Summer time flows can be very productive when you run into pods of big fish . Above and below the bridge and #5 is where most of the fishable water is located. The small bugs are very productive
I'm sure the higher flows can be productive, but in all the years I've fished Putah I've never once gotten into one of those pods of fish. That, coupled with the challenges of wading those flows, the reduced areas of access, the poison oak, the blackberries, the heat...IMHO, it's just pretty awful. If I was getting into those fish all the time or even reliably, I might feel differently, but it's never happened for me. As for the bugs, yeah, small bugs work. But they aren't the only ones that work. That's the misconception: the only things that will produce fish are small bugs. It's just not true and I think it needlessly intimidates people away from fishing this great public water. Plus the amount of time you have to spend trying to thread those small bugs, the inability to see them on the water if you are fishing dries, the increased potential to loose fish, and the fact that you have to scale down your tippet size to get it through the hook eye...no thank you.
@@abushinthewoods I thought the same way as you did until one day in August I watched someone get repeatedly bit on a #20 Zebra midge in the evening underneath the bridge and they were huge fish . I focused on small flies the next day and could see fish actually chase down tiny mayflies from 10 ft away . In these high flows I wet Wade with a staff cautiously . There are several spots above and below the bridge and some spots at #5 that hold fish in high flows . At 1pm a mayfly bite occurs like clockwork
@@gregorymilla9213 Well, I'm always happy to learn something new. I'll give it a try and see if I'm swayed to the zebra midge side of things. Thanks for sharing that info.
I believe your blowtorch experience is confirmation bias. I think any buggy looking beadhead nymph would do it. Also, at the beginning of the video the high water you fished in summertime is perfect for swinging nymphs with sink tips (I would go at least 7ips.)
I'm sure there's some degree of confirmation bias happening, yes. I tried to at least minimize it by including other flies on my rig, but I doubt I was completely successful. My personal opinion too is that a huge factor in fly fishing success is confidence, and I'm sure the bias plays out that way too and reinforces itself with every fish you catch on a fly you have confidence in, which only reinforces your confidence which contributes to future success, etc. I often swing flies there and agree that it can be successful, but I confess I've never tried it with a sink tip in the high water. You raise a fair point that I may need to expand or alter my approach in the summer more than I have in the past. I'll give it a go and report back. Thanks for keeping me honest and for the good idea.
Any tips on landing the big 20+ ones in fast current with 6x+ tippet? I don’t have much confidence in the strength when I know the line is likely sufficient. The heavy current makes them feel 5x more powerful! Do you walk them down the river to tire them out, pull across the river out of current more forcefully? Just keep enough tension until they tire out? Then move em into softer water?
Yeah, that's a huge challenge. If you can, keep them upstream of you for sure--even if you have to run downstream of them (which can be really hard to do at Putah). Getting them into soft water with side pressure is always good, but you also usually have to do a fair amount of lifting to keep them from rubbing you off on the rocks or running you around fallen branches. It's a balancing act that just takes experience to learn and even the most experienced people mess it up. I think fighting fish is one of the most overlooked skills in fly fishing. So many videos on casting, so few on fighting fish. I think there's a bit on it in Dynamic Fly Fishing, which I really like as a resource. But honestly my best advice (if you're in a position to do it) is to get a guide out on the Sac or the Yuba or the Truckee, or even Putah--somewhere where you have a good chance of hooking into some big fish--and get some lessons. Tell them you really want to work on those skills in particular. That is going to move you through the learning curve more than anything else.
Excellent video. The problem I had with Putah is accessibility. I don't want to cut through dense brambles and I do not like to wade more than ankle deep. Everywhere I visited along Putah had dense brambles or I had to wade knee or thigh high in the water. I drove to spots from the dam all the way down to about Lake Solano County Park. Can you comment on this? Are there areas that I would like between Lake Solano Count Park and Winters? What about downstream of Winters? BTW: I practice catch-and-release. One of the reasons I am resistant to wade is because of damaging trout habitat and introducing invasive species (zebra snail).
Yes, that can be challenging there. It is often too warm for trout below Lake Solano and I think it's actually closed to fishing there anyway. There are some spots where you wouldn't have to cut through brambles or wade beyond ankle deep, but there are few and far between. There's some good access for that kind of fishing (no hacking through brambles and no higher than ankle deep wading) from the dirt lot on closest to the dam, as well as from access spot 1, at least when flows are reasonable. You could also bank fist to some degree from the second paved lot as you are headed to the damn from Winters. As for the invasives, yes, it's a huge concern. I actually have two sets of gear: one for Putah and one for everywhere else, to avoid moving those snails. As for the habitat, if you honor the voluntary closure and/or take care to avoid walking on or about redds, I think you're probably mitigation your damage to spawning grounds sufficiently. But there's no question that fishing in generally stresses fish out. I just think it's worth it and tell myself they have short memories and very limited emotional range and depth. I can't say if that's true or not, but I got with it because I would be deeply, deeply depressed if I couldn't fish.
You know, i've tried the blow torch A LOT in the spring and this summer but it hasn't caught a single fish. Size 20 baetis have been getting it done for me.
Interesting. How have you been fishing it? Heavy rig, swinging, etc.? I wonder, are you fishing early and/or late in the day? I've fished The Creek even less than even usually this summer so I honestly don't know how it's been fishing the last month and half or so, but I'm glad it's been producing for you. If you're willing to share, I'd be interested to know what you are doing. If I need to revise my opinion or advice, I will totally do that. It's a dynamic situation and I'm willing to be corrected and educated.
The poison oak can absolutely be real. You can certainly mitigate your risk by staying on the main paths, avoiding areas that are covered in the stuff, and being careful, and that can be all you need to avoid it. But even knowing that, you couldn't pay me any amount of money to go out there in shorts and/or short sleeves, though I'm particularly sensitive to it. I douse myself in Tecnu as soon as I get home too, which I like to think helps.
For getting purchase, I don't think you can beat felt, except maybe the felt with studs. But it is also true that felt transports invasive species better than anything else, so it is important to make sure everything is clean and dry when moving from Putah so you don't transport snails. I actually have two sets of gear, one for Putah, and one for everywhere else,
I dunno, nobody seems to care. The drone usually tells me if I'm doing something I shouldn't be, and it's even self-aborted flights before. I've never gotten any feedback on the dam thing, so I'm not sure it's a problem. I've certainly encountered fences and barriers and signs prohibiting walking or driving to a dam, but never seen any no-drone signs or anything.
I've never actually seen a live snake or heard rattles, which I super weird. I've seen dead snakes, but they get eaten really quickly by the vultures, hawks, eagles, owls, coyotes, and probably raccoons. I have to imagine there are a bunch of snakes out there, but for whatever reason they haven't ever made their presence known to me.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Your skills have vastly improved! Great to see you slaying em now!
Moving through the learning curve is the name of the game. And it never stops!
Thanks for the video. I don’t get out there nearly often enough considering I’m 45 minutes away.
Get after it!
Summer time flows can be very productive when you run into pods of big fish . Above and below the bridge and #5 is where most of the fishable water is located. The small bugs are very productive
I'm sure the higher flows can be productive, but in all the years I've fished Putah I've never once gotten into one of those pods of fish. That, coupled with the challenges of wading those flows, the reduced areas of access, the poison oak, the blackberries, the heat...IMHO, it's just pretty awful. If I was getting into those fish all the time or even reliably, I might feel differently, but it's never happened for me.
As for the bugs, yeah, small bugs work. But they aren't the only ones that work. That's the misconception: the only things that will produce fish are small bugs. It's just not true and I think it needlessly intimidates people away from fishing this great public water. Plus the amount of time you have to spend trying to thread those small bugs, the inability to see them on the water if you are fishing dries, the increased potential to loose fish, and the fact that you have to scale down your tippet size to get it through the hook eye...no thank you.
@@abushinthewoods I thought the same way as you did until one day in August I watched someone get repeatedly bit on a #20 Zebra midge in the evening underneath the bridge and they were huge fish .
I focused on small flies the next day and could see fish actually chase down tiny mayflies from 10 ft away .
In these high flows I wet Wade with a staff cautiously . There are several spots above and below the bridge and some spots at #5 that hold fish in high flows . At 1pm a mayfly bite occurs like clockwork
@@gregorymilla9213 Well, I'm always happy to learn something new. I'll give it a try and see if I'm swayed to the zebra midge side of things. Thanks for sharing that info.
Great video , thanks for sharing
Awesome video Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great video!
I believe your blowtorch experience is confirmation bias. I think any buggy looking beadhead nymph would do it. Also, at the beginning of the video the high water you fished in summertime is perfect for swinging nymphs with sink tips (I would go at least 7ips.)
I'm sure there's some degree of confirmation bias happening, yes. I tried to at least minimize it by including other flies on my rig, but I doubt I was completely successful. My personal opinion too is that a huge factor in fly fishing success is confidence, and I'm sure the bias plays out that way too and reinforces itself with every fish you catch on a fly you have confidence in, which only reinforces your confidence which contributes to future success, etc.
I often swing flies there and agree that it can be successful, but I confess I've never tried it with a sink tip in the high water. You raise a fair point that I may need to expand or alter my approach in the summer more than I have in the past. I'll give it a go and report back.
Thanks for keeping me honest and for the good idea.
Any tips on landing the big 20+ ones in fast current with 6x+ tippet? I don’t have much confidence in the strength when I know the line is likely sufficient. The heavy current makes them feel 5x more powerful! Do you walk them down the river to tire them out, pull across the river out of current more forcefully? Just keep enough tension until they tire out? Then move em into softer water?
Yeah, that's a huge challenge. If you can, keep them upstream of you for sure--even if you have to run downstream of them (which can be really hard to do at Putah). Getting them into soft water with side pressure is always good, but you also usually have to do a fair amount of lifting to keep them from rubbing you off on the rocks or running you around fallen branches. It's a balancing act that just takes experience to learn and even the most experienced people mess it up. I think fighting fish is one of the most overlooked skills in fly fishing. So many videos on casting, so few on fighting fish. I think there's a bit on it in Dynamic Fly Fishing, which I really like as a resource. But honestly my best advice (if you're in a position to do it) is to get a guide out on the Sac or the Yuba or the Truckee, or even Putah--somewhere where you have a good chance of hooking into some big fish--and get some lessons. Tell them you really want to work on those skills in particular. That is going to move you through the learning curve more than anything else.
Great video!
Excellent video. The problem I had with Putah is accessibility. I don't want to cut through dense brambles and I do not like to wade more than ankle deep. Everywhere I visited along Putah had dense brambles or I had to wade knee or thigh high in the water. I drove to spots from the dam all the way down to about Lake Solano County Park. Can you comment on this? Are there areas that I would like between Lake Solano Count Park and Winters? What about downstream of Winters?
BTW: I practice catch-and-release. One of the reasons I am resistant to wade is because of damaging trout habitat and introducing invasive species (zebra snail).
Yes, that can be challenging there. It is often too warm for trout below Lake Solano and I think it's actually closed to fishing there anyway.
There are some spots where you wouldn't have to cut through brambles or wade beyond ankle deep, but there are few and far between. There's some good access for that kind of fishing (no hacking through brambles and no higher than ankle deep wading) from the dirt lot on closest to the dam, as well as from access spot 1, at least when flows are reasonable. You could also bank fist to some degree from the second paved lot as you are headed to the damn from Winters.
As for the invasives, yes, it's a huge concern. I actually have two sets of gear: one for Putah and one for everywhere else, to avoid moving those snails.
As for the habitat, if you honor the voluntary closure and/or take care to avoid walking on or about redds, I think you're probably mitigation your damage to spawning grounds sufficiently. But there's no question that fishing in generally stresses fish out. I just think it's worth it and tell myself they have short memories and very limited emotional range and depth. I can't say if that's true or not, but I got with it because I would be deeply, deeply depressed if I couldn't fish.
@@abushinthewoods Thank you so much for your help!
You know, i've tried the blow torch A LOT in the spring and this summer but it hasn't caught a single fish. Size 20 baetis have been getting it done for me.
Interesting. How have you been fishing it? Heavy rig, swinging, etc.? I wonder, are you fishing early and/or late in the day? I've fished The Creek even less than even usually this summer so I honestly don't know how it's been fishing the last month and half or so, but I'm glad it's been producing for you. If you're willing to share, I'd be interested to know what you are doing. If I need to revise my opinion or advice, I will totally do that. It's a dynamic situation and I'm willing to be corrected and educated.
Is poison oak a real concern or just stay on the beaten paths to the water? What about break ins?
The poison oak can absolutely be real. You can certainly mitigate your risk by staying on the main paths, avoiding areas that are covered in the stuff, and being careful, and that can be all you need to avoid it. But even knowing that, you couldn't pay me any amount of money to go out there in shorts and/or short sleeves, though I'm particularly sensitive to it. I douse myself in Tecnu as soon as I get home too, which I like to think helps.
Do you recommend felt or rubber boots?
For getting purchase, I don't think you can beat felt, except maybe the felt with studs. But it is also true that felt transports invasive species better than anything else, so it is important to make sure everything is clean and dry when moving from Putah so you don't transport snails. I actually have two sets of gear, one for Putah, and one for everywhere else,
How are flying a drone so close to a dam? No drone flying near flaming Gorge.
I dunno, nobody seems to care. The drone usually tells me if I'm doing something I shouldn't be, and it's even self-aborted flights before. I've never gotten any feedback on the dam thing, so I'm not sure it's a problem. I've certainly encountered fences and barriers and signs prohibiting walking or driving to a dam, but never seen any no-drone signs or anything.
Are there snakes there?
All the years I've been walking out there not one snake, nor rattle noises. Dunno why.
I've never actually seen a live snake or heard rattles, which I super weird. I've seen dead snakes, but they get eaten really quickly by the vultures, hawks, eagles, owls, coyotes, and probably raccoons. I have to imagine there are a bunch of snakes out there, but for whatever reason they haven't ever made their presence known to me.
@@browndude3649 thank you. i plan to take my kids there for a picnic and set up a tent and come back in the day. is that legal?
@@abushinthewoods thank you. i plan to take my kids there for a picnic and set up a tent and come back in the day. is that legal?
@LongRauCaLi No ,not. The canyon creek resort has spots for overnights.
11:51 looks very cutthroatish
Right?! I totally thought the same thing.
@@abushinthewoods Beautiful fish either way.
Its a B...H to fish ...luv/hate toxic relationship...i have with her...dances better in the fall colors