Dry Fly Fishing in Northern California

Peak summer hatches

As we stride into summer, it’s time to talk about the bug hatches that make summer time fly fishing in Northern California famous. Northern California isn’t always known for it’s dry fly fishing, but summer can often provide some great surface action if you know where to look.

 It wouldn’t be summer without our good friend the Caddis. On the Lower Sacramento, these larger summertime Hydropsyche Caddis begin to hatch in droves during the evenings and mornings of the hottest summer days. Fish nose up into the shallows and feed recklessly during these hatches. In the evening, there is a twilight window where the dry fly fishing can be off the hook if there is a strong caddis hatch. Flies like the “Missing Link” or “Outrigger Caddis” anywhere from a size 12-16 are sure bets. Look for those moth-looking bugs in the air, and there's a decent chance the fishing will be good in the right places. We find them on riffles, glassy current seams, swirls, and tailouts.

Next, we think about our walk n wade fisheries. Summer is prime time to catch fish looking up in our walk n wade fisheries, especially the Upper Sac and McCloud. Any large golden stone attractor style fly can get an eat in these rivers, even if there aren’t any fish currently rising. The way the fish eat these flies is typically an explosion that often results in such an excitement that you set the hook too soon. Remember to wait a second for the fish to turn down with the fly.  Flies like the Chubby Chernobyl are hard to beat, and also serve as a perfect indicator if you hang a dropper nymph below them. In the evenings, both of these streams get caddis hatches much like the Lower Sac. It’s typically an evening thing, once the overhead sun is gone. You can find fish hunting for adult caddis in the glassy tailouts, foam lines, and riffles. A “missing link” that matches the size bugs you see hatching is a great bet.

The Fall River also must be mentioned if we are talking Nor Cal dry fly fishing in the summer. The giant Hexagenia Mayflies that arrive on summer evenings here are amazing. Hatches of these giant flies often blanket the water. Fishing this hatch is a short, but active window of action. The last 30 minutes of daylight into the pitch darkness is typically the only window that it happens, but it can look like sprinkler heads going off as fish ruthlessly thrash at the surface for every Hex they can grab. The fall river also can produce dry fly fishing all day for other much smaller hatches. Callibaetis, Tricos, BWOs, PMDs, and Caddis all have their windows of hatching. Feeding these fish in the daytime is technical. It requires 5-6x tippet and an absolutely perfect drift. It is extremely rewarding if successful.