River Flies, Part II

In the Fall issue of California Fly Fisher, I shared recommendations for flies on California’s northern rivers according to guides with decades of experience and first-hand knowledge about what works when and where. In this issue I move further south and share advice on flies for a selection of central and Eastern Sierra rivers.

KERN RIVER

For the Kern River I contacted a fellow guide, Guy Jeans, the Kern River Fly Shop owner. For the Upper Kern River above Lake Isabella, Guy recommends stonefly imitations. The Kern River is a freestone stream; Guy says we fish many stonefly patterns. The rainbows feed on them constantly and can be found throughout the 70-mile upper Kern drainage. We fish a variety of stonefly patterns, both nymphs and dries. Guy’s favorite and probably best stonefly nymph pattern that works well for him is the Tungsten Yellow Sallie Nymph by Solitude Fly Company. It’s by far the most popular fly in my shop, he went on to tell me. Guy wished he could say he invented it, but he did not. Guy likes to fish the Yellow Sallie nymph using a tight line (high sticking) under an indicator rig, a dry dropper rig, or Euro-style nymphing. Either way, this fly is the fly you need for the upper section of the Kern River.

Another great fly that works well for him is the Rubber Legged Stimulator dry fly, which is orange during the salmon fly hatch—size 6 and yellow during the golden stonefly hatch—size 8. Guy says you can fish the Yellow Sallie or the Stimulators solo or put a Yellow Sallie as a dropper below. When Kern River Rainbows are focused on the hatch, Guy stated that these can be fantastic patterns. 

The Lower Kern River below Lake Isabella is a fantastic smallmouth bass fishery. Guy says the bass love eating crayfish, shad minnows, and frogs, so they use many patterns that imitate those. His favorite fly for smallmouth on the Lower Kern River, which is a tailwater, is the Big Daddy Craw. For topwater action, it’s the Kermit Popper. 

MOKELUMNE RIVER

I contacted the only guide I know who guides the Lower Mokelumne River, Bill Ferrero. Bill was happy to share his knowledge with me. His favorite fly for the Moke is the San Juan Worm. Yes this simple fly, which I categorize as a “Guide Fly,” works. He likes the Beaded San Juan Worm in pink for winter and red for springtime. The San Juan Worms are tied with tungsten beads, getting deep and staying deep. 

Bill fishes other flies on his nymphing rig with an indicator or high sticking the pocket water. He likes a Rubber Leg Prince Nymph, a Green Caddis Pupa, and a Beaded Bird’s Nest in tan. He fishes one of these flies with one of the San Juan Worms as his anchor fly.

TRUCKEE RIVER

When it comes to the Truckee River, I contacted Matt Heron. Matt is a fellow guide I have known for years, and he knows the Truckee River. Like many of us guides, he always looks for the best new fly to fish. Matt’s pick wasn’t a shocker when I read his text. He picks the Bead Head Bird’s Nest in olive and tan. He told me that he was advised to fish the Bird’s Nest when Matt started guiding by Ralph Cutter. He has been fishing it ever since. Matt says it still works. Many of our guides have noted that Matt does fish other flies. He likes to fish the Bird’s Nest in conjunction with a Rubber Legs Stonefly pattern like a Jimmy Legs or a crayfish pattern as an attractor fly during the summertime season, and he will fish it with an egg pattern during the winter months. Matt likes to fish the Bird’s Nest underneath an indicator or using the high stick method. He says he does swing the Bird’s Nest at times.

Peter Santley gave me his recommendation for the Truckee River. He uses this fly in mid to late summer into the fall months. It is the Dead Drift Crayfish. This fly was designed by another Truckee guide, Tim Hadden, to imitate a molting crayfish. During the mid to late summer and fall, the crayfish molt in the Truckee River. The molt is a way for the crayfish to escape from the small shell and grow a larger one for that coming winter. This leaves the crayfish effortless prey. The big trout love them. Ralph Cutter’s Goblin Fly inspired Tim’s pattern. 

The fly is a size #8 and comes in tan/brown or orange/olive. It is heavily weighted and is fished as the point or terminal fly on a high-stick rig or underneath an indicator. Peter states he has had great results with the tan/brown version. Peter likes to fish a dropper with this fly. He likes a Fox’s Caddis Poopah tied above the crayfish. He uses 3X tippet material and states that he lets the fly swing at the end of the drift. He adds that stripping the crayfish back to you can result in some violent grabs.

YUBA RIVER

I asked Brian Clemens for his picks for the Yuba River. He calls the area from the California State Highway 20 bridge to the Daguerre Dam, slightly downstream from the Yuba County Sycamore County Park, the Lower, “Upper” Yuba.

Brian told me he had three flies that were all equal for him on the Yuba. He loves his Clemen’s Stonefly Nymph Skwala. He states that, hands down, it’s the best stonefly for the Skwala he has ever used.  He picked Fox’s Caddis Poopah in all colors for his second fly. He likes the cinnamon, tan, and electric green “Springtime Poopah” the best. He also stashes brown and olive poopahs away in his fly box, just in case. The third fly is an imitation of the beatis. He likes Lance’s X-May in olive or Olive Hotspot and Hogan’s S&M in olive. 

Brian likes to fish his nymphs underneath a Jaydacator. When fishing the Fox’s Poopah, he wants the flies to swing across at the end of the dead drift. This will imitate the caddis trying to swim/dart to the surface to hatch. 

Tom Page is a local guide and master fly tyer. Many of you have visited his Reel Fly Shop in Grass Valley for years. He gave me a list of flies he likes for fall and winter. The Yuba River has such a diverse entomology that the fly fisher needs to be armed with many different flies in different sizes and colors. 

Tom’s list is diverse as well. He started off his list with beads. As mentioned earlier in this article, the Feather River beads in salmon egg colors from orange to pink are the ticket when the salmon are in either the Feather or Yuba Rivers. They are a considerable protein draw for the trout and steelhead, and any fly-fisher that doesn’t have them in their arsenal needs them. Tom’s picks for nymphs are as follows (in no order.): Tailwater Tiny size 18 color rust, Rubber Legs Stonefly in brown size 6, Hogan’s S&M olive size 16 and 18, Tommy P’s Midnight Red Head size 16, Hogan’s Red Headed Step Child size 14 and 16, Lance’s X-May Olive Size 18 and 20, Barr’s Copper John in red, sizes 14 and 16. For Tom’s dry fly list his picks are the Adams Parachute size 14-18, Page’s Yuba Pinkies size 18, and Harrop’s CDC Biot Emerger Pink Albert size 16.

Joe Garza gave me his list for the Yuba and his top two flies for the Lower Yuba River. His first choice was a Rubberlegs Stone in size 8, either black or brown. He also added that a coffee (black and brown variegated chenille) Rubberlegs works well. He likes the Rubberlegs Stone in the morning or on cloudy days. The Rubberlegs Stone represents all the stoneflies of the Yuba, from Golden Stones to the Skwala. His second fly is by season. He likes Mr. Fox’s Caddis Poopah in cinnamon for the spring and summer seasons and the same fly in olive for the fall and winter seasons. All flies should be size 14. He likes to fish these flies on an indicator rig. He notes that letting the poopahs swing at the end of the dead drifts can produce grabs.

AMERICAN RIVER

I asked Joe Vasquez for his favorite American River fly. I would guess a Black Comet, a Bird’s Nest, some caddis pupa fly, or even a mayfly nymph. Nope, not any of them. Joe’s favorite fly for the American is a Perdigon—bigger Perdigons than Shane’s favorite fly for the Lower Sacramento mentioned in River Flies Part I in the Fall 2024 issue. Joe’s Perdigons are in sizes 14 and 16. His favorite colors are green or gold with an orange hot spot. A black body with a pearl rib Perdigon and an orange hot spot have also delivered. The hot spots for these flies are fluorescent thread or dubbing. 

He reports catching shad, stripers, and steelhead on these flies. He likes to fish the Perdigons underneath an indicator. If he swings these flies, he ties them in size 10 and adds a CDC (Cul-de-canard feather) color to match. He says it adds more movement and attracts willing fish to move to eat. 

I must admit that when I started to put this article together, I would have lost big if I had laid down bets on what guides would have picked as their top fly. The results surprised me and made me proud that guides have listed my flies. I love seeing guides using traditional flies and methods. I also love the ingenuity of guides in finding the newest and best fly. They all catch fish; the trick is that you need to fish them!

Fly tyers featured in this article: