Winter Fishing

The primary reason Nor Cal fly fishing is in a class of its own "Variety"

Fishing in Northern California during the winter is a special experience of it’s own. Across the west, most trout fisheries go relatively dormant for the winter months. River anglers across the west will flock to California for this reason. In Nor Cal, we are lucky that winter is by no means an “off season”. For many of us, it’s our favorite season. We have excellent trout and steelhead fishing all winter, and during this season you can often find yourself in complete solitude on the most popular of rivers. Additionally, we see the arrival of winter steelhead in Nor Cal. The biggest, baddest fish of the year that hardcore anglers have been waiting all year for a chance to pursue.

First and foremost to discuss on winter trout fishing, is the Lower Sac. During the winter, we see the lowest flows of the year coming out of Shasta Dam. This coincides with some of the biggest fish of the year getting caught, as their deep water hangouts are now accessible for nymph anglers. We see hatches of Baetis mayflies all winter, and when the mid-day hatch happens, the river can come alive with feeding trout. Additionally, there are typically some late-fall / winter run chinook spawning in certain areas of the upper-river which creates a localized “egg bite” that can yield great action and huge fish from December through March. The fishing in winter typically ebbs and flows, some days are red-hot and others can be a slower bite than you might see in fall or spring, but slow fishing on the Lower sac typically still means a few shots at trophy class fish even on the toughest days, paired with absolute solitude, what’s not to love. On the good days, we experience tons of action from big fish without a sole around. Due to the Sac being a tailwater, the winter rains typically do not cause a “blow-out” meaning you can fish the Sac when other venues are unfishable.

Our most favorite thing to do in winter is to chase winter steelhead. Guides and hardcore anglers all know this is the most exciting thing we have waited all year for. With each passing rainstorm, fresh chrome winter steelhead migrate upriver into our fishing zones. We chase them primarily on the Trinity and Feather rivers, and when conditions are just right, we head over to the coast on the Eel river for a chance at the biggest, most aggressive, and most special fish we have on the west coast of North America. We are addicted to chasing these fish because hooking one can feel like getting struck by lightning in the best of ways. Pure excitement and chaos. Chasing winter steelhead can mean cold hands and long hours searching for one glorious opportunity, and when it happens, you’ll remember it forever. Fish can exceed 30 inches at times. We don’t do it for numbers, and if you experience it with an open mind it’s easy to see why. The variety of steelhead and trout fish options during the winter in Nor Cal will leave an angler with too many places to fish, and not enough time to fish it all. Fish that live in your mind forever, and Nor Cal is one of the very few places on earth to experience it in it’s full glory.

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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!