Yuba report 1/19

[yubaman]

I had to get up to the Yuba yesterday, I guess more importantly, I just had to fish before we go up to the Eel and the OP here in the next couple of weeks. I went to bed and Deer Creek inflow was 40 cfs. Woke up and it was 33o cfs, but droppping fast. I knew it would be murky, if not plain muddy, so I used it as an opportunity for another hour of sleep before hitting the road. I figured that would give 3 hours for the dirty water to move downstream.

I got up and start fishing at 10 am, the water was still dirtier than I had hoped. Visibility was about 12", however, third cast a fish landed. Go big and go bright in the dirty water pays off. I did get a look at a Bullethead Skwala dry from a reasonably sized fish, but no take. As expected, the water cleared up some during the day, not as much as I had hoped for however. Landed some of these new small ( 8" - 10") Yuba fish. I did relieve the river of a 15" Squawfish that I caught. First one I have ever seen in the Yuba. The buzzards are enjoying him today. He was sitting in a spot where I caught a couple of smaller trout, probably looking for these guys as some lunch.

There was a decent mayfly hatch that began at 12:30, but no risers. I think the water was still a tad too tainted. As I turned over rocks, I saw a number of Skwala nymphs crawling around, and an enormous amount of mayfly nymphs under the rcoks. What a great sight to see, and so different from ony a few months ago. The Yuba will need some time to recover, but this was encouraging.

[Sheepdog8404]

Thanks for the report Yubaman. Good on you for tossing that golden bone in the bushes. I wish more folks would do that on the American. Seems like they're all we catch down there anymore.

[cyama]

The Yuba is really slow... I would give it a few more weeks. Saw a few skwalas, but fish weren't eating them.

[TigerLilly]

I did relieve the river of a 15" Squawfish that I caught. First one I have ever seen in the Yuba. The buzzards are enjoying him today. He was sitting in a spot where I caught a couple of smaller trout, probably looking for these guys as some lunch.

Would you share with us just why you killed a squawfish but didn't eat it? Not only is it illegal, but is a completely dumbass thing to do.

[Woodman]

Would you share with us just why you killed a squawfish but didn't eat it? Not only is it illegal, but is a completely dumbass thing to do.

And it's a Northern Pikeminnow by the way.

[yubaman]

I viewed the Pikeminnow, aka Squawfish, in this system as a real danger to the population of small trout which they will no doubt feed upon. They can decimate the trout under many conditions and have been identified as the #1 predator of trout in some areas. States like Washington, even have a bounty on them. I see/ saw them as a real problem for a river whose trout population is recovering from a big beating last year. I mean, who needs Pikeminnows invading the Yuba right now, right?

That being said, I learned something from this . . . that they are a no catch fish here. So, something learned here for the future. Can you share why, besides this fact, you have come up with this being "completely dumbass" as you say?

[Rossflyguy]

I viewed the Pikeminnow, aka Squawfish, in this system as a real danger to the population of small trout which they will no doubt feed upon. They can decimate the trout under many conditions and have been identified as the #1 predator of trout in some areas. States like Washington, even have a bounty on them. I see/ saw them as a real problem for a river whose trout population is recovering from a big beating last year. I mean, who needs Pikeminnows invading the Yuba right now, right?

That being said, I learned something from this . . . that they are a no catch fish here. So, something learned here for the future. Can you share why, besides this fact, you have come up with this being "completely dumbass" as you say?

It’s dumb because those native trout have evolved with squawfish. If squawfish can decimate a fish population than you wouldn’t see any trout, salmon, or steelhead where squawfish reside. If you’re gonna kill a native fish I hope you’re going out if your way to kill all striper you catch. Those Yuba fish will be fine without you killing other fish for no reason. As far as Washington’s squawfish bounty, it’s easier to kill a population of fish than to take down dams in majors river systems. Just like they use water hoses to push birds and sea lions away from catching fish stuck at dams. Also, what you did was illegal. If you’re gonna kill it you should be eating it.

[cyama]

Pike minnow are best used as bait for Stripers.... Take them both home and eat the Striper. I think it might be illegal to use a pike minnow for bait though. As for fishing on the Yuba yes buy about a hundred dry flies from Kienes and you will have a great day.

[EricO]

How about using something called 'tact' Lilly? Instead of being rude. Easy to sit behind a keyboard and throw insults.

Or PM that person directly with a link why it's illegal...that would have been a good example of tact.

[TigerLilly]

Squawfish, aka pike minnow, are native to the Yuba and have coexisted with trout and salmon for hundreds of thousands of years. Your "view" is entirely unsubstantiated by biologists. Herons, osprey, bald eagles, garter snakes, otters, etc also exist by eating fish. Most of us don't gun them down as we fish the Yuba, so why would we go out of our way to kill other native cogs in the ecosystem? The dwindling numbers of salmonids in the Yuba have nothing to do with native predators and everything to do with man-made structures and water development. The bounty in Washington is due to blockage of salmon migration at the dams that artificially concentrate huge numbers of fish and creates a buffet for predatory fish, sea lions and cormorants. In its infinite wisdom the State of Washington and the Feds have decided to put a bandaid on the symptoms of water diversion rather than spend the money to correct the problem in the first place.