High Water

Winter of 2023 has turned out record breaking precipitation with the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers both above seasonal averages.

This is good news for fishing this summer but not so great for communities that are flooding due to lots of rain falling on snow. It’s not as historic as the January 1997 flood, but Yosemite has been closed for the past two weeks due to flooding, heavy snow loads on buildings, and parking lots covered with over four feet of snow.

What this means for the fly fisher is that we’re going to have huge runoffs for the next few months. April, May, and June will have very high flows, which means you either fish smaller streams or use nymphs on bigger water such as the Merced River where flows will be high and fast and wading will be hard. You’ll want to look for the soft water with deep pools and slower current.

For smaller streams I’ve been tying traditional dry fly patterns such as Griffith’s Gnats and Renegades in sizes 16 and 18. These are two of my favorite patterns for small creeks in May and June.

For the rivers I’ve been tying a selection of European nymphs such as Egan’s Rainbow Warriors, Red Darts, Rainbow Perditions, along with Black Stone Flies and Black Leech patterns. Fast and deep water means heavy weighted flies.

March has been a tough month to fish due to all the rain and high water. The water is often off-colored too. If you’re lucky, you may get a break in the weather where the sunshine comes out for a few hours and a small BWO hatch might happen. Otherwise, nymphing is your best option and you need to cover water.

Renegade Fly Pattern Size 16