source resulted in mortality and a movement of the population. The streambed was really moved, and with it went much of the food in the system. In turning rocks when I have been up, the food source has become so minuscule right now, I am sure it would not support the previous population of fish in the river. I would bet the ranch that in a few years, the Yuba will be back as good as ever. I hope that is the case.

One good thing that has come of this for me, is diversifying my fishing locations. I got to where I was grabbing my gear and heading to the Yuba, Truckee or Trinity. This has helped get me searching out and fishing new waters once again.

Per a fisheries person I spoke with the reason that the Sac and the Yuba had very low salmon returns while the Feather had a epic return is that the smolt were trucked from the Coleman and Feather hatcheries to the delta and released. They did not have an opportunity to imprint to their home waters. When they returned they followed water that felt correct to them with no instinctual sense of their natural home water which happened to be the Feather.
This makes sense for the low Sac salmon numbers this year in addition to the effect of the drought years but does not explain the Yuba which is exclusively a wild fish spawning area.

[Troutstalker55B]

Dead on Yubaman. The UC stretch has lost much of its diversity and the fish along with it. The best fishing BY FAR this year has been the last few miles above Sycamore (no secret- it is already getting crowded).The higher you go in the system the fewer fish, the smaller fish, and most noticeably a diminishing load of bugs. I had hoped the salmon would spawn high this year and nourish the upper waters with eggs and carcasses but that utterly failed to transpire. This will be a multi year recovery. As the season progresses I expect the party will quickly move from the Yuba to the Trinity, Putah, Truckee, or Pyramid. It will require "fake news" for guides to convince their clients that it's worth dropping $500. for a day on the Y this season. Maybe the water downstream of Daguerre is where the fish are??

No fake news here Annie, I call like I see it, just as my father did during his 44 year career speaking for and protecting the wild salmon, steelhead, and trout in California. For expert fly anglers like yourself I see your point, and it is respected, but for those who are learning, hiring a guide like myself who is into instruction not just numbers, goes a long way for them.

I stand by my statement that the water from the Parks Bar bridge to Cliff pool is pretty awesome, especially the new side channel. Speaking for myself, I will continue to share the positive outlook on fly fishing the Yuba River, and working with NGO's to enhance and restore what has been taken away. - J.

[cyama]

Did you guys and gals even read the part about how it is better fishing with dry flies than bobbers? The big fish in my limited knowledge of where fish go is that many of them are chowing on eggs and caddis on the Feather. Even last year I noticed that there were many Yuba looking fish on the Feather. I think they get blown over the Daguerre Dam end up in the Feather and may miss the right turn to get back to the Yuba. Same thing for the Salmon flows were higher for the Feather so that's where the salmon went. Most people don't know, but many of the salmon on the Yuba are from the Feather hatchery.