Current Fishing Report

Had perfect weather yesterday at Eagle Canyon for some fun stillwater action. Morning was a bit slow but things picked up once we got a little chop on the water. Streamers, nymphs and midges worked best for us both stripping and under an indicator.  Conditions at the lake are great right now with hatches going on throughout the day to keep you busy. 

Troy with a nice one!

This rainbow towed Ron around for a bit.

I decided to go out today and and see if the Sac is ready to go.  The visibility is still about two feet and I didn't see a single insect all day.  I did see a few fish rolling - so that was somewhat encouraging.  With the limited visibilty, the challenge is getting the fish to see the flies.  We spent some time runnning laps on all my favorite runs and only had one hook-up all day.  The good news is after tomorrow's rain, it looks like we have about 10 days of dry weather and that should help to improve conditions.

Skip from southern California had this to say about his trip to Eagle Canyon today:"We all caught fish and had an excellent time.  Lower lake was hot.  Heater got us warm for lunch.  Coffee in the morning was a nice touch.  We would do it again in a heart beat. Thanks Skip.  By the way....The Fish were gigantic and made for big smiles" 

We have just set the dates for our 2017 Guide School.  It will start Memorial Day Weekend and runs Saturday to Saturday, May 27th through June 3rd.  Dax Messett, Gino Bernero, and Andrew Harris will be the primary instructors. Our goal is to give our students a solid foundation of fly fishing skills, the ability to teach those skills in a guided fishing or clinic environment, and the knowledge to chart a course toward becoming a successful fly fishing guide. During this intense 7-day program you will be exposed to many guides with varying perspectives on their profession. You will learn the techniques used to catch selective trout wherever they’re found. Most importantly, you’ll get plenty of chances to be the guide and learn what it’s all about.During the week we spend time on many of the great fisheries of northern California, including Hat Creek, the Pit River, McCloud River, Fall River, the Lower Sac, and various smaller streams.The cost for the week-long program is $1595 and includes the school, accommodations, all lunches, and two dinners.  

Gino just sent these photos from his guide trip today in southern Oregon.  His guest Ted landed an amazing wild buck.  Great fish, and it's nice to see that there is fishable water somewhere within 500 miles of here!

Gino's guest Ted with a huge steelhead

Ted's big fish

The countdown is on for one last shot at a winter steelhead as we near the March 31st deadline. After that the Smith and Trinity Rivers will remain open. We had a brief window last week that saw almost all of our South County rivers come into play. I spent two hard days fishing the South Fork Eel with father and son team Tim and Dominic. We had everything you could hope for minus the fish. Great color, mild weather, and no pressure. Currently we're seeing another bout of wet weather that has everything turing brown, everything except for the Smith. These are some of the most enjoyable days to target these powerful sea run fish. Warm mild weather and light angling pressure make March a unequally special time to venture north in hopes of swining one up before the closing bell tolls. If you're curious about more in depth fishining info or looking to book a trip feel free to call. 602 717 0315.Tight lines!

Father and son duo Tim and Dominic Bruno swinging the S. Fork Eel

Surveyor

Fresh lilies usher in Spring

Perfect color over the weekend with non existent pressure made for some relaxing days on the water

Sam Robinett and I spent a few hours this morning scouting the Lower Sac.  It is still very muddy, with somewhere between 12 and 18 inches of visibility.  We floated Posse Grounds to Bonnyview and did not hook a single fish.  We did see fish jumping, though, so I think they're still in there!  We were also amazed by some of the changes to the river that resulted from the very high flows in the past two months.  There are some new gravel bars, some missing landmarks and a lot of devastation along the banks.  It will be fun to learn how to fish some of these new spots when the water clears up.  We'll keep you posted on conditions.

A very lonely Posse Grounds boat ramp

A little recap from a recent trip I made to Pyramid Lake. I got to reconnect with two of my 2016 Confluence Outfitters Guide School alumni; Aaron Silverman and Robert Maldonado for an epic weekend of cutthroat fishing. Aaron is a Reno native and Pyramid Lake insider, providing Robert and I the good fortune of having our own personal guide for our fist time on the lake. Simply put, Pyramid is a strange place with strange fish. I'm hooked. We didn't rope in any monsters, but we all had a great time and each of us landed some nice fish. The only downside? Our brother Dylan Hartsell coudln't make it out! Next time. 

Aaron braves the cold hoping for a tug

Aaron with a specimen

Battle ready. These fish are like nothing else

Yours truly, getting bent

Robert with a colored up buck. Post blizzard

Back they go, to feed and grow.

The steelhead season on the Trinity is still going on believe it or not with minimal pressure. The river is in great shape actually; flows and water clarity are ripe but it's been tough. With limited opportunities it's essential to be quick at those hooks-sets and never assume it's a rock! I feel like Paul Ryan with his sleeves rolled up when I start posting river flow charts, nonetheless the lower Sac is starting to settle down. With these higher flows it opens up a lot new water and opportunities to catch fish.  Tight lines. Sam R. (530)722-5994

Trinity River is fishable D.C. /J.C.

Lower Sac - it's time!

Fishing was good today at Eagle Canyon, but we had to wait for it.  The weather was incredible all day with just the slightest breeze and a great view of Mt. Lassen.  Fishing was tough all morning with cruising fish refusing our flies time and again.  We had a little action on a brown rubberlegs size 8 but mostly refusals.  The bite turned on around 2pm and the fly of the day was the "baetis nymph" pattern formerly of Idywilde Flies and now sold by Umpqua, size 16 or 18.  It's a drab grey pattern with a bead and no flashy stuff.  It worked well fished under an indicator.  We fished a lot of 5X tippet today - that was a challenge but it seemed to help get us more grabs.  The bite got really good around 4 to 5pm.

Jackie with a big one

The flows are currently at 16,300 CFS and steadily decreasing to 8,500 CFS by the 15th.  The visibility is improving - I'd say it was approximately 12-18 inches.  As the flows drop, it is exposing quite a bit of silt on the boat ramps.  Be careful when launching.

Well the Steelhead Season is starting to wind down here on the Trinity. It's been a challenging Season this year on the Trin, between, at what seemed like at times non-stop rain and snow to low fish counts. The one thing this Season has reconfirmed is that like many other things in Nature, Steelhead fishing is cyclical, it has it's high points and low points, having said that some of my clients had outstanding days on the river, right place, right time, nothing that could be predicted other then putting in the time and dedication to the sport.As one Steelhead Season comes to a close another one is just around the corner, not too early to start planning a Steelhead trip to the Lower Klamath ! The Summer Run starts to show in the Lower Klamath in July, I will be focusing my time guiding there in Septemeber and October when the run typically starts to thicken and the crowds start to thin. I use my jet boat to access some of the best swing water in the Lower 48, we use Spey rods and Classic Swing tactics to target these Crome Bright Steelhead, we usually encounter a mix of adults and 1/2 pounders, Hatchery and Wild ! Mild weather and Beautiful suroundings, just hard to beat ! 

Now that the flows are at a fishable level, I wanted to check on the visibility.  I checked the Posse Grounds and Bonnyview boat ramps and would say the visibilty is 6-12 inches.  I'll report again in a couple days.

Flows on the Lower Sac are projected to drop down to 14,000cfs by this coming Saturday.  That's a great flow to fish (from a drift boat) and we're excited to get back out on the river soon.  Hopefully the clarity will improve as the river drops.  The fishing should be pretty awesome once the river drops into shape.  Stay tuned for an update on the water clarity later this week.

Had the pleasure of guiding Dave from Napa on the Trinity. Despite being on the slow side, Dave landed a wild adult. The weather has been all over the place lately so dress accordingly! 

Dave with a wild adult

I fished the Smith earlier this week with a few friends and while none of us hooked up we were able to spot a few fish from the bank. It's getting to that point in the season where it can really pay off to focus on the upper river. Lot's of fish have made it in at this point and are queuing up to spawn. We even spied a few who were actively spawing and got to sit back and watch the show! The boat guys were doing well fishing the main stem below the forks with averages of 2-4 fish per boat. We all had our fingers crossed for a prolonged dry spell letting some of our other rivers come into play, but just like that another system is projected to sack the coast this weekend keeping everything high and muddy. The Smith looks to rise several feet over the weekend with another push early next week. It should fish well as it falls through the end of next week into the weekend. Early spring ushers in some of the most enjoyable days to be on the water here on the North Coast. Warm day time temps and the first blooms of the season make those dreary winter days feel like a distant memory. I have open dates for those who are looking for a late season shot at sea run chrome! 

Manzanita blossoms. The first signs of Spring.

Neil punches a cast on the upper Smith River

Spey rods and dry bags taking a load off after another hard day of fishing

Searching for signs of life

We fished hard today and were fortunate enough to land one nice hatchery adult and several half-pounders.  We hooked into a second smaller adult, but as they say - easy come, easy go.

 The fishing is slowing down, but there are still some very nice fish in the system.  The flows are steadily dropping and the color is ideal, but there is another storm forecast for this weekend.  We landed one fresh wild fish and a few half-pounders today.

Bob with a beautiful wild fish!

There are still some fresh wild steelhead to be found on the Trinity River.  We hooked into 3 today plus a few trout.  The water is high but the color is perfect.  There was a great march brown hatch today but I didn't see any trout poking their heads up.

George with a nice wild buck

John with another wild one

Here are some photos from our guests at Eagle Canyon today.  Fishing was pretty tough, but about 8 nice fish were landed.