Napa valley Fly Guides

Hey Everyone I just wanted to pass along a nice little joke from Geoff Fernald just before his passing in June of  2015

A man get stopped by a game warden with his basket full of fish. 

Warden: do you have a permit for all these fish? 
Man: no sir. These are all my pet fish. 
Warden: your pet fish? How's that? 
Man: well, every night I take all my pet fish for a walk to the lake, I let them swim for about half hour and then I whistle and they all come back and jump in my basket and we go home. We do this every night. 
Warden: Well that's just a crock of lies!! 
Man: here I'll show you... (Releases the fish in the lake) 
Warden: well this I got to see!! 
5 minutes later... 
Warden: well?? 
Man: what? 
Warden: the fish!! Where's your pet fish?? 
Man: what fish??

Geoff was more than a Father figure his support and advice helped me build my confidence and where invaluable, He also made it possible to start Napa valley Fly Guides by building my website if HTML code not commonly used but it is still preforming well. 

Thank you Geoff

Richard and Rusty

and of course Tia too

PreFall Report for Putah Creek

        8/31/21                                          Napa valley Fly Guides report.                                     

                                                                  August/September 2021

Hey everyone 

Here's what I see happening as of the last thirty days

Summer is starting to wind down and we are entering one of the more productive times of year so I am keeping a close eye on flows and keep my gear packed and have fishing the creek more this last 30 days

Fishing has been good on days when flows are below 500cfs and are still holding between 526, and 450 cfs so its a wait and watch game for now, but it will blow up soon, The fishing and the crowds. 

Fly Selection: 

Fly selection seems less imporntant as I have gotten better at my presentation and just being slow and carful not to kick submerged rocks or carelessly tapping my wading staff on rocks as I approach a area I am about to fish Remember trout have a lateral line that can pick up even small vibrations you might think are not picked up by fish, They are so Slow and Subtle is the key to sneaking up on any run. 

 So keep me in mind if you looking to get on Putah Creek to hunt for some Bows on Putah Creek

Thanks for reading

Richard Loft

(707) 294-4738

or email me @ napavalleyflyguides@gmail.com for available days;

 

                                               

                                                              Napa Valley Fly Guides 

                                                                                                                       

 Hi and welcome to my Putah Creek report Clients and myself have been seeing some really brightly colored fish with that unusually bright chrome look with nice size this early in the season. The numbers are not what I would hope for but the trout I'm getting to net with clients are really nice and willing to play ball if the presentation is good and the correct fly is presented. 

As I stated in my previous report, try stripping in extra line before executing your mend. It makes sense to remove as much line as possible from the water before you start mending. A lot of the time I get better results by stripping in a little and then I don't need to mend nearly as aggressively to achieve the same results.

There's a lot more going on than you might think: I suspect even I have things I have yet to fully understand on how to get a perfect drift. I've come to understand much of this by simply standing at a riffle and throwing cast after cast over and over again thinking about what is happening and how to make a better drift. Is my leader to short or long? Is the fly ahead or behind the indicator? Is my line causing drag? Sometimes I think I must be a little mad to have spent so much time fishing the same creek, but it results in hooking up regularly on this very challenging technical creek. 

I've spent a lot of time fishing Putah but I don't claim to know it all. The floods change the topography of the river so what worked on a specific riffle one season is so different the next it is hard to put a finger on it. Certain areas like #5 are completely different this year.

Flows will continue to rise this spring, and the creek will continue to fish better as we move towards summer, but I honestly don't really enjoy the high flows that come with July, August and September. Flows over 470 cfs gets to be a bit much, but I still fish and guide, I just prefer a little less flow plus I like to fish from the back side and wading can get dicey with flows over 500cfs.

Guide fly tip: For the next few weeks try using  #14 San Juan Worm or any Tungsten bead head flys to get down as quickly as possible and have brought me fish to net as of late.

Please feel free to call for available dates 

April,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,22,23,24,25,26,28,29,30

Thank you

Richard Loft 

(707)294-4738

Napa Valley Fly Guides----------------<*)()()()><

 

                                                            Putah Creek Report 3/12/21

Hi and Welcome to Napa Valley Fly Guides early Spring report as of Saturday 3/13/20 Putah Creek flows are 248cfs fishing can be little slow this time of year as I am still trying to locate where find younger fish are holding

After years of fishing the creek I have noticed early spring can be a time where I seems hard to find younger fish until things pick up in April May and on into summer 

I will be on the creek more now that we are out of the Spawn and flows are starting to climb

Napa Valley Fly Guides Winter 2021 Report

                                                                 

                                2021 February Report By: Richard Loft  > Napa Valley Fly Guides

                                                                      Winter Report  

Hey Everyone I just wanted to check in and  report whats happening on Putah Creek flows are holding right around 105 cfs as of 2/03/2021 and not seeing fish many fish hanging around the redds so I am assuming the Spawn is winding down as it normally does this time of year. So it's watch and wait until flows start to climb again in Spring March/April.

Living in Napa and fishing the creek as much as I do- maybe 100 days a year or more, its still hard to put my finger on it. But it seems like this time between end of the Spawn and summer can be a little slow; its fishable but it just seem like the river is trying to heal itself and fish metabolism is much slower in winter and it just takes time to get back into Spring through Fall when fish are feisty and when it all starts over again. 

Access points and Flows:

 Between Monticello Dam and Lake Solano there are 5 marked points to access and fish the creek #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 but remember there are 4 1/2 miles between the dam and Lake Solano so you really need to walk and hike to find the holes to fish. The flows dramatically effect how a area fishes so check the flows every time you go and before you leave the house.  I use Dreamflows so you can develop a sense of how an area fishes at a given flow, Remember it takes some time but it is one of many factors that help me when I'm thinking whether or not to fish on a given day.

Dreamflows:https://www.dreamflows.com/flows.php?zone=canv&page=real&form=norm&mark=All 

Remember to adjust your leader length, indicator size and amount of weight as flows change.

Flys: As always, one of my go-to flys is the Cravens JuJu Baetis and or WD40 I found gray a great choice. Black Soft Hackle with green foil body. That got immediate results and of course a Black Zebra Midge is a must have. 

Of course there are many great flys to choose from and I have surely forgotten to list a few so definitely ask the guys at Lost Coast Outfitters for some help 

* Mending;  One thing I've noticed time and time again is clients over mending or mending in the wrong direction throwing huge mends the the left as soon as the Indi hits the water, Not necessary, try making smaller adjustments as needed or doing a shorter cast and keeping you'r arm elevated to minimize the amount of line on the water 

Environmental Factors:Time of Day, Seasons, Weather, Fires and floods. Flows; (cfs) Check Check Dream Flow. https://dreamflows.com/flows.php?zone=canv&page=real&form=norm#Site194

The Quail Fire

* Fires,  As most of you know we had another huge fire again last summer and you would think it          would have negative effect on the fishing. Nope Think again! I was on the creek the day it started and was actually guiding a husband and wife from Texas well my clients got nervous and left. So not wanting to let a little fire ruin a good day of fishing I stayed and fished and had an awesome day on the water. 

* Weather; Wind speaks for itself if the wind interferes with casting then I might adjust my day, or work     on my casting Proper casting mechanics helps by properly loading the rod and staying low and under the                                          main gusts of wind and increasing accuracy and distance. ( I can help with proper casting during a guided trip ). 

*Time of Day; Time of day effects where the sun is so I will adjust where I stand so the sun doesn't cast my shadow on the water if at all possible. also I do really well mid day but in July Augest its so hot mid day this no longer applies and I fish mornings or dusk to avoid midday heat. I think it drives fish down reduces fish in the riffles until dusk when things turn on that last hour or so of the day. 

* Time of Year; Spring is probably my favorite with Fall a close second. 

* Euro Nymphing  I really started spending more time looking at my leader construction and how to fish water not  effectively fished with an indicator and was stunned by the results a month after the Quail fire in August.

I hope this helps and gives you something to think about when you're on the water.

For available dates or pricing for a guided trip with me, contact; Richard Loft, Napa Valley Fly Guides, (707) 294-4738;  napavalleyflyguides@gmail.com