Fly fishing on Lower Sacramento River heating up!
The weather in the Northstate has turned sunny and warm and the fishing on the Lower Sacramento River has heated up. Spring has sprung with flowers in full bloom and ducks and geese hatching out their young. We have seen many Osprey fishing for their young and spotted bald eagles most everyday. A Pair of Swans have taken up residence on the river in Anderson and are sharing the beauty with their six singlets.
The warm weather has the summer caddis (Hydropsyche) hatching in force and the fish have responded with aggressive feeding starting in the late morning and continuing into early evening. Some Yellow Sallies and Goldenstones have joined the parade with some lingering PMD's, BWO's and spring caddis (Brachycentrus) still marching along. The bite remains best midday with early mornings remaining slower. Flows out of Keswick bumped up twice this week to 9,000 cfs with even greater flows forecast as central valley agricultural demand increases. At current flows wading opportunities are very limited, we recommend you plan a driftboat trip and enjoy these superb conditions while they last!
Our local guides have enjoyed some excellent days recently with guests finding good action, solid numbers to the boat each day and some trophy Rainbows to hand as well. Most fish have been coming while fishing small nymphs under indicators, with PMD patterns (Pheasant Tails, S&M's and Beadhead Poxy PMD's) being replaced recently with summer caddis imitations (Birdsnests and Fox PooPahs). We also found a few fish this week on Yellow Sallie and Golden Stone nymphs.
The upper river is still holding a higher concentration of large fish while the bite on the lower river below Anderson has an earlier more consistent bite. There a still some pods of spawning Rainbows finishing their annual ritual and they should be allowed to do so in peace. The bright sunshine has fish holding in deeper water with the evening caddis dry fly bite yet to take hold. With nothing but more sunshine in the forecast we expect the fishing as well as the catching to remain excellent and suggest you get here now! Drop us a line for the latest on conditions and visit our website for a complete report including pics.
We hope to see you soon!
Flows on Lower Sac increased to 10,000, local freestones coming into shape
Thanks Bill:
Flows on the Lower Sac were bumped up again yesterday to 10,000 cfs but with the warm weather the caddis are popping and the fishing continues to be good.
Flows on the Upper Sac are down to the norm and with the tributaries starting to drop, it should be in great shape in a few weeks, just in time for the best hatches of the season.
The McCloud and Pit are already fishing well, and hatches have not really taken off yet. It is shaping up to be a very good season on our local freestones, we are excited!
We hope to see you soon!
Fly fishing on the Lower Sac remains hot!
The weather in Redding continues to be warm and the fishing on the Lower Sacramento River remains hot! We spotted a couple bald eagles again yesterday, a few river otter and many geese and ducks showing their new offspring around. Flows out of Keswick bumped up slightly again yesterday to 10,500 cfs which threw the superb afternoon bite off a bit but with no scheduled releases in the forecast and continued near perfect weather in the forecast we expect the excellent bite to return for the weekend. At current flows wading opportunities are very limited, we recommend you schedule a driftboat trip and enjoy these superb conditions while they last!
The sunny weather has the summer caddis hatching in force with the cloud cover yesterday getting the Pale Morning Duns going again. Hatches of Yellow Sallies and Goldenstones continue to build with a few BWO's and spring caddis still showing. The bite remains best midday with early mornings remaining slower. There are still a few Rainbows spawning, particularly on the upper river which anglers should avoid targeting.
Dry fly fishing is very spotty with most fish coming on small nymphs under indicators, with PMD patterns and summer caddis imitations finding the most fish. Some good sized Rainbows are still finding their way to our nets, drop us a line for the latest on conditions. We hope to see you soon!
Freakishly fat Rainbow caught on Lower Sac!
Yesterday a Redding local was treated to a guided trip on the Lower Sac as a thank you from a buddy he had taken out a number of times. His good deeds were rewarded when he landed a freakishly fat Rainbow.
Check out the photo and a report of the day on the Shasta Trout website.
