Klamath and Lower Sacramento River Fly Fishing Guide Trip Reports

We continue to experience phenomenally fine weather in the shadow of Shasta which our guests have enjoyed to the fullest. Daytime highs mean steelheading on the Klamath River in shirtsleeves midday while the Lower Sacramento River has required an extra layer of sunscreen while chasing trophy trout. We are certain to get some more weather before winter (?) is over (storms are in the forecast for next week) but we plan to savor the year round fishing and sunshine while we can.

The Klamath River continues to fish just fair to good. Be aware that there was a release at Irongate Dam with flows going up to 5,000 cfs on 2/9 to flush sediment containing parasites. Conditions have been nearly ideal, but the fair weather seems to have confused the fish and they have gotten a bit stale and refuse to eat. We have not yet seen the wide open bite we most often experience when the winter temps increase like this.

Water temps continue to hover close to forty degrees and while we have managed to swing up a few fish dredging with sink tips, nymphing with legs and eggs continues to be the best bet. Hopefully the next storm and flush will bring in a few fresh fish (we've heard reports of fresh fish downstream) and spark the bite. The good news is that some of the steelies we've seen lately have been a bit bigger than the norm, including an exceptional big buck this past weekend. Sorry it was camera shy and we failed to snap a shot of this red striped wild beauty.

We have also experienced a slow bite on the Lower Sacramento River most days and while the number of fish to net each day might not be what we hoped, the size of the fish has made up for it more than once, including a Shasta Trout Hawg of Fame entry by great local guide Gabe Duran. Most of the fish have recently come on the midday caddis hatches, both some early spring time # 16 olives and some confused #14 tan summer caddis? Early and late in the day local guide Fred Gordon's Prince pattern, PT's, and Micromays in #16's & 18's along with eggs continue to find a few fish. We saw the strongest hatch of spring caddis to date this afternoon. The famed spring caddis is just around the corner and conditions couldn't be much better. For a complete report with pics check out the Shasta Trout website.

If you are headed this way drop us a line. We would be happy to share all we can whether you are seeking guide service or not.