One of the interesting features of this insect is that it really doesn’t like to fly. When observing a Skwala adult you will notice that a majority of the time they lean more towards scurrying frantically from place to place without even twitching their wings.
When the hatch is really on you can expect to see very splashy and aggressive takes from the fish because the insects will even scurry across the surface of the water in order to lay their eggs. This means that you can fish the adult similarly to any other dry fly, but skating a Skwala across a long run in never a bad call. Similar to swinging a wet fly, skating a dry fly allows you to systematically cover a large body of water, making sure not to miss any section that could be holding that monster fish. When skating a Skwala it’s important to keep your rod tip at eye level and to add a constant twitch as to keep the fly on the surface.
One of the best known fisheries for the Skwala stonefly is the Yuba River in between Parks Bar and Englebright Reservoir. This section of water is known for its hard fighting, healthy rainbows and this is one of the few times of year where even the big fish will be looking up for their next meal. Another colder option for amazing Skwala fishing would be the Truckee river, where I would mostly focus on fishing the nymph stage with the occasional switch to a Skwala dry. Many of California’s mountain streams like the Truckee and Feather have Skwala Stones.
Generally found in swift water, but is also known to hang around the edges of deeper pools due to its desire for cold water.
Similarly to other stoneflies, the Skwala lives anywhere from 2-4 years in the water in its nymphal stage.
When fishing a Skwala nymph it is very important to get your flies down right on the bottom. This is partially due to the fish being down deep in the colder parts of the year but mostly has to do with the Skwala’s clinging nature. They cling to the bottom of the river and only become accessible to the trout when brushed downstream by a surge of water. So they never stray very far from the bottom.
Similarly to other stoneflies, the Skwala lives anywhere from 2-4 years in the water in its nymphal stage.
When fishing a Skwala nymph it is very important to get your flies down right on the bottom. This is partially due to the fish being down deep in the colder parts of the year but mostly has to do with the Skwala’s clinging nature. They cling to the bottom of the river and only become accessible to the trout when brushed downstream by a surge of water. So they never stray very far from the bottom.
Like other stoneflies the Skwala stonefly doesn’t swim up to the surface to emerge. When the water hits around 42 degrees this insect scurries across the rocky bottom and crawls out of the river onto some form of rocky shore, or overhanging foliage to emerge from its exoskeleton.
Since these stoneflies are terrible swimmers, right before emergence is a great time to fish banks and other edges with a Skwala nymph, since the fish will be stacked up anticipating a conveyer belt of clumsy stonefly nymphs tumbling down their way. So make sure to cast at the bank before walking straight into the water!
Fishing Tactics:
One of the best known fisheries for the Skwala stonefly is the Yuba River in between Parks Bar and Englebright Reservoir. This section of water is known for its hard fighting, healthy rainbows and this is one of the few times of year where even the big fish will be looking up for their next meal. Another colder option for amazing Skwala fishing would be the Truckee river, where I would mostly focus on fishing the nymph stage with the occasional switch to a Skwala dry. Many of California’s mountain streams like the Truckee and Feather have Skwala Stones.
Much debate on running lines. We carry every running line possible, but I think only a few are worthy of your consideration.
There are 3 basic types of running lines:
Nylon Mono (flat and round) - Shoots well and requires less power in casting. It can be tangle-prone. Whatever you do, untangle it while its loose and don't tighten the tangle or tangles will become more frequent. It can be hard to hang on to in cold conditions or if you have bad dexterity.
Fly Lines Style -It's thicker and tends to be less tangly. The weight and thickness of this style running line will cut down on your distance, but much easier to hang on to in cold conditions.
Braided- To be honest, my experiences with braided are minimal and underwhelming
The most common surfperch species in the San Francisco Bay Area are; Barred Surfperch, Walleye Surfperch, and Red Tail Surfperch. While these fish will surprise us by eating one of our large striper flies, more often than not surf perch like to chew on the surfperch flies below.
Let's start with the question "what is tippet?" Well, simply put , tippet is the thinnest part of your leader and is typically sold on a spool. Tippet is the one of the most critical components to fishing. There are two major groups of tippet. First is nylon tippet, sometimes called "mono." Nylon tippet floats, knots easily, and is fairly inexpensive. Nylon can go bad and expire after a few years. Nylon is best for dry flies and when fishing fast moving water. The other type of tippet is Fluorocarbon which is very abrasion resistant and sinks. Fluoro is best for nymph fishing or for wary fish, as it goes nearly invisible when it goes underwater. Fluorocarbon also never goes bad which is why you should always make sure to hang on to the bits and pieces when building your rig. Pack it in, pack it out! For California trout fishing you should have 3x,4x,5x and 6x (rarely used except on slow moving clear water situations like Hat Creek and Fall River.) We tend to use a lot more fluorocarbon than we do nylon. I most often fish nylon when fishing streamers and large dry flies. We have fished all over the world with the tippets below and wanted for nothing.
