Spring Hatches - The Best Flies for Spring Fly Fishing in Northern California

Top 3 Early Spring Fishing Venues - the Best Fly Fishing Options in Northern California

Spring (March - May) hatches on our local waters - Bugs and and things that start the feeding frenzy

Spring is here, and along with it the very beginning of the prolific spring bug hatches on our favorite Northern California trout streams. The arrival of these aquatic insect hatches marks the beginning of an annual trout feeding frenzy on the Lower Sac, Upper Sac, McCloud, Pit, and Fall rivers along with Hat Creek and Baum Lake. As the days get longer and warmer, the first of the major insect hatches begins with the Pale Morning Duns or “PMDs” in late March and early April. We see PMDs throughout the entire year at times, but the major spring hatch that captivates the trout’s attention typically peaks from April through June. PMDs are one of our most abundant Mayflies on the Lower Sac, Upper Sac, Pit, and McCloud Rivers. They range in color from rusty brown to bright yellow and roughly from size #14- size #18. We fish them at every stage through a given day, often starting out imitating spent spinners from the previous day, to active nymphs, emergers, cripples and duns as the daily hatch progresses. A cloudy spring day during a strong PMD hatch can create excellent dry fly fishing on the Lower Sac, which is very rare most of the year. Typically a few weeks after the PMD hatch gets going, we start to see Yellow Sallie Stoneflies emerge. This usually happens a little later in April with May being the peak, and can last through July. They are also bright yellow, and look a lot like PMDs. Sometimes we fish nymphs such as the “UV Sally” that successfully imitate both Sallies and PMDs due to their relative similarity in size and color. When hatching at the same time, one can tell them apart by this simple visual cue. When flying, Yellow Sallies look like a Chinook Helicopter, while PMDs look like a single rotor helicopter. This is because Sallies have four wings, and PMDs have two. Both are loved by the trout, and can vary day by day which one they prefer based on hatch abundance.

As we get into the month of May, we look forward to seeing the arrival of the larger brown and black stoneflies. This hatch is especially important on the Upper Sac and McCloud Rivers, where throwing a large bushy dry fly to match these stoneflies such as a Chubby Chernobyl can leave you shaking as fish ferociously attack it from many feet below. We see these big bugs around the rest of the warm season, but the peak of the hatch typically occurs in May and June. On the Lower Sac, especially in the lower river below Anderson, the stoneflies can create an exceptional bite for those opportunistic fish who love a big springtime snack. We typically fish flies ranging from size #4 - #8 to imitate these big critters. Pat’s Rubber Legs is likely the most well-known nymph to imitate these big bugs and is worth every bit of it’s hype. May and June are peak “Dry-Dropper” season in Northern California because you have a legitimate chance of a fish attacking your large stonefly imitation on the surface, while you dangle a tasty looking PMD or Sallie below.

As days start to turn from warm to hot at the end of springtime, this is when the grand finale of our spring hatches takes center stage. Once outside temperatures start to hover in and above the 90 degree range in June, the large Hydropsyche Caddis begin to move. These are very active bugs. They drift in the current to spread out ahead of mating using an air bubble, and are very vulnerable during this process. When hatching, they look like a moth. Typically running from size #12-#16. During the evening, they begin to hatch in droves. Many folks will agree that some of the best fishing they have ever seen is the final hour of daylight on the Lower Sac during a big Hydropsyche Caddis hatch in June. The Caddis hatch that begins in spring, will typically last all through the summer as the other bugs start to slow down. We look forward to each of these hatches every spring, and the unique and cool fishing opportunities they present keeping our Northern California trout fisheries healthy, exciting, and growing.

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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!