Current Fishing Report

Had a fun float with Jared and Ryan yesterday. Jared caught his first steelhead and we put some healthy fish in the net both hatchery and wild. Nymphing has been the most successful tactic so far. It has been pretty normal winter steelhead conditions with cloud cover helping the bite. Once we get some rain it could pick up substantially.

Here is a report from Peter who fished Eagle Canyon today:"This trip was more difficult than all of our previous trips in the past.  We had to change flies a lot and the normal black wooly buggers, copper johns, and midges did not produce. I don’t think we got a strike or landed a fish until the afternoon. Thankfully, we landed 5 fish by the end of the day.  Three in the large pond and two in the small pond. The flies that produced the fish were purple, maroon, and olive wooly buggers. Thank you again."

Fly fishing in northern California during the winter can be mysterious because sometimes you just don't know what you are going to get! Will it be rainy? Sunny? Cold or warm? Will you be wearing waders or shorts and a t-shirt? One simply won't know until you get to the water! At any rate, I spent six days on the Lower Sac in the past two weeks and I'm finally getting a chance to give somewhat of a "river report" for anyone curious how the river is fishing. First, I had two brother-in-laws, Matt and Mark. Matt is from MI and has done a bit of fly fishing and Mark is a resident of northern California and fast becoming a solid angler. We did two days in a row and both days it was pouring rain on us... but that didn't impact the fishing whatsoever. Matt and Mark both caught some great fish and despite the rain, we were able to hook fish on a number of different nymphs, primarily rubber legs and small may fly imitations. I did a quick YouTube river report if you want to see some of the footage (https://youtu.be/6xE-Put_5Kc). Overall the fishing was pretty good (a guide's conservative way of saying "great"). The water was around 7,000cfs. The next couple of floats were about average. This time of year is less about quantity of fish and more about the quality of fish and on each of these floats, the Sac did not disappoint! A couple of the days were about as warm as you can expect and my guests were shedding layers as the day progressed and as the bugs started coming off the river (i.e., baetis!!!). One day in particular stands out, Dec. 26, because I was able to get out with a friend and we took my 5 year old son, Soren. Soren is totally committed to fly fishing and despite missing about five fish in a row and his guide-dad yelling at him to "Set it!", he finally hooked up with a nice little 'bow. And that's a point I'd like to make for anyone looking to hire a guide. One of the things we really value at Confluence is taking the time to instruct our guests well. Spending a day with a guide is not just about catching fish... I hope that every one of my guests walk away from the trip with a greater appreciation for the fishery, more knowledge about the water and bug life, and more skill as an angler. And it's super fun to take kids out on the water, so if you want to get your daughter or son, or one of your grand children out, hit Confluence up! Anyway, on Saturday I had two guest from Bakersfield and let me tell you, they could cast! They could mend! They were really great anglers and very experienced. In fact, one of the guys, Wayne, has literally fished everywhere! I would think of a place to fish and yep, you guessed it, he'd been there! Unfortunately, despite their skill, the fish weren't as cooperative and we would have hoped. Yet they still managed to get a handful of fish to the net but nothing in the 20+ range, which was a bummer. That being said, at the end of the float, Dave hooked what we thought was an absolute HOG of a fish and after we fought it going downstream for awhile, we finally saw that it was a California golden bone fish (i.e., a sucker). The disappointment was heavy but I guess there are worse ways to end a float. Yesterday I did a half day float with Mike from Red Bluff, and the water has dropped down to 5,320cfs. When we got onto the river, it was a little cloudy with a slight mist but after about thirty minutes, the day's weather became spectacular (t-shirt time!!). The fishing started off slow but once the sun poked out, I immediately saw some caddis coming off and so I tied on a perfectly-matched-hand-tied tan bird's nest and it was game on! Mike landed some quality 'bows on caddis and rubber legs. And by the way... the thing about the Sacramento River is that it is a really, really big river. Even when the water flows are lower, there is a lot of water to fish and you can find trout in lots of different locations. Case in point, we dropped around a corner and found two boats and a few walk-in-waders fishing a run that's traditionally really good so I ended up scooting over to the other side of the river that I rarely fish and wouldn't you know that we caught fish! Don't hesitate to fish shallow water!! And don't assume the trout are only in one type of water! Fish are like people and seem pretty unique and diverse ;) Get out and fish more in 2020! I've got openings and would love to take you out... plus, the "other" egg bite is just around the corner! Tight lines... 

Soren is a 5 year old pro and will, Lord willing, be rowing me in a couple of years!

Brendon with a nice bright 'bow for the day after Christmas!

Dave's big 'ole sucker.

Mike caught this in a top secret location that took me years to discover.

Matt's MI trout aren't quite as fat or long as this one!

Lower Sacramento River size rainbow.

Mark, from the back of the boat, yanked this one.

Here is a fishing report from Rocky who fished Eagle Canyon today: "We had a great day at the ponds. The weather could not have been more  beautiful, but as a result, we had to work harder for our fish.  Absolutely still water with fish changing what they ate all day. Most  productive flies were olive sealbuggers and size 20 midge patterns. Average size was way up compared to last year, at least for us.  Thanks again for a great day. It's my favorite way to welcome in the new  year. Best part was the incredible sunset we were treated to on the way  out. Wow!  See you next year."

Here is a fishing report from Wayne who fished Eagle Canyon today:"I hooked 10 and landed 5 and Dave hooked 8 and landed 3.  Most were in the 7-8-9 lb range with one 15 # . best fly was the red sno-cone # 16 and a black wooly bugger. We probably missed more than we hooked.  Nice to meet you and hope I get to make that trip in March"

Kevin Kay and I worked together on a father-son Christmas fishing trip today. The weather was terrible! We had steady rain and it was cold and windy. I guided my guest Steve on the Trinity last month with the GGACC group. His sons Nick and Matt are new to fly fishing but they were troopers given the conditions. Nick hooked into a really big fish first thing but lost it after a pretty epic battle. A short time later Steve got an early Christmas present – a very nice hatchery steelhead! Matt was with Kevin and did very well too. Even with the flow bump, the river is still fishing really well. Merry Christmas and hoping everyone has a fishy New Year!  

Matt with a very nice fish!

Steve with his Christmas steelhead!

We can officially say we are at the beginning of another winter steelhead season here in Northern California. With a series of moderate rain events and healthy rises under our belt the coastal rivers have all been in decent shape throughout the past two week period, but the steelhead have been characteristically hard to come by. I fished on the Smith river one week ago with Cory Robertson from the bay area. We squeeked into fishable conditions by the skin of our teeth and began the day with the river dropping from the top of 12' falling from where it had crested at 16.5' the prior afternoon. Conditions were ideal for swinging; marginal visibility and high cfs forcing fish to take the inside lanes. Cory had never cast a spey rod before this trip, but he was a quick study, getting dialed into his double spey to the point of being able to send out forty feet of running line by the time we were finished in the first run of the day. We pushed our luck in that first run and managed to beat the rain but by the time we stopped again to fish we were in for it. We ended the day with our Gor-Tex soaked through taking one last look back at the river which now had fallen to around 11.5' and had cleared significantly throughout the day. We didn't find one, but it was rewarding enough to have taught Cory how to cast and fish a spey rod with confidence.  Looking ahead things are lining up to bring us into the next decade with favorable river conditions on the North Coast. A steady rain is falling on the gutters as I type this report and should continue for most of tomorrow. Everything from the SF Eel to the Smith is on the rise once more. As we draw closer to the end of the month we should see the first big push of winter fish come into their home rivers to spawn. It looks like after this system moves through things will quiet down for the holiday week giving the rivers the needed time to drop and clear up enough to be fishable. The Smith will probably stay fishable throughout this rain event. Look for the SF Eel to come online sometime midweek and the MS Eel to be a player by late next week at the earliest. For everyone who has been biding their time waiting for ideal conditions to take shape on the coast your wait is nearly over. Merry Christmas! 

Cory waiting for that steel handshake

Standard winter steelhead swing thing

Eel River projection

Smith River Projection

Shiny and chrome

I had a really fun day with my guests Dave and Chuck. They fished Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lakes on Thursday and had an amazing day landing several REALLY big fish! This slightly skewed their perspective on “big fish” but they quickly adjusted! The morning was okay, but the grab really picked up around 11:00. We had a short lull after lunch, but then it really turned on for us! They both landed 20+” fish and several in the 16”-18” range along with the usual cookie cutters. The flows are bumping up to 7,000cfs on the 21st. Shasta Lake is only 46 feet from crest, so I’m not surprised by the increase.

Chuck with a nice one

Lots of fish in the 16 - 18 range all day

Dave with his best of the day

Fun day on the Feather yesterday. A shorter float produced healthy acrobatic fish. Nymphing in the mornings has been the best action.

Jesse and Dave had some time off from their jobs at Cal Fire so they decided to go fishing. It was a cold and misty morning; the water was warmer than the air! The bite before lunch was pretty consistent but the afternoon grab was a bit spotty. Looks like we’re settling into our winter mode on the big river. Altogether a good day; fish were hooked, landed, and lost as usual!

I had a great two days with my guests Bob and Dave. They wanted to focus on swinging flies, but also nymph between runs. Dave had the mojo on Thursday and landed a nice fish within minutes. Dave landed a second nice wild fish on a nymph a short time later. Throughout two days of steady rain, they fished hard and today Bob was rewarded when he swung up a nice hatchery fish on his hand built spey rod! Some half-pounders kept things interesting both days as well.  

Dave with his first of the day

Dave with another nice fish

Bob swung up this beautie on his new 7130 Sage X

Guest Report from Dave who fished Eagle Canyon today:"It stayed foggy and windless all day and fish were not super grabby until  afternoon when we focused on indicator fishing.We landed 12 fish between us, a couple were in the 10 pound range.  ECL, one of a kind fishery"

Dave with a big rainbow

Had a fun Feather River steelhead trip with Kevin and his friend Larry yesterday. The crowds that fall can attract have largely departed, we did not have one bank angler in our way and didn't see another boat all day. Kevin and Larry got after it and we put some good looking fish into the net. Nymphing continues to be the top producer and it should continue to stay that way.

Here is a photo from a group that spent a couple days fishing Eagle Canyon last week.  They had beautiful weather both days and it sounds like everyone caught lots of big fish!

Don's big fish of the day

I just got back from a super fun redfishing trip to New Orleans.  The fishing conditions weren't always perfect, but we managed to land some awesome Redfish each day, and also some huge Black Drums.  Like all sightfishing saltwater flats venues, ideal conditions are clear sky and light winds.  December is prime time to sightfish for the biggest Redfish opportunities of the year, but the weather can also be less than ideal that time of year.  We booked three days, and got to fish all three which is the best thing you can hope for.  When we had good visibility, we had plenty of shots at large Redfish, which what we were primarily targeting.  We also racked up some numbers on some fun smaller fish in that 5-8lb range, which was fun for a while but being winter steelhead swing fisherman, we wanted a bit more of a challenge.  The big fish needed the cast to be exactly one foot off their nose for them to show any interest.  When they do eat it, it is super aggressive and they starting ripping line at high speed.  Just and awesome fish.  Off the water, New Orleans is just about my favorite city in the States.  The French Quarter, where we based our trip is less than an hour drive to our fishing destination.   You can easily walk to anywhere in the district, and enjoy some of the best music, food, history, and architecture on the planet.  If your fishing days get canceled due to weather, there are few places on Earth that I'd rather be for a fishing trip.  Look for 4 night 3 day hosted trips coming next December for this fantastic fishing, dining, musical, and cultural destination.  

Hooked up in the beautiful marsh on the Gulf

Redfish are very cool and beautiful fish

Dennis with a super mega specimen

This awesome fish ran me waaaay into my backing...

The beautiful French Quarter of New Orleans

The flows are dropping quickly, there is a slight tinge of color from the recent storms, and the fishing was very good for my guests Steve and Dana. It was pretty crazy because the stars aligned perfectly for Steve, but Dana couldn’t break free of the half-pounder zone. Steve landed one nice wild adult and several “tweener” fish in the 18”-20” range in addition to a bunch of half-pounders. Dana found himself stuck in the half-pounder drive-thru all day but did have a brief encounter with a nice adult fish. With more rain beginning tomorrow, I believe our season is just getting started.

Steve with a nice wild fish

Steve with his first of the day

A buddy and I made a trip to the Trinity today to see what effect the recent rains had on the fishing. It had been pretty slow up there but today was a whole different story. The deluge we had last week made a huge difference. Flows are up, there is a bit of color in the water, but more importantly, there are a lot more fish and they are grabby! Most of our fish today were wild and were pretty acrobatic. More rain is on the way!

Here is a guest report from Tony Carbonell.  His group fished Eagle Canyon on Opening Day:Tough fishing conditions, but opening day at Eagle Canyon was a  spectacular and wonderful experience. We got to the lakes and were  greeted with non stop rain and wind. We were wondering how that would  affect the fishing but that didn’t take long to find out. As I was still  in the process of putting my rod together a member of our group had  hooked up on his first cast and landed a 5 lb. rainbow trout. It was a  prelude to our day. Fishing conditions were very tough with wind gusting  up to 40-50 mph. and torrential rain. Our group still managed to hook  50+ fish and land 40 of them. Most of them prior to our lunch break. A  good number of those fish weighed in double digits. Conditions  detoriated and the hail and thunder came down and it was impossible to  fish. Although the weather didn’t cooperate the fishing was still  amazing. If our group could hook 50+ fish in these conditions, I can  only imagine what we could have done with a full day. Everyone in our  group had a fun and memorable outing just look at the expressions in the  pictures and regardless of the weather the fishing was phenomenal.  If  you ever have a chance to fish Eagle Canyon you have to do it. You’ll be  back for more.

Another trophy trout for Liz.

This trophy rainbow fell for a cinnamon brown streamer.

Another double digit sized rainbow for Liz

Jeff with a trout on the lower lake.

Sylvio with one of many trout

Jeff with a nice trout

Boy was it wet today! Heavy rains overnight increased the flows and added quite a bit of color. My guests Jeff and Bill were game for another day of steelheading even with the steady rain. Both hooked into some half-pounders and Jeff came up empty handed after a great battle with a really nice adult. I’m encouraged by seeing fresh fish and expect fishing conditions will continue to improve with this latest storm. Looking forward, the forecast is calling for more rain this week.

A break in the storm

I had a really fun day with my guests Jeff and Lowell. The forecast was calling for a lot of rain, but fortunately it held off until late morning before the soaking commenced. Both are dedicated trout anglers, but this was their first time fishing for steelhead. Lowell had the hot rod today - hooking into two very nice adults and landing one of them. This storm is bringing some heavy rain tonight and it is forecast to continue tomorrow and into Sunday. Hooray!

Lowell with his first steelhead ever!