Current Fishing Report

Kevin Kay, Luke Geraty, and I worked together with a really fun group from Napa. This was an Eagle Canyon – Lower Sac Combo trip. As usual, our guest’s “perspective” on what qualifies as a really nice fish are significantly skewed after they spent the day fighting the brutes at Eagle Canyon! I had a really great time with my guests Robin and Paul. As has been the recent norm, the fish have been pretty tight-lipped in the mornings, but the grab starts heating up by late-morning. Before lunch, both Robin and Paul had hooked into a handful of nice fish – including Robin’s really big sucker (picture not allowed)! After lunch, things really heated up and we ended up hooking quite a few fish. The majority of our fish were the typical cookie-cutter (12”-14”), but we landed a handful in the 16” range and Paul landed a fatty in the 18”-19” range!  The boat pressure is very light this time of year, so if you’re willing to work hard - you will be rewarded with some really nice fish!

Paul with a nice one

The fall striper season is winding down on the California Delta, but Captain Bryce Tedford was still able to find a few fish for his guest David today.  Bryce gets some time off now but he's ready to get you booked for the spring season which begins in March.  Check is calendar for open dates!

David with a delta striper

I spent a fun day out on the Lower Sac with fellow guide Ben Thompson today.  It was cold and rainy but we managed to find some small to medium fish and then ended our day with a really nice fish.  Fishing pressure is minimal right now and every day on the Lower Sac brings a chance at a fish like this.

Ben with a nice Lower Sac trout - or is it a steelhead?

Here is a guest report from Tony who fished Eagle Canyon today:Eagle Canyon Lakes never disappoints and this year was no exception.  Even though we were greeted with rain throughout the day it did not  hamper the fishing at all. Our group had two rookies that had never  fished Eagle Canyon before and were pleasantly surprised with the experience. Within the first 5 minutes of fishing we already had 2 hookups. The fish seemed to be attacking dark colored streamers with  varying retrieval speeds. The fishing was pretty steady throughout the  day with a lull around mid day. That gave us a chance to enjoy a BBQ  lunch in the shed by the lake. The fish at Eagle Canyon are a breed all  their own and pictures don’t do them justice. They are broad shouldered  and run like a freight train when hooked. Our group hooked about 50  fish and landed around 32. Eagle Canyon Lakes is a 5 star facility and  the fish are one of a kind. It is a bucket list destination for the fly  fishing enthusiast. 

Fred with his first Eagle Canyon trophy.

Nice trout to end the day in the upper lake.

Matt with a really nice Eagle Canyon beauty.

Tony with a huge one!

Tony fooled this nice trout on a dark colored streamer.

Eagle Canyon “rookie” Eric with a nice one.

Eric fooled this one on a quickly stripped streamer.

Adam and Wiley get a vote for committed anglers of the year.  We took a very wet, yet productive drift down the Lower Sac on Sunday!  The rain was heavy and consistent from the time we launched through about 3:00 pm.  The guys were in great spirits and had the right kind of attitude to fish on a day like that.  Both had never fished from a drift boat before and despite a slow morning, were ready for when things got going in the afternoon.  By the end of the day we boated a dozen fish and had a ball despite all that Mother Nature threw at us. Awesome day!  

Literally chasing Rainbows!

Suns out! Guns out!

Good stuff in the down pour!

This morning I awoke to the most pleasant sound a steelhead fisherman can ever hope to hear: the hard patter of rain beating steadily against the gutters. Finally, after a dismal Fall of very little precipitation for our Northern California steelhead rivers, we have rain. Being well into the month of December, accompanied by a generous forecast of rain with a  prediction to see all of our coastal systems on a steep rise towards the end of this coming week I feel like it's safe to say that winter steelhead season has come again at last. Time to dust off your skagit heads and organize your tip wallets for another season of swinging flies for saltwater rainbows. Put away the 5 and 6 weights for next time and bring out the big guns. For everyone out there who spends a majority of their year dreaming of green water and hard fighting silver fish this push of rain marks the official kickoff. Let the games begin. Keep checking in for more condition reports and local info. Stay safe and healthy friends. 

Green water and a deeply bent rod. What winter steelhead fishing is all about

A prime specimen taken during last season. Fish like this keep you coming back for more

winter workshop with all the fixings.

December on the Lower Sac can be really nice because you often have the river all to yourself, the weather may be sunny and on the warmer side of things, and there are still some big fish in the river. But it can also be really cold, rainy, and tougher fishing. Yesterday I was grateful to have it be the former and not the latter! John and Dave were both experienced anglers, so casting fly rods they could do! John has fished the Lower Sac a bit and it was Dave's first time as well as his second time with the big bobbers and multiple flies and weights and yada yada. Needless to say, he picked it up and we were off. The fishing was pretty slow to start with, as is typical in December. No bug activity... not even a midge was moving around as far as I could tell. But we got to the "golden hour" and things turned on and they pretty much stayed on for the rest of the day. I think it's always a bit challenging to transition out of "egg bite" into December for a variety of reasons, but yesterday the river fished well and these guys caught some big fish, including a number of nice steelhead. Steak seems to be the preferred menu item for the trout right now but we also caught a few on some smaller mayfly and midge patterns. John's fly rod was on fire and it didn't seem to matter if he was in the front or the back of the boat -- he was getting grabs. But apparently the last time these two fished, it was Dave who had the hot stick, so I suppose all things equal out in the grand scheme of life. In addition to the numerous 18+ inch fish that John landed, he lost a fish that was easily in the 24 inch range after it made a huge jump and broke off the 4X tippet. But he really couldn't complain too much because he was crushing it. I was trying to figure out why John was getting the majority of the grabs when they were *literally* using the same exact everything, but John told me that most of the time in their 50 years of friendship, Dave would end up with the bigger fish. Well... that's exactly what happened. Deep into the 9th inning, about thirty seconds before it was gonna be a "pull 'em in boys, it's time to head in because the sun is setting" moment, Dave hooked a really nice 22inch steelhead to close out the game. I'd say that was a grand slam of a hit and the best way to end the day. I'm pretty stoked for January and February because we get some nice dry fly hatches and we can start targeting trout on some "Montana" set ups! Start thinking about booking your next trip today and don't forget about the Trinity! It's popping off!

A healthy Lower Sac trout troll that lives under a bridge!

A heavy fish that pulled and pulled and pulled...

Dave’s 9th inning 22incher.

John was crushing it from the front and back of the boat!

What can I say- the Yuba has been fishing well. The fish are chowing a variety of offerings and we are finding quality fish. We are regularly seeing golden eagles, bald eagles and osprey. December is a great month to get out there and experience it all from a drift boat. 

Here is a fishing report from return guest Peter who fished Eagle Canyon today with his dad: "We had an awesome time! We landed 21 fish out of 30. As  you can see, we got to weigh one of the giants and the scale said  18.6lbs. The majority of the fish were on variations of a midnight cowboy. However, we did get some fish on variations of the copper john nymph. We got fish  both on the strip and under an indicator. The fish were into a slow strip during the first half of the day and then got excited for a fast strip in the afternoon. Both ponds produced well." 

Yup - that says 18.6#. Minus the net.

Spent a really good day on the Trinity with Sean and Doug. The morning was really slow and we didn't touch a fish until a round 2:00pm, but the afternoon was worth the wait. We boated four nice fish and had a ball. Overall a great day for the conditions and as always, the company made the day even better!

What a great day!

Doug’s best of the day!!

Sean’s first steelhead on a fly!

Captain Bryce Tedford spent the last two days guiding some of our guests on the Delta.  Bryce says fishing has been tough lately but the last two days were much better.  Beautiful weather sometimes makes for tough fishing, but I think the last two days were an exception!

Here is a guest report from Dave who fished Eagle Canyon today:Scot Brenton, his young nephew Will and Dave Earl fished ECL Thursday  December 3. Conditions were great, fishing was fairly steady throughout  the day. It was Wills 1st ever trout fishing trip. As usual for ECL flys  and tactics need to be changed regularly to stay in the grab zone. The  size and fight of these fish is outstanding. ECL, one of a kind  fishery!! 

Dave

Scot

Will's first day of trout fishing

We have been consistently getting into good sized valley steelhead this season on the Feather. Some people think it is late now but we are still having success every trip and are running trips there through the end of December. Many of the other anglers have disappeared and we have been doing a variety of different floats to avoid them and hit the best producing water each trip. 

I spent a few hours on the Lower Sac today with fellow guide Kevin Kay.  The wind was blowing hard and the leaf hatch was intense.  It was hard not to hook leaves at times, but we did manage to fool some fish when our flies weren't fouled.  This is a great time of year to chase steelhead on the lower river.  We found one nice one today.  Boat traffic is pretty light and fishing is good - come up and see for yourself!

Andrew with a fin-clipped steelhead on the Sac

After a chilly morning, it turned out to be a beautiful day for my guests Steve and Julian. This was Julian’s first time fly fishing and he began the day unsure, but by lunch he was completely hooked! The grab was spotty at first but picked up by mid-morning and stayed consistent throughout the afternoon. Both of them hooked into a good number of fish and Julian’s first fish gave him quite a fight! Steve hooked into a couple of really nice fish, but they wanted nothing to do with my net.  All of our fish came on rubberlegs and small mayfly nymphs. The fall colors are beautiful right now and the boat traffic is pretty light.

Julian with his first trout on a fly!

Mel and David fish a lot and really enjoy steelheading on the Trinity. In spite of non-steelhead conditions (sunny mild weather and low clear water) we ended up having a great day. The first 3/4 of the day was very slow (do I smell a skunk?) but in the late innings Mel had a flurry of grabs. We landed a couple and lost a couple! At the end of the day you just have to show up and fish. You can’t catch steelhead sitting on the couch!

Mel with a good one

Even the smaller ones are fighters

Due to a cancellation we now have an opening on December 1st.  We can accommodate a group of 3 to 8 anglers on this date.  Let us know ASAP if you are interested in this date! 

Well the egg bite has come to an end and the crowds have disappeared but fishing the Lower Sac can still kick out some rewards that will make anyone's day. Kevin Kay and I did a little recon trip the day before Thanksgiving in order to try our hand at catching something to make us grateful and the river didn't disappoint. We put a few really nice fish in the net and enjoyed having Kevin's wife, Cathi, join us in the catching fun! While the egg bite is no longer in full swing like it was in October, there are still salmon here and there and we did get a couple on eggs... but the majority of fish were on tiny mayflies or midges. It's definitely really relaxing now that all of the crowds have spread out in search of steelhead but, to be honest, somewhat surprising. The fishing isn't like it was in October with the insanity of the fish going crazy for eggs, but there are still some BIG fish in the river and they have to eat sometime, right? So while there are slow days and great days for everyone, it's hard to beat fly fishing in northern California this time of year because the temperatures are comfortable, the scenery is gorgeous, and the fish are generally willing and able to give you a fight. I should also mention that the last day I was on the Trinity with some guests we hooked about six ADULT steelhead and a handful of half pounders. The weather was TERRIBLE (just the way we like it for steelheading) and the fishing was FANTASTIC (abnormally so). All that is to say that if would absolutely make sense for you to book a trip on the Lower Sacramento River and/or the Trinity now! Take some time for some trout and some steelhead because we all know that this year has been crazy and fly fishing is definitely a way to shed off the anxiety and enjoy nature. You'll probably forget all about the craziness... I know that I do each and every time I get out on the river. Hit us up and let's go catch some fish!

Underwater rockets.

Kevin put a few good ones in the net.

Cathi was a pro.

SHOULDERS!

We're in our tenth season now at Eagle Canyon and this year's Opening Day was one of the best I can remember.  The fishing was off the hook all day long and the size of the fish was off the charts.  Our fish are absolutely huge this year, weighing in at a whopping 7.5 pound average!  We had 8 guests from the Chico/Orland area and they had a fantastic day, landing many fish over the ten pound mark.  Beadhead woolly buggers and other large streamers tied to 2X tippet were the ticket today.  Our guests today have been to Eagle Canyon numerous times.  They love Eagle Canyon because it's a great place to spend the day fishing with friends.  Like many of our other groups, they like to bring a grill and cook a nice lunch.  They couldn't have picked a better day to enjoy some fantastic weather, amazing fishing, and a fun day on the water.

Mark caught the biggest fish of the day

Mike with one of many

Verne with his first fish of the day

Steven with a big one

Matt finished the day with this fish

Fun times at Eagle Canyon

Just wrapped up a two day swing trip on the Trinity with newcomer to spey Peter. On the first day we went over casting fundamentals on a day that seemed tailor made for swinging flies to steelhead: we had constant rain, heavy cloud cover, and a river with a healthy tea stain. Peter found a player in the third run of the day. After an epic grab followed by a brief and choatic skirmish the fish got the best of us and was off. We tried to cover as much ground as possible in hopes of intercepting another moving fish as the river was on the rise for the entirety of day one. We fished down as low as the S. Fork confluence where the tea stain turned to slate with the influence of the heavily off color major trib pumping in sediment. On day two we floated the upper river and improved on the different casting techniques we had gone over on day one. You would harldy have known that the prior two days had been nothing but rain on the float we did. The water was gin clear up above the N. Fork confluence. We fished hard but came up empty handed. Even the guys fishing from boats reported tough fishing on that stretch for the day. Peter's casting improved considerably on day two and by the last run he was sending them to the far bank with ease. Interestingly enough when I got home to check what the river had been doing during our two day trip I was surprised to see a very dramatic rise in CFS below the N. Fork confluence and hardly any substantial change above it. All in all fishing on the Trinity is solid. There should be plenty of fish making their way up into the higher stretches of the river with the healthy bump in flows. Whenever we are graced with the next round of substantial rain on the coast winter steelhead will be on the menu. Happy Thanksgiving and stay tuned! 

Peter getting bent early in the day