The most beautiful river in Northern California. The water is as clear as gin. If you are fly fishing, be you need to be stealthy. If the fish see you, they won’t eat your fly.
The terrain is rough. This keeps most people away. This keeps me coming back.
Do you want to keep fishing for the next few decades? Get in shape and stay in shape.
If you blow out a joint or loose mobility due to poor health, your walk and wade days are over.
Sure, the ads are telling you that it’s cool to drink IPAs/whiskey, eat heavy foods, and sit around the camp fire…in reality you need to train to keep it going. At least if you want to keep it going in NorCal. If you want to get to the good water on the North Yuba, Upper Sacramento, McCloud, Pit, or the Truckee, you need to be fit.
This means doing cardio, strength training, and something to promote balance.
Personally, I do Yoga, weight training, cycling, and hiking as my core fitness activities. I also do kayaking, SUP, and rock climbing.
The canyon water is where the best fish are. Stay in shape so you can get in there and experience catching wild fish in beauty and solitude.
The river temperature is high. You will need to venture upstream to find water that is under 68 degrees. This means fishing around Sierra City or higher.
This is Wet Wading conditions, my favorite type of wading. I wear Kuhl long pants to protect my legs from the bush and stones. The Kuhls are really durable and dry quickly. Be sure to wear a wide brimmed hat- the sun up on the NFY is pretty strong.
A 3 wt rod is perfect up there. I use an Orvis Helios 3. It’s a wonderful rod but you’ll be fine with any decent rod. If you’re looking for value, the Orvis clearwater is a tremendous deal. A click pawl reel is all you need- save some money here. Get a good line.
Use a 7.5 foot 5x leader. I replace the last 18 inches with florocarbon tippet. It sinks slightly so the fish don’t see a weird line in the film.
Think Caddis and Golden Stone.
The Golden Stones are flying. A size 12 Stimulator in yellow will imitate this insect quite well. The Stimulator (Stimi) is a great dry fly for rigging a dry dropper. See a previous post on how to do this.
The Dog Days of Summer are around the corner and the flows are about to drop below 300 CFS. This translates into epic fly fishing on the most beautiful river in Northern California.
The predominant food source is still the Mayfly nymph. I’ve been on the water a couple of times this week. I’ve seen some Golden Stoneflies and Caddis but the Pale Morning Dun Mayfly seems to be the most common. If the wind picks up, think about terrestrials that are getting blown into the river- Ants, grasshoppers, beetles.
Fly size is more important than shape- #16 or #14 in moving water. #16 or #18 in slower water.
Expect to see surface feeding in the late afternoon. A three or four weight rod with a 9 foot 5x leader is the ticket.
Most importantly: The water is crystal clear- don’t show yourself to the trout. Once you’re exposed, move on to the next spot.
The water around Downieville is around 62 degrees. I suggest wet wading. The water feels perfect on these hot days. My usual attire is Sims G4 boots or Orvis Pro Boa if I’m going to hike a long distance (they are lighter). I wear Kuhl long pants that are light, dry quickly, and protect my legs. A long sleeve light hoody and floppy brim hat for sun protection. I stuff my gear into a Fishpond submersible lumbar pack and keep my working tools on a Golden Trout Lanyards Game Changer. Those Game Changers are money.
Keep an eye out for rattlesnakes. They are active in the heat. I had a very close encounter a couple of weeks ago on Pauley Creek. You will certainly see a water snake. Leave them all alone, we are in their territory.
Hint: If you just want to catch fish between other activities, there are hundreds of trout in the big pool where the Downie and North Yuba rivers meet. I watched a kid catch four in four casts with bait.
Okay, so I haven’t been on the North Yuba for over a month but I’ve got a good guess as to what’s happening.
If you’re just fishing with kids or pressed for time and want to land a fish- there will be planters in the big pool below the courthouse bridge in Downieville. Deliver them something down deep.
If you’re fly fishing…Here’s my recommendation: Nymphs will be productive. Look for some deeper water behind boulders or in plunge pools. Use heavy flys on a tight line rig for best results. If tight line nymphing is not your game or you see any fish feeding at the surface, go to a dry-dropper: a larger dry fly with 24 inches of tippet tied to the dry flys hook bend that has a nymph tied to the end of the tippet. See the diagram below. Be ready to remove the nymph in the late afternoon if the surface feeding picks up. A Stimulator or Elk Hair Caddis will work for your dry. For a nymph, use A black AP Nymph, Pheasant Tail, or Hare’s Ear in size 14 or 16. If the trout start hitting a hatch and you’re not sure what fly to use, go with a Parachute Adams in size 14 or 16.
The areas above and below Downieville should be good. The flows are high and the water is cold, be very careful. Think carefully about what will happen if you fall in. There’s no cell service outside of Downieville. Be safe and have a great time.
It’s early spring in The Sierra Mountains. In most cases, it’s too early to fish unless you’re on a tail water. The daytime temperatures are up and comfortable. Get out there! The photo below was taken at Upper Sardine Lake. It’s a 20 minute hike from a trailhead. When I was there, there wasn’t another person in sight and the view was stunning. The only gear that I brought was my phone and a water bottle. We’re so lucky to have free access to amazing places. Enjoy it and respect it.
The upper reaches of the North Fork Yuba are where you want to be on those hot Summer days. The water is cooled by springs and will stay well below the Hoot Owl Closure temperatures that we see on the Truckee and Upper Sac.
As the flows drop, the fish will concentrate in the deeper plunge pools. Mid-day they will seek the shade of the giant boulders that make up the upper section on the North Yuba.
As the flows get lower and the temperatures get higher, head upstream if you’re on a freestone river like the North Yuba.
The upper reaches of the North Yuba are rough. To fish here, you need to be in good physical condition to navigate the steep and loose terrain or to climb over the huge boulders. I’m pushing 60 but I make an effort to keep in shape. My daily active calorie goal is 740- I rarely do less.
As Summer takes up residence, you’ll find your best fishing is spots like the one below. I stuck a GoPro in here and saw 25+ fish. Some saw me.. Look for oxegen, some depth, and some shade. This one had all three.
I carry two rods and will work the pool from the back (down stream side) first. I’ll throw a dry over the back of the pool, working left to right. I’ll follow that with a nymph in the same area since I won’t have put any fish down with my line. Alternatively, if the pool is not very deep, I’ll go with a dry-dropper. I’ll move my casts forward by 10 feet, all the way to the inlet.
If this year rolls out as expected, the river fishing will be cut short due to high water temperatures and low flows. An alternative to fishing our beloved rivers is to fly fish on a lake. Some of the higher elevation lakes have excellent fly fishing for trout. Lower elevation lakes may have some planted trout and bass.
For some reason, fly fishers refer to lake fly fishing as ‘Stillwater’. Stillwater is more technical than river fly fishing. It also requires more patients.
I have little experience with stillwater, so I’ve been seeking some education.
For someone that may have very little experience with stillwater Far Bank has put together a learning center that includes an excellent video on finding success with stillwaters.
The presenter is probably the best teacher in the fly fishing industry: Simon Gaweworth. The guy knows his stuff lays it out to make it easily understood.
One of the current grand masters of stillwater fly fishing is Phil Rowley. I took a 20 hour virtual class that was put on by Phil. It was comprehensive and a bit overwhelming. Phil is a bit of a fire hose when it comes to presenting on a topic that he’s clearly so passionate about. The presentation was based on an Orvis book that came out later on. The book is excellent. I’m not smart enough to figure out how to get a fee for linking to Amazon, so here’s a no-commission link to Phil’s excellent book.
Spring has sprung on the calendar, and the rainbows are doing their thing at this time of year. That means some ornery trout, and with the water temps creeping up, feisty browns, as well.
When you’re out on the water, PLEASE be mindful of redds (trout spawning beds). You’ll find them in shallow, gravelly areas with a nice, steady current flowing over them. A redd looks like a shallow, scooped out bowl of cleaned gravel that stands out from the surrounding darker, weedier gravel. (See the photo above.) You may or may not see trout on the redds, but either way, just admire the trout’s innate desire to perpetuate the species and leave those areas alone. Whatever you do, do not walk through redds. Be careful where you wade.
Image from the Orvis blog
