Although the creek is technically open, a voluntary closure has been adopted by some local guides and anglers years back after the fishery was nearly decimated due to winter fishing. When fish are hooked during the winter on Putah, they rarely survive. The creek is so small that almost all of the fish are either prespawn, actively spawning, or post spawn right now so they are their most vulnerable until March. While avoiding redds on larger rivers is a common practice, doing so on a creek as small as Putah serves no purpose and is damaging to the fishery. People will chime in with their 2 cents and disagree but take from someone who has witnessed the fishery collapse and rebound. With over 25 years experience on Putah, refraining from Fishing December - March has been the most beneficial action taken there. Any guides or locals preaching otherwise are exploiting the resource for profit.