Lower Sacramento Fly Fishing Report

Dave and Tracy Neal report on 8.10.17

Lower Sac

It¹s been 10 days since the 5.5 mile top section (or 1 mile of drift boat
water) was re-opened to fishing on the Lower Sacramento River here in
Redding. The fish and crowds have adjusted. The trout seem a bit wiser and
the crowds have thinned out a lot. We are settled into a mid-summer pattern
with the afternoons and evenings being the best time to be on the water.
Caddis are the mainstays driving the fishing right now along with little
PMD’s and PED’s at times in the afternoon/evening.

Speaking of the Sac closure and the winter-run salmon (the reason for the
season) our friends at CalTrout recently named the Sacramento Winter-Run
Salmon as the Fish of the Month in their newsletter. The report is part of
the CalTrout/UC Davis study; SOS II Fish in Hot Water. Check it out and learn
a bit more about these imperiled salmonids:

http://caltrout.org/sos/native-species/salmon/chinook-salmon/sacramento-rive
r-winter-run-chinook-salmon/

I have been floating the river from Posse Grounds through Redding and
Anderson all the way to Barge Hole. Happy to report the fishing is good to
great on all the sections of the river when you fish the right kind of
water, at the right time, with the right flies ;) Find a pattern they like
and seek out the biters in the area. Just like freestone trout migrate to
the fast pocket water in the dog days of summer, so too, do their tailwater
cousins. Fish the fast water, swirls, riffles, and ledges for more success.

In the evenings, it has been hit and miss on many nights. The dry fly
fishing right behind our house in the classic wade spots has been red-hot
one night and then slow the next. It may be on/off but the nights the caddis
are active you can have some epic dry fly eats and success swinging pupa
patterns!

I have a few days still open this month and would like to fill them with any
of you on the Lower Sac. Contact me for more info: August 23, 24, 25, 28, 29,
30.

Cheers,

Dave

David Neal
Reel Adventures Guide Service
760-914-0465 mobile
PO Box 990496 Redding, CA 96099
http://www.reeladventuresguideservice.com