upper sac end of march?

[donkeyhunter007]

Historically is the upper sac to high to fish at the end March? Some friends invited me on a trip to go fishing and I was excited and then thought its been a dry year but we have to get rain and snow sometime. Anyone who knows, info would be greatly appreciated.Thanks for your time.

[StevenB]

Here is a quick Summary of the flows on the Upper Sac on March 30 for the last 7 years:

3/30/2005 3020
3/30/2006 4700
3/30/2007 917
3/30/2008 937
3/30/2009 1890
3/30/2010 3340
3/30/2011 3590

So what is too high to fish? I generally consider anything over 3,000 too high but I am a local. I have fished the river at 3000+ and caught fish but I do not recommend it.
Most visiting anglers do not like the river at anything over 1,000.
So for the last 7 years there has been two years where it was fishable (for visting anglers) on March 30.
I usually tell anglers that want to plan a trip up here in April or May (typical snow melt times) to be flexable. If the Upper Sac is not fishable, plan on fishing a local lake.
One drawback to a late March trip is that some of the best high water options (like Hat Creek) are not open yet. On the other hand the Pit is now open year round and it can fish very good in March.
So best time to go fishing is when you can, but don't expect summer time flows at the end of March.
Hope this helps
If you do come up talk to a local guide (me or someone else), a week or so prior to the trip and we can let you know what and where is fishing.

[thepeacockspecial]

no such thing as "water too high to catch fish".. but keep this in mind.. "water too high can be dangerous" :)

[Paul B.]

Thank you Steve, Helpful stuff.
I remember seeing the flows there in 06 during May. I don't think we fished any rivers untill July that year.

[Woodman]

You didn't specify whether you'd be wading. If so, I agree that 3000 cfs is a good rule of thumb for safe fishing and access to lots of water.

In a drift boat, the sky's the limit. I caught a fair amount of fish at 26,000 last spring. A little tough to backrow to fish through spots multiple times, but otherwise not too bad. The river can run at 10,000 for days on end in the irrigation season and provide great fishing all summer.

If you're with a good guide, you'll catch fish at anything below flood stage.

[StevenB]

You didn't specify whether you'd be wading. If so, I agree that 3000 cfs is a good rule of thumb for safe fishing and access to lots of water.

In a drift boat, the sky's the limit. I caught a fair amount of fish at 26,000 last spring. A little tough to backrow to fish through spots multiple times, but otherwise not too bad. The river can run at 10,000 for days on end in the irrigation season and provide great fishing all summer.

If you're with a good guide, you'll catch fish at anything below flood stage.

Ahem, Excuse me, but he said Upper Sac. Sounds to me like you are talking the Lower Sac.
Nobody drift-boats the Upper Sac. Raft yes, Driftboat, no.
But you are right, Lower Sac is OK at high flows (14,000+), and is a good choice for end of March if Upper Sac is too high (Caddis hatch).