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I have lived here in the foothills of Nevada County since 1981. More years than not we get a nice stretch of weather in January. This past weekend’s warm days put a number of anglers on the water and the fishing was OK.
The full moon was a potential negative. Some anglers associate the full moon with poor results. I subscribe to the belief that on the full moon the best action occurs at midnight and high noon., with my disclaimer being an assumption of water temps conducive to good fishing.
The best report came from Rollins reservoir. Mike Pumphery was in one of about 15 boats on the water. The water temp was 46 degrees, which is at the lower end of the temperature equation. The water visibility was up to 6 feet with a green tint to the water.
Of the anglers Mike spoke to, all but one boat had landed fish. A fly angler did well on smallmouth bass fishing a sinking line and a Muddler Minnow. A boat trolling close to the shoreline did well on bass. A third group caught their fish casting rooster tail spinners to the bank.
Mike fished his standard ultra light rig with Lunker City, Fin-S minnows on a 1/32 ounce jig head. He believes the slow fall of an almost weightless minnow imitation is the key to his success. When a fish hits in cold water there is only a slight hesitation in the line where it enters the water. The takes are seen in the line not felt with the rod. He was working the shoreline allowing his bait to fall to the bottom then lifting gently to have it hop down the bottom structure.
This technique landed two brown trout and seven bass for him and his wife. His third brown came from casting to a surface swirl over deep water. Two of Mike’s three browns were in the 20-inch range. The Pumpherys fished from late morning through late afternoon, as long as the air temps were spring like.
My reports on the Lower Yuba continue to mention good insect hatches with surface feeding trout. There are Pale Morning Duns, Blue Wing Olives and Skwala Stone Flies on the water during the warmest hours of the day. The catching on the river is sporadic even for the most accomplished anglers. The fish in the Lower Yuba are a selective bunch. The choice of fly pattern and size along with the presentation have to be right-on to tempt the fish.
On Sunday, I took my boat out for a test drive on Englebright. I spoke with an angling family coming off the water. They landed one trout trolling a Wedding Ring at the upper end of the lake.
The final good report comes from the Trinity River. Over the course of the past 10 days, the fishing has dramatically improved. There was rain in the coastal range that raised the lower river water levels but did not change flows in the upper drainage. The air temperature swings are dramatic, dropping to the low 20s overnight and rising to shirt sleeve weather during midday.
The improved fishing has attracted more anglers. On Sunday there were 16 drift boats floating the Evans Bar through Junction City run below Weaverville.
I spoke with Tim Brady about the fishing on the river. Currently 75 percent of the anglers on the river use fly rods and nymphs to hook steelhead. He noted that a decade ago 75 percent of the anglers used conventional tackle with hardware or bait.
A few pointers for the Trinity in January are that the water coming from the lake at the top of the river is 50 degrees and gets colder as it flows down river. Not all fish will head up river to the hatchery. Many are waiting below spawning tributaries for the water levels to rise. The fish in winter prefer smaller nymphs, but as the hooks get smaller the wire is thinner and weaker. The largest fish this season have been over 30 inches long. A No. 16 is too light and No. 8 is too big.
The fishing of the last week is a good based on a historical perspective. That is a couple of steelhead for a day on the water. The last three seasons have been exceptionally good, the best since Trinity Dam was built in the 1960s.
If you go to the Trinity expecting results like the previous three years you will be disappointed. If you go expecting a January steelhead trip in Northern California you might come away satisfied.
This Thursday through Sunday the International Sportsman’s Expo returns to Cal Expo.
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. Contact him via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com.
The full moon was a potential negative. Some anglers associate the full moon with poor results. I subscribe to the belief that on the full moon the best action occurs at midnight and high noon., with my disclaimer being an assumption of water temps conducive to good fishing.
The best report came from Rollins reservoir. Mike Pumphery was in one of about 15 boats on the water. The water temp was 46 degrees, which is at the lower end of the temperature equation. The water visibility was up to 6 feet with a green tint to the water.
Of the anglers Mike spoke to, all but one boat had landed fish. A fly angler did well on smallmouth bass fishing a sinking line and a Muddler Minnow. A boat trolling close to the shoreline did well on bass. A third group caught their fish casting rooster tail spinners to the bank.
Mike fished his standard ultra light rig with Lunker City, Fin-S minnows on a 1/32 ounce jig head. He believes the slow fall of an almost weightless minnow imitation is the key to his success. When a fish hits in cold water there is only a slight hesitation in the line where it enters the water. The takes are seen in the line not felt with the rod. He was working the shoreline allowing his bait to fall to the bottom then lifting gently to have it hop down the bottom structure.
This technique landed two brown trout and seven bass for him and his wife. His third brown came from casting to a surface swirl over deep water. Two of Mike’s three browns were in the 20-inch range. The Pumpherys fished from late morning through late afternoon, as long as the air temps were spring like.
My reports on the Lower Yuba continue to mention good insect hatches with surface feeding trout. There are Pale Morning Duns, Blue Wing Olives and Skwala Stone Flies on the water during the warmest hours of the day. The catching on the river is sporadic even for the most accomplished anglers. The fish in the Lower Yuba are a selective bunch. The choice of fly pattern and size along with the presentation have to be right-on to tempt the fish.
On Sunday, I took my boat out for a test drive on Englebright. I spoke with an angling family coming off the water. They landed one trout trolling a Wedding Ring at the upper end of the lake.
The final good report comes from the Trinity River. Over the course of the past 10 days, the fishing has dramatically improved. There was rain in the coastal range that raised the lower river water levels but did not change flows in the upper drainage. The air temperature swings are dramatic, dropping to the low 20s overnight and rising to shirt sleeve weather during midday.
The improved fishing has attracted more anglers. On Sunday there were 16 drift boats floating the Evans Bar through Junction City run below Weaverville.
I spoke with Tim Brady about the fishing on the river. Currently 75 percent of the anglers on the river use fly rods and nymphs to hook steelhead. He noted that a decade ago 75 percent of the anglers used conventional tackle with hardware or bait.
A few pointers for the Trinity in January are that the water coming from the lake at the top of the river is 50 degrees and gets colder as it flows down river. Not all fish will head up river to the hatchery. Many are waiting below spawning tributaries for the water levels to rise. The fish in winter prefer smaller nymphs, but as the hooks get smaller the wire is thinner and weaker. The largest fish this season have been over 30 inches long. A No. 16 is too light and No. 8 is too big.
The fishing of the last week is a good based on a historical perspective. That is a couple of steelhead for a day on the water. The last three seasons have been exceptionally good, the best since Trinity Dam was built in the 1960s.
If you go to the Trinity expecting results like the previous three years you will be disappointed. If you go expecting a January steelhead trip in Northern California you might come away satisfied.
This Thursday through Sunday the International Sportsman’s Expo returns to Cal Expo.
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. Contact him via e-mail at dpeirce@theunion.com.
