I am new to this message board. I am from FL and have fished out west a few times but not in CA. Most of my trout fishing has been in the Smokies. I plan to be in Yosemite in mid June and plan to FF some. 
Any suggestions that time of year? Heard that Dana Fork or Lylle Fork can be good. Any news about the Merced River at this time? :shock: :? Thanks for the help!
We are in a low water year. The Merced will be completely fishable by then. Weather will probably be hot. Our hatchess out here are not very prolific. I fish attactors for dries and most nymphs will do. Anything from a 10 to a 16. Don’t expect to catch alot. It is not easy, a good day is 5 trout. I think you may be able to wet wade it by then. Bring a wading staff and some good river wading shoes.
The Merced in the park is flatter, the fish are smaller
, and it is easier to get around.
The Merced just outside the western entrance to Yosemite is more rugged with a little bigger fish tha those in the park.
Bob
Thanks Bob for your input. The low water conditions I fear are only going to add to the stealth that will be required. I had read that the conditions were tough because of the clear water and the fish are less than 12". I am certain that the size and number of the fish will be dwarfed by the grandeur of Yosemite. I will try the Merced as well as the S and M. Forks of the Tuolumne (outside the park) which is near where we will be staying. If you or anyone else have other alternatives nearby I would be grateful.
Thanks again! Have a good summer!
I had a friend who just went to one of the forks of the Tuloumne River ~~ he caught several fish holding in pockets on the sides of the faster currents. He usually fishes dries with a dropper but caught most of the fish that trip on a tungsten wooly bugger. The rivers should be very fishable by mid June. This year the Sierra received 29% of normal snow pack. Little snow = short run off = long dry, hot summer. Not a good equation for us.
Best Fishes
I am also heading to Yosemite from Florida, leaving this saturday, so I am very interested in this thread. I’ll be out a little earlier, so the rivers are probably going to still be up. I’ll try to write a report as to how I did and where.
RHK: When are you leaving for Yosemite? Where are you from in Florida? I’m in the Tampa Bay area.
Dunfly: I’ll be there June 14-21. I’m attending a conference in Sacramento (June 9-14) the week before and plan to fish close by (Yuba River and Putah Creek). I’m from the Orlando area.
Great! A report would be much appreciated. I’ll check while I’m out there.
Have a great time!
When you’re done fishing at Putah Creek, please make sure you spray down all of your gear. Putah has New Zealand Mud Snails… 
There’s a guide that’s worked with a club I belong to in the Bay Area…he works the Merced/Yosemite area. You can pick up some info from his web site even if you’re not looking for a good guide. You can find his web site at http://www.sierraflyfisher.com/
When you’re driving out to Yosemite, if you go about ten miles or so out of your way, you can drop into the Motherlode Fly Shop in Sonora. That will get you local info (they’re maybe 35 miles from the entrance to Yosemite. http://www.motherlodefly.com/
Enjoy your trip and don’t forget to pick up a California fishing license…even Yosemite requires it these days. If you need info on picking one up, just holler and a link will be posted.
I am looking forward to fishing the Yosemite area this summer, too.
Read this before you go to Putah Creek:
http://www.flyline.com/environmental/nzms/
In order to keep from transmitting the snails I use my old gear for Putah.
Greg
Thanks for all the info and especially the reminder re: Putah. I’ll be coming from Sacramento to Yosemite so the Motherlode fly shop is essentially on the way.
Plan to pick up license while in Sacramento. Any suggestions for a shop or place to pick up would be appreciated too. I understand that the license also needs to be placed visibly rather in your vest/chest pack.
I’ve read that Yuba River is barbless. May be a stupid question but does that mean no barbed hooks on you while fishing or just the one you are using? Because of the access/property owner issues north of Hwy 20 and being from FL, I guess I should plan to fish the area down stream?
Can’t wait to get there! Never fished in CA!
I always recommend if you are in the area of Lee Vining to stop and eat at the Whoa Nelli Deli (the Mobil gas station at the corner of 120 and 395). The food is absolutely fabulous. Try the huckleberry ribs ~~ mmmmm, mmmmm, good.
RHK:
You can pick up a fishing license in Sacramento at just about any drug store.
A great store is Fly Fishing Specialties which is right off of the 80 freeway
http://www.flyfishingspecialties.com
Yep, they require you to have the fishing license visible and above the waist. Wherever you get your license you can get a plastic waterproof holder for about a dollar.
I’ve read that Yuba River is barbless. May be a stupid question but does that mean no barbed hooks on you while fishing or just the one you are using?
As I understand it, it’s just barbless on the flies you have in the water. It’s also OK to use a barbed hook with the barb crushed down with pliers.
Regarding the Yuba. You’ll take 80 to the 49. At one point the 49 looks like it’s going straight ahead but that’s actually the 20. The 49 turns left.
Within a few miles you’ll be at a bridge that crosses the Yuba river. There’s a big parking area built on the old bridge that use to be there. That is the wrong Yuba River
I know, I made that mistake. That first bridge is the South Yuba river and I’m told that the fishing isn’t very good there. I’ve been there and access up and down the river is tough hiking.
Instead, go another 22 miles towards Downiville. You’ll cross the river again at mile marker 3.7 That’s the North Yuba river and it has much better fishing. There is a well maintained trail (actually a dirt road) along the north side of the river. If you go into Downiville then look for a small white guidebook about fishing the North Yuba. It has information and maps for all the local spots. They sell it at the local market and most of the little hotels have a copy or two for sale as well.
Downiville is a very small gold rush town. It’s really pretty:
This is Downiville
This is the Yuba going through Downiville
And this is what you see if you look down from that bridge.
I’m pretty new to fly fishing and I’ve never fished the Yuba downstream from the first bridge to where it joins up with the Feather river. Maybe someone else here has some experience with that.
Also, there’s good shad fishing in the American river right down in Sacramento. But be careful, you may need an additional Sacramento Delta stamp on your license depending on where you go. There’s a good map in the fishing regulations book which you can get here
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations/
as a pdf file.
Have fun!
You can get a PDF version of the fishing regulations for CA using this URL:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations/07-08 … h-regs.pdf
Be sure to read the section for every inch of water you’re going to…the regs have a habit of changing from one section of a river to another section of the exact same river. You really need to know the rules for the piece you’re on!
I’ll second the nomination for Fly Fishing Specialties in Sacramento. They merged recently with the shop closest to me (San Jose Fly Shop). You can find them together online at: http://www.flyfishingspecialties.com/
They have a section on their web site with info on fishing various CA waters: http://flyfishingspecialties.com/reports.htm
They can also help you find a guide if you want though since they’re not close to Yosemite, they might not know who to recommend…but for the Putah Creek area, I’m pretty sure they can hook you up if you’re interested.
There’s also an online fishing guide for CA hosted by the state Fish & Game folks: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fishingpassport/guide.html
And there’s always the map section of Fish Sniffer’s web site (a biweekly newspaper dedicated to fishing in CA…each issue has a map section focused on a single body of water and all of those are collected on their web site): http://fishsniffer.com/maps/
Most of the Fish Sniffer articles/info are about spin and bait fishing but once in a while fly fishing shows up.
Good luck and let us know how you did! I was bass fishing a couple weekends ago not far from the Motherlode Fly Shop and set a new personal best on a fly…18 1/2" largemouth estimated at maybe four pounds by one of the more experienced folks on that outing. I know folks have caught bigger but I hadn’t.
Thanks to all of you for your replies and the good information: pictures, huckleberry ribs, directions, and fishing facts. I have a lot to look forward to and to plan for!
Hope I can return the favor if any of you head to the east. We have some fine fishing from the mountains to the ocean/Gulf. The USA is blessed!!