DA goes fishing on the Middle Fork

By David Hollister

Special for Plumas News

As I walked across an eastern Plumas County bridge in my waders and fishing gear, a kind gentlemen stopped his car next to me to ask just what I thought I was doing, didn’t I know the river was too high to fish? Without letting on too much, I thanked him and went on my way to quietly catch another 20 fish over the next few hours in the river that was “too high to fish.”

The Middle Fork of the Feather River is fishing well right now. It is true that the rivers and streams are running high and fast from Clio through Graeagle and Blairsden and down to Two Rivers. However, there are many fishable spots where the water color has settled, and fish are actively feeding throughout the day. Fish can still be caught downstream of Jamison Creek but the water, right now, tends to run higher, faster, and more off-color. This is because Jamison and other feeder creeks are still raging with hard winter runoff. I suspect in the next few weeks, once the runoff slows, the area around Two Rivers and Dan McDonald’s Camp Layman will settle down and offer some fantastic fishing.

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For now, I would suggest interested fly anglers focus on the stretch of the Feather from Two Rivers up to Clio. Nymph fishing is most productive. Some normal rules apply, and some don’t. As is usual, the farther you can get from the pavement, the better the fishing will be. On the not so usual front, runs which have been barren during the recent drought years are now holding fish with the higher, colder water. Rainbows in the 8 to 12-inch range are regularly taken with an occasional specimen reaching 18 inches. Brown trout have also made an appearance from time to time.

We are blessed to live in a spectacular fishing destination. The hard winter we survived should bring great water through the summer and into the fall and provide for some outstanding angling opportunities.