Fishing Reports

The LATEST from the water

Page Header Photo: Val Atkinson

April 21-

Well, flows were stable for 10 days at least.... by Tuesday the releases will increase, again, to 11,000 cfs.
Not really a fan of 11k...but it is what it is.  The lake is 6 ft from 'full capacity'. 

The Upper Sac normal low flow is around 250 cfs.  It's dumping 2500 cfs into the lake with the snow melting - as we see daytime temps this week in the low 80's.

Fishing on the Lower Sac continues to be 'fair'.  I am taking a temporary leave of absence and fishing other places all week. The Lower Sac isn't the only game in town... although it is the most crowded game in town.

Shasta bass fishing is very good right now and should continue to be good for another month or so. Big number days are happening. The lake is near full. Everything is green and flowers are blooming. Water is cold and clean and the annoying jet skis aren't out yet. 
And who doesn't love a good fish taco ?

$92 to fill my gas tank the other day.
Can't say it enough -- Let's go Brandon 

April 11 -

People always ask when the best fishing is on the Lower Sac.  My answer usually includes the word "consistent".  Consistent flows and weather are usually a recipe for good fishing. 
Weather has been changing every few days, and now the flows are changing.  Again.
By tomorrow, the flows will increase to 8,000 cfs on the Lower Sac.
And the weather is changing from warm and 80 to cold and 60 by the weekend. With rain showers. 
So long 6,000 cfs...was nice seeing you for 5 days. 
With that said, fishing has not been great. Some days not even 'good' or 'fair'. 
Very few bugs are hatching... possible that we lost a bunch of bugs in Feb when the river hit 40,000 cfs and ripped out too much grass/weeds. We'll see what happens over the next month. 

Lower floats are a bit more productive...but the average size fish isn't very impressive at all.  
Kinda like the price of gas right now ! Sheesh... 
Let's go Brandon
 

April 8- 

Windy day today. Perfect for chores around the house. 

The river is finally up - to 6,000 cfs.... which is a great flow.  Big change happened last night. 

Hatches are slowly getting going and fishing is slowly improving.  As are crowds. Last weekend was fairly busy.  Not many empty spaces at the ramp parking lot at the end of the day. 

Temps near 80 tomorrow and the next day. Maybe Spring is showing up....   the yellow sneeze dust is everywhere. Thank goodness for Flonase. 

Don't forget the eclipse is today around 11 am.

And that's that.   

April 4-

Weather has been up and down. Rainy/cloudy one day, sunny the next. 
The river is fishing better. It's low at 4000 cfs right now....going to 6000 by the 8th. Which is good. 
Some PMD were spotted today, so that's a step in the right direction. Maybe the high flows didn't wash away all the bugs !! 
Did a 1/2 day today and it was good.  It should only get better.

March 24 - 
Yesterday was a memorable one.  A few minutes of sun after lunch, but a lotta minutes of thunder, rain, wind, and some serious hail. Thank goodness for the propane heater!  Conditions weren't ideal, however we powered thru and had dozens of fish eat our offerings.  Not on the Lower Sac.   Chose a different location due to weather.  And it paid off.   That's all I can say about that...  

Lower Sac flows are down to 4900 cfs.   Word is that it's going to 4,000 cfs by 3/29.  That's LOW.  
Fishing has not been impressive.   Hatches have been non-existent. 
Many of our trout are spawning right now, so try to avoid fishing spawning areas. 
Be a good human and let them get their groove on so we have more fish in the years to come.
The "top" will close next week, finally.  Those poor fish need a break from the motor jockeys that hammer that stretch over and over and over.  Soon they'll get their peace and quiet to make thousands of little fish we can catch in 3-4 years when they're big and strong.
  

March 22-
Flows are great. Nice and low at 5k, however fishing has kinda SUCKED lately.  Not getting skunked, but not racking up big numbers. 
Some boats did get skunked this past week, rumor has it. 
There have been no hatches and fish are not chowing any one thing very well. 
Today is 30 mph winds and dark skies with rain arriving in the afternoon.
Exploring another fishery tomorrow in the foul weather. Looks like Spring isn't ready to arrive yet... more rain next week. 

March 12-  UPDATE --
Just got word the river is dropping. 
Heard something about 7k by the 18th.
This is good news.
Stay tuned... 

March 11 - 

Flows are holding steady at 16,900 cfs.  It's still higher than any of us like. But fish are being caught. Mostly on eggs, unfortunately.  The rains are leaving us by mid-week.... and warmer temps are just around the corner.  Forecast of around 80F this weekend.  So, hopefully with less rain we get a lower river. Soon. And with better weather we might see some hatches and can actually use real flies to catch fish with.

Just back from a hosted week of bonefishing in Andros, Bahamas.  Bones were caught every day, but not a ton. Saw some 'over 10 pounds' fish but they were not interested in chicken feathers on a hook.  Barracuda were fun to play with during slow times, and I hooked a nice tarpon while night fishing under some bridge lights. Of course he didn't get landed, which is the case with many tarpon, but 6 crazy jumps and a screaming reel was the perfect way to end a nice trip with some great folks.  Better to have hooked and lost than to have not hooked at all.

De-salting gear today.... which is mandatory after a salt trip. Everything exposed gets washed. And reels get flushed, and the drag backed off all the way before storage.   

Looking forward to getting back on the water at weeks end....somewhere. Maybe not always the Lower Sac, but on the water somewhere..... then working a bunch til it's 100*F every day in June when the heat keeps some people away.  (fishing can still be good in the heat)

That's the way the cookie crumbles for now...  Hope to post a good report in a week or so. 

Feb 28 - UPDATE -

River flows are scheduled to decrease to 19,000 cfs by 5am on March 1. 

This is good news.  19k is still pretty damn big, but we're on the right track.  Fishing will happen at 19k. Most of the river isn't fishable, but those couple spots that are fishable can be good.    

Feb 26 -

Now it's really big.  A hair under 40,000 cfs this week.   Highest it's been since '17.

The Shasta Co Sheriff used to close the ramps when it hit 40k to prevent "not very bright" individuals from going out, getting in trouble, then needing to be rescued, risking the lives of the rescuers and costing taxpayers $$. 

It's downright dangerous at this flow.  True professional guides would NOT recommend going out at 40k cfs.  No fish is worth risking life or limb. Plain and simple.
So, I have cancelled some trips.... as much as I hate to, it's the right thing to do. 
If you have a guide telling you to "come up, it's fine"... find another guide.  

The Trinity River, Shasta Lake, Hat Creek and/or Baum Lake are all options for wetting a line when it's like this.

A couple days of decent weather for early this week, then it's getting ugly.  By Thursday, up to an inch of rain with wind gusts to 20-36 mph are forecast.  Friday calls for over an inch of rain with less wind.
Sometimes you just gotta call an audible and change plans.

Catching up today...washing salt off some gear, getting ready to get it salty again. Putting away the anchovy patterns, busting out the crab and shrimp patterns.  Travel is one of the things that keeps me sane during the gloomy winters and blown out rivers we often see this time of year.

I have 3 or 4 days open in late March and maybe 10 days left open in April.  By April we should be looking at way better conditions for floating. Mid-May is full, but there are openings in early or late May.  PMD hatches provide some very good fishing during the later part of Spring - into the first week or two of June.

If you must fish, be careful out there.  Otherwise, it's a great time to clean the gear stash, toss rusty flies, organize boxes for the coming hatches and spin up some new patterns to try when things get better.

I'll post a new report when things get better.... hopefully sooner than later.   

Feb 2-  

She's big. 
The 'big river' is bigger. 
Water is green.
Flows are holding steady at 17,000 cfs. 
Riffles are gone.
Backrowing isn't an option but in a few spots.
Yes, fish are caught at this flow. In a few spots. Most of the river is too fast/deep at 17k.
Plan on crazy long leaders and lots of lead. And usually eggs n legs.
The grass and weeds that were taking over are gonna get cleaned up a little, which was needed. 
Hopefully water levels get where they need to be in the lake, and we're back to low-ish flows by mid-March.    
 

Jan 31-

It's a horrible day to be on the big river.  Winds to 40 mph and a good amount of rain expected today.
Oh, and the river came up 10,000 cfs last night.   That too....
It is 16,000 cfs at the time of this report. 
Anybody out today is a gambler.  Slight flow changes can shut down the bite...but 10k change ?? Huge change. Logs, debris, and Newsome sponsored homeless camps floating down the river today.

She might not fish well for a day or three.. and could blow out.  Flood watches for the next 24 hours....lots of rain expected.  Sand bags getting filled for those living near small creeks. Could be a doozy.  Be safe. 

Back to tying flies for stuff that would eat the trout on the Sac. 
The ocean is calling.... 

 

Jan 29 - 

Yesterday was the nicest day of '24.  Sunny skies with temps hitting 77F.
Witnessed a massive caddis hatch yesterday. Millions of bugs. Clouds of caddis. Saw 2 risers.  They were chowing the pupas. We had about 2 hours of hammering them. Before and after that 2 hours was so-so.
But from 12-2 or so....game on.  IF you are in the right spot with the right bugs.
It'll should happen a little today, then bye-bye to caddis for the next round of storms.  They do NOT like the cool cloudy wet weather. 

Taking today off to fix a long standing problem you've noticed if you've fished with me in the past 4 years. 
Yep, Safelite is coming today to repair/replace my seriously cracked windshield. It's finally time.  

Unfortunately I'm seeing a very disturbing trend lately.....  

No, it's not people with extreme TDS saying Biden is doing great, and is healthy and fit for another term.... 

It's "Euro nymphing" from a boat on the Lower Sac.  
In my opinion -- EURO NYMPHING is NOT fly fishing. 
There is no fly line. You can't roll cast, false cast, or single hand spey cast. No stack-mends. 
It's spin-fishing with a fly rod and fly reel.
If you're a spin fisherman, congrats, it's your first step into the world of fly rods.
If you're a real fly fisherman, you just backtracked a little.   
I wonder if the guides doing it charge less then real fly fishing guides ?? They really should... 

Crappy weather returning mid-week with a few inches expected and fairly low snow levels. Maybe a little break over the weekend, but more rain/cold expected next week.  I guess yesterday was just a little one day tease of what Spring will be like.

Be well and work hard so you can play harder. 

Jan 26 -

Had to re-schedule a trip or two. River got dirty with the rains but cleared up quickly. Went out soon after and it didn't disappoint. Matt and Zach crushed with me in the off color water.  Well over 2 dozen in the net for the boys. 
Cool and damp today and tomorrow.
Sunny and warm weather expected Sunday. With that will be a pretty decent caddis hatch. Looking forward to being out for that. Hopefully the fish respond.

Trinity is still kicking them out. Seems to be a pretty good year over there. 
Klamath is done. Dam(s) are out and flows are up and sediment is flushing. 

Hat Creek is an option if you want to wet your boots and nearby Baum usually fishes well during winter.  Rarely, if ever, blows out. 

Jan 20 -
Fishing has been slow.  Fish are being caught, but not in big numbers. Haven't heard many good reports lately.  Weather inconsistent = fishing inconsistent.  Hatches are not really happening with any regularity. Which is kind of what we want...

Once warmish sunny weather happens for a couple days, caddis will pop.  The little dark ones we only see for a couple weeks each year. 

The next week or so calls for dark skies and rain most days.  
I'm out there tomorrow and the next day. And the next. And the next.  Hoping for some good BWO action or something.... and hoping the water stays clean this week.  Then, hopfully in a week or two, a big storm arrives. Blows the river out. Flows increase 8-10k for a week.  Then flows drop and clear and all the stinkin' weeds and grass that's taken over - is GONE.   In a perfect world....

Weatherman says we'll be getting upward of 5" of rain over the next few days.  Good for the lakes, the fish, and the snow skiers in the mountains.
Not awesome for those of us out rowing all day.   

Today is cool, rainy, and very windy.  A great day to watch some playoff games and blown calls.
Did the NFL refs re-write rules on pass interference ?  Did I miss something ? 

Now is the time to grab April/May dates.  The calendar is starting to fill up.


Guide tip : when you're starting to fish, pull line off the reel before you start casting.  Casting with 2 ft. of line off the reel won't go far. Then pulling 2 more ft of line off the reel and casting again....same result. Won't go far.  And to get the flies 30 ft out, you'd have to cast 15 times. 2 ft. further each time.   Start with 30 ft of line off the reel and you'll get the flies to 30 ft in 3- 4 casts.  Not 15. 

Have a good weekend - hope to post a good report sometime soon. 


 

Jan 7 -

A week into the new year and it's a nice rainy day today, which is needed.  We're below avg. for the wet stuff.  Snowing in Dunsmuir right now.... chain requirements north of Redding today. 

Have not been out much...taking time off to do other things.  Did sneak out the other day for a couple hours to wet a line.  Annnd first fish of the year for me was a nice 18" LowerSacTrout.  On the spey rod. 
Yep, took the tough route and it worked. Always up for a challenge. Actually hooked 4 in a short period of time.
Then hooked a few more with the 'short' rod.

River has been quiet. Fishing isn't on fire by any means...and steelhead fishing is pretty good over on the Trinity right now....and there are quite a few people over on the coast chasing steelhead as well. 
I've been tying some saltwater flies for upcoming adventures that require a passport. I'm more into the warm climates I guess.

Cheers and Happy New Year   

Dec 21- 
Happy Solstice. 
Fished yesterday from Bonny down. Fishing was fairly slow for the most part. Fish were landed, but not a ton. Best was a 19" by a never-ever fly angler, so he was stoked.
River was a little dirty below Clear Creek.  It was flowing brown...ironic, huh?

Tough bite lately is the norm. Sure, we're getting fish, but not huge numbers. 
Giving it another go tomorrow, then some time off for the holidays.  

The Trinity blew out with the recent storm. It should be getting good again today or tomorrow. Maybe really good.... 

Merry Christmas to y'all and be safe out there. 

Dec 12-
Tough bite lately. Fishing hasn't been all that great. Not even a 5 on the 1 to 10 scale.  Weather is a key factor right now.  Either full sun and warm days, or completely crappy dark days are best.  This 'partly cloudy' weather isn't so good for fishing.  Crowds have been light.  River is running 4800cfs and clean and clear.

Hoping the river "blows out" this winter. (Preferably when I'm in Mexico or the Bahamas !!) 
The weeds are thicker than I've ever seen. Grass is growing everywhere the current isn't rippin'.   We need a good flushing to rip that crap out.  It's like Fall River in some spots. Cleaning grass and moss from the flies every other cast is getting old... and spots that should hold fish aren't holding fish... cuz the bottom is solid grass.  

Couple more days on the books this year, and it's a wrap! 

Had a wonderful last couple months out there. Lots of big fish.  Some 2-footers to hand. 

I like to take special care of those big old fish so I don't take very many pictures for social media. The health of the fish is way more important than "likes".   
Some guides post pictures of fish EVERY SINGLE DAY they go out.  And some really bad pictures at that.
The internet does not need another pic of a 17" rainbow with the Sundial Bridge in the background, Stuart. 

Steelhead fishing continues to happen on the Trinity. Flows are LOW and clear.   Rain is needed over there.
Klamath is also fishing well for smaller steelhead.  

Be safe out there....weather coming this weekend and roads will be slick and busy with pre-Xmas shoppers.

HO HO HO ! 
 
 

Dec 2-

Had a relaxing Turkey Day weekend then a week straight of rowing the big river.  Fishing has been very inconsistent.  One day it's good, the next day not so much.  Yesterday was the coldest day of the fall season so far, and the fish weren't too happy overall. Don't think it hit 50*F.
Was in a group trip, so didn't "do my thing".  Had to go with the group flow. 
Had a good day up top last week...then a bad day up top the day after.  Early morning hasn't been good.
Except for one day. We crushed hogs before lunch. Most days, it's slow until at least noon.
Weather seems to be having an effect. Good or bad. 

Actually got fish on Purple Psycho Prince yesterday on the L Sac.  That's how tough things were.....I tied on a purple fly. 

Crowds are thinning a bit, but there seems to ALWAYS be somebody fishing under/around Sundial Bridge.

Today is the official end of my busy season.  Been non-stop since early Sept.  Time for some days off, family time, fly tying for my next Bahamian adventure, and maybe even fishing time for myself.  
Work hard so you can play harder.

Please read the regs before you go fishing somewhere.  Had a kid in a kayak the other day ask "Can I use your pliers?" to remove a barbed treble hook from a fish. 
Uhhh.... I've removed hundreds of hooks from trout since the last time I actually used 'pliers' or hemostats to remove a hook.  And there are no "hatchery trout" in the Lower Sac...so killing fish is a no-no in and around the Redding area.  Barbs and treble hooks kill and/or seriously disfigure fish. 
Education is key.... so hopefully he felt bad for mangling the poor fish and does better next time.

Enjoying the weekend off...then back out a couple days next week.   

Nov 21-
Rained like Mother Nature was really pissed off at us the other day. Gutters overflowing type stuff.
River got a little dirty. Wind was hurricane status. Glad I was off... 
Next day...river still dirty. 3' viz. Fishing tough. Not like it's been. Got some in the net but not big numbers.
Today, tried "upriver" for the big boys.  Water much cleaner. But...... The big boys are tight lipped because 15 boats (or more) are hammering them every single day. Over and over. 

So, numbers weren't high today, but size was good when we got 'em. 

Happy Thanksgiving.   
 

Nov 17- 

Just finishing a marathon of days on the water. Finally a couple days off over the next week... 

The river has dropped to 4500 cfs.  It's fishing well most days. Especially from 11-3.  It can be good late if you're in the right spot and the weather is warm and sunny.   Days which are getting further and farther between. 
Big storm coming in tonight.  Supposed to be wet and windy tomorrow. Perfect day to not be out.

Most fish are getting in my net via caddis type patterns.  Here and there a small mayfly or midge type thingy is working. But caddis has been good.  Which will end as soon as the weather gets more cold and dark.
Crowds are slim one day, heavy the next.
The upper float is a pretty much a guarantee you'll have company most of the day.
Lower floats are very peaceful and sometimes just as productive, but the average size is a little smaller. Which for many isn't a bad price to pay for solitude.

Dry fly fishing has happened a little lately. Some BWO on nasty days are bringing fish up.  In a few spots.

Heard something regarding salmon counts (dead ones) were around 50 for October.  If true... catastrophic. 

Happy Turkey Day. 

 

Oct 29 -

Well, the month has come and gone and "high salmon sightings" were 2-4 fish per day.  Pretty sad. 
Fished an egg one day. Got a couple. Wasn't the same...so not using the plastic bead much.  They're eating bugs just fine. Have had some great days lately, with some large fish landed. (and lost). 
Caddis is on the menu in place of eggs.  And some BWO now and then. 

Had the weekend off luckily.  Winds today to 30 mph and yesterday to 40 mph... no thanks. I feel sorry for anyone that was out this weekend...especially yesterday.  

Crowds are thinning a tiny bit with the steelhead bite being pretty good on the Trinity. I keep hearing about all the salmon over there and the egg bite being better than on the Lower Sac.  That's a first.

Fly Fishing Film Tour in Redding Nov 3. 
Go.
It's good stuff benefiting a good cause.  

Oct 22-

Saw a salmon yesterday! Yep, one.
By far the worst return I've ever seen.  Tried a bead for a while and got a fish or two on it, but did way better using real flies.
Two days ago, Bob M. put a monster in the boat. Had to be 25" and 7-8 pounds.  Can't say where or how...but it was a beast. One of the larger fish in my boat this year. Congrat's to him!
And yesterday my guys BOTH landed fish on tiny little dry flies.  It's like seeing bigfoot.  Dry fly fishing is a rare thing on the river. We were all stoked. The fish were all over 18".
Yesterday was busy...maybe the busiest day of the fall on the river. Tons of boats I didn't recognize. 
The focus will shift to the Trinity soon and it'll get a little less busy over the next 2 weeks.
Cloudy and rainy today. Great day for football. Great day for fishing too!

Oct 18 -
Halfway thru the month and the salmon returns are HORRIBLE.  I have not seen a single pair of salmon digging on the usual spots. I have seen one here.... one there, but not many.  Despite the lack of digging fish, I'm seeing quite a few people using beads.  And they're working some days....not so good some days. I haven't seen any reason to fish them, so been mostly using real flies. And doing fine.  Had 8 doubles the other day with my guys.....zero eggs used. Landed a ton that day. Weather was overcast with some drizzle. Fishing was fantastic!  Yesterday, it changed to just plain 'good' with the big change back to sunny and warm.  The average size fish continues to be impressive.

Crowds have not been horrible.  The upper river has been getting most of the pressure. 
The Trinity has been a little more crowded than normal. Salmon are everywhere over there and the egg bite is a thing.

The Mac and Upper Sac should be prime right now. Big orange stimi time !
Weather has been pretty darn good. One more day of 90's this Thursday, then might not see that until next May.

Work hard so you can play harder.  

Oct 10 -

Four days on Bollibokka was killer. Not a ton of fish, but some big fish. Largest landed by the group was 22" and FAT. Some lake run fish were had. Big chromers. That jumped a lot. And threw the hook a lot.

Lower Sac is fishing well. Some days, very well. I have not seen any paired up salmon at all. Looks to be a pretty bad return. Sure, there are a few around....maybe some deep redds are happening, but the 'egg bite behind spawning salmon' thing might not happen so much this year.  We'll see....hope for the best.

Crowds are around... not horrible, but it's busy.  Sounds like a lot of boats are hitting the Trinity for early steelhead.
Hard to go wrong this time of year.... everything seems to be fishing well.

Tight lines, and remember... strip from below the trigger finger.
Oh, and pull, don't push. 

Oct 1-
Was a little busy yesterday on the big river.  Saw quite a few new faces. It's 'egg season' now that October is here.  Problem is.... I haven't seen a salmon in the shallows yet. Much less a pair that is actively digging. So, there isn't much spawning going on. Hopefully that changes over the next week or so.
Eggs or no eggs, the fishing has been pretty good, overall. 
Flows are currently 6600 cfs with no scheduled changes.
Weather has been funky.  Lightening and rain last night....high winds the day before...sunny and warm today.  It's kinda nice not having triple digits. They are most likely gone for the year.
Cheers to that! 

Haven't heard a thing about the Upper Sac or the McCloud lately...but a buddy is on the Mac today, so hopefully good news regarding water clarity. I'm up there soon, for a couple days... would be nice to be able to see more than a foot or two of clarity.  
I have been hearing good reports from the Trinity.  It's a good time to hit that river before it's 'line frozen to the guides' time. Not a ton of big fish, but I hear the small-medium ones are around in good numbers. 

Not much else to report.... on the water 5-6 days a week for the next two months.  If the egg bite turns on, I'll post a new report.

Do unto others out there.  



Sept 20 -

Flows are dropping again, to 6600 cfs by the 24th.  The weather is great lately. Cooler nights and daytime temps in the upper 80's.
I've been fishing a few different areas and fishing has been good ! 
Crowds on the Lower Sac are starting to pick up with the anticipation of salmon showing up and dropping eggs.
Well, I have not seen a single salmon yet.  And, honestly, don't think it'll be a very good year.  Last year was a horrible return.  Thus the 'emergency closure' of all salmon fishing in the state this year. 
Fishing was still good, but not so much if you were racing redd to redd tossing egg 'flies'. 
The "redd racing" usually starts around the first week of the month.  Hopefully it won't be so bad as I'm hearing of quite a few boats already fishing the Trinity for early steelhead. 

Tomorrow NorCal is expecting heavy winds - to 30 mph.  Power will be turned off for some PG&E customers due to fire danger from falling trees/branches.
Not a great day to be out on the water.....  wind is never fun. 

Bookings have been coming in quick, and now it looks like my schedule is full until after Thanksgiving.

Have a great week y'all.  
 

Sept 9 -

The Lower Sac flows are dropping as predicted.  Today, flows are 7900, scheduled to drop to 7700 cfs by tomorrow.
Fishing has been pretty consistent.  Fair to good.   Hatches have been pretty slow. 
I have not been fishing under the Sundial Bridge. 
Everybody else has been.  
To each his own, but I've been choosing a nice long float, with little to no other boats around. 

There's been some talk about a few early steelhead on the Trinity.  Now is the time to bust out the two hander and give it a go.

Stripers are being caught downriver. Just gotta put in the time and you'll find 'em.  Water clarity is great. 

Upper Sac is also in great shape.  Cooler nights lately will help the river a lot.  September can be good.  

McCloudy is cloudy still...or again... whichever.  Bad run of luck for this one lately...

Have a great weekend.  Enjoy the 'under 100F' days. 

Aug 26 -

Fishing has been pretty darn good lately.  Lots of hook-ups yesterday.  Not many boats out. 

We had action from the first cast to the end. Consistent all day.   Flows are 9,500 cfs. 

Aug 28, 30-31 are the only days I have open between now and NOVEMBER. 
My September and October are booked solid. Zero openings. Fin. Kaput. 

Word is that there was a mudslide around Mt Shasta during the storm on the 21st.   The result is a BLOWN OUT McCloud River.  Again.  Have not seen clean, clear water on that river for 3+ years.   Bummed..... as are many.

Aug 22-

Crazy weather yesterday on the river.  20 mph winds and rain all day long. Never quit.  Sometimes heavy, sometimes a drizzle.
One of my guys was a 'never-ever' so there was a learning curve and the weather made it tougher than it should have been... but a couple double hook-ups and some quality fish pretty much all along the drift made the day a complete success. Oh, and we saw one other boat all day. 

Took the first warm shower I've had in months yesterday after work.  Highs were upper 60's.

Getting back to hot and dry this week.  But nothing over a hundred for at least a week, which will be nice.

FLOWS are dropping again... to 9,000 cfs by the 24th.  Which is good. Very good. 


Aug 13 -

 
Happy Sunday. 

And plenty of sun today.
Currently, at 4:15 pm, it is 114*F outside. 
People sometimes say, "Lets do an afternoon/evening float to avoid the heat"
Well, launching the boat at 5 pm it'll be 113F*.  At 8 pm, down to 103*F. 

That's not what I call avoiding the heat.
Pretty hard to escape the heat in Redding during August.

Had a good day on my fav streamer fishery last week. Nice to get the tug drug now and then.
Lower Sac flowing at 10,800 cfs with scheduled changes happening by Wednesday - dropping to 10k.
Traditionally mid-late August is when we see the first 'bump down' in flows. Hopefully this is the start of it...
Can't happen soon enough... 11k is a little tough for 'my game'.  If you know, you know. 

Did a couple videos with The Fly Shop over the past two months.... one on the Mac and one on the Lower Sac.
If you'd like to take a look....  

Lower Sac video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJjoq3T4FcA

McCloud video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoxtuM0c1fE

 

Aug 8-

Dog days of summer are here. It's been hot.....100*F most days...or close to.

The opener on the upper mile of river was a zoo....and is still crowded morning and night. Lots of boats hammering that upper mile. Poor fish.... 

There has been some evening dry fly action after 7:30 p.m. if you're in the right spot.
It's mostly a caddis game right now. 
 
Flows are just under 11k. 
Can't wait til it drops.... 

Haven't been out a ton lately....family vacay to the OR coast, followed by another in So Cal.... (white knuckle driving on the freeways down there! Sheesh....People drive crazy in So Cal!)

Some days still open for later this month, but my September is 95% full and my October is 95% full. 

July 21- 

A nice cool 111-112*F expected today in Redding.
Not planning on being out for a few days.... takin' a break.

Spent a day on the McCloudy River this week. Viz is not great. We caught fish but could have gotten more if it was cleaner.  1.5 ft max visibility right now.... where I was.  Which wasn't Ash.  Heard it's worse up there.

Upper Sac continues to be the best bet for wade fishing right now. It's in prime shape but starting to warm a little lower on the system.

The Big Opener is right around the corner.  Last year I was in Mexico...this year I won't be sippin' Dos XX on the beach, but I won't be out for the opener.  Crowds aren't my thing.  I'll give it a few days then maybe check it out.  Flows are still 'high' at 11,100 cfs. 

If you do go, do unto others. 

July 15- 

Ok.... this is the time of year when us Redding folk question why we live here.  Today will be 114*F.  Convection oven comes to mind when stepping outside.  Today could be the hottest day of the year.  Maybe....  Hit 119*F two separate days last summer.
The 10-day forecast shows every day in the triple digits.  Great time for a vacation somewhere cooler.... like the sun. 

Flows on the Lower Sac are 11,100 cfs.   Fishing has been pretty consistent.  The PMD hatch is over. Caput. Fin.
There are caddis and some BWO around. 
The drift boat hatch is over. Finally.  Saw only 4 other boats all day yesterday.  The part timers are not going to be out much until October....so a nice quiet river for us OG local full-timers.  The 'egg bite' will bring out the crowds (even tho there isn't really an egg bite any more).  But not til October. 

Upper Sac flows are 360 cfs.  Normal for this time of year is 280.  Spent a half day up there recently and the fish were good sized and we found them where they should've been. The water is in great shape right now.  

Also spent a morning chasing bullies on the Lower Lower Sac.   VERY FIRST cast yielded a nice keeper for some fish tacos.  Then a schoolie that wasn't worthy of the fillet knife. We had a few other striper grabs, missed a huge smallie, and landed a massive squaw fish.  

Saw some big stripers in the 20-30 lb class...but couldn't get them to eat chicken feathers on a hook.   There's always next time....  and there will be many 'next times'.  

On the big river tomorrow, enjoying a nice cooling trend.
It's only hitting 110*F tomorrow.

Very few openings left for the prime late summer/early fall months -
Sept 7 and 11 are open.
October 30 and 31 are open. 
All other days in Sept/Oct are BOOKED.  
November has plenty of openings at this time. 

Have a great week.  Hydrate. Sunblock up if you're out in the oven.  I mean outside. 

July 5- 

Spent the weekend working quite a bit.
A day on "the Bokka" followed by a day on the Lower Sac, followed by two days on "the Bokka", then two days camping in Mt Shasta with family...BBQ....Cold beer....and a sparkler or two for the 4th.
Back to "the Bokka" tomorrow.  

Clarity seems to be improving, however it's still pretty milky/silty. No sight fishing happening, which is one of my fav things to do on that property.
Fishing Monday was pretty good. Quite a few fish over 16" and one or two in the 20" range.
The weather has been hot.  No other way to put it.  Wet wading has been a pleasure. 

Today thru next Monday looks to be mid-upper 90's...but then it's going to get up to 112*F by the end of next week.

Drove by the Upper Sac today... looks juicy.  Perfect levels and clean and clear.  Just might have to check it out soon...  and lower river stripers....and some streamer fishing...  still so many options.     

July 1-

So long June. 
Pretty greatful it was as nice as it was in June. Like Spring some days. 
Lots of days in the 80's.
Which is gone now.
Yesterday was around 107*F...and today forecast is around 110*F.

Fishing on the big river has remained good to very good. However, hot. 

Yesterday on the lower Mac, fishing was spotty.  Clarity wasn't great and flows are still a little high.
Viz was about 2-3 ft... and I heard it's worse near Ah Di Na and the Nature Conservancy.  
Nothing on dries, a couple on nymphs and a couple on streamers. Love the streamer fishing on Bokka.

Have a great 4th. 

June 27-
Outstanding fishing lately.  Lots of fish. Big fish. Double hook ups every day.
Very few people out fishing the past week or two.
Caddis are really starting to be the focus....as PMD numbers are slowing down a little.

Weather has been great, but that's about to change.  By Friday, 109*F is expected. 
It took a while, but the days +100*F are arriving.  And so it's time for a few more days off. 
Worked a ton in June....not going to for July-August.  A little vacation is in the works.
Won't be guiding the 'opener' next month.  Not into fishing with 30 other boats. 

Upper Sac flows are down to 500..... it's time.   

June 25- 

Fishing has been pretty good lately. Crowds are thinning out big time. Saw one other boat today with fly fishermen. One. On a Sunday.
Carl and Mike had a pretty kick-ass introduction to the Lower Sac today.  Lots of fish in the 16-19" range...with a few larger ones lost and smart enough to zig and zag and jump enough to spit the hook.  At one point, we had lost 6 in a row.... but that's why they call it fishing not catching, right  ??
Multiple double hook-ups today...and some little guys to keep us entertained when the big boys didn't want to play.
Still caddis and PMD on the menu......  
One more day tomorrow, then a couple rest days before another day on the big river, followed by a couple on Bollibokka.....the Disneyland of fly fishing.  Without the wokeness.

The weather has been terrific. 80's most of the week. South winds every afternoon add some challenge...but who doesn't like a challenge? 
By next Thursday, we're expecting 100*F. 

July is hot. Fishing can be ok. Sometimes great.
August is hotter. Fishing can be ok...sometimes great.
September is a little cooler...not much. Fishing can be great. Sometimes excellent.
I have 6 open days remaining in Sept.  
9 in October.  
The "egg bite" in October was horrible last year. Could be the same this year.
It's ok though....I know when and where to NOT use eggs in Oct.  Many guides don't.
Had stellar fishing last Oct while others were tossing eggs on empty salmon beds. Not catching fish.

Happy 4th of July....might be too busy to post for a week or two.

'Merica !!  

June 16 - 

Fishing slowed a little the past two days with North winds to 25-30 mph.  Tough to row, cast, mend, etc.... in that wind and the psi change makes the fish moody.
We still had some pretty good fishing, but not quite as good as last week.
And I didn't almost die, so that's good.

Upper Sac flows are on the drop.... 1000 cfs today.  It's getting better daily.
In two weeks, should be prime.

Hearing more stories of stripers in and around Redding.  Might have to dedicate a day to tossing big clousers on sink-tips soon. 

Have a great weekend.

And remember...pull don't push the cast... and strip the fly line from BELOW the control finger.  

June 12 -

Well, almost got killed yesterday.  A complete f'ing idiot in a little jet boat was wide open throttle going down a fast section of river, and I was way below him, in plain sight, rowing across the current to my 'next spot'.  He didn't have any idea how to operate a boat, and literally came about 3 ft from hitting us....splashing a ton of water into my boat as he narrowly missed us.  We all braced for impact, but it didn't happen. I was amazed he didn't hit us.... 
Then he drove off. With his kid looking back at us thinking "My dad is a complete asshole. He almost killed those guys and didn't say a word".  
Lord help him if I run into him somewhere.....  he almost took a dad away from an 8 year old girl and a husband away from a wonderful wife.
Weekend warriors are the reason I hate weekends.... might completely ditch working weekends from now on.  I value my life too much to have some citiot take it.

Fishing has been pretty good. Afternoons are better than early a.m.  Hatches have been good. PMD and Caddis. Good time to be on the water.   

Just watch out for people with boats that don't know how to drive boats.   

Upper Sac flows are getting lower.....gonna be time pretty soon. 

Dust off the wading staff and felt boots....wet wading in the heat of summer is the way to go.  

June 3-

Fishing the past 3 days has been pretty good.  PMD and Caddis are on the menu.
Crowds are much lighter....finally.   

Well, except for spin/gear fishermen and guides.  They have been out hammering the trout, as there will be no salmon season this year.  So, 4 or 5 clients, plus the guide all dragging assorted hardware along the bottom is doing some damage. Yeah they're catching fish but actual damage is happening. 

Yesterday I watched a guy shove practically his whole hand inside the gills of a trout for a picture....after the fish was out of the water for at least 30 seconds.  His thumb was coming OUT OF THE MOUTH of the fish while his buddy snapped a pic. .... smh....
Wonder if he'd enjoy someone shoving their hand down his throat and rubbing the inside of his lungs ?? 
I had a little talk with them...and hopefully educated them a bit.
Dead fish #1.

Then an hour or two later, while floating downriver of 2 of the 'big jet boat gear guides' we watched an 18" wild rainbow floating belly-up, gasping for air...still alive but not doing well at all.  Well, at least they got a pic for Instagram. Cost the fish it's life...but anything for 'likes' I guess. 
Dead fish #2. 

And earlier that same day, within sight of one of the above mentioned gear guides, I watched the guide reach into his net and lift a 20" fish up by its tail to unhook it and give it to a client for another pic.
OK... seriously uneducated or just plain hillbilly stupid?  Can't decide.
Internal organ damage, and dislocation of back vertebrae are just two reasons to NEVER lift a fish up by the tail.
Dead fish #3.

On another note, during April/May/Early June - if you are fishing over "old salmon spawning beds" you are fishing over spawning trout. 
It's sad how many so-called 'guides' float their clients over spawning beds and hoot and hollar when they hook a fish. 
That was trying to reproduce.
Sitting on its nest.
Pathetic. 

Do duck hunters shoot ducks while they're sitting on a nest ? 

Be better. 

 

May 30 -

Had an enjoyable weekend in the mountains...despite a few thundershowers. BBQ'd some brauts and had some chill time before an easy 3-day week coming up. 
I heard fishing was good Saturday, but shut off a bit on Sunday after some huge downpours Sat night. 

FLOWS on the Lower Sac have dropped again - to 10,100 cfs.   I'm kinda stoked. Opens up more fishy areas. 

Caddis, PMD and Sallies are all on the menu this week...with a side of BWO later in the day, in some areas.  

The bass on Shasta are still on the munch.  Had a day recently where we didn't have to work too hard for some decent fish.  They were puking up shad boatside... and a quick cast got the followers when there were some. It was fun.
Now is the time....weather is good, lake is full, and kiddos are still in school. Once school's out, it'll get busier with houseboats, wakeboard boats, jet skis, etc... and banks will muddy up.

Hat Creek and Fall River are both fishing well from what I hear.  Dry fly fishing time is NOW on the Fall River. 

The Upper Sac is flowing at around 3,000 cfs....its big.  Flows under 1,000 cfs starts to get a little more fishable. Might be a few weeks...but when it drops, it'll be good I'm sure.  Instead of 'doldrums' in late June/July, it might fish really good this year.  Wet wading the Upper Sac is a great way to beat the heat...and catch some nice fish.  One of my fav's on a day off. 

May 27 - 

It's finally the weekend.....  8 days in a row on the water and I'm ready for a cold one and a hammock in the shadows of Mt Shasta.... won't be on the water for a couple days.  Holiday weekends aren't my thing out there.
FLOWS DROPPED from 13k to just under 11k. 
I couldn't be happier. Hopefully it stays here or even a little less...all summer. 

Favorite phrases this week : "I've never caught that many big trout before",  "Where are the small fish",  "My arm hurts and I can't keep fishing",  "This is the best day of fly fishing I've ever had",  "How soon can I come back?"   

The fishing has been really, really good lately.  Yesterday was just incredible overall.  There were spots we had 5 casts, 5 fish. All over 18". 

The fish are finishing the spawn....less and less spawners being caught.  (I don't spend time fishing trout redds like other guides do, so that's just my observation) 

Pressure is finally starting to ease up a little....not as crowded this past week.   

**If we could only get some enforcement out there.....soooo many guides running motors on their "drift boat" that don't have US Coast Guard licenses.  Annnnd that's illegal.  The Lower Sac is navigable. Coast Guard license rules apply.

SO, next time you're out there and not in my boat, do me a favor.... if your guide has a motor, ask him if he has an OUVP or Coast Guard license.
I bet not.
Do you want to support an illegal guide ?  I wouldn't....  

Also, ask if he/she/it drinks Bud Light or White Claw while he/her/them runs his/hers/their motor... 

All ribbing aside.... be safe out there this weekend.  Lots of people operating watercraft that don't often operate watercraft.  And doing it tipsy most likely.

If you're a vet, Thanks for your Service !!

May 15-
Had a nice weekend, fishing with my family (mothers and dads, aunts and uncles).  Everybody caught nice fish...mom landed a 21-22" beauty...and dad lost a hog that got the 'other hook' snagged on a t-shirt on the bottom of the river. Yup....Tweaker Trash. This happened an hour after we literally watched a tweaker throwing trash into the river under Cypress Bridge.  While the sheriff boat zipped by and did absolutely NOTHING. 
That was 2 hours after launching at shithole Posse ramp...where a tweaker went from saying "hope you have a good day" to running away yelling "hope you don't catch shit fu*kers" 
Welcome to Dem run California, folks.  
Lets go Brandon. 

Anyhow....tweakers and garbage in the river aside..... it was an enjoyable time. 

River is high but fishing ok.  

Yellow beads fished where the trout spawn is happening a lot.  It's kinda sad to see newbie guides hammering trout spawning redds.  They just don't get it.
Do y'all shoot mama ducks when they're sitting on their nests ??  Think about it.....

And I love the pics on social media of dark trout with milk dripping down the tail....  smh 

Summer is here....hot is happening.  Sunblock and lots of water are the rule.

Get out and enjoy before it's over 100*F every day. 

May 8 - 
The river is settling down and fish are finally doing the same.  The water is moving... but find the softer, shallower water, and find the fish.  Reports from the weekend were good.  
Hopefully flows don't increase. Any more than this, and it starts to be not as much fun... fewer and fewer good holding spots. 

Spent some time at the lake, filling the box yesterday. Didn't take long to get two limits for a friend and I.  The quality of bass was good. Lots of fish 15" and better. The lake is full, clear, and beautiful. There is zero reddish-brown dirt rim above the water line.  It's nice to see.  Fishing was really good. 


May 6- 

The river is "up in the trees" high, but actually fished fair yesterday.  If you like stupid long leaders and globs of lead. 
It's catching fish with a fly rod....not so much fly fishing. 
Chucking and ducking.  
Those who have fished with me a lot know that I like real fly fishing. Not chucking lead and huge bobbers.  
My 5 wt rods will not be seeing much action on the L Sac this month. 

 
WORD IS that the flows are going to 22,000 cfs by the end of May. Nobody knows exactly when.....   Which will suck.
Trips will be cancelled. 20k is a joke.  I don't fish the river at 20k....it's a waste of time and almost dangerous if you're not an experienced oarsman.

Right now, at 13k, 80% of the river is too deep and/or too fast to fish.  

At 20k, 95% of the river will be too deep and/or too fast to fish.... no thanks. 

Going to be checking out my fav streamer spot after this storm, and maybe even some Bass on the lake.   

May 4-
My worst nightmare happened today. The flows rose AGAIN!
The water is "up in the trees".
13,000 cfs was dirty and debris filled today.
Trying again tomorrow....hopefully the crap flushes out and the fish settle in.
Hard part is finding slow-ish water..... it's raging. 

May 3 - 

Another exceptional day yesterday. Late start half day was perfect. We were behind a bunch of boats and never really saw them. Ben stuck big fish after big fish on a variety of different bugs. And the plastic round 'fly' worked too. The average size fish yesterday was impressive.  Flows are holding steady at 10,200 with no scheduled changes - at this time.  

Some people are afraid the B.O.R. waited too long to dump water and are gonna open the gates. The lake is about 3 ft from being totally full. 
20,000 cfs would completely suck.
  

May  1 -

Was on the river during the bump to 10,200 cfs. LOTS of debris, but the fish didn't mind too much.  Tim landed a bunch of 20" or better and quite a few 17-19" fish.  I really hope that the flows don't go up much more.....there were a ton of spots I was looking forward to fishing again, but now it's too high in some of those spots.  From dry to too high happened way to quick.  

Weather has cooled off nicely...was almost 100 F* a couple days ago. Cloudy weather today and tomorrow with some rain likely.  That'd be nice...wash away the yellow pollen that's everywhere.    


April 29 -

The idiots who control the dams waited waaaay to long to start releasing water....so we had a bump last Monday from 4500 to 8500...which ruined things for a couple days.  Then the fish settled and got back to chowing. (Yesterday, John absolutely crushed big fish almost all day.  A little slower late afternoon....but we had an exceptional day.)  Lots of big fish.  

Today the flows will bump again to 9k.

Then tomorrow they'll bump again to 10k.  It's like they (jackasses at B O R) didn't realize snow melts and water levels rise.  
From 3k to 10k in less than a week ??   Would have been nice to have the river at a 'medium' level for a while. 
From rock bottom low, to pretty darn high in a week.  4k, 5k, 6k, 7k would have been sweet a few weeks ago....and they wouldn't have to panic and open the gates.  
I bet they drink Bud Light and think Biden should be re-elected.  

April 20 - 

It is happening.  FLOWS ARE GOING UP this weekend..... no more 3000 cfs. FINALLY !!
The Lower Sac is scheduled to be 4500 by tomorrow, and 8500 cfs by Monday.
There will most likely be quite a bit of debris in the water.  No telling how the fish will react.
USUALLY, flow bumps do not help fishing, but sometimes the old 'eggs n legs' produces. Stuff gets dislodged on bumps. 
We shall see.....   

April 16 -

Well, I usually don't do weekends, and I saw why yesterday.  There must have been close to 30 trailers at the take out.  Some people had to park a 1/4 mi. away because the lot was so full. The 'soccer fence' was full. The 'bathroom area' lot was full... it was out of control. Saw multiple boats I have never seen before. However, I saw a fair amount of rods bending yesterday, not just in my boat, so fishing was pretty good for most. 

I miss the good old days, when there were only a half dozen guides working the river.  

I lucked out and got a great guy with good skills and willingness to try different things....and they worked.  His best fish went 22" and had a snout like a pig.   We hooked more than enough fish to make it a good day.  Lost a few....landed a bunch.  Overall, except for the crowds, it was a perfect day.  Weather was excellent.  FINALLY !!!     

The fish ate an assortment of smaller stuff..... I chose NOT to use the yellow egg yesterday and we did just fine - real fly fishing, ya know with real flies, not plastic or silicon beads pegged above a bare hook.   Call me a purist, but it is what it is.

Back out tomorrow....and a lot over the next couple weeks.  But I won't be out on a Saturday for a while. That was madness.

THE LAKE is 12 ft from being FULL !!   Flows on the Lower Sac will start to rise ANYDAY now.  Can't friggin' wait. It's been 3k for WAY TOO LONG.

Happy Spring. It's finally here. 
And allergies.
And weed whacking.
And beer n BBQ. (doing elk burgers tonight) 

Have a great week. 

April 10 -

Enjoyed a nice Easter yesterday with some family and friends.  Hope you did the same....

Weather has taken a turn for the better.  Finally, yesterday, it felt like Spring. 
70's and sunny yesterday and today. Hoping for more of that for the next 5-6 weeks...with little to no wind.  Wind sucks. 
Then it'll be a hundred just about every day. For 4 months.  However, the snowmelt will extend the good fishing further into summer, and the Mac won't blow out due to glacier melt this summer. 
Upper Sac is currently running at 3400 cfs.
Lower Sac is currently running at 3100 cfs.  Yep..the Upper is bigger than the lower right now.
Shasta Lake is 19ft. from capacity, which is 88% full.   We needed a banner winter to fill the lake, and we've had a banner winter. 
ANYDAY NOW the flows on the lower river should start to slowly rise.  Sure would be nice to see 5 or even 8k.  It's been a trickle for far too long.
INFLOW to Shasta is 17k cfs today....so it's still filling.

It's going to be a late start on the Upper Sac and McCloud due to snowmelt.  Last year, the Upper Sac was in shape and fishing ok during April. Might not be good for a month or so.  Flows need to be under 1000 for it to be worth it. 400-800 is prime. 

My last few days out have been ok to good.... not great.   The PMD hatch is getting a slow start, but it is starting. Hatches are usually after 2 pm. In the mean-time we're catching some fish on random smaller bugs, rubberlegs and the old yellow egg.  Hate to catch wild trout on trout egg imitations, but it works sometimes.  (Call it sucker spawn to make it not so embarrassing. )
Tried to do a float the other day, but 9 boats were in line to launch at the ramp...so we left. It's been very crowded, and will be until Fall, McCloud, Upper Sac, Pit, etc....start to fish well. 
Crowds are like wind.   

**A change in plans opened up my Saturday (Apr 15) this weekend. Other that that, I'm booked up for all of April.
May is filling.  At this time, May 2-3, 10-11, 18 and 22 are still available.

March 26-  

The river is clearing and fishing well. Viz is about 3 ft.  My last day out saw a very good number of hook-ups.  Didn't float around Sundial. (Don't need to.) 

Been crowded up there because it closes in a few days....so people are hammering that top section while they can.  Stoked for it to close...the spawning trout get to do their business unmolested for the remainder of the spring.  And those poor upriver fish finally get a break from the relentless pounding they get.  Someday people will realize the river has good trout fishing for 30 miles, not just within sight of the Sundial bridge. 

Spent a day tossing streamers in my fav streamer spot this week... and it didn't disappoint. That's all I'll say about that.  

Gotta get out for some bass at the lake soon.... it's about that time.  Fish tacos ! 

Speaking of lake... the lake is 80% full.  It has come way up since Jan 1.   Looks like we're in for a somewhat normal water year on the Lower Sac.   Flows may get above 7k, which would be nice.   We're all getting tired of 3,000 cfs.....

Overall, weather's been shit this winter.  I picked a great time to go to Mexico....just should have stayed longer.  Lots of nasty days. Today is nice...but tomorrow afternoon/evening we're expecting the arrival of a "bomb cyclone".  So Tuesday is NOT a day to be on the river. High winds, cold temps and a bunch of rain are coming.  Had to re-schedule that one...  it's about having fun.  
If your fav guide tells you "it's fine, come up and fish" on days like Tuesday.... look for another guide.  

Hopefully we'll start to see some "Spring-like" weather soon....   before it's a hundred every day. 

Be well.        

March 15-

Not the best welcome reception after a great vacation to Mexico. Weather has been no bueno.
No, I didn't see any cartel kidnappings. Felt safe the entire time.  The Dos XX and Margaritas were cold, and the weather was perfect. 
Had never visited the Zihua/Ixtapa area before. I'd go back. 
Had great food, and exceptional lodging. Topped it off with some sore arms from catching super hard-fighting Jacks, Sierra (Spanish) Mackerel, some grouper, a giant needlefish, Bonita, and Skipjack tuna a mile or so offshore with a panga captain.  
Casting a 10 wt. as far as one can from the bow of a rocking boat, then stripping as fast as possible - two hand style - with the rod under the arm-pit, then doing it again and again is tiring. Luckily, the schools of thrashing bait led us to the spots, so we selectively fished at that pace. 

Looked forward to getting back to work once back but no dice. Have had to cancel multiple trips. 
One local client this week cancelled due to (dirty water) and severe flood damage. Had to get all the carpet ripped out of his house. 
This last atmospheric river was a doozy. Flooded creeks all over the place. The river at Sundial Bridge is chocolate milk.  Not sure how long it'll be dirty....but it's too bad cuz last year at this time we were crushing. 

Hoping for a little less rain and some clear water this next week.

Feb 26 - 

Snow in Redding is rare, but it happened. Not just a little.  6-8 inches happened.  Trees broke. Car accidents happened.  Pretty crazy stuff that us Reddin' folk aren't used to.  It's melting off fast today with a constant drizzle.  

Had to postpone a day or two, due to knowing my clients really well and knowing they wouldn't have fun in freezing cold temps... but there was a break in the weather yesterday, so Lou and his wife jumped in the boat for a float trip.   I lost count of the number of +18" fish we landed. The largest was a fat 22" hen.  We had about an hour and a half of miserable wind (white caps on the flats) but it died by 11 and we crushed fish until the last cast of the day, 100 ft. from the take out ramp.  Decent hatch of BWO and PMD but the fish didn't seem to be chowing too much on the little bugs.  The larger bugs worked well for us....with only a couple fish on small stuff.
We saw one other boat all day. It was a perfect, peaceful float with 4 bald eagles, 10 otters, dozens of deer and a huge range of bird life observed during our day. Swans, Honkers, Cormorant, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, Wood Duck, Wigeon, Specks, Kingfishers, two types of Egret, Blue Heron, Osprey, Mergansers, Coots, Bluebills were all observed as well as Cliff Swallows munching on the BWO and PMD.  Lack of wildlife wasn't an issue yesterday.   

Unfortunately, looking at super windy conditions for today and even worse tomorrow - state issued "HIGH WIND WARNING" for all day tomorrow.  Again, why go if it won't be fun ? Did the right thing and re-scheduled tomorrow's trip on the interest of everyone having fun.  30-40 mph wind is a waste of time out on the river.

Forecast for the next week is lots of cloudy, wet days with daytime highs rarely hitting 50F.  Some days show highs in the low 40's.

Perfect timing for a trip to a sunny, sandy place where margaritas flow freely. 

Have a great week.  

Feb 21 -

I'd like to thank the weather forecast people for saving my ass.  The wind is horrible today, and rowing or fishing in it would have been a nightmare.  At 9 am it was kinda nice, but by noon its blowing 30mph.  I hate cancelling days, but it was the right thing to do today. 

Without the accurate forecasts we have, there would be a lot of bummed out anglers.

The next 3 days appear to be wet, cold, and windy.  Time to organize the boat bag and then start packing for the next adventure requiring a passport.    

Feb 20- 

Fishing has been off and on... mostly with weather changes.  Had to postpone tomorrow due to Nor Cal issuing a "High Wind Warning"....tough to do what we do in 40+ mph winds. It's about having fun, and winds over 30-40 mph are not fun.

The past 3 days have been fairly good fishing with very little to no hatch Friday/Saturday.  Sunday, the hatch exploded and we crushed in a couple spots.

So, get this.... chance of SNOW on Thursday and/or Friday.  In Redding.  It's rare, but they're saying it could happen.
I'm predicting the giant caddis hatches we've been seeing on warm, sunny days won't happen.  

Steelhead fishing on the popular rivers has been slow lately, so anglers are starting to turn to the Lower Sac to see some action. 
Weekends seem to be a little busier than normal for this time of year, but there's plenty of water for all.     
If history repeats itself, this caddis hatch will be over very soon...then a week or two of in - between....then PMD for weeks.   And great fishing for weeks.....  looking forward to that.

Flows are still a very, very low 3090 cfs.  Shasta Lake is 58% full. 

I have some openings in March, but April is almost full. 
April 6-7 and April 28 are open...not much else.  

On a side note, if you haven't gotten your fishing license yet, good news.  A year long license is valid for ONE year from the date it is purchased, not the end of the calendar year.  

Feb 4- 

Back on the sticks yesterday with a group of 5 anglers - 3 boats. 
We didn't see any other boats all day because we didn't fish under the Sundial Bridge for a couple hours.  

And I didn't get any pix or vids of us fighting fish under the Sundial or with the Sundial in the background.  That would have been cool.... because I have never seen a pic or video of a guy fighting or holding a trout with the Sundial Bridge in the background.....  

Sarcasm and joking aside.... weather was a little wet and cold yesterday, but rains died by noon.  We had about 10 fish in the net by lunch, then did pretty good after lunch except for the last hour... got slow.   Best fish was 22".   Bent some hooks and actually broke a hook on a fish.  They weren't small yesterday.   The Rubberlegs did some good as well as small assorted nymphs.  
Clarity is about 2.5 - 3 ft with a greenish tint. Not brown.  Flows are 2900 cfs - LOW. 

Crowds have been light. Many of the area guides are on the Mattole or the S. Fork of the Eel, searching for steelhead. I hear it's zero to three hook-ups a day per boat average right now and there are lots of boats. And it's cold. Sounds about normal for steelheading. 
 
No thanks.... more of a toes in sand guy.   Which is on the books - very soon. 
Might run into Red or Andy DuFresne.... 

We could really use another storm or two.... still 78ft to go at the lake.  

Have a great week. 


  

Jan 20- 

Finally a break from the relentless crappy weather we've had pretty much all of January.  The next week calls for mostly sunny, cold, and little to no rain.  Which means that the river should be clearing up before too long.  Hopefully it's fishable within a week.

The Trinity is in shape and most likely fishing well after all the rain. Now is the time to head up if you're a steelhead angler. Bring some warm clothes. 

Took a short drive to a spot that doesn't get dirty too often and stripped up a dozen 18-20" beauties with a guide buddy this week.  (There's almost always some clean water somewhere.) I've had better days there, but it was nice to get on the water and score a few. 
If you're getting an itch for some streamer tug drug (and a lot of casting practice) - I have a place.

Shasta Lake has come up quite a bit this month.
It's currently 85 ft from crest, which is 54% full. 
Before the storms, it was at 34%.

I'll be keeping an eye on clarity out on the big river and report back when it's looking good... 

Jan 14-

Not a great start to the year on the water. More like under water.... downed trees, flooding streets, small creeks and ditches overflowing , etc.  happening all over.
Hoping ya'll are safe wherever you live. 

Shasta Lake is at 47% capacity and 101 ft. from being full to the rim.  That's a long way to go, but it's a good start. 
The price - is a blown out river and lots of time off.  Next week, things should be calming down and maybe we'll be back on the water pretty soon. 
Planning on wetting a line somewhere by Tuesday this week. Looks like a little break in the weather. Might check out my fav streamer fishery and see if it's running clean enough to catch a few on the bugger.

I'm starting to get some bookings for prime dates this Spring. Mid-March to Mid-May can be outstanding on the big river.  PMD hatches provide great fishing. 
If the weather is nice enough, February can also be very good. 
Crowds tend to be pretty light until the steelheading slows down mid-late March. 

Lower Sac flows are up to 4700 cfs today. Much better than 2900 we've had for weeks. 
This past week, Red Bluff has seen 40,000 cfs from all the rain and tribs dumping in, so it's gotten huge downriver.   

Now would've been a good time to have (the proposed) Sites Reservoir collecting some excess...    

Enjoy the football this weekend. 

Jan 8 -

The river blew out with this last storm.  Visibility was under a foot.

The atmospheric river / bomb cyclone happened. And is still kinda happening.

I'm not calling my clients this week.... conditions are poor. 

 
Forecast is for another week or so of rain...so not sure when the river will clear up.  The weather guy says we're supposed to get 10 inches of rain in about 10 days.  It's been super windy also...just not ideal fishing weather. 

The next day we have less than 50% chance of rain is Jan 20.

On a positive note : The lake has risen almost 10 feet...so that's good. Another 120 to go. 
Snowpack is getting huge.  We could possibly see a year where the Mac doesn't blow out in July due to glacial melt.  That'd be nice...

Already thinking about my next trip somewhere not rainy, cold, and windy. 
Started packing baitfish flies yesterday.... always fun checking out a new destination.  With an ice cold Dos XX in hand of course.      

Jan 3- 

Kind of frozen by the end of the day, but it was good out there yesterday.  A single angler hooked quite a few fish...with a couple 20" fish landed, and some lost that looked at least 20" when they jumped and spit da hook. 
We did not see another angler.  
Temps didn't get much above 41F....which is pretty cold for a day on the Sac. 
Word of an atmospheric river is going around. So, the next few days look to be wet. And cold. 

After that all clears up, fishing should be good.

-- Happy New Year --  

Dec 24-

Had a pretty good day Thursday....with cloud cover and cool temps.
Things seem to have gotten better out there since last week.  Jim  and Paul stuck a couple dozen fish. And we didn't see a single other boat all day. 
Multiple fish over 18" with a bonus 25" clipped steelhead made for a good day.   
Heavy rains and a pretty decent storm is expected by Tuesday....  we sure need the water.  Shasta Lake is still around 140 ft from being full.... long way to go.

Have a cool yule. 

Dec 8 -

Fishing has been very slow.  

Working hard for hook-ups. 
Hoping for a change soon..... hearing the same about the T.

Enjoy the holidays. 

Oh...and one more time.... PULL, DON'T PUSH !!!
 

Dec 1 -

Spent Thanksgiving with toes in sand, eating conch instead of Turkey and stalking and catching a few of my favorite fish in inches of tropical water.
It was a great time with family and weather was as good as it could have been.  

Not easy getting back to real life after living the beach life for 10 days.... but I've been on the river a little this week. One day was pretty good...and the next wasn't too great. 2 fish over 20" and a handful of others happened, but we worked for them.
Tomorrow, I'll be giving her another go with some regular clients who can get it done when it can be done.

FLOWS one day this week were 2990 cfs.  That's as low as I've ever seen it.... slow spots are lakes. Lots of dry riffles right now...  
  

Nov 6- 

So long summer... The cold and wet are here.
So long crowds.... pathetic egg bite on the Sac, and steelhead starting to eat on the Klamath and Trinity. 
There are still some boats around....but it's not like October.

Big BWO hatch after lunch had big fish chowing yesterday. 
Did my thing and didn't fish were every single guide is fishing eggs 'n legs and globs of weight. 
And it worked. Well. No eggs. No legs. 
Landed one or two fish under 18"....all others were 18" or better and super fat.  Didn't break the 24" mark yesterday, but did it 2x the day before.  Some pigs being caught lately....
The next two days will be a little wet and maybe a little breezy, but The Rabbi is coming up.  The Rabbi catches big fish. Lots of big fish. Should be game on.

Unfortunately, my next open day is the first week of December.    Salt and warm sand is calling......  
Conch for Thanksgiving dinner anyone ??  

    

Oct 31 -

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

The last day of October is finally, finally here. 
So long.
Don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out.
I hear there was an hour wait JUST TO LAUNCH a boat at Posse the other day. 
If things go well, this will be my last October on the Lower Sac.  

WAAAAY too many 'new guides' on the water.
Crowds are never fun and can ruin the experience.  

Personally, I've never thought to myself "it would be really awesome if there were a bunch of people on the river with me today". 
Have you ??  
Just gotta say FUJIMO sometimes. (if ya know, ya know)

Personally, I chose not to dumb-dumb fish this October...so I only landed a handful of fish on plastic beads. If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.
Many great days (over 40 fish hooked) were had actually fly fishing, with flies.  Small flies. Sometimes big flies. But flies. Not plastic beads. 

Major weather change happening tonight.....after the kiddos wind down from all the candy.  By tomorrow, winds 15-20 mph are possible, with high temps in the mid-50's...and over a half inch of rain could fall. Cold, windy, and wet.
Perfect weather to pack some peacock bass and bonefish flies and gear..... 

AND REMEMBER these three words to fix your cast ----  Pull. Don't Push.
Pull earlier and you won't have to push later.  Trust me.....  been watching bad casts for over 25 years.  It's the fix. 
It pains me to see other guides "teaching" horrible bobber casting techniques. 
It shouldn't look like you're painting the inside of an igloo when you cast.   

Oct 28- 

Crowds are about as bad as it gets.  LOTS of outta town and part-timer boats here expecting to have 'easy' fishing...find zombie salmon, throw plastic bead below them, catch trout.  Well, it's far from that. 
There are very low numbers of salmon and very high numbers of boats. And the 'redd-racing' is happening even tho the redds aren't fishing like they should be. I don't get it.....start at o'dark-thirty to low-hole as many boats as possible, spend more time 'rowing to the next spot' than actually fishing, and then finish super early.  Sounds like a rip-off.  
   

I've been sitting back, letting the boats race each other to the take out and then picking the river apart after they're long gone.
Usually, I'm one of the last boats on the water.  
Consistently been getting some toad fish in a couple spots, however the fishing is not 'on fire' everywhere.  

People ask "when is the best time to fish the Lower Sac?" often.....  I quit saying "October" years ago. 

Oct 11- 

Yeah the egg bite isn't happening much. VERY few salmon doing what they're supposed to be doing in the places they're supposed to be doing it. Nonetheless, had fantastic fishing yesterday.... even with a pretty crowded river.  

The Mac was McCloudy like really watered down coffee with cream. Couldn't see my foot in knee deep water.  Fish were caught, but not in big numbers. Good times were had with good people despite tough conditions.

I'll be on the Sac a bunch in the coming weeks....maybe a trip or two to Bollibokka in early November if it clears up.  Then the toes will be in warm tropical sand and Kalik's will be flowing as things get colder here.
 

Oct 5 -

So far, the egg bite is a bust.  Was hoping over the past 5 days that they'd show up, but not seeing much change.  There are very few salmon paired up, dropping eggs. 
It's pretty bleak so far.  Maybe the worst I've seen in my +25 years out there.....
So, if you've come to fish the famous egg bite, you'll be disappointed. 
Rowing redd to redd won't help you much. Watched a guide do it the other day....rowed past us and a bunch of "non-salmon' water to beat us to the next (not active) redds...and we fished that water for 5 fish in the net. One was a pig. 
Of course that could change over the next 5- 10 days, as I hear salmon are still 'moving up' and 'rolling' down near the Barge Hole...but are they going up Battle Creek to Coleman, or are they coming up to spawn in Redding?  I'll report again after I get back out there next week. 

 
I'm going to take a week off rowing the big river and vanish behind a locked gate to guide the Cal Trout guys on Bollibokka for a bunch of days. Word is that the water clarity has come back and it's fishing ok.  
Hoping that word is right. Such a cool place.   

I've been hearing reports from downriver (barge hole to Bend) and over on the Trinity that steelhead are showing up.  Looks like an early steelhead season.  "Back in the day" we didn't start fishing the Trinity until Thanksgiving. Things have changed and the season seems longer now.  Nice to get into those fish without beanies and gloves and frozen guides. 

Over and out...   

Oct 1 -   

Can't believe it's here, but October is upon us.  I'm seeing the typical October influx of anglers/part-time guides expecting to have an easy day of "tossing eggs below salmon" and catching the snot out of trout. Well.....that's not happening.  Not even close. 

The number of salmon paired up in shallows is pathetic actually.  So, overall, there isn't much of an egg bite.  I saw maybe 7 salmon yesterday.  All singles.  We hooked a ton of fish and not one on an egg pattern. 

I have been having consistent great days lately.  A lot of hook-ups are happening. Have not had 'slow' fishing in a long time.   

Nymphs are actually working excellent.  Flies with thread and feathers and fibers and stuff. Tied by somebody, somewhere. 
The plastic round 'fly' isn't getting play time this week.  
Maybe next week, or the week after....but definitely not right now... Probably next week. Especially if any weather happens.  
(Some days, having that thing on can be a kiss of death.  You'll actually catch LESS fish with it in your arsenal.)

Now, if you're fishing around Sundial, it's better up there. There are more salmon in the Posse Riffle than anywhere...so go there. Use beads there.  There are big fish there.

Have a great weekend and keep Florida peeps in your thoughts and prayers.  Ian was rough.

Oh, and if you saw me from an island the other day and said "look for our inflatable boat, we lost it" - I KNOW WHERE IT IS. Contact me.    

Sept 21-
The past few days on the water have been outstanding.  The words "world class" were used.  Saw 3 or 4 boats in 3 days. Haven't been spending much time around crowds, which are starting to happen. Especially 'upriver'. We are about to enter "The busiest time of year on the Lower Sac".  Salmon are trickling into the system. Saw half dozen each day out last weekend.  The 'egg bite' will start soon and it'll be a different experience out there.  "Redd Racing" will take place.

It will be interesting seeing the spawn happen at 4k cfs.  It's usually in the 6k range. They've lost quite a bit of spawning ground at this low of a flow.   

Some of the October egg bite crowd will head over to the Trinity by late October. Maybe earlier.  Word is getting out that there is a pretty good early run of steelhead in the system.  

Bug activity on the big river was great prior to the storm, then it kinda died with the grey weather....which heads out tomorrow, so hopefully the hatches will get better in the next couple days. It's going back up to 80-90F. 
Active bugs = active fish.  And it's a lot cooler catching fish on actual flies than catching them on plastic beads.... if ya ask me.  

Sept 16- 

Getting a nice break in the weather this weekend...rain possible....highs in the 60's.  It's welcomed with open arms.  Over a hundred is getting old. 

Been working a fair amount now that my summer vacations are all over..... and fishing has been pretty good. Really good actually.  Crowds haven't been too bad....unless you like to fish near the Sundial on a weekend.  Salmon are starting to trickle in.  Saw three yesterday...but not paired up in shallows yet.  Another two weeks and it'll be going pretty good I'm guessing.  With the egg drop comes the fishermen.  October is the worst month of the year if you want a 'peaceful, quiet, solitary' day on the water.  Just sayin'.   You won't have the river to yourself.... like I did a couple days last week.  I was the ONLY trailer at the take out and had outstanding fishing all day.  Doing the normal Lower Sac stuff as well as the opposite. 

My schedule is almost full. I think I have 5 days open between now and December 2. 

By then, hopefully we'll have had some wet weather to help fill the lakes and get a nice base coat of snow for the winter.  (fingers crossed) 

Aug 21-

Haven't been working a ton... July and August are pretty hot. Yesterday was 114*F at mi casa.  Took some time off for some family birthdays and also re-visited a place my wife and I fished 14 years ago, Loreto, Baja, Mexico.  Stayed 3 days at Hotel Oasis right in town, on the beach.  It was also hot...but not as hot...but humid...so not a huge break from the warm temps, but we had a couple of days of great fishing for Dorado and Roosterfish.  We didn't get any trophy sized fish, but we had some fast paced action, with multiple double hook-ups. Mostly sight fishing with poppers or sub-surface flies on floating lines. And roosters were a new species for me. Had never had the opportunity. Man, they pull!! Not sure I'd want a 30 pounder.... 
Didn't take any meat home this time, but had some great meals. Lots of fresh seafood and Dos XX.  We also hit up Islas de Palmas Resort at the Islands of Loreto, a 5 star resort on the beach. We did the all inclusive package ...so being hungry or thirsty never happened. Did some SUP and snorkeled thru massive schools of baitfish, assorted colorful reef fish and chilled on the beach under an umbrella quite a bit. Super nice place I'd visit again.

Fishing here on the Lower Sac has been good. Some days very good.  The flows are still low.... and a bit warmer than usual, but the big boys have been out to play lately.  Multiple +20" fish saw the net on my last day out.  

My streamer spot has been pretty good. 
Overall, crowds have been thin.  The heat is real.
The smoke, on a 1-10 scale is about a 2.  No really bad fires close to Redding.  We've been lucky so far. 

The crowds on the upper river from the "opener" on Aug 1 seemed to clear out in about 5-6 days.... it was good fishing from what I hear.  All 40 boats hooked fish.
Wasn't there....busy with poppers and Dos XX...

Upper Sac is kinda slow.... it's very low and not the ideal temps for trout but some nice fish were caught up there last week by my clients I was supposed to be on the Mac with.  The McCloud is McMuddy. 

I hear the Fall River is getting low and choked with weeds.... and I haven't heard much on Hat Creek.

Trinity is a good place to take the spey or switch and swing some flies for steelhead.  It's a beautiful setting, and wet wading could happen on these hot days.  There are fish in the system from what I hear.
It's steelheading, so if you get a fish or two, a good day was had.       

July 28 -

Summer heat is here with a bang. Temps expected to be 113F today and tomorrow.  Triple digit heat is in the forecast all week.  Lots of sunblock and lots of water is the rule right now. 

Fishing was very good yesterday. Having experienced anglers helped.  Hook-sets need to be quick and drifts need to be good right now.  The fish have been big and fat and strong.  And I haven't been fishing anywhere near the Sundial Bridge!!  

We saw two boats all day.  Some don't believe it, but there ARE fish throughout the river.  That being said....the "Sundial section" opens up on Aug 1.  It will be stupid busy. Boats will be launching at dark. Sure, fishing will be good, but I have yet to hear a fly fisherman say "I love fishing around 20 other boats".  So.... I plan to be far from that place on the 1st.  Really far.  

Y'all who will be there, be nice to each other cuz it'll be crowded, and try to get your Instagram pic really quick so the fish can breathe. 

And it has officially happened.  The McCloud River is blown out due to glacial melt.  Bummed about that... no telling when it'll be back in shape. 

Salmon season opens at the "Barge Hole" on the 1st.   The jet boats will be out in force from Balls Ferry downriver. Good time to avoid that section if you want a quiet drift on the river. 

Went down to that section of river last week with a guide pal.... picking on bullies. 
We each brought home a couple of nice fillets.  Stripers make really good fish tacos! 

So do Mahi-Mahi.  Caught on poppers. 

Adios until next time.  

July 12 -

Lower Sac flows are still in the 4k range...very low.  Fishing has been pretty good. Lots of hook-ups yesterday with fish to 20" landed.  HOWEVER, it was 113F* yesterday.  Swimming in the river happened. Twice.

Spent some time on the lower Mac this week.... it's got about 2.5 ' of visibility.  Getting pretty milky.  Hope it doesn't blow out.  

My fav streamer fishery kicked out a 30+ fish day last week.  No bobbers.  Real fly casting.  Zero other boats/anglers on the water. 

Got the 'rona and had to cancel another vacation.  Belize will have to wait......  

Baja won't.  

Going after some dorado pretty soon. The popper bite is WFO.  Can't wait to bomb poppers to one of the prettiest, and tastiest, fish in the ocean.  With cold cervezas and my seniorita. 

Speaking of real casting.... here's the tip of the year. DO NOT FORGET THIS.  Learned this from the one and only Mel Krieger when I was one of his instructors almost 20 years ago.  Ready ? This is HUGE when it comes to a proper cast.  People just don't get it but when they do figure it out, it's a game changer. It'll add dozens of feet to your cast. It'll make you NOT wore out at the end of the day.  You'll actually look like you know what you're doing.  Free info...no charge.  

The secret is ...... 
PULL, don't PUSH.
Yep. 3 simple words. That's the secret.  Pull the cork, don't push the tip. Fly casts are pulls. Not pushes.
 
You're welcome. 

June 19- 

Supposed to be getting back from a nice vacation tomorrow ...but AA cancelled our flights last minute. So we didn't go. Had to reschedule VRBO, rental car, etc.... for later in the year.  Guess I'll have more time to tie little crabs and shrimp flies.  Booked an extra vacation to make up for the lost one....so that makes up for it I figure. 

Fishing has been pretty good.  Not excellent every day, but good every day.  Mid-day hatches are now a thing of the past. Pretty slow on the bug action, unless you stay out until dark... 8-9 pm has a few fish looking up.  

The heat is officially arriving this week. Redding is expecting 105-108F Wednesday.  Wet wading season is officially underway. 

Pretty much everything is in good shape right now... Upper Sac, Mac, Hat.    Lower Sac flows are around 4k and won't change much from what I hear.   

Have a great week and remember, if you don't catch the fish you want to, it's Putin's fault.

Happy (early) 4th of July. 
FJB  

May 4-

Finally a day off for a few chores and an update. 
Fishing has been pretty good. Lots of opportunities and lots of boats on the water.  Weekends are a zoo...parking lots are filling up. 
Hatches have been very inconsistent.  One day bugs are out at 2 pm, the next day it's 11 am, and the next day they don't even show. 
When the bugs are out, big fish are chowing.  
Remember to be respectful of other anglers, doesn't matter if they are anchored up or wade fishing.  You weren't there first, and give respect. And give some room. Don't row over the water they're fishing.  It's a BIG RIVER.  Have seen some pretty rude behavior lately.... 

Upper Sac is still a bit high....use lots of weight on the edges or hike around to find the slower stuff. 
If you can't fly cast, try Euro nymphing.... 
Possible rain coming this weekend.... hopefully it doesn't get much higher. Low flow late May/June can be great fishing. 

I'm guessing the Mac will do the same it did last year.....so if you're gonna go, go before July.  Glacial melt will most likely happen again, turning the water chocolate milk for weeks.....  not very easy to say, but if history repeats itself, should happen again. Sucks.....


 

April 17 -

The fishing has been on.  Most days are seeing a bunch of hook-ups with fish averaging 17-19".  Actually scored a 22" wild steelhead the other day with Scott.  And that fish was one of only a few fish we caught using a "Lower Sac Rig" that day. (A big bobber, lotsa weight, long leader)  
I have been spending some time NOT doing what the other 10-15 guides are doing on any given day, and it's been fun. Sometimes it works well, sometimes not so well.... gotta know where and when to do it.  You don't HAVE TO fish a bobber/long leader/heavy shot to catch fish on the Lower Sac.   Many of my long-time clients have been there and done that when it comes to the bobber game.  They're really enjoying the different ways I'm going about it lately....  and that's about all I have to say about that. 

The latest storm has the river dirty from Cow Creek down....so a bit more pressure this weekend on the upper stretches.  Hopefully that'll clear up soon and boats will spread out. 

Flows are still LOW at 3200 cfs.   Rumor has it that the highest summer flows we will see this year will be 5,000 cfs.   That's less than half of normal summer flows of 10-12k cfs.  Salmon that arrive next October will be spawning in warm water - which will be fatal to all eggs.  Again. 

Said it before and I'll say it again.... NOW is the time to get on the Upper Sac.  Hat Creek, McCloud and Fall River are all OPEN NOW..... regulation changes happened and the opener that is usually "last Saturday in April" is irrelevant now on those streams. 

My favorite streamer fishery is fishing ok.  Spent a couple hours on it recently...and streamers got some fish. Bobber got some fish.  Some big fish.  It's not red-hot but it's producing. 

Did a day on the big, half empty Lake last week.... and have had some tasty dinners since.  We boated 50-60 bass and put the knife to 7 of 'em.  Grilled or deep fried.... good stuff.  Wind had us fishing where we could, not where we wanted to....otherwise it could have been a 80-100 fish day. 

The wind. 

The wind has been relentless lately.  Not many calm days happening these past two weeks.  Hopefully that'll end soon..... 

Happy Easter and....
Easy on the jelly beans. 


March 30 -

It's been a great month with pretty consistent hatches getting the fish on the grab. Best fishing has been from 12-3.
Have had a few incredible days lately.  Hate to talk numbers, but it's been good.   Crowds are present on weekends....not horrible on weekdays.  Flows are still ROCK BOTTOM low @3200 cfs.   

The river will be CLOSED TO FISHING above the Hwy 44 bridge starting April 1.   So, launching at Posse/Sundial - no fishing until you get to the first bridge.  The spawning trout up there are going to be left alone to do their thing....which is great.  The "sundial  floatilla" of boats will be spreading out downriver and/or going elsewhere.  And elsewhere isn't a bad thing right now.  Springlike weather and no snowmelt means the Upper Sac and Mac and Hat and Pit should all fish great.   Salmonfly hatches are going NOW.  Golden Stone hatches are right around the corner.
Also in two days the "FLY ONLY" water on the Trinity will open.  I've been hearing reports of quite a few steelhead still in the system. 

I'm booked solid for April, but I still have 6 available days in May. 
 

March 14 - 

Updated the site with a new look.... and still working on getting it all together.  

"Video" page will be online soon. Some pages won't be returning.  

In the meantime - a fish report....

River is ROCK BOTTOM low at 3200 cfs.  Doesn't get much lower.  Slow spots are lakes with little to no current. Riffles are skinny and fishing well when the bugs are out.  Too much sunlight is slowing the PMD hatch most days....and the caddis are winding down soon. Rubberlegs and yellow eggs are working if you don't want to 'match the hatch' of the day.  Crowds are getting heavier....especially around the Sundial Bridge.  Lots of newbie guides out there that don't know the water downriver, so they never go downriver. Shit, they'll float the top two times in a day to avoid having to learn different water!  OK with us OG guides....don't need crowds around to have a great day. Numbers can be way better downriver and much quieter with fewer boats and zero trash. (transients living in town along the river use it as a garbage can). The areas around Posse Grounds and Cypress Bridge are downright embarrassing at times.

Upper Sac and McCloud might fish very well this spring with no snowmelt and no storms happening.  Salmonfly hatches are just around the corner. Grab a chubby and some dropper nymphs and good times can be had! 

Rain is as common as seeing Sasquatch right now. It's bad. We might be in a bad place come summer/fall.  

Might have to move to a remote island somewhere to escape the drought..... and the wokeness, and rising prices due to Bidenflation, and the absolute embarrassment of the current Administration running this country.  3 more years of a senile crooked president ??  God help us.... 

Oct 12-  

Been going 6-7 days a week. Busy time is here. Now.

Have had a couple tough days and some incredible days. Clouds the other day provided a great bite with almost 10 doubles and even some triple hook-ups.

Salmon are starting to show in good numbers and so are the boats.  Bring a flashlight if you want to be first on the water.  It's gotten cut-throat...which is unfortunate.  "Racing to the redds" seems to be popular right now.  And etiquette has been tossed by some guides. Had an independent guide boat float 15ft in front of a buddy while he was wade fishing the other day. Like he wasn't even there... Guess we were in his way and don't matter ?!?  Rains will be welcomed with open arms.... as that "will bring steelhead" and most will migrate to the Trinity.

To escape the crowds, many guides are venturing as far south as Red Bluff. Plenty of trout down there, and steelhead have been showing in good numbers.   

On another note, the Upper Sac and Mac are fishing well. Better on some days than the lower Sac.  I've been fortunate to release 3 more brown trout since the last report.  And quite a few 'bows in the 17-20" range.  Not sure why so many browns this year, but not complaining. It's been quiet up there.... which is a nice change. 

Have had a few questions from clients regarding travel.  For now, due to covid, I do not have a 2021 Christmas Island trip planned.  There will possibly be a trip to Belize late Spring, but nothing is set in stone yet. 

Sept 20 - 

Another epic day on the Upper Sac happened recently. Extra cool landing an 18" brown trout - on a big dry fly.  Not too many of those caught on the Upper Sac.  Was my first. Been fishing that river for a long time. 

Might be spending a little more time up there this week...... 

Because..... (and well it was a Saturday) .... 

But get this..... ready ??.....  

SEVENTEEN trailers counted at the take-out yesterday. And I may have missed a couple. 

Busiest day of the year by far. And it's gonna get worse.  I saw multiple boats I haven't seen in months yesterday. And multiple boats I have never seen before.  The part-timer guides have dusted off their boats and are out in force. 

The river didn't kick ass yesterday. It was good, but not as good as last week. 

 Sept 12-

The big river - she's fishing well.  Lots and lots of hook-ups today. 5 doubles.  Both anglers landed fish 20" or better. Not too many dinks until after 2 pm. Then some smaller ones, but a.m. was damn good.  Jeff had a nice introduction to the big river. Actually heard him say "Huh....maybe driving 2-3 hours to fish here is better then flying to Montana"

I was fishing through my clients today, and had a kick ass day.  Called some shots....lost way fewer than normal.  Overall just a great day with a couple of good dudes. 

So, now the busy season is upon us.  Which means my next open day is in November.  BOOKED SOLID in Sept and Oct.  Going 5-6 days a week, every week...... and the next 3 weeks should rock. 

Then Oct 1 arrives. And salmon start spawning. And everybody with a drift boat will be launching at Posse Grounds and fishing that upper river for the first 3 weeks of the month, then the crowds (and salmon) will thin and Trinity Steelhead will be on the brains of most guides, and the big river will quiet down quite a bit.  And I'll have my nice quiet river back and continue to crush.  Because it's not all about the bead. 

UPPER SAC REPORT :  fished the Upper Sac around Gibson/Pollard/Dog Creek last week for a day and absolutely wrecked shop.  A heavy little jig nymph I got in Idaho dropped under a chubby proved deadly.  Lots of fish over 15" and a couple taped at 20".  Didn't see another angler all day. 

Get out and fish if you can. The next month or two will be good. 

Prayers for those affected by the horrible fire season we're going thru ----  be safe y'all.   

 Aug 18- 

Took a vacation.... from all things routine.   

Spent some time on the Nor-Cal, S-OR coast with the family, playing on the beach in weather that wasn't considered hazardous to ones health.  Saw 'squach. Saw sea lions. Saw elk. Starfish, crabs, enemenies (sp?), and all sorts of cool things on the coast. Nice treat for my daughter. 

THEN I get home for 4 days in a row wade fishing the Disneyland of fly fishing - Bollibokka. It was great. Lots of nice fish. Some slow times, but some not slow times.  Love that place... 

THEN throw the wet boots in the duffle and fly to Idaho for 5 days of hanging with a good pal and wet wading rivers around Ketchum. Chubbies were on the menu. Some nymphs as well. But lots of dry fly action. And a couple '2 footers' in an un-named little river up in that area.  High temps might have hit 82. 

Now, back in the groove - home getting ready to get back to the grind - temps today hit 110F. 

Thinking I'll stay longer in ID next year. 

Flows on the big river are down to 10,500 give or take 200.  Es bueno. No me gusta 13,000. 

Happy trails.  

July 17 - 

Not much has changed. Temps hit 115*F at my house day before yesterday. 

Summer heat is as "summer heat" as it gets.  Everyday is 100 or hotter basically.  

The big river is fishing fairly well.  Not red-hot, but not 'slow'.  Boating 15-20 fish per day isn't uncommon.  

My schedule is full until mid- August. 

July 1- 

Worked over 20 days in June...was pretty busy.

Fishing has been good. It's slowing down a bit.  Still catching fish, but with flows around 12k-13k, my fav little riffles don't exist.  The dry fly and 'bobberless' fishing I like to do is very limited, so mostly bobbering right now.  Fish have been munching caddis. The PMD feast is coming to an end.... it was a good run. 

The summer is here.  Temp last week at my house hit 114* one day. 

The fishing is usually kinda up and down from here until early September....  then it's go time.  Flows will start to drop and fishing should be great before the plastic bead brigade shows up around Oct 1. 

Current clarity is about 10 ft. on the Lower Sac.  Not catching too many fish under the boat.  Doesn't get any clearer than it is now.

Saw a 8 ft long sturgeon the other day - under the boat down around Anderson Park. Pretty cool to float over a dinosaur. 

Not going to be doing 6 days a week during this heat. Planning a couple vacations to cooler places.  Like the sun. 

Be safe and make good decisions. Turn off the news and wet a line. 

Aloha.  

June 13- 

Fishing has been up and down with the changing weather.  Mostly up.  

Crowds aren't bad...  as the heat is coming.  

Flows are up to 12k .    Hoping they don't increase at all... 

Will be exploring the streamer fishery this next week.....as some days it's a better choice than the LS float. 

Sorry for not updating... been slammed at work.  Had a birthday. Taking care of my daughter a lot.  ANd finally, Yahoo Small Business web hosting SUCKS ASS.    Working on finding another host for my site......  

That's all.....off to work.  Be good and don't cough on people.  

May 17 - 

Last week, Jonathan and Will had one.  This week, Eric had two... 

I'm talking about the 5 best days fishing on the Lower Sac I'll see this year.

We crushed in some riffles...getting up to 15 hook-ups in some.

We had some dry fly action this week that was insane - picking out individual fish and watching them eat on the first cast.

Fish to 21" were landed on tiny dries and 5x tippet.  It's not often the river fishes like it has been.  But not every day was the same.  Yesterday the bugs dissapeared.  And fishing was different because of it.  We still were able to score some nice fish bobberless, but not dozens like the two days before.  Such a pleasure to not have to bobber fish all day. 

The river has been a bit crowded, unfortunately.  Maybe it'd get a bit more quiet if all the independent guides posted more pictured of fish shoved into the camera lense on social media..... ya think? 

Nasty day in Nor Cal today... winds 25-30 most of the day. Thunder. Rain storms.  Not a good day to be out.  Next weeks weather looks much better.  I'll be out there a few days, then taking the weekend off.  I've made the mistake of working on Memorial Day weekend before....it's a sh!t show on the river.  Jet skis, kayakers, rafters, jet boaters, and tons of drift boats- guides and private boaters.  Gonna pass on all that and spend quiet time with the family. 

Have a safe weekend.  Drink Corona, don't catch it.