Early August Fishing Report

August Fly Fishing Report

Overall, we’ve had great weather and great fishing over the past few weeks. We have a couple more hot days, then back to the 90s which is actually unusually cool for Redding in August, something we are all welcoming with open arms. Now let’s get to the fishing…..



Lower Sac


Our beloved trout fishing powerhouse is still kicking out great fishing as we nose into the dog days of summer. Our guides are reporting that right now, it’s been best in the mornings. It is opposite of how it normally would be this time of year, where evenings are typically the hot bite. The evenings have been fishing well also, but with less consistency than in the mornings due to the sporadic nature of the caddis hatch. A Baetis spinner fall and other spent mayflies like PMDS have been making up the majority of the food source during these cooler morning hours, and the trout having been taking keen advantage of it. Also, there has been a notable showing of Spring Chinook salmon spawning in the upper reaches. This means an egg pattern is very much a valid option when fished near spawning salmon. The August 1st (above highway 44) opener was reportedly fantastic, with lots of big fish and consistent action through the top stretch in both the morning and afternoon on a huge smorgasbord of flies as the fish have been unpressured since April 1st. We are also getting reports that the river below Anderson is fishing fantastic as well, especially in the morning. Overall, it seems like the river is healthier than it has been over the past two years and is trending more positively each day.


Trinity River


The Trinity recently got a flow increase up to 1,500 cfs which has greatly increased the number of fish pushing into it’s upper reaches. Right now it’s hovering around 680 cfs in Douglas City which is prime flows. With this flow bump, the summer steelhead fishing has been nothing short of fantastic. More and more, the Trinity is becoming recognized for it’s amazing early season fishing. It hasn’t been crowded, and there have been plenty of white-hot summer steelhead and half pounders around. The fish haven’t been picky with this higher water, so fishing with what you have confidence in should work great. Rubber-legs, egg patterns, copper johns, etc. it’s all on the menu with the right drift. Don’t wait until November to experience this.


Upper Sac


The Upper Sac has been a great wet wading option lately to get out of the heat. The water below Simms has been a bit too warm, so we are focusing our efforts above that point. The dry-dropper fishing has still been very consistent. The mornings and evenings have as usual been best for the dry fly fishing, and mid-day is mostly nymphing and a bit slower. Perdigon style nymphs and Two Bits are a very safe bet underneath a chubby chernobyl or small indicator. With this warmer water, the fast water pockets with foam on top have been the key producers. August is a very fun time to wade the Upper Sac.


McCloud


Following a brief blowout due to a thunderstorm and landslide, the McCloud is back in good shape and fishing well. In the coming weeks, we expect this to continue. Our guide Travis reported catching some very nice browns and solid rainbows over the past few days. Water temperatures on the McCloud are much cooler coming out of McCloud Reservoir, so this stream can be fished from Ash Camp all the way to the bottom of the Conservancy with no worries about water being too warm. Much like all the walk n wade streams right now, oxygenated pocket water is the ticket. The McCloud has lots of shade, so the bite window in the morning and evening is more extended than that of other rivers. Think Perdigons and other basic Jigged attractors like Duracels and blow torches. There are still some fish eating the chubby chernobyl dry fly as well. We are right around the corner from the Mega-Sized October Caddis appearing, but until then it seems the fish will not be going hungry as they are already feeding on their Larva, and some mop flies have been getting bit. 


Pit River


We haven’t had many reports from the Pit lately, but we can assume that it’s famous slippery pocket water is fishing just as good if not better than the Upper Sac and Mccloud. Summer on the Pit is always fun because wet wading makes it a little more fun if you fall in. 


Fall River


Our latest report from the Fall River is that the grass die-off has increased making fishing challenging due to constantly needing to clear the hooks from grass. Fish are still being caught, but the grass maintenance has been a lot to keep up with when there are so many other great venues to fish right now. Once we start seeing some cooler weather in September a few weeks from now, this should subside. Until then, we recommend focusing on the Sac or Trinity because they have been outshining the Fall as of lately.


Lake Shasta


The water is WARM in Lake Shasta right now with surface temps in the 80s and 70s up the river arms. The fish have pushed deep during the day, and are accessible in the mornings / evenings when they chase huge schools of Shad. Overall, this fishery needs a few weeks to cool down and will fish much better in September / October as the weather cools just a little. There are still fish getting caught here, but in our opinion the Lower Sac, Trinity, Upper Sac, and McCloud are all likely better options right now. 

Summer Special

By Matt Formento • May 20, 2026
Beat the Heat this Summer! … And enjoy some of the finest Summer trout fishing in the North State. We are happy to be rolling out a summer special again this year. In an effort to offer our guests the option to avoid some of the mid-day summer heat that we can get here in Redding, we are offering this fishing and lodging package at a discounted rate. This is what the trip would look like: head up to Redding in the afternoon, meet your guide and start fishing by 4pm to fish the evening session until sun down. This is usually a special window of the day when the bugs can come off strong and the trout can get aggressive in the fading, summer light. Spend the night at the nicest lodging accommodations in Redding at the Sheraton hotel. Get up early the next morning and fish the morning session while the temps are still comfortable and get off the water by lunch time. This "off-hour" Special has been a big hit the past few summers. $595 / person based on dbl occupancy rooms and fishing. (Total $1190) Savings over $200 Two Half Days of fishing - Fish during prime time, early and late in the day Stay at the finest accommodations that Redding has to offer In effect: June 1 - August 31 2025 What you get: Two Half Days of guided Fly Fishing (All inclusive for both anglers) One night lodging at the Sheraton Sheraton amenities include: Complimentary Breakfast, Wifi, Parking, Taxes and fees *This special puts you on the water during prime fishing windows that most other guide services do not offer. *In order to take advantage of the special offering, please mention the "Summer Special" at the time of inquiry.

Bring on the warmer weather!

By Matt Formento • May 6, 2026
Warmer weather is on the horizon after a few days of precipitation. We’re looking at temps getting back into the 80s with a few days even projected to hit 90. These warmer days will kick our hatches into high gear.. Report from the Guides Lower Sac - This last week of fishing delivered more big days on “Ol Trusty”.. Shallow water fishing has been excellent as soon as the bugs get going by mid morning. This is a very fun way to catch these fish when they’re sitting shallow in riffles and tailouts with lightly weighted nymph rigs. The flows just kicked up to 7k cfs which is a good thing.. A big takeaway this past week is hearing how much our guests have enjoyed throwing 4 and 5wt rods with lightly weighted rigs in the shallow water - Not many folks fish the river fish this way and our team has been loving it. “Sight nymphing” season is just starting.. McCloud - Travis and Devon ran a few groups out to the McCloud this past week - cliff notes were that fishing was good to great. A couple of XXL brown trout were hooked and lost along with a lot of cookie cutter rainbows and smaller browns on nymphs and dries. Golden stone hatches are just starting. Big bug season is officially here. Upper Sac - The Upper Sac is sitting just under 1k - flows a still on the high side but certainly fishable.. We’ve focused most of our walk and wade trips on the McCloud and Pit lately as these have been very productive. Late May and June will be the best window to hit the Upper Sac. Fall River - The big spring creek is starting to fish well and this trend should increase as we see the warmer temps. Some solid days were had here last week. Expect this to be an excellent option moving forward. Trinity River - DJ had a few solid days with clients throwing the big dry fly and dry dropper rig over here this past week. This has been an extremely fun change of pace on the drift boat - Solitude and visual dry fly fishing is a tough combination to beat right now. Lake Shasta - The “Combo” trout and bass days are just getting started here. The Lake is such a productive and unique fishery. Now is an excellent time to explore here. We always love to talk fishing, so please send us a message or give us a call! Right now, conditions look perfect for the beginner angler to get out and have plenty of action, or the seasoned angler to go for the challenge of dry fly fishing. Come experience the best fly fishing Redding has to offer

On the Water Fishing Update

By Matt Formento • April 29, 2026
Another fun week of spring fishing with unique opportunities and varied weather, spring is always an exciting time of year! Check out the full scoop below. Report from the Guides  Lower Sac - It’s been really great, other than a couple stormy days last week. Yesterday was solid all day, with the peak bite in the afternoon. Regular cloudy days have been awesome. We’ve had some great opportunities to fish dry flies and dry-dropper setups in shallow water. Next week is potentially lining up to be great dry fly fishing conditions as well with clouds in the forecast during the start of the week. We have guide availability each day next week if you want to give it a try. The river is still hovering around 6k cfs. McCloud - It’s dry fly time on the McCloud. Bigger fish have been surface feeding on Green Drakes when the clouds are overhead or during low light. When it’s sunny, the fish have been dropping down and taking a smorgasbord of nymphs. Overall it’s been great! Flows are perfect. Upper Sac - The Upper Sac bumped up to 2,000 cfs, and is back down to 1400 cfs, which is still high for this river. We wouldn't recommend fishing the Upper Sac right now with so many other options. We will be back when flows drop. Fall River - A couple of our guides fished the Fall River yesterday, and it was good! Each angler caught some nice fish, including some really good sized ones for the Fall. We still could use some more warm weather on Fall River, as the the fishing is very productive in a handful of spots. As it warms up over the next week or two, the good fishing will spread out a lot more. Trinity River - We didn’t fish the Trinity last week due to the flow bump. It’s back down to fishable levels today, and we expect the fishing for juvenile steelhead (half-pounders) and trout to be good. Lake Shasta - Now that last week’s storms have passed, Shasta is back in the mix. Simply put, Lake Shasta is the “Easy Button” right now according to our guide Travis. Epic bass and trout combo trips have been taking place up the Sacramento arm of the lake. We always love to talk fishing, so please send us a message or give us a call! Right now, conditions look perfect for the beginner angler to get out and have plenty of action, or the seasoned angler to go for the challenge of dry fly fishing during this special window.

Why We Love Spring Fly Fishing

By Matt Formento • April 14, 2026
Spring in Northern California is in full swing, and we are loving every minute. Report from the Guides Lower Sac - The mornings have been great. PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Caddis, Stones, and March Browns have all been catching fish. The afternoons have been tighter, still good but making us try a little more for the bites. McCloud - It’s prime-time for the McCloud, the river is in great shape and the fish are feeding. We’ve had two very strong weeks on the McCloud so far this spring and it’s just the beginning. Upper Sac - Flows are down to 600 cfs at Delta, making it far more accessible than in previous weeks. Big lake fish, and the bug hatches beginning are making the Upper Sac more appealing to fish each day. Fall River - We are getting really close to game time on the Fall River as it gets warmer. A great report will likely emerge in the coming week or two. Stay tuned. Trinity River - The Trinity has been a super cool option these past two weeks. Dry-dropper fishing has been fantastic for half pounders, browns, and some remaining adult steelhead. With no people around whatsoever, it’s been pretty special. Lake Shasta - Lake Shasta has been fishing really good. The bass are getting more aggressive each day as the surface temperature continues to warm. The next two weeks of fishing are primed with positivity. The flows on the Lower Sac are raising to 10k cfs today, which is a great level for spring fishing. More water on the Sac paired with some scattered clouds in the 10-day forecast should make the bug hatches and bite continue to get stronger each day.

March Madness in the North State

By Matt Formento • March 9, 2026
It’s March Madness time - basketball lovers and trout fishermen unite in a love for this month. March marks the beginning of spring, and the beginning of spring bug hatches that wake up nearly every trout in the North State from their winter sluggishness. It’s time to string up those 5 and 6wts. As the weather warms, the first streams to really “wake up” are the Central Valley streams, because that’s where it gets warm first. The Lower Sac and Feather River often have trout / steelhead fishing in the month of March that can rival or beat the madness of fall. The reason being, is that as temps rise significantly, the PMDs really start to hatch. Caddis, other mayflies, and even some stoneflies will begin kicking around in March, but on the Lower Sac it is usually the PMDs that take center stage. With this abundance of food on the Lower Sac, the trout tend to be willing to expend more energy to feed, and become far more accessible for the fly angler. This means they are out looking for food, rather than just taking the food that drifts by them. These same trout have received very little pressure all winter from anglers, and are thus less “educated” and more bold about how they take a fly, and less picky on the more popular patterns they will have seen plenty of by the time the month of June rolls around. On the Lower Sac, March is the last chance to fish the famous upriver stretch from the Posse Grounds down to Highway 44. While there is plenty of epic water below highway 44, this upriver stretch is known for plenty of big aggressive fish, and March is the last chance to fish it before it closes on April 1st. On the Feather River, March typically marks the beginning of more elevated spring flow releases in the “low-flow” stretch of the Feather River. This can make for some of the most epic fishing of the year on the Feather, and those who have experienced it will attest to just how hot and heavy the fishing can be for the Feather’s feisty Valley Steelhead due to these elevated flows. March also marks the beginning one of the better chances for dry-fly fishing on the Lower Sac. Although still rare, when the stars align on a cloudy day in March during the first strong PMD hatches, you might just find some mega-sized trout softly sipping PMDs in the shallow and undisturbed current edges, flats, or soft riffles. Another fishery which is often overlooked in March is the Trinity River. March is hands down the best month to throw single dry flies on the Trinity. March Brown Mayflies are hatching strong on the Trinity, and feeding one of the Trinity’s wild winter steelhead, or large resident browns on a single dry fly is an experience like no other. There are typically plenty of “half-pounders” mixed in during this time as well, so action is consistent. Right now, all of this is on the table. All of these great options for epic fishing are part of what makes up the madness of fly fishing Nor Cal in the month of March.

Preparing for the Spring Transition in Nor Cal

By Matt Formento • February 23, 2026
A keen angler is focused on the present moment, but also keeps in mind what’s ahead so that they are ready when the time comes. Don’t get caught with your waders down. Right now, steelhead are swimming heavy through our brains, and for good reason. We have at least a month and a half, maybe even two months of prime steelheading left in Nor Cal. Often, the last part of steelhead season is the best part. Fewer people out targeting them, warming temperatures turning on the bite, and both inward and outward migrating fish in the systems. Looking ahead, we know that the transition from winter fishing to spring fishing will happen sometime in March, and when it does, an angler should be ready. It happens fast. Typically, these first few weeks of spring fishing ushered in by the warming weather will trigger some of the best fishing of the entire spring. The portion of the trout population that are relatively dormant in the winter come alive and start feeding ferociously at the first sign of a good Caddis, PMD, or BWO hatch. They haven’t been pressured, and they are hungry. The month of March can mean fishing on the Lower Sac that rivals the fury of the egg-drop in October. While there is always a small chance of rain showers in March, usually the weather is nice, and either way the fishing is usually great as soon as the temperature warms up just a little bit. On the Upper Sac, March also marks the beginning of some angler’s favorite season on this river. We see great numbers of large lake-run rainbows enter the lower portion of the river from lake Shasta in March, some of which can rival the punch of a coastal steelhead. They are aggressive, opportunistic, and hands down the best fighting fish you will find in this river. The transition from winter to spring also often creates a small window of ideal flows on this river, where snowmelt from Mt. Shasta has yet to begin in full force, and the rains of winter have subsided. Other great spring opportunities abound in March, and sometimes anglers miss out on weeks of good fishing with no crowds if they are not prepared for when spring begins. The Feather River, Lake Shasta, and McCloud River should also be on an angler’s radar in March in addition to the Lower and Upper Sacramento. April and May are when spring fishing is in full swing on nearly every body of water in Nor Cal and is by all means a fantastic time to go fishing. However, if you like taking advantage of every good opportunity, the winter / spring transition time in March should not be overlooked. Usually water levels are ideal, fish are unpressured, and memories are made. In the fly box, having PMDs, BWOs, and small dark colored Caddis are the key to being ready for these early spring hatches. If the stars align, you might even see some pretty epic dry fly action.

February Fishing Report

By Matt Formento • February 9, 2026
Fishing Report 2/9

Winter Steelhead

By Matt Formento • December 27, 2025
Winter Steelhead "The Pinnacle" of freshwater Fly Fishing

December Fishing Report

By Matt Formento • December 12, 2025
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No crowds and epic fishing. Winter steelhead are showing up in good numbers, and the stable weather over the past two weeks has produced some epic trout fishing on the Lower Sac. The main focus lately has been on Lower Sac trout and Trinity Steelhead. Rain on the extended forecast means more of this, as well as an increase in steelhead numbers on all rivers!

Winter Fishing

By Matt Formento • December 1, 2025
The primary reason Nor Cal fly fishing is in a class of its own "Variety"