February Fishing Report

Fishing Report 2/9

Over the past month, it’s safe to say that we have been in full steelhead mode. Lot’s of miles put on the vehicles, lots of memories made, and some high quality fish in the net. We’ve been lucky to have a relatively dry January, especially these past few weeks, which has allowed for a longer than normal opportunity to chase the fish we love the most.

Lower Sac:

The Sac has had more water than usual for January. We hovered around 15k cfs for a couple weeks, briefly down to 8k cfs, and now back to 10k cfs. There have been very few folks out, as is typical for January. Our few guided trips from the Sac this month have yielded good results. With plenty of water and low fishing pressure, the fish haven’t been too picky. Plenty of fish are getting caught on egg imitations and the usual attractor bugs. February is a great month to fish the Sac when the weather is decent. Very few people and some really nice fish to be had.

Trinity River:

We have done lots and lots of fishing for steelhead on the Trinity this past month. For the most part, it’s been fantastic. There have been a few challenging days here and there, but overall it’s been a banner season with really nice sized adults and a ton of half-pounders. We had higher flows earlier this month which kept much of the pressure off of the river and the fish on the bite with so much protection from all the water. Fish were behaving more like coastal steelhead, willing to take bright egg imitations and resting in the soft water. As the flows receded we saw a phenomenal bite for a few days with some guides reporting as many fish as they had ever seen hit the net each day. Flows are back to around 500 cfs, which is still great. We expect great fishing to continue through the next month at least and possibly longer.

Coastal Steelhead - Eel River:

We have been lucky enough to have a long extended weather window to fish the Eel River this winter. Since about the 2nd week of January, we have been fishing the Eel and have been loving it. It’s uncommon to have this much of a window to fish it. It’s still coastal steelhead fishing, so it’s not for the faint of heart. Over the few weeks we’ve had our fair share of epic days with plenty of opportunity, and challenging days with more slim opportunity. Overall, we are still seeing chances at fish each day even when it’s toughest so as any seasoned steelhead angler knows this is about as much as you could ask for. We are stoked to keep fishing the Eel in the coming weeks, and a little bit of rain will actually be a welcomed thing.

Feather River:

There haven’t been a ton of folks on the Feather lately. However, our guides who have been fishing it over the last two weeks say that it’s been decent up in the upper stretches of the “low-flow” lately. It sounds like the fish aren’t super spread out, but there is enough of them in the system to make a good day of fishing.

Shasta Lake:

No reports yet coming from Shasta, but rest assured the winter bass are ready to get going soon.

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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.

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!