News
On the first of October, the Gold Country Fly Fishers had an outing on the North Yuba led by yours truly. There was a total of seven of us; a nice sized group that didn’t require trying to spread everybody over miles of river. Due to the higher than normal flows, we decided to fish in the special regulation section rather than below Downieville as we have in past years. The fishing wasn’t “hot” but we had a great time. The day started overcast but quickly turned into a sunny day with big cumulus clouds.
Don Liljebad with Tenkara
I brought an 11 foot Tenkara rod to show the group and do a little “demo”. I wound up having to pry the rod out of Don Liljeblad’s hands! He had a great time hitting the pockets and drifting the runs with a dry and dropper. I finally got the rod back after he caught a fish. Tenkara rods seem to work very well on the North Yuba, especially in the pocket water.
I still have not seen any October caddis on the North Yuba this year, but I expect the emergence should start any day now. I am carrying a box of patterns with me to be prepared. That’s all I need to carry; another box of flies! Also among the missing right now, are the Kokanee that normally run up from Bullards Bar to just above Fiddle Creek at this time of year. They should arrive soon; the bears are looking for them!
The flows on the river right now are between 160 and 175 cfs. This is the highest flow I have seen at this time of year since the early nineties. Below Downieville, due to the additional flows from the Downie River, it can be difficult to move around in some sections. I don’t expect that the flows will be significantly different for the balance of the year, especially since we are forecast to have rain next week with the chance of snow at the higher elevations.
They are doing well on the Little Truckee. The flows have just come back up after they finished working on the dam. There are a lot of fish( browns and rainbows) in the Little Truckee arm of Boca as they are preparing to move up the river–the browns to spawn and the rainbows to feast.
Pat fishing a run just above Downieville
Pat and I will be gone for a while on a trip back to New England for the fall colors and some fishing in the birthplace of American fly fishing—the Beaverkill, Willowemoc Creek, and the East Branch of the Delaware. We will be back in time, however, get in on the October caddis emergence on the North Yuba!