LowerSacTrout.com
Shane Kohlbeck
Redding, CA 96003
shane
LowerSacTrout
Fishing Report
Travis and his 20 incher from last week.
Feb 13-
Had a pretty decent day on Saturday. 11 yr. old Jeff outfished his dad, putting somewhere around 8 or 9 fish in the net. Not too bad for his first ever drift boat fishing trip. His fish fighting skills were excellent, so he didn't lose many fish once they were hooked. We missed quite a few strikes, which is normal, and couldn't make the dry fly thing happen, but had plenty of action. We saw some risers, but not in the right place at the right time to toss the dry. Caddis was the name of the game, as it was sunny and nice out.
Today, rainy conditions means it'll be more of a BWO game out there. Each day is different right now.
Feb 9 -
For pete's sake !! It's a beautiful, sunny day here in NorCal and the river is in excellent shape... and the spring caddis hatch is GOING ON NOW !! It's a GREAT time to be drifting the LowerSac !! ... but there's hardly anybody on the water. Maybe 2 boats today.
As a reminder, last March the river was swollen to a massive 60,000 cfs and nobody was fishing for weeks. Who's to say that won't happen again. Take advantage of the early spring-type weather and schedule a trip. In a week or three it might be too late !!
Feb 6 -
I was out of town for a few days... not fishing unfortunately, but looking forward to getting back on the water soon. Light rain is coming tomorrow - but by Wednesday it'll be nice and sunny out again, and temps are supposed to hit 70*F on Thursday. This will result in some excellent caddis hatches on the Lower Sac, so fishing should be pretty good. If you've got cabin fever, now is the time to cure it !! My last day out saw good dry fly action.... something not common in early February.
Feb 3
Have been on the river a few times over the past week, and it's been pretty good overall. I actually fished this week, and had about a dozen on nymphs and rose 6 on dries, landing 4. The caddis hatches have been good with the sunny days. Flows are low and clear. This might be an excellent February.... the month that can be tough due to shitty weather and dirty water. This year, it's different. Things are happening. The "March Caddis Hatch" has started a month early. Look for good fishing until the weather gets crappy... if it ever does !
Jan 24-
Conditions on the river are great. Slight color in the water from the rains really helps things. The river did get muddy below Bonneyview, so my trip on Saturday had us on the upper river. The fishing was pretty decent when we got good drifts in the right places. More experienced anglers did well. Fish size was impressive. Finally, some 'normal' winter type weather !! Look for fishing to be good this week during the break in the weather. Might do a little pleasure fishing this week.... like I said, conditions are perfect !
Jan 19-
Snow/rain hit Northern California today!! (Real Northern California, like Redding and Mount Shasta ..... not S.F. or San Jose.)
Temps are COLD and rain will be around until at least Sunday. Forecast is for nicer weather by next Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday, so if you want to sneak in a trip between storms, that might be the window. No telling what will happen after that.
Looks like the rainfall totals won't be enough to "blow out" the river as far as I can tell. We should be fine this week.
Jan 16 -
It was cold today... really cold. 19*F on my way to work. Jim and I fished downriver and had a pretty good day overall. We hooked into well over 25 fish. We lost 'the big one' at the end of the day, after a short fight, but landed quite a few in the 14-16" range.
Taking a break for a couple days to see what this big storm will bring us. Slight chance the river will blow out if we get days and days of rain with no break... and for now, that's the word.
Jan 15 -
Well, good weekend of football. Local hero Aaron Rodgers couldn't get it done against the Giants, and over-hyped Tebow turned out to be a TeZero, which was what I had been saying all along. He just got lucky with a mostly injured Pittsburg team last week. (Denver entered the playoffs at 8-8!!)
Next week will be a good one - SF vs. NY - Westside verses Eastside !!
Anyhow, fished the river yesterday, and spent a lot of time pulling streamers, but the fish didn't want to play. Got some action on egg patterns, PT's, Bird Nests, and Copper Johns. Nothing huge, but a nice day overall.
Weather is changing - to cold and rainy by the end of the week. Not sure yet how that will change fishing. I'm out there tomorrow, with highs predicted at a chilly 49-50*F. Quite a change from a few weeks straight of 65-70*F.
Jan 13 -
Friday the 13th today... Don't do anything wierd !
Took a little road trip, and fished the Pit River yesterday for a couple hours. This was my first time up there since the flows got jacked up, so I was shocked to see the water as high as it was. Almost "up in the trees", but I found a couple spots to wade out (carefully). Kicked myself for forgetting my wading staff!! Anyhow, decided to start with a sink-tip and bugger, and first cast I was rewarded with a fish of at least 18". A super nice fish for that particular stretch of river I was on. Scored 3 more on the bugger over the next 15 minutes... then went to the nymphs. Huge BWO hatch happening, so a small bh PT nymph went under a rubberlegs. Over the next 45 minutes, I must have hooked at least 15 fish. The fish were really grabby and all nice fish in the 14-17" range. Most ate the PT, with a couple coming to the 'legs.
If you like challenging wading and beating yourself up a little, go wade the Pit before the crappy weather arrives. It's on !
Jan 9 -
Zach and his dad, Jeff, hammered fish today. We absolutely crushed 'em. I'm guessing that we hooked upward of 50 fish. We landed quite a few of those...and lost plenty, which is the norm on the Lower Sac.
Every spot we put the flies in the water and got good drifts, we got bit. We only had one double hook-up landed, but had about 6 or 7 "temporary" doubles. Also, I got the sink-tip out again... and Zach had 4 good grabs, landing one beauty at around 16-17". Gotta love the 'tug drug' !!!
Spotted this guy cruising the banks looking for a meal. Bobcats are not a normal sight, but once in a while.....
Here kitty kitty....
Jan 7-
The day wasn't bad... except for the wind. Eventually we had to call it a day, and let the wind take over and blow us downriver to the take out. We fished until about 2:30. It was howling. I struggled behind the oars to get my guys on the spots, and when I did, they fished well and got great drifts - and were rewarded plenty of times. We nymphed up quite a few fish before ending the day. With the heavy gusts, we didn't have any dry fly action today, but 'Drew did score a sweet 18" fish stripping a bugger-type fly on a sink-tip in a special spot I like to spend a little time in. THE TUG IS THE DRUG !!
(This sink-tip/streamer thing is fun. It's not always as productive as nymphing, but it's something different to try on the Lower Sac. Keep in mind that I am open to a little streamer fishing when conditions are right.)
Jan 5 -
Fished downriver yesterday for about 25-30 fish hooked, with most being 12-16". Overall, lots of action and good times.
Today, gave the upper river another chance. I expected better fishing than we had. My guys could fish and got good drifts in all the right spots with small mayfly nymphs, rubberlegs, and egg patterns. We scored a couple on egg patterns, and a couple on nymphs...but that was it. Until late afternoon. We had a good BWO hatch today, and I knew were to look for the few rising fish on the upper river... and we found them. Ended the day rising 7 fish to dries, and boated half of 'em. They were all nice fish, fat and healthy - 16"-18" and they ate a small parachute Adams really well. It was the day saver. Jim and Sean sealed the deal on the rising fish for a strong finish. And Jim's last cast of the day resulted in a nice fish landed.
I'm off tomorrow.... back downriver after that.
Wind is supposed to blow Friday and Saturday.... not super stoked about that.
Dec 30 -
Fished today downriver near Anderson. Fishing was pretty good overall. Weather was kinda crappy until 2 pm. Rain and wind. Not much of a BWO hatch where I was, but heard it was good upriver in town, but nothing eating dries.
Bonus today was scoring a nice 16" 'bow stripping a bugger thru a nice 'hole' I like to spend a little time in. Then a few minutes later, we hooked up again, but this time the fish went berzerk and jumped, ran, and ripped circles around the boat. Turns out, it was a 17-18" wild steelhead, as chrome as could be. This was a first in my boat - landng a wild steelhead while stripping a bugger on a sink-tip. Yes, on the Lower Sac. Once in a while, I get the right situation to strip buggers/leeches. Today was the right day.
Have a safe and happy New Year.
Dec 29 -
Been on vacation lately, so tomorrow will be a great day to get back out on the water. Hopefully the wind will be calm. Rain is expected. BWO hatches should happen. Dry fly is a possibility.
After tomorrow, weather forecast goes back to sunny.
Winter will get here.... someday.
Dec 19 -
Windy conditions are upon us once again. I took the jet boat yesterday with single client, Colin. No way I was rowin' in 30 mph winds!! We put a pretty good number of fish in the boat, and lost a TON of fish. I'm guessing we had well over 40 "grabs". A couple fish on eggs, but most on stones and mayfly nymphs.
The day before, I fished father/son Jeff and Ben P. Overall, it was a pretty good day. The pair landed around 20 fish. We had a few double hook-ups. They each broke off something heavy - we never saw what we lost, so life goes on... Overall, we had somewhere around 50 "grabs"....connected on quite a few, and landed our fair share.
First cast of the day = fish for Ben. Last cast of the day = fish for Jeff. With lots and lots of action in between. Not too shabby !!!
Dec 15-
Fshed with Jim and Greg today. And as I predicted, the rainy weather brought on the bite. We guessed that we hooked over 50 fish today. We had 5 doubles. No dry fly action today, but nymphing was good. Also hooked and lost a steelhead today in the 7 pound range. (it jumped right next to the boat)
Hoping the bite stays like this....
Not much rainy weather in the forecast after today... until after Christmas.
I'm back out on Sunday.... we'll see if the bite is still going.
Dec 13-
The fish aren't eating much, even during the early aftenoon BWO hatch. Mornings have been tough on the upper river. The fish we did get yesterday were mostly in the 10-12" range. We got one 15" and one 17" and those were our two largest. For now, it's just tough out there. I'm not having the big number days that I'm used to. Last winter, I was getting fish over 20" every day up in town....not so much this winter.
We're hoping to get some normal winter-time weather soon. Rainy, overcast conditions should help to improve things. I hope... Thursday looks like a chance for the perfect conditions. Hopefully the fish come outta their coma and get active.
I fished way downriver the other day with good clients Jeff and Greg. We did see a fair number of fish landed, but they were mostly 12-16". We did not hook any steelhead. We did land a couple nice trout on dries however....so that didn't suck.
Dec 6 -
The wind is gone !!! Thought it would never happen. Forecast is for NO wind for the next week. They're still calling for sunny skies until Sunday, but no wind. So, I'll be back out there soon.
Flows are going down to 5,000 cfs by tomorrow !! Now is the time if you like to wade. It may not get lower than this all winter.
Today, cabin fever set in and I headed up to the Upper Sac, not far above Shasta Lake. I started nymphing with a stone and a little mayfly nymph, and scored one nice fish on the small nymph. Nothing on the stone. Then, at around noon, the hatch started. It only lasted about an hour, but the fish were looking up and I rose 6 or 7 fish to a dry fly. BWO was the bug du jour. Then my feet got cold, so I called it a day.
This is a good option for the next week, with the nice weather. Water quality was excellent.
On another note, the word is out that "Luk Lake" is fishing very well. It's a private water down near Corning - about 45 min. south of Redding. The trout are all big, and fight like they're on steroids. I guide it during the winter, often taking guests out once or twice to teach them the way to fish it, then they do it on their own in a float tube or pontoon boat. Sometimes, there is even a drift boat for rent on the lake. Rainbows between 4 and 7 pounds are NOT uncommon !!!
Dec 5 -
Again, I had to postpone trips because of high winds. Today, winds will blow 15-20mph with gusts over 25mph. Yesterday was pretty much similar to today. It has been blowing for a week straight now.
Starting tomorrow, winds are supposed to calm. However, the forecast for the next week is calling for "sunny conditions". Hopefully the fishing will pick up some... it hasn't been great.
C'mon OVERCAST WEATHER !!!!!! Come back !!
Dec 3 -
The wind has not let up at all. It blew today, all day long, about 15-20 with higher gusts that made fishing virtually impossible in some areas. We worked hard to put just a couple fish in the net. (landing ratio was 30%)....so we did lose a few, but overall the fishing was pretty poor today.
It's supposed to blow for the next few days.... not good. So, whenever that wind dies, and we get some normal (overcast, drizzly) weather, the fishing should pick up nicely.
But for now, 20-30 mph winds and bright sunny skies do not add up to good conditions for fishing the Lower Sac .... as much as I hate to say it.
They can't all be good days !
Nov 30-
Fishing today would be almost impossible. The wind is absolutely HOWLING this afternoon. I actually re-scheduled my trip today - it's that bad.
Fished yesterday with longtime friend and TFS client Jim A. and his associate, David. Was good to catch up with Jim, and also catch a few fish. The bite was fair to good.... but not great. (not supposed to have T-shirt weather in late Nov!) We found fish in most spots we worked over. The weather is still sunny - no rain in the forecast for almost a week. However, the BWO hatch did come off late in the day, and Jim was able to rise 5 fish to a DRY FLY !! Not common on this river at all, but we found a spot. The fish weren't rising all over the place by any means.... just one or two spots. I've been watching fish rise in those couple of spots for well over a decade, so I knew where to look for 'em. Jim's nice casts put the fly into the zone and he sealed the deal with some perfect drifts. It was a pleasure to watch.
Great finish to a great day.
Nov. 26 -
Fished today with Steeg N. and Steeg N. from Denmark. The weather has changed to nice and sunny and warm.
It's not supposed to be sunny and warm in late November. The BWO hatch did not happen today, except in a few select riffles.... one of which we rose 4 fish to dries. But, overall, the river kinda fished like sh!t today. We fished pretty good water with all the right flies, but the fish weren't into the sunny, bright, warm weather.
For the angler, great weather, for the fish- not the norm.
Hoping for some cloudy, overcast days soon - to improve the hatches of mayflies and the bite.
The flows are DROPPING to 6,000 cfs tomorrow. Usually, this time of year, the flows are around 4,500 cfs.
If the clouds and light rain come back, the better fishing should come back.
Nov. 23-
Have a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm off the water for a couple days, then back out there this weekend. The past few trips have seen some dry fly action - in select spots. Bring a couple #16-18 Para Adams !
Here's a Pic of 9 yr old Ted with one of his many LowerSacTrout from Nov. 4 - while sporting the RastaMan Hat !! 
Saturday 11/19/11-
Fishing is fair to good. Not great. Not poor. Yesterday, Kyle and Dan worked pretty hard in the totally crappy windy weather to put about a dozen in the boat. We didn't hit high numbers, but we had ONLY ONE fish UNDER 17". We taped almost every fish. Three were 20" or better...a few were 19" or better..and the rest were all in the 18-19" range. No dinks for the boys this day! Pics may be coming soon... and this was a day that I almost pulled the plug...the wind was BAD !!! Kudos to the guys for putting up with the difficult conditions and dealing with the elements to pull out a good day !
Today, "First Cast" Dan the Man, who has fished with me a few times and rocked some big fish, had a slow morning...mostly because it was in the 20's last night in Redding... uber-cold nights=colder water=lethargic fish. Finally, around 11 am, things warmed up a little and the bite started. We saw some decent numbers today, with around a dozen nice fish in the net. BUT, our landing ratio today may have been less than 50%.....so we hooked over 25 fish. We just couldn't keep them on after a couple head-shakes. The bonus???.... we rose two fish to dries, and put one in the net. Not common on the Lower Sac. Jood job, Dan ! (The wind was not an issue today.)
Friday - 11/11/11 -
Fishing has slowed down just a little bit, but it's still pretty good. The salmon egg bite is still going, but there are getting to be fewer and fewer salmon around, so the trout aren't as 'condensed' as they have been. The trout aren't gone, they're just going to be a little more spread out over the next few weeks, and eating more of a variety of flies. (Brown Micro-May is usually a good one)
Joe and John had a good day on my last day out. The morning was kinda ho-hum, with a fish here and a fish there, but the afternoon was way better. We found some good areas, and the fish were happy and eating. Ended the day with 4 or 5 double hook-ups and quite a few fish landed. And nobody fell outta the boat !!
Saturday, Nov. 6 -
The fishing has been pretty good lately. Some days, we're hooking +50 fish, and other days are seeing 30-40 hook-ups. Skill level has a lot to do with how many of those actually see the net... but there has been no lack of action out there. Flows have been steady and the fish are happy.
The crowded days of October are over, and now it's peaceful out there, with many of the area guides focusing their attention on the Trinty from now until March. The Trinity is a great fishery if you're into working hard all day for one or two big fish. If you like solitude on the water and dozens of hook-ups, maybe find another place.... like the Lower Sac.
Tue. Nov 1- Wind is really blowing today... we ended up postponing our trip untl next week. Sustained winds over 20 mph does not usually end up being fun to cast in.... or to row in. And we're out there to have fun....so Mother Nature prevailed today. Wind is supposed to blow tomorrow as well. Light rain is expected by Thursday afternoon, so bring the wet weather gear.
Oct 28-
It's been up and down, mostly up, with some tough fishing during the wind earlier this week....otherwise, fishing has been decent. Today we boated around 30 fish or so... with the largest going 20".
Going to enjoy a couple days off before getting back out there.
OCT 21 -
Back on the Sac after a little bonefishing in Belize. Had to get some tropical vibe before winter sets in here.
Lower Sac has been good. Strange year.... as the salmon are in the river, but not digging redds very much. We are getting fish on egg patterns, but not much spawning happening.
We boated 23 fish today, with the largest going 19.5 inches. Paul and Alexandria had maybe 7 double hook-ups. We found 'em.
Oct 11 -
I could not have had a better 'first day back' in the office today. Weather was outstanding, and fishing was better. George G hooked over 40 fish by himself. Some spots kicked out up to 7 fish- once I found the place to drop anchor. Pays to anchor up now and then on the Lower Sac !! Flows should be lower for this time of year...salmon will start dropping eggs very soon, so hopefully the feds drop the water BEFORE the spawn....not after the spawn, drying up the redds.
Back out there tomorrow and then again Friday.
Goin' bonefishing Saturday ;-)
Oct 10-
And it's time to get rolling back on the Sac. Tomorrow is gonna be my frst day back on the water and I'm thinking the conditions wll be good. There are a bunch of salmon in the river and the spawn has not yet started in force. Rain today could help that. I'm thinking some fish will be caught tomorrow !
Sept 26 -
HOLY SHIT !!! It's here... the end of the season up in AK. It's been one hundred and twenty something days now... and I'm ready for warm temps and consistant sun. Although I will miss days like today... fishing with 20-something bears...some bears 25 ft. away, rainbows all over the place, clients hooking over 60 fish averaging 20" today... flying around the bush and over tundra, seeing moose.... and hanging with good folks.
Will spend a couple days in Anchorage before coming home... ordering room service.... NOT doing dishes......sleeping until after 6 am.... maybe even get a massage.
Good times were had, and good times are around the corner.
Life does not suck.
LowerSacTrout.com reports coming soon.... stay tuned !!
Sept 5 -
I's been a LONG season up here. 15 hour work days are the norm. We've had some fantastic fishing this year, especially during the past 3-4 weeks. Incredible fishing was had by our last group. I post pics once in a while on my blog - www.lowersactrout.com/blog - Check it out.
I'm back in NorCal the first week of October, and BACK ON THE SAC by the second week of October - just in time for the chinook spawn and some great egg 'hatches'. My October is full, but I have plenty of other dates in the fall - come see why the Lower Sac is considered the best trout fishery in California.
July 25-
It's blowing up here in Alaska. The sockeye poured in by the tens of thousands.....and they're starting to really drop eggs now. Big fish yesterday was caught by a return client to the lodge - and taped at 29.5 inches. It's go-time people. Bead fishing has taken over and is the most productive method right now. And it works well.
Back home, I'm sure it's heating up - fishing and weather. Last year, I had some outstanding fishing on the Lower Sac in August and early September. Get on the river soon if you have a chance. Caddis hatches should be slammin' !!!
For updates on the Alaska front - Follow my blog - www.lowersactrout.com/blog
May 30
Well, sorry about not having any 'up to date' info on the Lower Sac for ya. I'm not going to have anything like that for a while.
But I may have some juicy Alaska fish stories...and maybe some pictures and even a little video. Gimmie a week or two.
"Like" The Big Ku Lodge on Facebook to follow our season.
Pix from May 22-
One of Jeff's perfectly proportioned LowerSacTrout.
Tim and one of his many fish.
Enjoying my second to last day of work -until Fall.
Don't forget about the Lower Sac over the summer. The caddis grab was outstanding last year from mid-August thru mid-September. I won't be around, but there are plenty of guides who I share the river with that can get you on some fish. To name just a few.... Bryan Balog, Chris Parsons, Lonnie Boles, Greg Kennedy and Larry Lewis - are great guides and great people.
May 23-
Richard and Ron from 'round here fished with me today. They can fish. They fish often and have fished the Lower Sac a bunch. We crushed until about 4pm. Then the bite died... for whatever reason. Maybe it was the 20 mph winds. Until then, it was pretty good. Most spots held fish. They didn't eat any rubberlegs for me today... mostly PMD nymphs and different types of non-bug patterns. :-) I think we landed 25 or so fish... and lost plenty, and had 3 or 4 double hook-ups. It was a great ending to my spring season on the LowerSac.
So. I'm done. It's over for me until the egg bite starts in October. The Lower Sac trout will be on the 'salmon egg bite' as soon as I get home.
By August, my October schedule is usually full.
Book early for good dates.
Peak 'egg bite' time is usually Oct. 5-25.
I'll be putting up some reports from AK and also trying to do a little blogging. I hope to include plenty of pictures and some video as well.
www.lowersactrout.com/blog
We're going to be posting reports on Facebook as well - become a "friend" of BIG KU LODGE on Facebook!
May 22-
The trend lately is "going green". I went green today. "Greenhorns" Tim and Jeff were pretty new to the whole 'nymphing big water' thing, so after a few minutes (maybe an hour) of "do this, not that" in the morning, we got to it. First hole, not much. Second, not much. Third hole, two grabs with one landed. We continued on, and we ended up having about 15 "fish on" by lunchtime. We found a spot that had a bunch of fish and put the hurt to 'em. I had to walk the boat upstream in freezing cold water to get to the top of the hole, so I had 'ice cream headache' in my feet... but every time I did it, they hooked up. So, I did it at least 5 times.
It worked all 5 times. Giddy up. The guys did great and put some in the net....lost some...but hooked 'em every drift.
Best fish today was 20". We had a 19 incher, a couple 18's and a bunch of 15-17" fish. We scored a 18.5" wild steelhead - and had a few doubles. It did not suck at all. And they were fun guys... lots of laughs... gave each other a hard time here and there - all in fun.
The pictures they took are on the way.....
Looking forward to next time with these two...it all gets better.
May 21 -
The world did not end today, so overall it was a pretty good day. Actually, it was better than that. Five double hook-ups and twenty-something fish in the net today for Don and John.
Flows came up (twice) three days ago to 9,500 cfs so fishing has only gotten better since things leveled off.
No single fly outfished anything else... we scored them on 5 different patterns today.
Two more days to go, and I'm done rowing until October. And I'm not going to have to deal with 108* head during July/August. In a two weeks, I'll be skating mouse flies for big AK bows.
This does not suck at all.
I'll continue to post reports from AK, although maybe not as frequently as internet connection in the bush can be spotty.
May 14 -
Wind blew us around today big time, but Ryan and Ray rallied and pushed thru it and delivered when they needed. We hooked a couple dozen fish, and landed plenty. And lost quite a few, but that's normal.
Did I mention the wind?
Supposed to be pretty crappy tomorrow.
I'll be taking the day off to get gear ready for Alaska. Not long to go now....
May 8 -
Got MOM a half day float on the LowerSac for Mother's Day. First 'run' we spent time in got us over 10 hook-ups. We ended the short day with close to a dozen landed with the largest taping at 20" and two double hook-ups. The weather was nice, and for once I saw a farily decent PMD hatch at around 1-2 pm. Maybe the bugs didn't all wash away after all !!
Start planning now for prime dates on The Fly Shop's Exclusive access to the
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CHECK OUT MY BLOG : www.lowersactrout.com/blog
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I spent summer of 2011 here, managing and guiding clients to some of the best trout fishing in Katmai Park. Check it out !!
During the summer, I submitted fish reports each week to the shop. You can see them : HERE

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LowerSacTrout.com
Shane Kohlbeck
Redding, CA 96003
shane