Tailwater · Mixed · Northern California, US

Putah Creek

Putah Creek — Putah Creek - University of California, Davis - DSC03403

Short, cold tailwater below Monticello Dam, fed by Lake Berryessa, and it punches well above its size — the wild rainbows here get surprisingly big and they're picky about it.

Tomorrow · About as good as it gets
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Steady
2.28 m
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather18°C
WindN 7 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Rainbow Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Western Blue-Winged Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 81%
Also:Black Midge45%
Peak emergence window7 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Western Blue-Winged Olive (Western Blue-Winged Olive, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Western Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Pale Morning DunHatch
2
3
3
2
TricoHatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Catch-and-release, barbless, artificial-only on the wild-trout reach — verify CDFW rules
  • Avoid redds and spawning fish November–April
  • Flow tracks Lake Berryessa releases.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Gallery · 2
  1. Putah Creek — Putah Creek - University of California, Davis - DSC03403
    Putah Creek - University of California, Davis - DSC03403
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Short, cold tailwater below Monticello Dam, fed by Lake Berryessa, and it punches well above its size — the wild rainbows here get surprisingly big and they're picky about it. Clear, weed-rich water in tight quarters, so it's small flies and fine tippet, technical fishing the whole way. Midges, Baetis, PMD and caddis are the menu. It's catch-and-release, barbless, artificial-only, which is exactly how a creek this good ought to be run. Flow tracks the Berryessa releases.

  • Mixed
Conservation note

CDFW Wild & Heritage Trout reach below Monticello Dam. Putah Creek Trout guidance asks anglers to avoid redds and spawning rainbows from November through April — do not wade through spawning gravel.

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Not assessed
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Putah Creek (Lake Berryessa to Solano Lake)' (CAR5602000020191126028332), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Insufficient Information. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · CAR5602000020191126028332

The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 90%
How the 84 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity66 × 12%7.9
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts