Shasta Area Report:Lower Sac,Upper Sac,Pit,Klamath & McCloud,Fall & Hat Creek Preview

[Craig Nielsen]

The Lower Sacramento River has been phenomenal with some folks enjoying the best fishing of their lives. We have been fishing the river for nearly fifty years now and can not recall fishing this consistently good in spring, particularly for larger trophy 'bows. Fish are coming on most everything we've thrown from tiny mayfly nymphs and caddis pupa to rubberleg stones, though more big fish come on the stones, perhaps because we just loose most big ones on the tiny flies?

The Pit has also been exceptional both nymphing and during caddis hatches with dries and should continue to fish well even though flows are a bit higher than past seasons. Access at Pit 3 dam and Pit 4 powerhouse continues to be an issue. However springtime on the Pit is no longer a secret, expect to share the river with others on sunny weekends.

Flows on the Upper Sac are high, 3,000 to 4,000 cfs and will likely remain so as runoff from an above normal snowpack has begun. Some exceptional fish are podded in some of the bigger runs making this one of the best times of year to pick up your best fish of the season, several friends have enjoyed this good fortune in the past few weeks.

The Fall River, McCloud and Hat Creek are scheduled to open this Saturday, April 24th. All are in great shape with excellent bug activity, superb flows and water clarity. Might want to get to the Fall River and McCloud before runoff as it could effect water clarity and throw of the the bite, particularly with dry flies. Currently access to the Lower McCloud is blocked by snow to Ah Di Na and by rockfall to Ashcamp, hopefully these will be cleared in time for the opener?

The Klamath still has a few spring run steelhead to be had on the swing but with the recent release of steelhead smolts it can be a challenge to get to them. For those so inclined the smolts will attack caddis dries during the hatch and small nymphs most anytime with abandon.

For a complete report visit the ShastaTrout.com website which also features the finest local guides. We're on local waters as much individually as our biggest competitor's guides are collectively. Of course we are always happy to point you in a direction you might most enjoy whether you are seeking a guide or not. Do drop us a line if you are headed our way.

[Craig Nielsen]

Last week when I posted the Fishing report I mentioned that access to the Lower McCloud was blocked by a landslide at Ash Camp and snow into Ah Di Na and that it may be cleared by the opener. This was indeed the case and a number of us enjoyed a stellar weekend on this north state gem.
For a complete report on the waters in the shadow of Shasta check out our most recent blog post. We hope you are able to make it up soon!

[pgw]

Craig,
I hope you did well at Ash Camp on the 24th after we talked in the parking lot...we left after lunch and got two walk on spots at the Nature Conservancy...still the best fishing on the McCloud.

Let's hear it for those great wading staffs that Ron makes.

Paul

[Craig Nielsen]

Paul:
Thanks for a nice visit, sorry I wasn't able to chat a bit longer, but we had fish to catch. You can check out the post about our opening weekend on the McCloud, the gentleman you met, Bill (with the red visor) lit it up. He fished a dry fly dropper rig and couldn't manage to catch anything but several very large fish. WAW! (What a Weekend).
Glad to hear you were able to get into them at the Conservancy, it is a magical place to be sure.
I also mentioned a post about the Hart's staffs that might interest you? They are the staff of choice for all the local guides.
Do drop a line next time you head this way, always happy to share all I can.