Lower Sac & Trinity River Fly Fishing Report

Dave Neal of Reel Adventures reports on September 10th, 2026

Lower Sacramento River… around Redding 

The Lower Sac summer flows are finally on the drop and steady at 7200k this week. The river becomes a whole different beast once it drops below 10k. I really like this flow for September… the river is wadeable in areas, if you are familiar with this big river.  

Fishing has been great for big, wild trout during the prime-time windows and we have begun to tangle with a few fall-run steelhead as well. The fish we hooked this week were in GREAT shape and don’t appear to have skipped any meals. The word on the street is that there is a big run of salmon making their way upriver. It’s anticipated that our local rivers will see a good fall-run this season! For anglers that get excited about egg drop season… you might want to get more excited.

Bug hatches have been decent on most days, but it seems there is no consistency. Some days it’s caddis coming off and other days the mayflies get going. Every day has been different for me lately. When the fish begin to eat, they eat well and the afternoons seem to be that time. We seem to be getting fish on the usual suspects of the caddis and mayfly variety but keep your flies small… think #16-#20 in all the patterns. 

I am really noticing how the daylight is getting shorter each week and night time lows and daytime highs are cooling off a tad. Fall is just around the corner folks, and the hot edge of summer is dulling a bit.  

 I have a few holes in my calendar. I’d love to fill October 4, 19  

The Trinity River…around Junction City to Lewiston

The Trinity got a good bump in flows these past few weeks. The river is flowing high and cold at around 1100cfs. It may stay there till the 21st or drop back down sooner if the Ich (C Shasta) detection begins to subside. Yes, these are cooling flows for the lower Klamath and I am happy to see it. 

There really are a lot of fish on the move currently… both salmon and steelhead. IFYTYK I’d start planning a trip ASAP. The entire river is in play right now. Swing it, share it, nymph it, just go get after it! 

I have a few days open that I would love to fill ,October 4, 19