The Best Early Spring Fly Fishing Options in Northern California

With flows dropping on the Lower Sac and many good options on the horizon, it's time to dust off your gear because early spring fishing season is here. Here are our top three early spring fishing venues we get excited for each year as warmer weather approaches.

• Lower Sac

The Lower Sac may be a year-round favorite for many of us, but there are some notable highlights to fishing the big river in early spring. In early spring, especially the first few weeks, the trout typically become far more aggressive and opportunistic feeders than they were during the winter months. The warmer weather usually brings on our first major hatches of PMDs and small darker colored Caddis. In winter, the feeding windows shorten and some of the trout grow dormant, meaning you have to land a nymph precisely in front of their nose to make them eat. As the first warm weather starts to appear, the fish who haven’t had much to eat for the past few months will begin heavily feeding, anticipating their spawn later in the spring. In addition, the fishing pressure in winter is almost non-existent so you will find these unpressured fish more easily fooled in the more popular areas up in town.

• Feather River Steelhead

The past week of Feather River Steelhead fishing has been remarkable. The Feather is an excellent option in early spring, often due to its regulated flows keeping us fishing when other places are blown out. Historically, March is a great month to be on the Feather River. There is a mix of fresh spring run valley steelhead and holdover steelhead from the previous fall, which results in some really big number days at times. Crowds on the Feather in March are also typically much much lower than you would see in the fall. It’s not known as a river of solitude, but there are times during early spring where you will find yourself with far less other anglers.

• Coastal Steelhead

Through late February and most of March our Coastal steelhead rivers are still a great option if conditions allow. Fishing the coastal rivers is a game of being at the right place at the right time.These fish are still very challenging to catch, and equally as rewarding. Chasing chrome steelhead in an ancient redwood forest is an experience like no other. These rivers are susceptible to blowing out, but when they are in shape, there are usually fish to be had well into the month of March. Our primary coastal steelhead venue in California is the Eel River. 

         Other Spring Fishing Notes

•       Lake Shasta Bass

As the temperature warms in early spring, those who like catching a TON of fish should be thinking about Lake Shasta Bass fishing. As the Bass go on the pre-spawn bite, anglers typically can catch these hard fighters all day until their forearms are sore. This is a great option as well for taking kids fishing as there is usually lots of action.

•           Trinity River

Another early spring fishing venue we love is the Trinity River. As of this writing, the Trinity is still at 3500 cfs and we don’t know when these releases from Lewiston will slow down. This is unusual for the Trinity this early in the spring. Typically we would see more normal flows into the month of March providing great fishing opportunities on the Trinity.

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