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Lower Sac

An angler with a wild trout caught near the Sundial Bridge
Guided Float Trips
Full Days: $600 for 1-2 Anglers or $650 including hotel pickup and shuttle
Half Days: $450 for 1-2 Anglers or $500 including hotel pickup and shuttle
  • Year-round
  • Drift Boat Trips

The Lower Sacramento River between Redding and Red Bluff is California´s premier wild trout fishery. It is one of the few destinations where anglers can expect to hook into 18+" fish on a regular basis. Clear, cold, consistent flows coming out of Lake Shasta provide excellent conditions for the aquatic insects that trout eat. The Lower Sac is open to fishing year round. The Confluence Outfitters guide team can get you hooked up with quality wild trout on the Lower Sac at any time of year!

Lower Sac guide trips usually start between 7am and 9am depending on arrangements made with your guide. Most of our Lower Sac guide trips are drift boat trips, although we also do a lot of jet boat trips for folks who want to use Trout Spey techniques. Most of our guests opt for the shuttle-included rate, which means your guide can pick you up at your hotel and then drop you off again at the end of the day. If you opt to not include a shuttle, then plan on following your guide to the river in your own vehicle and assisting with shuttling the guide's vehicle to the take-out. You can hop into the boat in regular street clothes most days - waders are only necessary in inclement weather. Our guides can put more fish in the net by keeping their guests in the boat all day, but will definitely accommodate you if you want to do some wade fishing. Most days we fish nymphs and indicators all day long. Lunch is served on the river and trips usually wrap up by 5:30pm. On any given day you could be on one of six full-day floats - well over 60 miles of river. If fishing is red-hot in one area, our guides will sometimes do the same short float twice in one day.

Dry fly fishing can be very good almost any time of year. Our guides are always on the lookout for splashy rises in shallow riffles and stealthy risers in the flats. The best time for dry fly fishing is usually after lunch when water temperatures are warmer and there is more bug activity. If you have an interest in dry fly fishing please let your guide know so he can plan the day accordingly. The fish don't rise everywhere - you really have to be in the right place at the right time.

Lower Sac Guide Team

Our Lower Sac guide team includes Andrew Harris, Brian Kohlman, Kevin Kay, Luke Geraty, Ben Thompson, Peter Santley, Colin Coogan, Mike Wright, Scott Saiki, Mat Squillante, and Andreas Fuhrmann.

Recent Lower Sac Fishing Reports

Lower Sac Fishing Image
June 2, 2024
Lower Sac Report by Andrew Harris

Shad are plentiful in the Sacramento River below Red Bluff right now.  These fish run from 1-5 pounds with most in the 1-2 pound range.  They like to hold in swift water and fight really hard.  They also like to eat ridiculous brightly-colored flies that no other fish would eat.  Luke Geraty is doing PM Shad trips this summer.  The shad will be around at least through the end of June and probably well into July.  Book an afternoon trip and see what it's all about!

Lower Sac Fishing Image
May 23, 2024
Lower Sac Report by Luke Geraty

Well the shad have started showing up and we have been getting into them! While some are using nymphing techniques, the primary way we have been hooking shad has been swinging flies! This is a GREAT half day evening trip and the shad pull SUPER hard. No wonder they are called the "poor man's tarpon" :) If you wanna get out for an evening of shad, hit me up! We should have shad for the next month or two! First timer's are welcome and this is a kid friendly experience!

Lower Sac Fishing Image
May 4, 2024
Lower Sac Report by Luke Geraty

Erik and his son Max came up to fish the Lower Sac and we had a good mid-morning to early afternoon. The flows were right around 6,000cfs and though there wasn't a lot of bug action throughout the day, the fish were pretty grabby between 10am and about 1:30pm. This was their first Lower Sac float trip and they both landed some nice wild trout and had a decent amount of grabs. Max learned quickly that you got to set the hook quickly and though we lose a few fish and missed a few fish, a lot of fun was had! The flows are about to spike up to 11,000cfs tonight and it's gonna be a few days before the river fishes good again, a lot of us are very anxious for the caddis to start popping off in larger numbers, which is usually when I like to start doing half day afternoon/evening floats. We did see a few PMD's throughout the day and most of our fish were caught on mayfly immitations... but definitely not a lot of bugs around on the surface or any hatches of note. Still a super fun day and was very fun! I think Max is hooked and he loved the constant action and attention involved in fly fishing! 

Lower Sac Hatch Chart

Mayflies
March Browns
Baetis
PMD
Callibaetis
Caddisflies
Brachycentrus
Rhyacophila
Hydropsyche
Stoneflies
Golden Stones
Giant Stoneflies
Little Yellow Stones
Other
Salmon Eggs
Steelhead Present
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Lodging Recommendations

The Lower Sac runs right through Redding and Red Bluff. Please visit our Redding Info Page and Red Bluff Info Page for ideas on lodging, logistics, and other activities in the area.

Lower Sac Photo Gallery

A very large trout on the Lower Sac
Fishing the edges of the current from the drift boat on the Lower Sac
Fishing some interesting water on the Lower Sac
A guest with a great wild rainbow trout from the Lower Sac
Wade fishing can be very productive on the Lower Sac
Guide Andrew Harris lands a Lower Sac rainbow
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