Mountain Lion Citing-S Fork Yuba

[Barry Clark]

I was fishing above the Hi 20 Bridge in the upper section of the river on Sunday 7/14/13 in the late afternoon/early evening. On my way out, 6:30 pm, still in the upper section, I startled a mountain lion who was 30-50 yards away from me and it took off running up the side of the hill. I would estimate his size to be in the 75-100 lbs. range. it definitely wasn't a deer. This thing ran low to the ground and did not bound like a deer. Needless to say my head was on a swivel as I weaved my way through the tall bushes to get back on the trail and move on downstream.

As far as the fishing goes, it was slow for me both nymphing and fishing dries. It has been awhile since I fished the Yuba and certainly know that you pay your dues on this river. There wasn't much of a hatch late in the evening. My day ended at 9:15 pm.