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Good What do guides do when they have some free time? Go fishing, of course! People think we fish all the time but that’s not really the case. We’re usually busy rowing, tying on flies, netting fish, etc. so it’s nice to actually hold the rod once in a while. Today fellow Confluence guide Luke Geraty, our friend Steve, and I did a lower float to see how the fishing was down there. We had a great day, trading off the rowing duties while hooking and landing a good number of wild rainbows along with a few big suckers and a squawfish, the Lower Sac Grand Slam. The Jelly’s Ferry bridge has been repaired and we saw a lot of progress on the beginnings of the new bridge. Name that fly! Work begins on the new Jelly’s Ferry Bridge Hooked up Big suckah....... Trout....... and more trout...... |
Good I did a fun float today on the Lower Sac with fellow guide Brian Kohlman. The river is a ghost town right now - very few boats out. We tried something different today and spent a lot of time fishing hopper patterns near the banks. This isn't a highly productive way to fish the Lower Sac, but it can deliver some nice fish. The highlight today was an 18" fish that absolutely crushed my hopper. Not a bad way to spend a hot afternoon on the mighty Lower Sac! This fish crushed my grasshopper dry! |
We have a guest looking for a fishing buddy for a Lower Klamath River steelhead trip Oct 1-2-3. If you're interested in splitting this trip please let us know! That's a great time of year to swing flies on the Klamath. |
Good Wade invited his buddies Ben and Dave up to fish the Lower Sac. They are lifelong friends and get together when they can, mostly so they can have some fun and give each other a hard time. We did two consecutive half day floats, starting late afternoon and fishing until evening to avoid some of the heat. Fishing on the Sac has been a bit challenging lately due to the high flows, extreme temperatures, and the clearest water I have ever seen out there but the boys stuck with it and caught some big beautiful wild rainbows. We have a tendency to rate the fishing solely by the number of fish caught, but certainly good company, great scenery, and just being out on the river all factor in as well. There’s more to fishing than the fish! Wade with a good one The result of Dave’s lightning hookset Dave sticks another one Wild rainbow Wade hooked up |
Good Today was an amazing day on the McCloud for my guest Ian, and his son Daniel. We started our day fishing a dry-dropper and both hooked a lot of fish on both flies. Ian and Daniel both landed some small, but beautiful brookies! After lunch they only fished dries and what an afternoon they had. The fish weren't very big, but the action was non-stop all day. At the end of the day, Daniel hooked into a very nice 12-14 inch fish, but it managed to spit the hook after giving him the "middle fin" while jumping. Daniel casting to rising fish |
Good Today was pretty special as it started out with a Learn to Fly
Fish trip with my guest Chen and his son Koby. We started on Burney Creek and then moved to Baum Lake where Koby caught
his first trout! We then drove up to
Manzanita Lake where they were camping, and Chen got to cast to a lot of rising
fish throughout the afternoon. After a
few missed grabs, Chen landed a couple of nice fish before he decided to call
it a day. We managed to avoid the man-eating
river otters but did see a pack of four. Koby and Chen on Burney Creek Epic view of Mt. Lassen from Manzanita Lake Chen with his first Manzanita Lake rainbow |
Okay Boy was it a hot one today for my guests Bob and Rich! So hot, the fish weren’t very active either. The morning grab was sporadic for us, but things did pick up a bit after lunch, but it was clear the fish were not interested in my landing net. Bob hooked into a really nice that gave him a heck of a fight – but Bob came out on top! In the end, it was another really fun day with my good friends Bob and Rich! Bob with a chunky one |
Okay I had a great day today chasing stripers with my guests Ron, Don, and Steve. The morning was really slow for us, but the afternoon showed promise. After lunch, Steve got grabbed as we drifted over a pod of 5-6 decent fish. Steve then hooked into a decent schoolie, but it came unpinned as I was lipping it so we missed our photo op. We saw fish in the afternoon, but they just weren't on the job. |
Good I had a really fun day with my guests Nate and his daughter Paulina. This was their first time fishing the McCloud and I think they were overwhelmed by the beauty. Fishing a dry-dropper was very productive in the morning with a pretty equal number of takes on both flies. After lunch, there were lots of caddis around so we switched to an Elk Hair Caddis and the number of grabs was insane! Even for as hot as it was today, we found the best way to beat the heat was to wade the McCloud! |
Good Temps have been well over 100 in the afternoon here in Redding so Nathan and his daughter Paulina wanted to do a split day. We fished from 7am until noon, then they hit the pool at their hotel until I picked them up at 5pm for a late afternoon/evening session. This turned out to be a mixed blessing as the bite was very slow early in the morning, picking up around 10am. They did enjoy their break from the blistering heat however! The evening bite was much better, with Nate scoring a 22” hog to cap off his day. Paulina did great on her inaugural drift boat trip, and was casting like a pro by mid-day and caught some nice native rainbows for her efforts. The Big River remains a viable and reliable option for summer fishing so book a trip with us and get out of the house! Early morning launch Caddis eater Fishing in 2020 All smiles Paulina is smiling behind that mask A picture of me taking a picture of a fish |
Okay I had a really fun two days with my guest Jeff, and his father Russell. Yesterday was a half-day float, but we started late afternoon. There wasn’t a lot of action, but the fish they landed were very nice. Today was pretty slow all day. Jeff and Russ hooked into some nice fish, but there were some long dry spells between grabs. The action picked up a little after lunch, but it never really turned on for us. Caddis and PMD nymphs were the flies du jour. Jeff with a beautiful fish Russell with a nice one Jeff with another beauty |
Good Hopper season is in full swing on the Yuba River! I was out there three times in the last week and each time they have been looking up taking big hoppers and attractors off of the surface. They have also been eating a wide variety stones, caddis and mayflies sub surface. We should have this good action continue on top and July is a great month for it. There is no better way to fish hoppers than from a drift boat.On a side note- those who have had to cancel big fishing trips out of country/state this year may want to consider doing more local trips instead. The Lower Yuba is just over 45 minutes from most parts of Sacramento, and less than 2 hours from many parts of the Bay Area. To throw these big dries for fiesty wild trout mid summer feels a lot like Montana. |
Good Peter Santley and I hosted a fun group of guys (and one gal) today on the Lower Sac. We got a very early start in an attempt to avoid the heat but also seemed to avoid the fish as well as the bite didn’t heat up until the temperature also heated up (go figure). The Sac has been a bit fickle lately but if you put in your time you will catch some beautiful wild rainbows, and maybe a sucker or squawfish if you’re really lucky. Don’t forget to bring your lightening quick hookset as that always helps! Beautiful wild rainbows Rubberlegs again? Tony hooked up Fred, Peter, and Courtney doing lunch on the Big River Keep ‘em wet! Home grown! |
Great How’s everyone doing, you all hanging in there? Man, I’ve got to say, it’s been rough. To get some reprieve, Lura and myself and the dogs went out on the Lower Sac. The dogs hunted fish and birds, Lura sat and relaxed and targeted some rising fish while I threw some Spey. Swinging up rising fish was a nice topper to the day. Swinging flies isn’t going to be as productive as following the bobber, but I find it to be more productive in mending the mind. When it is pushing 100 degrees, the cold water and watching the juvenile Eagle test his wings brings its own rewards. Be safe and be kind. Happy dogs and gal. Keep em wet. Chairs available upon request. Make the Hardy sing. |
Good Fellow Confluence guide Luke, his buddy Steve, and myself braved the 105-degree heat to go hunt striped bass downriver on the Lower Sac. We managed to find some decent fish! Man these guys can pull. They make great fish tacos if you’re so inclined! Our guides Andrew and Brian are licensed Coast Guard Captains and can take you on a jet boat trip in search of these great fish. Maybe you’ll find a lunker, they’re in there! |
Good It was a hot one today for my guests Matt and Bob! I fished them a few weeks ago on Hat Creek
and the Pit River, but today they decided to float the Sac. The grab started a little slow and remained
spotty throughout the day. We hooked several
fish on a combination of rubberlegs, caddis poopahs, and PMD nymphs. On these really hot days, we try to beat the
heat by finishing up between 3:00 and 4:00. Bob with a chunky one Matt with a nice one |
Leslie and I had a great weekend with some good friends on the historic Bollibokka beat of the famed Lower McCloud. After fishing and guiding on the Mac for 18 years, this was my first opportunity to fish this private and remote property. What an amazing stretch of river, with every water type you could ask for in a trout stream. The upper beat is limited to the six anglers who stay at the Pumphouse cabin, which is an monumental amount of water to explore. Like every stretch of the McCloud, the catching of fish is totally dependent on if the fish are eating. If they are, you get em, when they aren't, you don't. If you are lucky enough to stay overnight on the Mac, take a break in the day to enjoy things other than fishing. Perhaps a mid day siesta, hiking the trails to find new water, or relaxing under a tree with a book between 1-5 is a good program. On hot sunny summer days, focus on fishing first light to lunchtime, and the last 3 hours of the day. That still gives you 9 hours or so to fish! It also gives you an opportunity to take a moment and experience the magnificent wilderness that you are in.All freestone techniques work very well on the McCloud, especially dry flys in the evenings or cloudy afternoons. Classic dry fly patterns bought at brick and mortar fly shops actually work the best. McCloud fish never eat flies bought online, or from big box stores like lame Cabellas and Sportsmen's Warehouse. When the sun is on the water, fishing a dry/dropper is very efective if you can wade aggressively and cover the rugged pocket water short line fishing. You can break out your trout Spey rod in the appropriate water type and productively swing streamers, which like dry fly fishing is most productive when the sun is off the water. You can high stick nymph or Euro nymph all day long and find fish if that is your thing...use lots of lead to get your flys deep. Bring lots of rubber legs and bird's nests, you will go through them. The McCloud is the perfect western trout stream, with the most famous and historical strain of rainbow trout on the planet. It has a wonderful wilderness aspect to it that reminds me a lot of New Zealand, except for the daily encounters with rattlesnakes and poison oak absolutely everywhere....but its worth it. Leslie in a classic McCloud pool Old school Sage gear Evening New Zealand style upstream dry fly fishing Sightfishing is possible on the Mac Bring a wading staff... High stick dry fly The remote beauty of a perfect trout stream |
Great My guests John and Bruce had two really good days swinging flies on the Lower Sac! I fished John last fall on another trout spey trip, and he was overwhelmed with the beauty of the lower river. They had to cancel their tarpon trip in the Florida Keys, so they decided a trout spey trip was the next best thing! With the flows at 12,000 cfs, it was a little pushy in some spots, but the fish were eager to eat their swung flies. I learned a good lesson yesterday - John was getting multiple grabs in one run but struggled to hook the fish. When I checked his fly, I discovered his hook was actually bent closed! We’re not sure how it happened, but I started checking their flies anytime they missed a fish. Wading in the river when it is really hot outside is so refreshing! John rewarded with a nice hatchery steelhead Bruce hooked up John with a wild one John getting after it |
Great The Williamson River is heating up! The first good push of Redbands from the lake have made it into the Williamson River just in time for the Hex Hatch. This week we will see our first good hatch of Hex coming off. During the day we are picking up good fish by swinging small leeches and Damsel nymphs. Pelican Bay and The Wood River will fish well this week with daytime temperatures reaching the 90's. Fish throughout the Klamath Basin will be seeking the cooler temperatures of the river and springs. Summer fishing has begun! Williamson River Redband Williamson River Redband |
Great With the summer flows running at 12,400 cfs, floating larger sections of the river is much more realistic. Yesterday we covered nearly fifteen miles of the Lower Sacramento River and had a great day! The weather was sunny throughout the day and the temperature on the river never passed 95 degrees, so while everyone else was roasting at 104, we were happily surrounded by views of Mt. Lassen and Shasta (not to mention all of the bluffs and wildlife such as deer, eagles, and other birds). The morning was sllllooowwwww but we broke out the box with a couple of nice fish, including a nearly 18 incher on a Peaches n' Cream. While there weren't a lot of bugs in the morning, by the time we got into the afternoon, bugs were coming off steadily and we did well on PMD's, rubber legs, and some caddis. Lots of the grabs on the PMD flies were subtle, so you really have to be on the watch or you'll miss those fish but when many of these trout eat a rubber legs... THEY EAT THE RUBBER LEGS. The afternoon fished really well and we had plenty of grabs and caught a good number of fish in a few hours of time. While we had plenty of back to backs, we never doubled up, so there's something to shoot for next time! Get out soon and fish this fantastic northern California fishery that pumps out some really nice fish! Look at the colors on this gorgeous trout. Jason put this beautiful fish in the boat on the mighty rubber legs! Lots of these were caught. This one ate a PMD imitation. |
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