4 Days in Dunsmuir

[Rockman]

Just wanted to give a report on the upper Sac. & Lake Siskiyou. I went up Thursday afternoon and fished 2 hours in the evening tossing E.H. Caddis, landed 6, rose & lost another dozen, fish up to 15", not a bad start. On Fri. a.m. I fished further upstream, started out a bit slow, but in the afternoon, a bunch of bugs started popping, pmd's, caddis, golden stones, midges, and an occasional giant salmonfly. I was rising fish and catching fish like crazy and then got a phone call from the wife and said we were going out to dinner and get back in an hour. I told her I was leaving right then, after I caught 3 more fish.
Sat. a.m., I left to start where I ended the previous evening, worked my way up to Moss Brea Falls, 20 people there taking photos, It makes me sad when a beautiful place gets trashed my lazy, disrepectful, stupid people. Last year somebody sprayed graffitti all over the 2 big boulders on the beach, this year I was a sickened by the amount of trash, underware, cigerette butts, and even a shitty diaper. This is one of the most beautiful places in California, I can not believe the ignorance of the majority of the visiters.
That said, I still love fishing there, but not till this evening when the crowds are gone. 9 trout up to 17" in 30 minuets and fish rising all over the place.
Next day (Sunday) I take out my neighbor and my old friend Mark who I'm teaching how to flyfish out to Lake Siskiyou, I'm a bit worried about the full moon and we get only 5 fish before noon between the 3 of us. Not good. They both leave at noon to do other stuff so I call my wife and pick her up at the dam for the afternoon. Fishing picked up and I get a dozen nice fish and ldr many.
Last day ( Monday) I get another friend who I started teaching this winter on Lake Siskiyou, to go out on the river. Its raining very lightly, I rig him up with an EH caddis, and put him in a sweet spot. In the first hour he's up on me 4 to my 1, I change bugs and start to hammer fish, I'm up 12-to his 6 and we have not moved. The rain is getting heaviers and the fish are still rising. I move up to the next pool and fish are rising all over. Another dozen fish and I'm not even up the the head of the pool yet. I switch over to a "stimie" and in the next hour land about 20 more fish up to 22" on drys. Best day in years on the upper Sac. and it is flat out pouring rain. After 4 1/2 hours, our rain gear is failing and I need to go home and pack for the ride home.
This was a great 4 days of fishing.
Hope you enjoy the pics.
If you go, please be kind and pack out more then you brought in to keep this place beautiful. Good fish carma will come to those who are kind to mother nature.
Rockman

[wineslob]

Very nice! Iv'e never fished the Dunsmuir area, but want to now.

If you want to see "trashed" just Google "University Falls". So many people that the water is contaminated (warning signs). It's just awful.

[tommylee]

Thanks for the report and photos, glad you did so well.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Will the low flows June will be huge on the Upper Sacramento River............go soon.

If you have not done a lot of fly fishing for trout in streams you might want to hire a guide for at least one day.

Fred Gordon can really get you straightened out......

www.fredgordon.net

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Stop by the Ted Fay Fly Shop for some excellent advise and the right flies for that week.

www.tedfay.com


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For lodging check with the Cave Springs Motel....they manage lots of properties up there, including Fred Gordon's "River House".

www.cavesprings.com

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[FlyBum]

Thanks for sharing your 4 days and the picks makes me want to head up there A.S.A.P..


Another Awesome Guide on the Upper Sac is Wayn Eng Wayne has a nice rustic cabin that he rents out for only $75 a night and his guide rates are lower than others.

As Bill said Fred Gorden is great too you could not go wrong with either one.

The Upper Sac around Dunsmuir is one of my favorite places. The fishing is excellent - either that or I've just been lucky.

[Rockman]

Wayne is a good friend of mine, he is awesome too! Their are many good guides up there. His cabin is a neat little place to stay at a reasonable cost.

[steveg137]

Nice report and good that you;ve been teaching friends.

I've got a few mates who have mentioned that they want me to take them; bad as it sounds I kind of want them to REALLY want to learn & are seriouslty interested.

I love the Upper Sac but was thinking Lake Sis might be easier place to get them casting with outside chance of hooking something.

Any other suggestions on where to take a newbie?

[Rockman]

If fishing from shore, I would take them to a gentle sloping lake as opposed to a river where they have to think about their backcast. Also, if you happen to have a boat on the lake, you have more possibilities to find fish. Presentation is not as important and you can always troll a fly. Most important is to get him hooked up and feel the fish on the flyrod, then they will be hooked. It puts a smile on my face to see someone progress, catch fish, see their excitement as they learn to flyfish. Once they get some basic casting down, I would take them to some of our valley rivers which are much more open then small stream fishing due to vegetation. Take them out and share with them, this is such a great sport to share with friends.