Lower Sacramento Fly Fishing Report

Dave Neal reports 3.31.2016

Fishing on the upper reaches of the Lower Sac, right in middle of Redding, has been lights out fantastic this week. Lots of big fish (well over 20”) and lots of average sized wild rainbows (16-17”) hitting the nets this week. Seems that many other anglers had the same idea and were out enjoying the great weather and excellent fishing. Many local guides were busy working and the boat ramps were buzzing. Which is a good sign. Lot’s of kids out fishing this week, too, with Spring Break upon us… it was reassuring to see so many kids in the bow of drift boats and a good indication for the future of the sport of fly fishing.

The top few miles of the Lower Sac from Keswick to Highway 44 (including the drift boat section from Posse Grounds Ramp to Hwy 44, which is a bit over 1 mile) will be closed starting tomorrow until August 1st, for the winter salmon recovery efforts. Agree or disagree, it is what it is… the middle river floats will probably be a little more crowded now.

PMD”s are getting with it and the mid day hatch of these, and other mayfly species are growing stronger by the day. There are still a few small dark caddis buzzing around and I even witnessed an adult Salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica) land in my drift boat yesterday! A buddy mentioned he saw a few last week, also. The bottom must be crawling!!

A lot of great spring and early summer hatches of aquatic insects will be popping the next few weeks… so plan a trip now and book your dates. The best local guides you’ll want to fish with (there are many!!) will be booked up for spring - so don’t hesitate if you want to experience some of California’s best wild trout fishing on one of the premier tailwaters of the west coast. No other river in California consistently produces the numbers and size of wild rainbow trout as the Lower Sacramento. Come check it out…

I have only a few dates left open in April… 13, 14, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26