NF Yuba?

[BobVP]

Does anyone have information on the present state of the NF Yuba?

Still too high to fish?

I am thinking of taking a run up that way next weekend (May 10/11), but won't bother if it is not fishable, especially above Downieville.

Thanks for any information.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The NFY does not fish well early, so mid-to-late June is normally good, on an average year.

There are a few weeks when the dry fly fishing can be off the charts, starting in the afternoons till dark.

[Rossflyguy]

There’s always the NF stanislaus. I was able to land a 20” brown trout there late April this year.

[yubaman]

NF Yuba is at 876 cfs at Sierra City. Runoff flow. Good fishing flow is 200-300 cfs for this river.

[BobVP]

Yeah, I knew I was being overly eager thinking it was low enough by now but it is one of the closest trout streams to the coast (and one of my favorites...especially the creeks that come into the NFY) and my days are tight these days. Maybe it is time I finally tackle Putah.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

About 30 years ago, our fishing buddy, Mike Ziem, rented a cabin at Herrington's Sierra Pines Resort in June/July.

https://www.sierrapinesresort.com/ It is above Downieville and just below Sierra City.

On most freestone streams in the West, there are times when the hatches are full on for a week or two.

Mike hit that perfect week that year, and from mid-afternoon till dark, it was wide-open dry fly fishing.

I think Mike's largest fish that amazing week was an 18-inch Brown trout, which is not too common.

_____________________________

Three old schoolteachers, who are all probably gone now, after decades of fishing around Downieville, wrote a small book.

It was the top-selling book out of my fly shop in 30 years of book sales.

_____________________________

I had some customers who had a cabin or travel trailer up on the North Fork of the Yuba River and fished all summer.


One of them told me his secret way of catching the larger trout up there. He said that the river is right at the road level

for a while, then the road goes up above the river for a while, and then returns to the road level again.

He would park his car at the road level upriver and wade down through this mostly unfinished stretches until he hit the

road level river downstream. Then he would hike back up the road to his car.

[The Cal Fisher]

Yeah, I knew I was being overly eager thinking it was low enough by now but it is one of the closest trout streams to the coast (and one of my favorites...especially the creeks that come into the NFY) and my days are tight these days. Maybe it is time I finally tackle Putah.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

If you want a good stream that doesn’t have runoff and has some big browns, try the bear river below Rollins Lake. The dam makes it so the flows are always low (unless there is rain).

Just don’t tell anyone…

[BobVP]

Ha! CalFisher, funny you should mention that as it was already on my radar. My history there is not extensive but is pretty dismal as far as catching fish goes. I have tried a little above and below the "old bridge" and just do not have the right "something" for that river. Guess it is time to try again.