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10/26 -- GOOD
"Looking out at about 2 in. of white stuff on the ground here in Dogpatch. All the surrounding mountains are covered with the first snow of the season. This of course is too early for it to stick so with the temps in the upper 60's this weekend it will melt .... creating a bump in river flows. Nights are around freezing now so think about layers when you start your day. Since my last report I've been exclusively on the Upper Sac. The river was in a funk with fishing/catching on the poopy side. The change in the weather starting Sunday with temperatures dropping into the 40's during the day and rain/snow off and on seems to have changed that. Slow days Saturday and Sunday turned around to good days Monday and Tuesday. All the fish were taken on nymphs with one measuring 20 in. landed by Tim yesterday(see below). Since the cold snap the October Caddis have been sparse but this should change with the rise in temps starting tomorrow. Good reports of October Caddis coming out at Cantara Loop area and around Dunsmuir. I would recommend the entire river for fishing now ..... top to bottom, Ney Springs to Lakehead." "October Caddis hatches are still going! The fly fishing along the entire 35 mile stretch has been productive. These cooler daytime temps have produced a decent BWO hatch mid day. Anglers throwing #16-18 small olive nymphs or even #18-20 BWO dries should find numbers of rainbows spread out over numbers of riffles, runs and pools." Read Kiene's discussion.
10/19 -- GOOD
" October Caddis, Caddis, Caddis! All afternoon! Then, near sunset there's a big hatch that all of us look forward to during October. The fishing through the day has been good, but you should expect to cover lots of water, moving from run to run to keep the hook-ups coming. We are looking at great conditions through the next week..no problem!" "The October Caddis are out and about and a big stimie in the right spot at the right time will get the fish's attention ..... mainly the last hour of the day. Fishing overall throughout the day has been fair to good and some large fish landed requiring some sprints down river to catch up to the frisky guys. Weekends have been crowded but with 30 miles of river there's plenty of places to fish."
10/12 -- GOOD
"October Caddis are on the move. There's a few flying around. The fishing has been good. There's a midge hatch followed by a light baetis hatch early in the AM and the rainbows are on the bite. You should be able to find a few fish at least! Water conditions are low and clear making for the most comfortable wading conditions possible." "Fishing is fair to good. Fish around Dunsmuir where water temperatures are cooler and fish are active for a longer period during the day. Best action in the morning is with a dry/midge or black mayfly dropper in riffles and pocket water. Midafternoon slows with the heat. After 3pm, fish the shade with caddis dries. Best of the hatch is from 5pm to dusk when temperatures cool and trout get active. Good time to start fishing October caddis pupa. October caddis are starting to get active subsurface."
9/28 -- GOOD
"The USac fishing continues to be good and some days "reel" good. I've been on the mid river up through the Dunsmuir section where I've been seeing the larger wild fish starting to wake up. The October Caddis are migrating to the banks and rocks and are beginning to exit thei casings, thus wetting their appetites. In addition caddis and mayflies are showing so the table is being set." "Flows are now at the seasons low making the river very wadeable with nearly forty miles of river to enjoy. The lower and midriver runs have produced best for us recently, particularly early and midday. ...the midday bite has picked up along with some October Caddis beginning to pop."
9/21 -- GOOD
9/20: "Fishing has been fair to good! Water conditions are ideal and it's a great time to fish this river. It's definitely not too early. Concentrate on fishing deep with nymphs. Almost anything small (#16-18) and dark in color should produce. Bring a few #8 brown rubber legs for the top nymph." 9/18: "The Upper Sac fishing remains solid. Once again the faster, more oxygenated water is producing best for nymphing. Stay away from the lazy slow water till just before dark thirty when the sippers come out or you are otherwise wasting your time. The water temp has dropped about 10 degrees and will continue to fall ...... hubba, hubba! The river flows are at their lowest now before we start getting rain, thus the fish are squeezed into their more obvious lies. Dry fly fishing and hatches remain funky but should start picking up. Let the fall season begin!" The Ward fire is under control and no smoke is visible.
9/14 -- FAIR
"Expect to work for your fish. The fishing has been fair, but who can complain about finding a fish or two in every other riffle, run or pool. We still have good water and good fishing on the Upper Sacramento River. Good reports being produced by anglers fishing late in the day, into the sunset hour. The bite is slow mid day, but pockets of activity are out there for the anglers willing to walk a distance from the common access spots. Best flies are going to be most anything that is #16-18 and dark brown or black. Think flies like midges, black micro mayflies, pseudo mays etc."
9/7 -- GOOD
"Not much has changed this week. We still have good water and good fishing on the Upper Sacramento River. Good reports being produced by anglers fishing late in the day, into the sunset hour. The bite is slow mid day, but pockets of activity are out there for the anglers willing to walk a distance from the common access spots."
8/31 -- GOOD
"Fishing is fair to good. Flows are low and water is warm in the lower river but trout fishing is remains good morning and evening. Caddis or mayflies fished in the morning will rise trout in riffles and pocket water. Reports of an early trico hatch in lower sections around Gilman and Delta around 8am, but it is short lived. Best fishing is further upstream where water temperatures are cool. Evenings are getting cooler so look for fishing to improve in coming weeks." " Evening hatches on the Upper Sac and McCloud have been unusally reliable, lasting from the time the sun goes off the water until dark thirty. The last half hour of light provides the best opportunities to target larger fish."
8/24 -- FAIR
"Mid day fishing is brutal on the angler heat wise but all the hearty anglers I had out the last couple of weeks survived (long hikes are not recommended). Both the Upper Sac and the McCloud Rivers are giving up fish with mornings and evenings offering the best opportunities(sounds like a broken record). LBS (little black shit) is still the ticket for bugs (see previous reports for recommendations)." "the Tenkara outfished the 5 wt. We had decent fishing, for mostly smaller fish - but that's what we targeted. Never fished water deeper than 4 ft."
8/16 -- GOOD
"It was a TENKARA day on the Upper Sac, and I found new water....again. A rod, a line, and a very small sling pack with one small box of flies, a spool of 5x and 6x, and my water filter straw. That was it. Packed light. Ended up having somewhere around 50 or 60 'grabs'. Hooked 10 in just one little bucket. Twice I had two fish on at the same time (using two dries). Pulled some out from under elephant ear leaves. It was all good. The fish ranged in size from 4" to 14", and I threw dries 90% of the day." "The lower river fishes better in the morning before temperatures rise. Some sporadic hatches of tricos around Gilman and Delta in the morning. Best action is to indicator nymph with a dark lord and zebra midge dropper. Get your fishing in before noon, it is really hot. Take a break and get back on the water near Dunsmuir at 6pm."
8/3 -- GOOD
"Insect hatches have died down, but the good fishing continues. Expect a lull in the action mid day. Fishing will be best in the morning hours, then again near sunset. River conditions are perfect for wet wading."
7/26 -- GOOD
From 7/24: "Flows were still a bit high [?], but trout fishing continued to be very good with mostly planters in the Dunsmuir area, and wild fish as you work downstream." Flows 230 CFS (vs 250 avg).
7/20 -- FAIR
"Both the Upper Sac and the McCloud seem to be in the pattern now of producing best in the a.m. up till about 1 ish and then again after 5 ish. Wet wading is highly recommended and falling in frequently is suggested. If you don't stay hydrated too you may regret it ..... don't try and be a camel. The theme on both rivers is fish the shade and/or heavy oxygenated water."
7/13 -- FAIR
"If you want to fish the lower river do it early in the day as the water temps are creeping to near 70 degrees late in the day. Get back on the water near Dunsmuir at 6pm and fish PMD’s, yellow stones, and caddis until dark." "the hogs are out there and so are the fish that go 14-16", the ones eating dries near sunset."
7/6 -- GOOD
"The Upper Sac is dipping to its summer time flows at the south end of 300cfs at Delta... Fishing seems best from mid river up through Dunsmuir lately. Very hot weather is predicted starting this weekend so prepare yourselves. Fish deep in the runs and try the heavier riffled water during the day ...... and don't forget the dry flies that last hour of the evening." "Great water conditions and good fishing can be found along the 35 mile length of the Upper Sacramento. Insect hatches of caddis and small #18 olive baetis can be found along the lower half, near Dog Creek. Up in Dunsmuir, there are a few lingering Golden Stones coming off. Busy caddis hatches around 10:00 AM can put rainbows on the surface. The evening fishing, just before sundown has been fun!"
6/29 -- GOOD
"The fishing remains good and will continue so until the "dog days" of summer when we'll see a bit of a drop off during those scorching afternoon heat spells. The heavy pocket water has put out some nice fish all day with the runs producing in the mornings and late afternoon. Evening hatches are good still from Sims up river and more sporadic on the lower section. There has been a very good black caddis hatch coming off as of late too around Dunsmuir."
6/21 -- GOOD
"Fishing was good on the Upper Sac again yesterday. Stone nymphs kicked out some good fish. "The best time of the year to fish that river" will come to an end soon. It's been a great spring up there!! We had some stellar sight fishing to big fish yesterday. High sticking with dry/dropper - fish sitting 2 ft. off the rod tip, casting while crouched down hiding behind bushes.... epic stuff." Upper Sac info on Kiene's.
6/15 -- VERY GOOD
"The river is in great shape right now as the spring runoff is tapering down and the hatches of salmonflies, goldenstones, and caddis have resulted in some epic dry fly fishing in the evenings." "Flows are hovering around 500 cfs and the water temp is about 60 degrees..... perfect! All methods are working and you'll find fish in all the likely spots with these conditions."
6/9 -- GOOD
"This week the Upper Sacramento has been mmm, mmm, gooooood. The river is in great shape right now as the spring runoff is tapering down and the hatches of salmonflies, goldenstones, and caddis have resulted in some epic dry fly fishing in the evenings while floating down the river. WHOAAA!!!!!!! Yep, that's right. We have been floating the Upper Sac " See Kiene's discussion on floating the Upper Sac.
6/1 -- FAIR
"The Upper Sac since my last report has dropped from 1700 cfs to 750 cfs. This is starting to get into the happy range for spring fishing. With the forecasted warm up coming this week I'm anticipating some good dry fly fishing heating up. Nymphing currently is the method of choice with more weight and length on your indicator than you think." "The fishing has been good this week. Not too many anglers on this river right now. Although river conditions are still considered high, Stoneflies, Caddis and a few Baetis are producing hook-ups along the lower half of the river."
| Upper Sacramento River Fly Shops and Guides | Fly Shop | Guide Service | Lodging | |
American Fly Fishing CompanySacramento, CA | Phone: 800-410-1222 |
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Clearwater Lodge24500 Pit One Powerhouse Road P.O. Box 920 Fall River Mills, CA | Phone: 888-600-5451 |
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Fish First!Chico, CA | Phone: 530-345-9983 |
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Harts Guide ServiceMt. Shasta, CA | Phone: 530-926-2431 |
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Jack Trout Fly Fishing Guide ServiceMt. Shasta, CA | Phone: 530-926-4540 |
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Leland Fly Fishing OutfittersSan Francisco, CA | Phone: 415-781-3474 |
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McCloud Fly Fishing AdventuresMcCloud, CA | Phone: 530-964-2533 |
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Riverbend AdventuresDouglas City, CA | Phone: 530-778-3540 |
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Shasta TroutMount Shasta, CA | Phone: 530-926-5763 |
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Ted Fay Fly ShopDunsmuir, CA | Phone: 530-235-2969 |
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The Fly ShopRedding, CA | Phone: 800-669-3474 |
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Three Rivers Guide ServiceMt. Shasta, CA | Phone: 530-925-7990 |
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Vaughns Sporting Goods Fly ShopBurney, CA | Phone: 530-335-2381 |
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Wayne EngDunsmuir, CA | Phone: 530-235-4018 |
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