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Putah Creek Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Bay Area’s wild trout secret: Putah’s tailwater below Monticello Dam grows thick rainbows an hour from Sacramento.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
444 cfs
Air / High
72 / 77 F
Wind
ESE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 11454000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Putah Creek is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 444 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 77. Water sits around 54 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutGood

Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown troutGood

Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

Tomorrow: Similar at 81 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Putah Creek near Winters.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 11454000.

433501569444 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp72 F
High / Low77 / 56 F
WindESE 5-7 mph
Pressure1013.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:40 / 19:33
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~54 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 77/56 F, wind 14 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. A 14 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Putah Creek: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Best: Apr-Jun, Sep-Oct

The workhorse of western rivers: riffles, seams and dry-fly eats. Blue-winged olives and midges on soft seams; streamers on overcast days move the better fish.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Pre-spawn aggression: this is streamer season for the fish of the year.

When to come: the Putah Creek calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 54 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~54 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Putah Creek today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 71 F, wind to 21 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 21 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 24 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Rainbow trout led the card at good. High of 76 F, wind to 24 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

California requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Wild Trout Area: barbless artificial lures/flies only, zero limit, with seasonal closures on parts of the reach. California license required: check current CDFW rules.

Access

Highway 128 pulloffs and marked fishing access sites between Monticello Dam and the Interstate 505 area.

About this water

A cold tailwater below Monticello Dam (Lake Berryessa) in Solano and Yolo counties, California: designated Wild Trout Water.

Fishing Putah Creek: the full guide

A tailwater in wine country

Putah Creek runs from Lake Berryessa’s Monticello Dam down a shaded canyon toward Winters, and its cold bottom releases created something California barely has: a genuine wild trout tailwater within easy reach of millions of people. The rainbows are wild, dense and well fed on year-round insect life, running twelve to eighteen inches with genuine trophies in the deeper pools. It is small water fished with a fine touch, and it fishes twelve months a year.

Technical, all year

The insects are small and constant: midges, baetis, caddis and the odd larger mayfly. Standard practice is tight-line or indicator nymphing with size 18-22 patterns on 6X, working the pocket water and the deeper runs between the willows. Winter and spring bring the best dry-fly windows on cloudy days when baetis come off. Access is walk-in from the highway pulloffs, with the best water below the Interstate 505 bridge upstream toward the dam.

Reading the releases

Everything depends on the release from Monticello Dam: winter and spring flows can jump into the hundreds or thousands of cfs, making the creek unwadeable and unsafe; summer and fall settle it into a friendly 50-200 cfs. Check the gauge and the Solano County Water Agency release information before driving out: a surprise ramp-up is genuinely dangerous in the canyon. Fall is the sweet spot: low water, active fish, and warm afternoons.

Access and rules

The Putah Creek Wild Trout Area covers the reach below the dam with barbless artificial-only regulations and seasonal closures for spawning: read the current rules before rigging. Parking areas along Highway 128 serve the whole canyon, and the day-use fishing access sites are well marked. Winters is the base town: a good excuse to combine trout fishing with the surrounding wine country.

Common questions

Are the trout stocked?

No: the wild rainbow population sustains itself on the cold releases. Fish density here rivals far more famous western tailwaters.

When is the best time to fish?

Fall through spring, when flows drop and hatches are reliable. Summer releases can be high and the canyon hot.

Is it safe to wade?

Only at low, stable flows. Releases ramp up quickly and without local warning: check the gauge every time, and get out when water starts rising.

Is fishing good at Putah Creek right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Lake Berryessa11 miSacramento River31 miAmerican River37 miCalifornia Delta39 miSan Pablo Reservoir42 miLos Vaqueros Reservoir51 mi
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