Eric, I commend you for posting a video in which the fishing is such a struggle. We all have days like that, where we get caught in the trees, or snag repeatedly, or bust equipment, or fall in. And don't catch fish. Putah Creek is a tough fishery, and you didn't even mention the prolific poison oak and the rattlesnakes!
I am surprised that you mentioned Putah being crowded. I fished it constantly for several years when I was living in the area about 10 years ago and I had the place to myself most of the time. I concluded that this was because most folks who visited had the same experience that you described in this video and simply were not willing to pay their dues and never came back. Fine with me. I spent a few weeks having days like yours and then suddenly it was easy. I found a multitude of tucked away little secret runs and narrowed down my ammunition to four nymph patterns that always got eats and which I learned to tie in tiny sizes. I never fished anything heavier than 6X.. I learned to euro nymph in order to get to the big lunkers that sat with the noses tucked way up underneath the waterfalls between rock pools and everything about my skills in general progressed in leaps and bounds. I carried some pruners when I was exploring deeply and snipped my way through blackberry thickets to get to spots that had probably never seen a fly rod. The only times that I would end up in trees was when I got spit out during a fight and the recoil would send my rig rocketing into the overhanging foliage. I fished regular floating line with nine feet of leader plus tippet. There were several deep runs with much more width and having regular floating line allowed me to roll cast further and made mending easier, allowing me to explore every little seam and back eddy from one place, usually standing sternum deep in some of those spots. I had heard a large fire went through the area a few years ago, how did Putah fare? ua-cam.com/video/0kJrFzaBgto/v-deo.html
Thank you for such an honest snapshot of Putah. You are an excellent fly thrower using a cutting edge, modified Euro setup. This creek is TOUGH. I fished this section dozens of times as a Fisheries Biology undergrad at Davis in the 1980s. 40 years of fly fishing all over the West. This may be the most challenging water I know. Don’t let it beat you…the reward is worth every snag, lost fly, and busted boot.
haha nice. One day I'll go back again, but there's just so much more fruitful fishing nearby, I don't really see the need to figure it out. Living in Davis, I'd be all over it.
Putah is the closest fishing to my house. The best time to fish there is in the fall when the flows are lower, the leaves have fallen off the trees and the brush has died off a bit. Tough fishery because of access and almost no back casting. Best to indy fish with a waterload to start followed by some roll casts to get you away from the bank. Loved the synchronized jackhammer/de-snagging section. Glad you found some humor there. I wish I lived closer up your way. Made it to the Upper Sac a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the gorgeous spots which were empty. Tough cold and windy days, but I could see the potential. BTW, if you get frustrated at Putah, you can always prospect for other people's flies up in the trees. I usually walk away with more than I came with.
LOLOL the local giving tree fly swap is definitely a thing haha. I will probably try to back sometime with a local that can help with my learning curve :)
Way to persevere Eric! The jackhammer edit made me laugh! Sorry u broke your rod, but as u said I always keep a spare in the truck cuz u never know. Take care dude lookin forward to the next👍
Great video Eric. You nailed it with this one. Putah is beyond frustrating. That was the first time I had been back in about 4 years. It might be my last. I was laughing so hard during the jackhammer part 🤣🤣. That was awesome. It was a pleasure meeting both you and Jeremy. Perhaps we can get a session in on the river sometime. Thank you for mentioning my channel. I greatly appreciate that.
I love seeing this. I actually learned to flyfish here. Putah creek can be the most frustrating or amazing place to fish. I have caught some amazing fish and I have been skunked many times. I always just go there with the attitude that I'm enjoying my time hiking (drinking nice cold beer) and any fish caught is just a bonus. But don't let it discourage you there are some trophy fish in there and when you land one makes up for all the rougher times.
That's definitely the way to go. That's really the best attitude anywhere because catching fish is never guaranteed. The bad days make the good ones great!
Man, I'm sorry Putah wasn't a good experience... It can be, but I get it has real negatives as well. Looking forward to seeing your experience with the new rod =)
I think Im spoiled where I live. If it were my home squeeze, I'd definitely be up for the challenge of figuring it out. It's a beautiful area. I thought it was really interesting how one side of the canyon was green and the other was dry.
Hi Eric, Sorry to see you had a tough day on Putah Creek. It's a difficult place to fish, mainly for the reason you mentioned. I was wandering what all that noise was in the background, it seemed to follow you around. Although I like how the sound changed during your cuts, it helped me identify them. Really good videography, as always.
Oh man, that's crazy we both did that. I suspect we won't be the last either lol I'm mulling about a rematch, so you may see a new video from here in the future :P
I grew up fishing putah creek... used to be a really great trout fishing spot. it's pretty much just the bay area fly fishing crowd now a days. There are some monsters in there though. Nothing like back in the day 20 years ago, not even close.
@@TiredAmerican247 not sure if you remember fishing Lake Solano much. There were 15 pounders the size of steelhead swimming around in there. Don't hear or see too many of those coming out of there anymore.. A 12lb bow is a quality fish now.
Eric, sorry you had such a bad experience at Putah. It can be a tough place to fish, but someone needs to show some of the other entry’s where you have to bush wack a bit to get to better holes. I just received my box of flies from your store. They look great. I will get out and use them soon. All the best!!!
Great little fishery close to home that I usually fish @ 80-100 hours/season (Mon - Thurs). Your review at the end is pretty accurate and my only suggestion is to give 6x tippet a try. The fish are generally leader/tippet shy and the 6x combined with a little split shot and size 18/20 "little black stuff" may improve your success rate. I think putah is Native American for "skunk" and I'm confident you'll be back to get that bad taste out of your mouth. Tight lines amigo.
That's my home territory , and they should rename it humble creek. Bought a fleabay nymph rod as the backup whatever. Upper sac is badass esp. When you find a sweet airbnb.
haha, that's a great idea. I may start referring to it as Humble Creek :D Upper sac is kind of the oppossite, you can just walk down the RR tracks to have near limitless access to water.
Oh yeah, one more thing. You're lucky you made it out of there without being covered by ticks. My daughter is still checking her hair and it's been over a year. Gross!!!
I like it from the middle down towards the flats in the spring and summer. In the fall, I like the middle sections heading up stream and late fall till about February mostly the upper sections. Just watch out for the reds in the late fall and winter months.
Fished there yesterday. Fortunately didn't have the construction noise to deal with. This is probably one of the most difficult/technical fisheries in Nor. Cal. - access/overgrowth, pressure/smart fish, knowing what to throw and how to throw it, slippery-ass boulders large and small, flows that can fluctuate from 200 to 700 in a matter of days, affecting where and how you can fish. Local knowledge is so helpful here (having four full sections doesn't hurt 🤣🤣). I am trying to learn this river, and it will take patience and persistence. Feel your pain . . .
I hope you did well! It's definitely interesting being ont he water yourself and seeing how it compares to what you picture doing research. it was a lot bigger water than I had thought and I just did not anticipate how restricted the access was. It's fun though, I should go back with a full rod and try again :P
It’s nice to see that you’re human like the rest of us. Sometimes I fish like the 3 Stooges all rolled into one.
Haha, I am very human. I just have the luxury of the editing software.
Eric, I commend you for posting a video in which the fishing is such a struggle. We all have days like that, where we get caught in the trees, or snag repeatedly, or bust equipment, or fall in. And don't catch fish. Putah Creek is a tough fishery, and you didn't even mention the prolific poison oak and the rattlesnakes!
Dang I thought the fly and kite eating tree only hated me!
haha I have no idea how I managed to hit that branch so high above the water twice. I'm still confused.
agreed!
I am surprised that you mentioned Putah being crowded. I fished it constantly for several years when I was living in the area about 10 years ago and I had the place to myself most of the time. I concluded that this was because most folks who visited had the same experience that you described in this video and simply were not willing to pay their dues and never came back. Fine with me. I spent a few weeks having days like yours and then suddenly it was easy. I found a multitude of tucked away little secret runs and narrowed down my ammunition to four nymph patterns that always got eats and which I learned to tie in tiny sizes. I never fished anything heavier than 6X.. I learned to euro nymph in order to get to the big lunkers that sat with the noses tucked way up underneath the waterfalls between rock pools and everything about my skills in general progressed in leaps and bounds. I carried some pruners when I was exploring deeply and snipped my way through blackberry thickets to get to spots that had probably never seen a fly rod. The only times that I would end up in trees was when I got spit out during a fight and the recoil would send my rig rocketing into the overhanging foliage. I fished regular floating line with nine feet of leader plus tippet. There were several deep runs with much more width and having regular floating line allowed me to roll cast further and made mending easier, allowing me to explore every little seam and back eddy from one place, usually standing sternum deep in some of those spots. I had heard a large fire went through the area a few years ago, how did Putah fare? ua-cam.com/video/0kJrFzaBgto/v-deo.html
Thank you for such an honest snapshot of Putah. You are an excellent fly thrower using a cutting edge, modified Euro setup. This creek is TOUGH. I fished this section dozens of times as a Fisheries Biology undergrad at Davis in the 1980s. 40 years of fly fishing all over the West. This may be the most challenging water I know. Don’t let it beat you…the reward is worth every snag, lost fly, and busted boot.
haha nice. One day I'll go back again, but there's just so much more fruitful fishing nearby, I don't really see the need to figure it out. Living in Davis, I'd be all over it.
Putah is the closest fishing to my house. The best time to fish there is in the fall when the flows are lower, the leaves have fallen off the trees and the brush has died off a bit. Tough fishery because of access and almost no back casting. Best to indy fish with a waterload to start followed by some roll casts to get you away from the bank. Loved the synchronized jackhammer/de-snagging section. Glad you found some humor there. I wish I lived closer up your way. Made it to the Upper Sac a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the gorgeous spots which were empty. Tough cold and windy days, but I could see the potential. BTW, if you get frustrated at Putah, you can always prospect for other people's flies up in the trees. I usually walk away with more than I came with.
LOLOL the local giving tree fly swap is definitely a thing haha. I will probably try to back sometime with a local that can help with my learning curve :)
Way to persevere Eric! The jackhammer edit made me laugh! Sorry u broke your rod, but as u said I always keep a spare in the truck cuz u never know.
Take care dude lookin forward to the next👍
Lesson definitely learned. I was hoping someone would appreciate the jack hammer sequence. It made me lol too
Great video Eric. You nailed it with this one. Putah is beyond frustrating. That was the first time I had been back in about 4 years. It might be my last. I was laughing so hard during the jackhammer part 🤣🤣. That was awesome.
It was a pleasure meeting both you and Jeremy. Perhaps we can get a session in on the river sometime. Thank you for mentioning my channel. I greatly appreciate that.
We totally should connect sometime. Maybe we can meet in the middle.
@Eric Leslie sounds good.
I love seeing this. I actually learned to flyfish here. Putah creek can be the most frustrating or amazing place to fish. I have caught some amazing fish and I have been skunked many times. I always just go there with the attitude that I'm enjoying my time hiking (drinking nice cold beer) and any fish caught is just a bonus. But don't let it discourage you there are some trophy fish in there and when you land one makes up for all the rougher times.
That's definitely the way to go. That's really the best attitude anywhere because catching fish is never guaranteed. The bad days make the good ones great!
Sometimes it rough and tumble and sometimes it smooth and velvety, but you must press on, thanks for the video Eric!
You're so right, it helps you appreciate the velvet when it's served
That's crazy! Awesome video man!
Thanks Kerby, sometimes the cards don't deal well and you have to fold em' early. Keep ya coming back though.
I just laughed out loud while in line at the grocery store when I read the title hahaha.
Haha well, I gave it my college best. Still going to school
Yep, Putah Creek is mostly urban fishing. Best to stay up in the high country. 👍🙏🎣⚒
I needed to see it for myself.
@@driftstone Don’t get me wrong. It contains beautiful wild trout. You just gotta go on weekdays and work really hard for ‘em. 👍🙏🎣⚒
@@JUNationFishing that's was the confusing part to me, I went on a Monday
@@driftstone Very confusing indeed. Everyone got the same idea. 😂🤣😅
LOL, that jackhammer would have driven me nuts too.
"I love jack hammers" -said no one ever
Tough day for sure - and the jack hammer …no thank you!! :))
Haha the hammer was unreal, if there ever happens again,I'm just going to turn around and leave haha
Neglected to mention the true enemy of fly fishers everywhere - the geese.
Haha what's wrong with your kinsman, the Canada Goose?
I’ve heard Putah Creek has crawfish. Did you try catching ‘em? And where are some good spot to go?
I'm the wrong guy to ask about all of those things. There are only a number of fishing accesses, you can check them all out in a single day.
Man, I'm sorry Putah wasn't a good experience... It can be, but I get it has real negatives as well. Looking forward to seeing your experience with the new rod =)
I think Im spoiled where I live. If it were my home squeeze, I'd definitely be up for the challenge of figuring it out. It's a beautiful area. I thought it was really interesting how one side of the canyon was green and the other was dry.
I’m betting that jack hammer running up on the road helped turn fish off they can feel that crap in the water
Sure, I'll go with that :P It's the jackhammer's fault I didn't catch haha
@@driftstone I’m serious it’ll run all the snakes out of the area too
Hi Eric, Sorry to see you had a tough day on Putah Creek. It's a difficult place to fish, mainly for the reason you mentioned. I was wandering what all that noise was in the background, it seemed to follow you around. Although I like how the sound changed during your cuts, it helped me identify them. Really good videography, as always.
One day, I may go back with a full rod and give it another shot :D
Did I give you any consent to film me while I was fishing? 😆
I live in Napa , I fly fish putah quite often, but, I always do putah during weekdays(evenings) you will have success trust me
Lighter foottraffic in the evenings? I'm still trying to find some time to go back
Welcome to my home waters bro 😆
Thank you, I think... 🤣😂
Hey Eric, last time I was out there, I snagged that same darn tree by the bridge 2 times in a row... I was SO done 🤣. I felt your pain :)
Oh man, that's crazy we both did that. I suspect we won't be the last either lol I'm mulling about a rematch, so you may see a new video from here in the future :P
@@driftstone Look forward to it :)
I grew up fishing putah creek... used to be a really great trout fishing spot. it's pretty much just the bay area fly fishing crowd now a days. There are some monsters in there though. Nothing like back in the day 20 years ago, not even close.
Only difference from 20 yrs ago are the planter browns. There are double digit wild bows in there now.
@@TiredAmerican247 not sure if you remember fishing Lake Solano much. There were 15 pounders the size of steelhead swimming around in there. Don't hear or see too many of those coming out of there anymore.. A 12lb bow is a quality fish now.
Eric, sorry you had such a bad experience at Putah. It can be a tough place to fish, but someone needs to show some of the other entry’s where you have to bush wack a bit to get to better holes. I just received my box of flies from your store. They look great. I will get out and use them soon. All the best!!!
I think that would be what it takes to get me back down there. A tour. That and a full rod will help too :P
@@driftstone would enjoy showing you around there sometime. Let me know when you are coming down this way again?
Great little fishery close to home that I usually fish @ 80-100 hours/season (Mon - Thurs). Your review at the end is pretty accurate and my only suggestion is to give 6x tippet a try. The fish are generally leader/tippet shy and the 6x combined with a little split shot and size 18/20 "little black stuff" may improve your success rate.
I think putah is Native American for "skunk" and I'm confident you'll be back to get that bad taste out of your mouth.
Tight lines amigo.
I appreciate the advice, really. I think you're right, I need to go back and cleanse the pallet. Did not know that about the meaning of Putah haha
Thats some rough terrain bro!
That's my home territory , and they should rename it humble creek. Bought a fleabay nymph rod as the backup whatever. Upper sac is badass esp. When you find a sweet airbnb.
haha, that's a great idea. I may start referring to it as Humble Creek :D
Upper sac is kind of the oppossite, you can just walk down the RR tracks to have near limitless access to water.
I love upper sac area. Great for family road trips!
Well, hopefully at least the drive was peaceful and you ate some good grub.
haha super easy drive down I5. No mountain roads to navigate and the sandwiches at the local grocery store in Winters were 👌
Is that your new full cage reel? Oh man so Putah is where you broke your rod dang that bites.
Yep, that's my titan reel, didn't feel like talking about it after the rod broke. I'll show it to you next time we go out.
Favorite yet
Berrrrrrrrrrrrrrr “im snagged” Berrrrrrrrrrrrrrr “hahaha”
Berrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
All. Day. Long!
It took me an entire year or fishing Putah to catch one 😅
Wow, you sir get the perseverance award! Good job!
Oh yeah, one more thing. You're lucky you made it out of there without being covered by ticks. My daughter is still checking her hair and it's been over a year. Gross!!!
Not every spot can be awesome! Its pretty hard to break off 20lb mono.
The idea is the 5x tippet be the weakest link and break off there, 💩 happens
@@driftstone I know. Just go hit the feather
Not an easy Creek to fish by any means. It's just down the street from my house about 15 minutes. It is a Creek that will humble most of us
I love challenges, so I may go back one day. I'd definitely be more apt to face it if it was in my backyard. 🤷♂️
Black and red zebra Midges, size 16-24. Way to stick it out! I will admit that stretch of water is tough with all the people and obstacles.
@@mr.striper6296 do you like fishing down low where the water flattens out?
I like it from the middle down towards the flats in the spring and summer. In the fall, I like the middle sections heading up stream and late fall till about February mostly the upper sections. Just watch out for the reds in the late fall and winter months.
Well if you’re only going to tight line PC you’re limiting yourself to its potential and water to fish.
I wasn't casting a dry fly with a broken rod 😂
Hey Tired. Can you elaborate on that? Trying to learn PC and any help I can get I'll take!!
Fished there yesterday. Fortunately didn't have the construction noise to deal with.
This is probably one of the most difficult/technical fisheries in Nor. Cal. - access/overgrowth, pressure/smart fish, knowing what to throw and how to throw it, slippery-ass boulders large and small, flows that can fluctuate from 200 to 700 in a matter of days, affecting where and how you can fish. Local knowledge is so helpful here (having four full sections doesn't hurt 🤣🤣). I am trying to learn this river, and it will take patience and persistence. Feel your pain . . .
I hope you did well!
It's definitely interesting being ont he water yourself and seeing how it compares to what you picture doing research. it was a lot bigger water than I had thought and I just did not anticipate how restricted the access was. It's fun though, I should go back with a full rod and try again :P
Better learn stillwater tactics for PC. Better fish quality doing that.
So you like to target the slower sections? Does anyone ever float it?
wd40rs2