Current Fishing Report

Spring means trout or … does it? The Feather offers a shot at some valley steelhead … spunky, hard fighting seafarers returning home. They're not monsters but they fight hard and made the same ocean journey as fish twice their size. Recent trips have been delivering good fishing which should improve through April and into May. Colin and Mike have been running walk and wade trips in the mountains and Mike has his Fall River boat ready to go. Luke and Kevin have been on the Lower Sac and report good fishing. Luke's always up for chasing bass on Lake Shasta and has had some solid days recently. Ben, Colin and I have all been on the Yuba which is fishing well despite the pipe burst earlier in the year. Everything is waking up and turning on. It's a good time to shake off the winter cold and hit the water.

I decided to take my dog Minnie for her first boat ride and check out the conditions on the Lower Sac. We went way down river to one of my favorite riffles. She seemed to like the ride but turned out to be an impatient fisherman. I caught a few nice smaller trout on a dry (dropper haha) and then broke out the bobber rod while we drifted down river to the takeout. The trout were pretty grabby and we caught some nice bigger fish. But then I hooked into something bigger that really gave me a tussle. If you've ever tried to drift fish by yourself while playing a fish and trying to control the boat, you know how difficult it can be. With visions of steelhead dancing in my brain I finally got the fish to the surface and it's a……… Sucker. Oh well.  In any case, the flows are perfect and the weather has been great. It was 97° today. So far no signs of the crazy flow changes we've had the last few years so I'd say conditions are ideal and it's time to book a trip on the Lower Sac!

Minnie’s first boat ride

Spring is knocking, which means trout fishing is in play but there's some spring chrome around that can be a lot of fun. We bobbered most of them but we swung one up too. If the stars, weather, bugs and fish all align, we can even tempt a few to eat a well presented dry. Bobber, swing and throw dries in the same day! Sounds fun – no promises but it can happen. The run will continue into May and is just now coming into full swing. The entire crew has been on the water, so check in with us to see what's fishing or what's coming up.

The recent storm gave the river some color and a bit more water. Think, hitting fewer rocks and more fishable water. There's been decent numbers of fish around. Swing and indicator trips have produced decent action. Is it peak steelhead time? No. Can you still have a good day with fish in the 12-20" range and the chance of bumping a larger one - yes. A nice side note is there's few boats around, so it's a very peaceful day on the water.

If you're familiar with the Trinity you might know that flows are being managed differently, with periods of high flows well beyond the norm. Currently, the river's at 3,000 CFS, which makes it high and fast. Fishing is challenging but fish are being caught. Flows will begin dropping this weekend and will quickly revert to more favorable conditions. February should offer a good late season shot at steelhead. GUIDE TIP: Focus on fighting the fish first and getting it on the reel second. If it's big enough, it'll usually put itself on the reel with a long run and if not, it probably doesn't need to be on the reel.

We're finally getting the much needed rain we've been waiting for the past two months. Trinity Reclamation also pulsed flows, so they're on the high side but still very fishable. Lately, we've been seeing more wild fish which just adds to the "cool" factor. January and February are still prime time to chase some chrome!

Hot Wild Fish

We received an early holiday gift in the form of some long awaited rain. The cfs came up and the runoff added some much needed color to what's been a month or more of gin clear water. The fish responded in typical fashion and their cooperation was welcomed. The forecast predicts rain throughout the next week, which means the river should be in excellent shape come January. GUIDE TIP: When fishing an indicator rig, speed trumps power in your hook set. A fast hook set picks up the slack and draws the flies into the fish's mouth. An overpowered hook set pulls the flies out of the fish's mouth, sending the line, indicator and flies rocketing back at you, behind you or, if on the Trinity, 20' into the trees. If you end up on the other side of the boat, you take yourself out of the game for a short time but if the result is a tangle or a skyward launch into the trees, you lose significantly more fishing time. Who wants that! Speed over power. 

I spent a fun and productive day on the water with fellow guide Mike Wright and our friend Ray today.  It rained most of the day, but not too hard.  There was just enough color coming in from the tributaries and the extra flow made boating and fishing much easier than usual.  In the morning we had good luck with trout-sized fish, but the adult steelhead bite turned on after lunch!  With the elevated flows we started connecting with adult steelhead in the tailouts.  I lost a nice fish that I hooked in front of a rootwad when it abruptly swam into the rootwad.  The highlight of the day for me was a big hatchery fish that put up a lengthy fight.  We landed and lost numerous other fish, small and large, throughout the remainder of the day.  Keep your eye on the flows and the forecast!  The Trinity will probably blow out briefly once or twice during the next two weeks, but it's going to be really good when it's fishable!

Andrew Harris with a big steelie

Mike Wright with a nice fish

Mike and Ray at the start of the day

Not Sure how it happens ? But every Client I've had in my boat this year on the Trinity has heard from their local Fly Shop or at their Local Fly Club gatherings, form Southern California to Central Oregon,  that the Trinity River has been on FIRE this season, fishing has never been better, numbers are off the Richtar Scale, etc, etc.   Hate to break the news to ya, but its a pretty average year on the Trinity, some days you get em, some days you don't. I'm always looking for fish when I'm moving from run to run and this year, from what I am seeing, is less then Exceptional ! Since I'm on the subject, Steelhead fishing reports are Absolutely Worthless, the number of Steelhead you run into today will NOT be an indicator have what you will see tomorrow. And that works both ways ! SteelHead MOVE, SteelHead get in a Funk and sometimes if you're lucky Steelhead get Grabby !The Only Steelhead report that has any value is the one you make yourself ! Put in your time, have realistic exspectations and enjoy your surroundings and hopefully the SteelHead Gods shine down upon you ! Get out there have some fun, finally I'll recomend to you, do not come up here or any SteelHead River on the Planet, because the SteelHead fishing is RED HOT !

Wild One

Trinity River Blew out top to Bottom yesterday late morning early afternoon depending were you were. The ground is now saturated up here, from much welcomed rains, but now heavy rain in any one drainage will cause it's tributaries to dirty up. The Trinity is on the drop today and fihable above Junction City. God Luck out There ! 

Most of the team has been on the Trinity or the Lower Sac the past few weeks. Both rivers have been fishing well. The Trinity saw a spike in fishing pressure after the last rain and I expect more of the same with tomorrow's storm. The rain should get the fish moving around and will add some color to the gin clear, low water. If you're thinking about a trip December and January can be good months!

Been on the Trinity for the past 7 days straight.Lots of Hype out there about the Steelhead returns on the Trinity, in my 30+ years of fishing this river and guiding it for the past 15 years, what I see is a decent return of adult Steelhead. Those that are fortunate will run into a push of Steelhead and rack up some pretty good numbers, that is a special day for sure, but it's the minotrity. Most will scratch out a fish or two per angler if they fish hard !The fishing pressure on the other hand is at an all time High ! More Boats and Bankie's then normal, one guide I spoke with counted 17 boat trailers at the take out for Steel Bridge on Friday the 7th !I've done my best to play the Chess Game and not get stuck in a Conga Line of Boats and have managed to Scratch out A few adult Steelhead each day. My Sugestion, temper your expectations, it's Steelhead fishing after all !Tight Lines and good luck out there !  

Having salmon back in our rivers is exciting. The only thing more exciting, is the trout and steelhead who show up to feast on their eggs. The Confluence team's been on the Lower Sac, Trinity, Feather and Yuba. Each river offers a different experience but the fishing is similar… excellent! Luke and I recently split two days between the Lower Sac and the Trinity. Both rivers fished great! Kevin Kay and Matt Dover have also been running trips on the Lower Sac with quite a bit of success. The Feather and the Yuba have been firing on all cylinders too. I talked with Mike Wright a few weeks ago, he said Fall River was still fishing well - check in with Mike for a more recent update. The mountains, will see October caddis in the coming weeks which can sometimes make for good, late day, dry fly action. Will I ever give a RED HOT rating? I'm unsure but the recent fishing makes it increasingly difficult to hold out. Stay tuned or better yet, join us on the water because now's the time to fish!

Fishing's picking up across the state because it's that time of year. It's tough to get a 4 star from me but the team's collective success warrants one. Luke, Kevin and Matt just wrapped up several days on the Lower Sac. which fished well for all of them. Luke also helped get the little fella in the photo a bunch of quality Lower Sac fish before he got too cold and wet. Mike Wright reports that Fall River is fishing well. It's also a beautiful time of year in that neck of the woods. Check in with Mike if you're interested. Several of the other guys are instructing at Spey Camp on the Klamath. It's exciting to hear reports on the reborn fishery. Andrew will have more information when camp wraps up. Ben, Colin and I have all been on the Yuba which is fishing well and will continue to deliver good fishing through the winter. Salmon are in the system and the trout and steelhead are hungry. I fished the Feather on my own and enjoyed some nice steelhead action on the swing. It's go time for that fishery. Last but definintely not least, the Trinity is turning out some nice fish and will only get better through February. Be excited! It's time to fish!

It's been a bit of a tough year on the Lower Sac.  From super-high flows in the spring to massive up and down flow changes, none of these things do the fishing any favors.  But now that the flows are coming down things are looking up!  I had a great day with Jesse and Andrew.  Except for a bt of a lull right after lunch, we had almost constant action from beginning to end.  We caught big fish, little fish, and in between fish.  I think I changed one or two flies all day, but even that wasn't necessary.  Altogether an ideal day: no other boats, no wind, and a double at the take out!  I expect that fishing will get better and better as we head deeper into fall.

The dog days of August are over and the crew is excited about the fall. Fishing is picking back up and steelhead become more viable every week. I was recently on the Trinity with a father and son who enjoyed a fun day of trout fishing. Trout sized fish delivered good action from start to finish. Each week, we'll be looking for more and more adults. If you like steelheading, now's the time to consider booking a day on the Feather, Yuba or Trinity. Luke and Kevin have been on the Lower Sac since the top reopened August 1st and have had some productive trips. 

The dog days of summer usually see the fishing slow down but the Yuba's been fishing well. Despite little bug activity, we're still having good action during specific bite windows. The river's been uncrowded and we're seeing some nice fish come to the net. Salmon are slowly moving into the system and the steelhead won't be too far behind. Fingers crossed, I'm expecting fishing to remain strong the rest of the season and should only get better from here forward. 

Luke Geraty and I just spent a highly productive day fishing the Klamath Basin with Dylan Woodrum.  We experienced both quantity and quality with a lot of action on smaller fish and good results with larger fish, too.  Luke and I both landed 25" rainbows and then right at the end of the day Luke topped me with a 26" rainbow.  Dylan has a few open dates left: August 14, 18, 21-22, and Sept 7 and 21.  These are prime dates - don't miss out!

The Yuba fished well through the spring and then slowed down for about a month. Recenlty, it's picked back up with some nice fishing. Hopper action still hasn't materialized but nymphing has been solid most days. The top sections of the Lower Sac reopened August 1st and fished well. Luke, Matt and I brought a good number of solid Lower Sac footballs to the net. The Trinity is fishing well for trout but now's the time to start booking for the fall, when the steelhead fishing starts in earnest. 

Delta Bass Report from Captain Bryce Tedford: "Good day with Kevin & his son Leo, caught a bunch of fish, Leo learned a ton & they had some fun!"