With good hatches of Baetis beginning to show in the lower river east of Sparks, the Skwalas nearing emergence here in California, and the big aggressive fish looking more regularly at a well presented streamer, there are a lot of good ways to find fish on the river right now. While using nymphs under an indicator will still remain the most consistent day to day, the dry fly bite in the lower river has begun and will get better as we head into spring … and then there’s chucking streamers in search of “the one”. Though the emergence of Skwalas is still a few weeks out, now is a good time to begin using the nymphs as an alternative attractor nymph to worm or egg patterns as we have seen some starting to show when flipping rocks this week.

The streamer bite has been getting better and better as water temps continue their warming trend and the large fish in the river are a bit more willing to chase a well presented baitfish imitation. This will be especially effective in the evening hours when temps are at their highest for the day and the light is no longer directly on the water. If in doubt, fishing size 18-22 Baetis nymphs or midge larvae on light tippet will be a good way to get numbers throughout the day. As always, when nymph fishing or chucking streamers just be sure you’re using ample weight and fishing deep to find those fish hunkered down on the bottom of those deep runs.