Because of the high winds, I opted for a day on Putah Creek instead of the American. My thought process was that I'd be a little more protected here. Even though it became quite nasty at times, for the most part, the winds were acceptable.
Keep in mind, this is only my second time to Putah. I'm not very familiar with it, so I limited myself to two areas, the bridge and access 5. Started out below the bridge at sunrise. Although it was a Friday, it was pretty darn crowded. I couldn't get into the water I wanted without bumping lines, so I only stuck around for an hour or so. It looked like a decent area if you can put up with the stench from the campground across stream and had more room.
I went down to access 5 so that I could explore the island. It looked somewhat empty at first, but as I was stepping downstream, a group of 6 or so fly fisherman were moving upstream. No big deal. They were all really nice and we crossed paths. I was throwing a two fly rig, a small nymph on the top and a larger soft hackle on the tail. That size 10 was getting all the attention.
Throughout the day, there were more people here than I expected. I can't imagine what this place must be like on the weekend. Elbow room must be at a premium.
One thing I noticed, that I probably already knew from the postings on forums is that everyone bobber fishes here. Obviously, it must work for these guys or they wouldn't do it. If you read this blog, you know I'm not an indicator guy. I just can't get it to work for me. I feel handcuffed. I like the freedom of swinging, high sticking, or just dead drifting while watching the fly line as my indicator. You can switch techniques so fast without doing anything special. And since I move through runs quickly looking for aggressive fish, I need to be able to quickly change to suit what that area requires.
I must of walked up and down that island six times, both front and back. I tried all sorts of flies from some small 20's to size 8's. The large flies worked for me. I caught a nice 16 inch fish on a size 8 steelhead fly swung through some disturbed water. A size 10 egg imitation dropper worked well at the end of the day. All in all, I caught around a dozen wild fish in the 10-16 inch range. Mostly on size 10 soft hackles or winged wets.
The Putah is a fun little creek, however, the options seem a little limited to my style of fishing. I'll probably try again when the flows are even lower. Just to see what it is like.
Keep in mind, this is only my second time to Putah. I'm not very familiar with it, so I limited myself to two areas, the bridge and access 5. Started out below the bridge at sunrise. Although it was a Friday, it was pretty darn crowded. I couldn't get into the water I wanted without bumping lines, so I only stuck around for an hour or so. It looked like a decent area if you can put up with the stench from the campground across stream and had more room.
I went down to access 5 so that I could explore the island. It looked somewhat empty at first, but as I was stepping downstream, a group of 6 or so fly fisherman were moving upstream. No big deal. They were all really nice and we crossed paths. I was throwing a two fly rig, a small nymph on the top and a larger soft hackle on the tail. That size 10 was getting all the attention.
Throughout the day, there were more people here than I expected. I can't imagine what this place must be like on the weekend. Elbow room must be at a premium.
One thing I noticed, that I probably already knew from the postings on forums is that everyone bobber fishes here. Obviously, it must work for these guys or they wouldn't do it. If you read this blog, you know I'm not an indicator guy. I just can't get it to work for me. I feel handcuffed. I like the freedom of swinging, high sticking, or just dead drifting while watching the fly line as my indicator. You can switch techniques so fast without doing anything special. And since I move through runs quickly looking for aggressive fish, I need to be able to quickly change to suit what that area requires.
I must of walked up and down that island six times, both front and back. I tried all sorts of flies from some small 20's to size 8's. The large flies worked for me. I caught a nice 16 inch fish on a size 8 steelhead fly swung through some disturbed water. A size 10 egg imitation dropper worked well at the end of the day. All in all, I caught around a dozen wild fish in the 10-16 inch range. Mostly on size 10 soft hackles or winged wets.
The Putah is a fun little creek, however, the options seem a little limited to my style of fishing. I'll probably try again when the flows are even lower. Just to see what it is like.
1 comment:
If I'm guessing correctly, those guys you ran into were from my club...good to hear they were on their best behavior!
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