Fly fishing Northern Sierra rivers near peak

As the snow melt declines, the river levels recede, the water temps warm and the insects hatch there is a window of opportunity for the best dry fly fishing of the year.

The good news is that window has finally opened, as the ideal dry fly fishing conditions can currently be found on the Truckee, Yuba and American rivers.

Usually we expect these during the month of June, but we take them whenever we can.

The other notable feature of the rivers is their beauty now. The river bottoms have been scoured clean by heavy flows, the waters are clear, and the riparian vegetation is at its peak. Later in the season, the waters will be low and the vegetation dusty.

But right now? The scenery is as good as it gets.

On the Truckee River this fishing window is brief. Once the snow melt ends, the main source of river flow is the rapidly warming surface waters of Lake Tahoe. The river water temperatures rise from the 50s through the mid 60s rapidly. Currently the temps are in high 50s and there are many different insect hatches daily.

The most prolific hatches are Little Yellow Stones and multiple species of caddis flies. There are also sporadic Green Drakes on the river. In addition to the number of insect types, the quantity of caddis and Little Yellow Stones coming off in the evenings is unusually heavy. Tom Brochue of Mountain Hardware & Sports describes them as the first "blanket hatches" he has seen on the Truckee River.

Maybe it is a cycle or the peculiar weather patterns this year, but the result is record numbers of bugs and the fish are feeding heavily.

Tom fishes most evenings this time of year and he says the best action is late evening. If you go, plan to stay until dark. During the day nymph fishing near the bottom or fishing streamers have been effective.

Ralph Wood of the "Catch & Release " guide service (477-0780), has been guiding on the North Yuba for two weeks. Below Downieville, where the Downie River joins the North Yuba, the river is still a bit high. But above the confluence conditions are very good. The river is slightly above optimal wading flows but the fish are feeding.

Ralph reports that ants, beetles, lady bugs, caddis, yellow sallies and pale morning duns are all on the trout's menu these days.

He also advises that in the canyon stretches, the river is concentrated into a narrow width and is treacherous. The water temps cycle from the mid to high 50s during the course of a day. This is warm enough for wet wading. A staff and wading shoes are still a good idea.

The vast majority of the trout population are rainbows with a few browns available. This year there are good sized brook trout in the mix. Apparently these have been flushed out of the Lakes Basin above Bassett's Station. Being lake fish, they are not as muscular as their river brethren.

But if you do catch one of these please consider releasing them back to the river.

They are a rarity on the North Yuba.

Last week I fished the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River. This can be accessed at the bridge on Mosquito Ridge Road 15 minutes outside of Foresthill. This stretch is above Oxbow Dam. Below the dam, flows have been cycled for the rafters since July 1. By now the fish may have been acclimated to the dramatic flow changes.

Above the dam conditions are good. I did not see many insects hatching but the fish were responding well to yellow dry flies. I caught fish on Little Yellow Sallies, Yellow Stimulators, and Yellow Humpies. Other patterns were tried but yellow was by far the preferred color. The fish were not large but there is a definite correlation between distance walked from your car and the quality of the fishing.

Last week a group from the Gold Country Fly Fishers Club held a "fish out" at Lake Almanor. The occasion was the annual "Hex" hatch near Prattville. There was a big difference from night to night in the number of insects "coming off". Thursday night there were thousands of bugs on the surface. Friday night there were maybe 50. But the fishing was better without the massive numbers of real bugs to compete with the fakes offered by the fishermen.

The fish come in to feed on the hatch daily starting in the late afternoon. The bugs are on the surface just at dark. Ed Stember ended up catching the most fish by using nymphs. This hatch will continue into mid July. And the fish will continue looking for it after it ends.

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Denis Peirce writes a weekly fishing column for The Union and is host of "The KNCO Fishing & Outdoor Report," which airs 6-7 p.m. Fridays and 5-6 a.m. Saturdays on 830-AM radio. He may be reached via e-mail at denisp@theunion.com.