Northern California Is Fishing Right Now 🎣

We’ve settled into the rhythm of Summer fishing & things should stay fairly consistent over the next few weeks. We’ve been out on handful of different waters recently. Lower Sac - The Sac is in it’s typical summer fishing rhythm. The best window is either the morning or the late afternoon/evening. That doesn’t mean there aren’t fish to be caught midday though. They just seem more eager to bite out flies when the sun isn’t directly on top of them. PMD’s in the AM and caddis in the PM have been the go to bugs. We’ll be doing our Summer Special through August. A couple half days are the perfect way to experience the Sac right now McCloud - It’s been one of the better Summer’s out on the McCloud than we’ve seen in awhile. Good number of fish and a variety of bugs and fishing techniques. Plenty of dry fly chance around. This is a great option for anyone willing to take a hike and get some fishing in Fall River - The Fall has still been fishing good consistently. Fish are starting to spread out in the Lower river. There’s opportunities for sight fishing in the Springs. The Fall is a great full day option and should remain through the next few weeks. Trinity - We had a couple tougher days over on the Trinity last week but that shouldn’t be the norm over there in following weeks. Flows have been consistent and temps are good. Not a ton of adult steelhead around but plenty of juvenile, trout sized steelhead. A good option for a full day with a little cooler temps than in Redding Give us a call if you have any questions or want to set up a trip at 1-800-201-5047

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Fishing Report 2/9

Winter Steelhead "The Pinnacle" of freshwater Fly Fishing