Jeff’s 2023 American River Shad Reports

[tcorfey]

I went out on Sunday fished Ancil Hoffman, Big Bend, Gristmill and Paradise Beach for nothing. Spoke with two other pairs of fly fishers and two pairs of gear fishers. They had none. But did see some moving up river in small pods of 4-6 fish. Spoke with two drift boat pairs one boat had caught a couple of shad and a couple of steelhead, the other boat had nothing. Granted access is very spotty due to the high flows. It's going to be a tough year. We still have a lot of snow in the mountains (up to 20' in spots) so run-off will continue for awhile. The biggest issue with walk and wade is not only fighting the depth and flows but getting around the bank side bushes that are now ten to twenty feet out in the river and underwater but there are places where you can get in and swing just have to be somewhat aggressive in your wading and pick your spots. Please be careful I am 6'4" tall and weigh close to 300 lbs and the river was moving me around pretty good if I went too deep or stood to far out in the flow.

[Jeff C.]

Yes, please be safe if you’re wading. I personally won’t wade deeper than my knees in these flows. Capt Andy, Stan Jorgensen and I did some scouting in Andy’s jet Lowe. After 7 hours covering a lot of water, we ended up with two grabs and a 10” male. We didn’t see any but fished a lot of good looking water. Whenever I go out with Andy I learn a lot about different spots on the river.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Andy Guibord and Jeff Ching are guys to listen to about fly fishing the Lower American River.

Jeff is also a snowboarding guy and a veteran surfer.

Andy is an amazing photographer and an excellent fly tier as well.

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Years ago a staff member from the famous Marriott's Fly Shop in Southern Cal came up to fish Shad with us for a weekend.

He had some great Shad fishing and told us he was so jealous that we had the amazing Lower American River in our "backyard."




We are spoiled a bit having the Lower American River running right through town.

[Jeff C.]

I was going to take the mini out today but when I saw that the flows bumped up last night to almost 16K cfs I decided to go on foot. Waded out only to my knees and swung a Type 8 sink tip. Only got 2 right off the bat then nada. Ended up going home when the gear guys started showing up.

It is possible to wade and get shad but you will have to put in the time to find those spots. In a boat there is a lot more fishable water but anchoring is the biggest problem

[hwchubb]

I saw that bump just now. At 16K, they quit letting them row at Natoma. My son is getting ready there for the Youth JR Nationals in Florida next month, be interesting to see if they let them on the water today. Lotta H2O…

[cmcdhuibh]

That would be a workout rowing against that current.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I saw that bump just now. At 16K, they quit letting them row at Natoma. My son is getting ready there for the Youth JR Nationals in Florida next month, be interesting to see if they let them on the water today. Lotta H2O…

A lot of youngsters from up north practice in the winter at a rowing camp/facility about an hour West of us on a big canal.

[hwchubb]

A lot of youngsters from up north practice in the winter at a rowing camp/facility about an hour West of us on a big canal.

The top rated facility it the country is in Sarasota - the only approved Olympic venue in the US. That’s where my son races next month - was going to do a dyi snook / baby tarpon trip while I was back there, but business intervened. My wife will be going instead, without a fly rod.