Putah Creek Fishing

Fire ravaged the area around Putah Creek back in August and the charred remains of trees were left over. Luckily the fish didn't seem to be effected. The south or west bank of the river was burnt pretty good but the north or east bank was largely unaffected. 

The section everyone fishes is the short 2-3 mile stretch between the dam below Lake Berryessa and Lake Solano. This gets a ton of pressure as it is just an hour or so from the Bay Area and the fishing is good, but difficult.  

Lost a massive fish very early on but was later able to get a good sized fish towards the end of the day. Wasn't as big as what I had hooked earlier, but it was a very nice fish. I lost a ton of fish overall and I think it was due to large fish and small flies. I started out with #18 Frenchies and #20 midge patterns but later switched to #16 Frenchie and #8 Rubber Legs and I started to land more fish.

Flows were at an ideal 300 cfs or therabouts. I was only able to cross the river at access #5 however. The water temps were cool and the river was clear with a green tint. The CCR song "Green River" was inspired by this river (CCR is from the Bay Area, not the Bayou!).

This fish was a tank... what a fight! Hammered the Rubber Legs. Who says you need 6x-7x tippet and #20 midge patterns to catch fish here? Jokes aside I did see lots of small midges and micro caddis under the rocks and to fish it consistently I am sure you have to go small most of the time.