Current Fishing Report

I fished the Pit River for about 3 hours yesterday and it was excellent.  I tested out my 13.5' Tenkara rod and found fish in almost every pocket.  Just about any size 14-16 nymph worked well.  Most of the fish on Pit 3 are 9-12, but I caught a couple of fat 14-15 inchers. The Tenkara rod is a high-sticking machine - read the next issue of California Fly Fisher Magazine for my review of these rods.

I've been out hexing almost every night for the past week.  The hatch is pretty consistent and there are plenty of big fish rising.  The action starts around 8:30pm and goes until dusk.  Most nights we have dozens of grabs on our big dries.  The fish can be hard to hook, so landing more than four or five fish in an evening is challenging. Daytime fishing has also been good.  Fish are feeding on hex dries and nymphs, water boatmen, callibaetis, and PMDs.

Matt during the hex hatch

The hex hatch is amazingly thick this year.  There have been a few hexes hatching in the morning hours on certain days, too.  The callibaetis hatch is getting thicker and the diversity of angling opportunities is increasing by the day on Fall River.  This hex hatch should last at least another month.  Check out our openings for July before it's too late.  

This spring and summer has provided some excellent fishing so far.  The weather has been quite variable, brutal at times...but the fishing has been great overall.   Current conditions: Fall River: Be prepared for wind, other anglers, and tough fishing at times.  But also be ready for the odd daytime hex hatch, as well as bwo and pmd hatches from 11:30-2 with epic dry fly moments for the patient angler.  I've seen multiple fish in that 18-20 inch range hooked and landed this past week.  Bring your A game and be patient, and you will have a shot at some epic moments.  Zug Bug Alley, and the other upper famous runs have thousands of terrified fish stacked in them. Mac: Superb dry fly fishing on overcast days.  Slow in the mornings, but really good from mid afternoon on. Hat Creek: It's been kinda chilly for the trico spinner fall, but it should be pretty consistent soon. Pit: Charge hard and cover water, and you will catch plenty of fish. Burney:  Crowded and few fish above the falls.  Some nice wild fish are below the falls. Baum: No idea...but it should be pretty good now. Manzinita: Its been cold and windy, but warmer weather is expected next week.  Should be some players cruising the flats chowing drys. Small Creeks:  Perfect!  The cooler weather has kept the small creeks fishing quite well.  Thanks to the A list of clients I've had the pleasure of fishing with this past month:  The Grunbaums, Kennedy's, Mcmaster's, Bossow's, Carrol's, Mason's, and the Cal Trout crew for making this past month such a memorable one.  Some truly epic moments were had by all. If you want to fish with me you will have to wait until late November on the Trinity.  I will be there for about 3 weeks chasing steelhead...book sooner rather than later.

I've been on Fall River the past four days.  We've had some strange weather the last two days with a lot of rain and cold hard wind.  Hex usually like hot and calm weather, so I was supprised two nights ago to see the largest hatch of the season.  It came at the end of a very windy and wet day.  Right at dusk the wind died and the bugs hatched in amazing numbers.  Too many bugs, in fact.  Fortunately we landed a couple of nice 18 rainbows before the hatch got too thick. Daytime fishing has also been good on Fall River.  PMDs are hatching mid-day, and we should see the first water boatmen when the weather heats up again.  The hex hatch should go well into July.

Garey and Jeremy

Hex spinners on the water

Hex adult

I just finished up 3 days of excellent fishing with Gary from Chico and Tom from San Rafael.   We got around in the three days:  Burney Creek fished great with dry flies.  There are huge salmonflies all over the place at Burney.  The fish seemed to prefer a size 8 golden stone, but any kind of stimulator worked well.  We caught several nice wild browns.  The Upper Mac is fishing great, too.  The hatch is a mix of little yellow sallies and small golden stones.  The resident redbands and browns were eager to eat our dry flies. Fall River fished especially well.  We were treated to some overcast skies and a five hour long hatch of PMDs.  The big fish were cruising the flats aggressively feeding on nymphs, emergers, and dries.  We hooked a lot of fish 14-18 during the day. The hex hatch on Fall River is great right now.  There are almost too many bugs, though.  We got some great grabs and hookups, but the fishing is better when there are fewer bugs on the water.

Just finished up a 3 day pillage fest on the Mac and Fall River with Bill and Richard. Fishing has been excellent on most local waters. The hex hatch is going off but the wind makes it tough. Our available days for guiding and accommodation are almost booked for the summer so make plans for your trip soon..

Epic hex hatch last night! Conditions were windy and brutal but I landed a giant fish well over 20 inches...thought it was a dirty muscrat for awhile... Not many openings left to fish the most insane hatch on Earth...I'll be out for the next 40 nights or so. Confluence has access right where it happens.

The Lower Sac doesn't get much slower than this.  There was a great PMD hatch today but the fish just were not on the job at all.  Flows have bumped up 500cfs a day the last two days and the fish are in a funk.  It should fish really well tomorrow or the next day when the fish get back into a feeding mode.

Dan with a football

Dax had a last-minute cancellation and is now available June 22-24.  These are prime dates if you're able to book on short notice. Did I mention the hex hatch has started and is happening big time?

The grasshoppers are taking over here in Red Bluff.  They were about a quarter inch long a week ago and now some of the bigger ones are about 3/4 in length. They're devastating our front yard, but they are pretty cool to look at!  Let's hope some fall in the river and we have a hopper grab on the Lower Sac this summer!

I only have 8 available days left on my calendar for this summer, which are in the first few weeks of July.  You'll have to wait till late November on the Trinity if you want to fish with me unless you are already booked.   Current Fishing Report: Fall River: This will be the best hex hatch we've seen in a long time, and the last few years were epic.  Confluence has prime access on the upper and lower river, and we fish the hex every night.Pressure is very, very high on the upper river.  Prime time is between 11 and 2, but you can scratch some fish up before and after prime time.  The dry fly grab is tough, but there are windows of opportunity if you are patient.  Weeds are finally starting to grow and the hatches are starting to happen more often.  Overcast days are the best...like everywhere else. Pit: Fishing is great if you can cover alot of water.  There are slow periods during the day, but if you stick it out you should do pretty good.  Pressure is moderate Hat Creek: The last few days of hot weather got the big stones out again.  Pressure is high at the powerhouse riffle and very low in the flat water.  Cassel Flats has a bunch of truck trout in it that will eat drys when there is a hatch...nothing wrong with that! The Mac: Pressure is varied, no rhyme or reason to it.  All you can do is go and if it is crowded, go to another access point.  Fishing is scratchy in the morning and good in the late afternoon and evening. Baum Lake: No idea.   Manzinita Lake: Fishing is picking up.  You can target cruising fish with dry flys all day if that is your thing (it's my thing).  Confluence Outfitters has a permit to guide all the waters of Lassen Park...does your guide?  The answer is, no. Smaller Creeks: Fishing is slow in the mornings and great in the afternoons.  3wt and dry fly...good stuff.  Often I fish the Fall until it shuts off then head to one of these smaller creeks. We have very limited availability for our guide days and accommodations, so you need to book early if you want to fish with the A Team.

Beautiful Manzinita Lake

Confluence is dog friendly!

One of Kelly's many, many fish

On Sunday I guided Andy and Ryan from Portola Valley, we fished the Pit River, Burney Creek and Hat Creek and had success on all.  Hooked and landed a few Pit river natives to start the day and moved onto Burney Creek and Hat Creek in the afternoon where each hooked and landed quite a few rainbow's each, a fine mix of native's and planter's.  The fishing should only improve over the next month or so, make some time and book a trip now! 

Gino, Dax & I had a great day today at the 3rd Annual Spey Fest put on by the Shasta/Trinity Fly Fishers.  Dax started the day with a presentation about Common Spey Casting faults and fixes.  I gave a presentation right before lunch about lightweight spey rods for Lower Sac Trout.  There were a ton of vendors there and attendees got to sample all of the best spey rods in one of the best swing runs on the whole river.  Don't miss this event next year!

Andrew talking about lightweight spey rods

Dax Messett (aka Max Dessett) wired for sound

Dax and I spent the afternoon on the Lower Sac prepping for our Spey Fest presentations.  After we practiced casting with our spey rods, we switched gears and did a little bit of Tenkara fishing.  Trout were rising all over the place in the choppy riffles.  I fished a 13.5foot Tenkara rod with about 13 feet of level line and a 5foot tippet.  We took turns stalking rising fish with this setup.  The fish were chowing down despite the high winds.  Dax and I hooked well over 20 fish on dries.  The fish ate parachute adams and limestone cripple PMD imitations.  It was a pretty fun way to fish.  It's amazing how close you can get to these fish in the fast water.

Where is the reel?

Fish on

Daxkara

The weather has been crazy this past week but the fishing has been excellent on all waters. The Mac and Burney have had superb Green Drake hatches when the clouds are out. Fall River is starting to have alot more windows of dry fly opportunities. The Pit is fishing well. Hat is fishing ok. Small Creeks are on fire. Life is good up here! Fishing should be excellent this weekend, but you should check out the spey fest on the lower sac, where Drew, Gino, and I will be giving presentations. It will be a great event for anyone interested in spey casting. Stop at our booth and say hi.

The Pit River is fishing incredibly well.  Bruce and I started out the day with a couple 15-16 rainbows on nymphs.  We worked on indicatorless nymphing, which was new to Bruce.  He learned the technique quickly!  We detoured to Burney Creek for a while and caught a few more fish, then hit another section of the Pit.  There were little yellow stones flying all over the place and fish were visibly feeding.  Bruce landed dozens of fish from 8 to 14 on dry flies.  It was the best mid-day dry fly fishing I've had on the Pit in a long time.  The stones are mostly a size 12-14.  There are caddisflies and the occasional green drake in the mix, too.  The fish were really looking up.  We finished the day on a small stream where Bruce caught about a dozen more fish on dries on my 3wt Sage SPL.  Tons of fun!

I had a great day on Battle Creek with Ivan and son Ian.  Ivan fished the creek last September and really enjoyed it.  Ian hadn't fly fished in a few years, but got back into it in no time.  Our best flies today were large stonefly dries.  A size 6 orange stimulator and a size 8 red Turk's Tarantula did the trick!  Ivan hooked the fish of the day, a 13-14 rainbow on a size 8 brown stimulator.  We also saw a couple of spring chinook, both about 10#.  Pretty cool.

We hooked about 15 fish in this spot

These worked

We are proud to introduce a new fishing rental: the Albaugh Ranch Guest House.  It's located in McArthur and is just 15 minutes from our launch on Fall River.  This large ranch home is the perfect place for large groups.  There are 9 beds and plenty of room for up to ten guests.  The property has tons of parking for RVs, boats, or other trailers.  The view of the working cattle ranch and Mt. Lassen to the south is fantastic.  There is a huge patio for grilling and dining, too.  The price is right, too, just $200/night for up to four guests.  Add $25/night for each additional guest.  It's a great value and a great place to stay while you fish Fall River, Hat Creek, Burney Creek, and our other fisheries.

Fishing has been really good the last few days up around Fall River.  The McCloud, Pit, and the area's small streams are in their prime right now.  We've seen great hatches of PMDs and green drakes this week.  Some golden stones are starting to show, too.  Fall River itself is still low and not very weedy.  That should change fast with warmer weather.  The weeds should grow in pretty thick in the next two weeks, raising the water level and restoring the river to normal summertime conditions.

Small streams have been outstanding lately

Dax's new raft - assembly took 2 hours and 8 beers