Current Fishing Report

What a great day for my guests Bruce and Kevin! The grab was on right away and stayed very consistent all day. Despite the windy conditions, they both landed a good number of large fish and a lot of the usual “cookie-cutters.” Our great weather looks like it’s going to stick around for a while, so this is the perfect time to book your spring fishing trip!

Today was my guest Larry’s first-time fishing using his Sage One trout spey rod. We spent some time finding the correct head, but once we did his casting clicked. Larry hooked into several really nice fish, including a few that were in the 18” – 20” range, but they didn’t want any part of my landing net. This is a great time of year to swing flies – the fish are super grabby, the weather is beautiful, and the low flows make for easy wading.

Larry's rod was bent all day!

After a good week guiding the Trinity and Lower Sac I spent my last two days on the Trinity with Phil and Leann. We had a great time fishing the Trinity in beautiful weather with decent fishing. Leann was able to land one of the few she hooked and it was her personal best for steelhead. Still some nice fish around. Phil got some nice fish also as we enjoyed our days in good weather after a stormy week. Phil and Leann met on a fishing trip and the rest is history with numerous fishing adventures. I can't wait until we get out again sometime. Clients can make your day. Spring fishing is ahead get out and play! Dates available!

The 'ole trout factory kicked out some great fish today on the Lower Sac. I took Sean to the "land of the giants" up around the Sun Dial Bridge and the fishing couldn't have been any better as he hooked a fish on almost every single run. So we kept rowing up, casting, hooking a fish, fighting the fish, netting the fish, and grabbing a photo of the pretty ones. It was incredible. The PMD's started coming off and the fishing went from great to "red hot," a description I generally reserve for one month out of the year: October. While Sean lost a few of the fish he hooked, the vast majority of what grabbed his flies were put in the net. The moment that shall remain in fishing folklore and legend was when he hooked a monsterous fish that came up out of the water and made a big jump, to which I said,"Geez, that looks like a brown trout," but I thought it was maybe a sucker or a pikeminnow because everyone knows that there aren't any brown trout on the Sac. Except Sean fought this fish perfectly, we saw it jump once more, and he put a 22 inch brown trout in the net! Once we saw that it WAS a "buck-nasty brown," the adrenaline becgan pumping and we snatched a quick photo before sending it back to the bottom of the river. The nymph that it ate was bent almost in half and it was truly one of the coolest things to be a part of on that river. How that brownie didn't spit that half bent non-barbed jig hook blows my mind. Dozens of big 18inch fish hooked, PMD's everywhere, and sunny 70 degree weather make for a perfect day. The only thing that could have maybe topped it was if we caught a bonefish or something. Anyway, the top section of the Sac closes at the end of this month and I have a few days open in the next couple of weeks, so I recommend getting up here and trying to chase a unicorn or two. Who knows, maybe the good Lord will smile down upon you just like he did for Sean. 

Sean's 22inch brown trout

Look at those black spots!

PMD cruncher

Gorgeous colors on that 'bow!

Another PMD eater.

Double hook up!

20 inches of trout pig.

Wow, what a great day of fishing for my guests Steve and Rick! They are part of a group of six buddies that alternated fishing two days on the Sac and two days fishing our private water, Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lakes. The grab was on right away and remained consistent all day. My guys had fun trying to out fish each other, bragging about who landed the larger fish, and who landed the most. It was a great way to end their epic 4-day fishing trip. 

Today's float was off the charts! Spring had arrived and the fish couldn't have been more cooperative. Just about every run produced a fish or two and we had non-stop action from pretty much the start of the day until the last part of the float. Hungry trout crushing rubber legs and other smaller flies was the name of the game for us. Highlights included Cliff yanking 'bows from the back of the boat sitting down (pro status!) and Bill putting a couple really nice size fish in the net. The gentlemen traded fish for fish most of the day and we had a LOT of fun. There weren't a lot of bugs on top, though we saw a few caddis and mayflies here and there. But under the surface the fish didn't seem to care and were eating all day long. I assume the spring fishing is only going to get better from here on out, so it's definitely time to hit the river and put some slabs in the net!

Cliff w/ a beautiful ‘bow

Snow capped mountains in the background!

Cookie cutter

Lots of fish in the net!

Close up of the bluff

Bill with a nice chrome 20 inch trout pig!

March weather and some good fishing.Snow ,rain, and March browns! Trinity river steelhead season is winding down but some good fishing this week. I guided the last five days with good fishing on both Trinity and the Lower Sac on my combo trips. My client dave had very good fishing for two days on Trinity . He caught steelhead on nymphs ,swinging and on dries then capped it off with a good day on the Sac. I will run combo trips through March then focus on Lower Sac for next couple months. Get on the books and come out and play.

What a great day with my guests Steve and Rick. We had some much-needed rain, but that did not slow the fishing down at all. They both landed a lot of really great fish and lost a few truly exceptional fish. Today was filled with a ton of grabs, hard hits, acrobatics, and great times!  

Rick with a nice fish

Steve with a nice fish

This is how you double!

Rick with another great fish

All day long!

Quick river report. There are big fish on the Lower Sac and if you get your flies in front of them, your day can get a whole lot better! The boys came up from Bakersfield and we put in work today, searching for those beautiful Sacramento River 'bows. Morning started kind of slow and then picked up for us in the afternoon. Wayne put two big fish in the net, which made things exciting -- a nice 20 incher and then a 21.5 inch gorgeous buck. The weather wasn't the most enjoyable as we had a steady onslaught of rain (which we need!!) but the afternoon was dry. Back at it on Friday. Book a trip today!

James and Ted came up for a day on the Lower Sac and we had quite the day. Lately the fishing has been picking up around 11am but we started hooking fish immediately and the action stayed steady throughout most of the day. We hooked dozens of fish and had few luls in the action. Spring fishing on the Sac is pretty exciting because there are generally plenty of caddis, PMD's, BWO's, and the stone flies will start moving around pretty soon, making the might rubber legs a necessary and required fly choice. We caught most of our fish on mayfly immitations, rubber legs, and some midge options. The river came up just a bit this past week and is around 3,500cfs. We really need some rain but as far as fishing a tailwater goes, the Sac is fishing good and it'll only pick up as we move more into the Spring. In addiition to the nymph game, we're starting to see more fish eating caddis and mayflies on the top, so it's definitely not crazy to bring a dry fly rig with you and keep your eyes open for noses poking out the water! Hit me up if you want to get out! I'd love to take you and yours for a fun day on the Sac! 

I had a really fun day with my guests Ron and Monty. We received some rain overnight, but the sky cleared, and we had a beautiful spring day that was topped off with lots of very grabby fish! They both hooked a lot of fish in the 12” – 15” range and lost a few that were much larger. It was a great day of fishing and got them primed for their day at our private ponds: Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lakes.

Ron with a nice one

These were in the net all day long

Cody and Jason crushed it yesterday on the Lower Sac. It was Cody's first time fly fishing and Jason has been at it a long time. We started by IMMEDIATELY getting a few grabs as well as hooking a certified #troutpig (20inch+). Unfortunately we lost that fish but it woke us up and we were ready to go. The fishing was pretty good for the rest of the day and we put some really good looking fish in the net. The wind was a little challenging for about two hours but died down and our last hour of the float was bonkers! Grabs, fish, and doubles! The fishing is picking up and it's time to book your spring trip on the Sac!

What a great day with my long-time guests Lee and Lloyd! Today was probably their best day ever fishing the Sac. The weather was ideal, and the fish were super grabby. I saw very few adults, but there were some random fish feeding on the surface. Spring is probably my favorite time to be on the Sac and the fishing is simply incredible March through May.   

Lloyd with a beautiful fish

Lee was hooking these all day

This was just one of many

Lee's rod looked like this day long

Lee with another great fish

Good times

Here is a Delta Striper report courtesy of Captain Bryce Tedford: "Spring Striper season is in the air with these warm valley days & water  temperature are ticking up towards 55 degrees. Been finding a fair  amount of fish for this time of year and prime Spring Striper Fishing  is just around the corner. Delta Stripers will continue to ramp up as we  get into Spring; late March, April & May are prime Striper months  & I am excited to start the season strong. I still have some prime  Striper dates available in April & May, remaining dates won’t last  long so book your adventure soon or get out there & enjoy the  amazing California Delta!"

The weather was beautiful – and the fishing was even better for my guests Barbara and Don. The grab started slow but picked up by mid-late morning and remained solid throughout the afternoon. Barbara and Don both hooked some really nice fish on caddis and mayfly nymphs. The Sac is fishing really well, and it will continue to improve. Now is the time to book your spring fishing trip! 

Don with a beauty

Barbara with a nice one

I spent two days on the lower Sacramento River with some guests I've had the pleasure of guiding before -- Michael and Tommy and their wives as well as another couple brand new to fly fishing. This group of husband / wife teams meant we had multiple boats, so Brian Kohlman and Kevin Kay joined me. On the first day the bite was pretty steady from 10:30am on until the end of the day. We caught a few smaller fish before Diana put a quality fish in the net that we had to admire and take a picture of. The play by play was that I told her to cast behind a tree that was hanging over the water and she executed it perfectly and hooked up almost immediately with a nice 'bow that was hungry for a rubber leg. Michael informed me that his wife is always much luckier than he is and that proved to be true as she had a LOT of grabs throughout the day. Of course hooking fish is one thing... landing them is another thing altogether! And don't get me started on setting the hook! But all in all, the day was fun. It's always a pleasure being with Michael and we are starting to have some really great memories from our previous trips. He was a bit surprsed that I remembered some of the previuos fish he's caught but it's hard to forget days when everything goes right! On the second day I was with Tommy and his wife Diane and we also had a really good time, despite the fishing being mostly slow. There was little to no bite for a lot of the day. We changed flies a lot and kept at it throughout the day, but the wind was off and on and there were many periods of perfectly placed bobbers floating down the river with no drag -- exactly what we want -- and no take downs! Argh! So frustrating! But we stayed focused and kept fishing hard and managed to put a handful of nice quality fish in the net. Can't complain about that! Sometimes it's not all about the quantity of the fish you catch and you have to just be grateful for the quality of the fish you get to appreciate. 

Diana's nice buck!

Tommy is all smiles!

Diane wasn't interested in holding a fish, but she liked catching them!

Another trout that ate a PMD.

Look. At. Those. Colors.

Here are a few photos from our guests at Eagle Canyon today.

double hook-up

double trouble

I had a really fun day with my guests Lane and Caroline. They are both new to fly fishing, but boy are they fast learners! The weather was great, and the fish were grabby, so what else could you ask for?! After a few missed opportunities, Lane and Caroline started connecting with some really nice fish. By the end of the day, they both hooked and landed some very nice fish and were already talking about their next trip!

The top section of the Lower Sacramento River, near the Sun Dial Bridge, closes in April, so Kevin Kay and I took a few hours to brave the wind. In addition to the large sized fish available, there's a bit less wind to deal with up top. Casting fly rods in the wind feels like a bit of "chuck and duck," but it's better than sitting in an office. Plus, we were able to put some quality fish in the net and had a good time doing some exploring and testing new flies. When guides aren't guiding, they are fishing and doing some research and development, ha! We saw a fair amount of fish being caught while we were out, so there was definitely a decent bite going on. The Sac is definitely a bug factory and I saw a handful of BWO's, caddis, some midges, and PMD's throughout the day. The fish didn't seem picky and were eating flies across the spectrum of options. Trout are starting to move back into the redds now, except they aren't there to chomp on salmon eggs... they are looking to spawn! If you happen to float from Posse Grounds, be aware that River Left across from the boat launch has trout spawning, so it's best to leave them alone. There are plenty of trout elsewhere that you can safely catch, so be mindful. Being a good sportswoman / man helps keep the fishery in tact for the next generation, not to mention keeps it healthy and vibrant for us now! Bad practices can hurt a fishery pretty quick, so let's be smart! If you want to hit the top section to chase some of those big fish, now's the time! Book a trip today because April's gonna be here sooner than we realize. The next two days I'm on the Sac and next week I'll be on the Trinity and the Upper Sac. Tight lines y'all!

Here is a report from Peter who fished Eagle Canyon today: "The water was murky and higher than normal due to the rains. Due to  the weather conditions, the fish seemed more finicky and timid on the  takes. We discovered that if we used a small nymph dropper behind a  wooly bugger, the fish were more willing to grab. The combination that  worked was a blood sucking leech with a black bird nest as a dropper.  Later in the day, we also caught fish on olive and red wooly buggers as  well as on micro mays underneath an indicator. Our fish count was 12 for  20. The biggest fish weighed was slightly over 14 lbs. Thanks again!"