Yuba report 2/27

[yubaman]

First off, it felt like April or May out there today. It was almost 80 degrees. Man, the river is low @975 cfs and gin clear, and I mean clear. Personally, I'd rather have about 350 more cfs and some color. It was nice and steelhead green only 3 weeks ago. To me ,this is primetime for the Yuba River. Today it showed with Skwala's hatching, a big PMD hatch and some March Brown's beginning to show. The hatches began at about 10:00 and went on intermittently until about 5 pm.

With the low, gin clear water, you need to have your "A" game going. I mean the fish see you as well as every false cast and cast from 60 feet away. There is not much to hide you right now. For me, this meant a lot of long drifts to where the fish couldn't see me. Problem is when your fly is that far away, and you get that lightning quick strike . . . hmmmmm, a little tough to hook up. Especially after 30 years of Hefeweizen training to slow down the reaction time a wee bit. If your day is predicated on numbers only, stay home. If you are up for the challenge, and a little heartbreak, you are in luck.

There were a LOT of rising fish today. I bet I whiffed on 20 eats . . . it's jut so far out to your fly in these conditions. I had a couple of break offs from big fish and landed several fish today. It's nice to see big fish taking dries again. I saw one fish go aerial that had to be over 20" . . . I'd guess 22".

Winning flies for me were a PMD Emerger, Bullethead Skwala ( be sure to have a couple of these) on top and a Green Rubberlegs and Micro May underwater. This is the best Skwala hatch I have seen in 4 (?) years.

[Smitty Fish]

Thanks for the report. It’s nice to see and hear that the Yuba is kicking out some decent fish again.

[Brian Clemens]

Spot on Yubaman, it's been good for those putting in the time.

If you ever see a blue adipose rolling down the river and a red bearded viking at the helm, dont hesitate to say hey.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The lower Yuba river trout and steelhead fishery was discovered one day in February in 1977 by Joe Patterson (Cortland Line Rep) and his partner in crime, Wally Westlake (Pro baseball player).

This was the famous huge drought of the late 1970s so it was a rare occasion to see the Yuba that low in the winter or spring.

They had several big days of dry fly fishing and then reported it to us at The Fly Hutch in Sacramento.


This started it all off as many of us were exposed to this great fishery.

Joe Patterson told us before that drought they lower Yuba river was always too high to fishing in the winter and spring.


Back they Al Perryman and friends caught some nice Steelhead on big dry flies.


CA Fish & Game biologist Ed Letrell had great fishing with very large Yellow Humpys for Steelhead.

Mike Ziem and I went up there quit a bit in that low water Spring.


Before Any Guibord became a Striper Bum he spent a decade (1990?) learning the lower Yuba river fishery.

[Ralph]

The lower Yuba river trout and steelhead fishery was discovered one day in February in 1977 by Joe Patterson (Cortland Line Rep) and his partner in crime, Wally Westlake (Pro baseball player).

Bill, the Yuba was being fly fished on a regular basis in the 60's. My dad took us up there as kids. In high school (early 70s) we would hike in and camp/fish below the Foundation Hole. I don't think Joe "discovered" the Yuba as much as he popularized it.

[WLREDBAND]

Bill, the Yuba was being fly fished on a regular basis in the 60's. My dad took us up there as kids. In high school (early 70s) we would hike in and camp/fish below the Foundation Hole. I don't think Joe "discovered" the Yuba as much as he popularized it.

Yep, Ralph, I was doing the exact same thing on the Yuba in the early 1970's! Rarely, if ever, did you see another soul up there (not like today!). We probably saw each other a lot way back then, but I doubt that nowadays we look anything like we did then! IMNSHO, Many of us feel that Joe "destroyed" the Yuba by popularizing it.