Merced River Fishing Report

Rainbow Trout

December 21, 2023

Winter is finally here on the Merced River, but the days have been relatively warm with a little rain over the past week.

The river has gone up a few inches and the water is slightly off-colored, but nymphing continues to produce and occasionally a BWO hatch occurs if we get a warm spell during late morning or early afternoon.

The fish are spread out and as it cools off fish will be in deep, slower moving water. Water temperatures are in the 40’s so trout don’t like to move as much.

If you’re nymphing, you must dredge near the bottom and I’ve been using a tandem rig with a black leech pattern and a pheasant tail pattern. Both, strike-indicator setups and Euro nymphing setups work well this time of year.

If you happen to see fish feeding on the surface have small BWO’s ready to go. I’m talking sizes 18-22! You must have a drag free presentation with a good drift or you’ll get rejected each time. Good cast with finesse is the name of the game. Sloppy cast, you can forget about it.

Euro Nymphs

Nymphs:

Walker Stalker Leech Black/Orange Size 10

Roza’s PT Pink Size 14

San Juan Worm Tan, Brown, Pink Size 14

Hare’s Ear Size 14

Copper John Size 14

Prince Nymph Size 12

Dries:

Blue Wing Olive Sizes 16-22

Black Midge Sizes 18-22

Griffith’s Gnat Sizes 18-22