Aaron Grabiel reports on May 14th, 2025

Lower Sacramento River – Redding to Red Bluff

Target Species: Wild Rainbow Trout
Conditions: The flows are bouncing around a bit, but should stabilize going forward.
Hatches: PMD, golden stones, salmonflies, yellow sallies, caddis and March browns. 

Report: The Lower Sacramento River is fishing fair to great.  It's been inconsistent to say the least, but we are getting enough fish on the slow days to keep us entertained. When we get consistent flows and trout are actively feeding, it is really good. There are enough options to go check out other locations if the Lower Sac happens to be slow. It's that time of year where you can fish just about any stream or river and have a solid day. We are really looking forward to the temperatures heating up and more prolific hatches and extremely consistent fishing on the Lower Sac.

Upper Sacramento River – Dunsmuir to Shasta Lake

Target Species: Rainbow Trout
Flows: Moderate to high; approximately 1,450 CFS at Delta.
Hatches: Salmonflies, black caddis, baetis, March brown and green drakes.

Report: The Upper Sacramento is in fair shape. While flows remain elevated, water clarity is good. Anglers are finding better wading opportunities above Simms. Nymphing with rubber legs, springtime Koudous patterns, small mayfly and midge patterns is working well, and small streamers fished deep in the runs can trigger strikes. The old Chubby Chernobyl as a dry dropper rig with a Perdigón style fly to cover riffles can be very productive. Don't forget when nymphing, to focus some time on the softer edges, especially when there's not a substantial hatch.

Hat Creek – Powerhouse Riffles

Target Species: Rainbow and Brown Trout
Conditions: Clear water with consistent insect activity.
Hatches: Salmonflies, PMD's, black caddis, sculpins, golden stones, and yellow sallies.

Report: Very short nymph rigs, dry dropper, Czech nymphing and dry fly fishing will all produce fish. On Hat Creek, I would typically stick to whatever you know best, if you're out there on your own without a guide. The fish are very finicky so just fish your strengths and find the fish that will commit to those techniques. There's always fish eating something in that creek just a matter of presenting inside their little window that they want to feed in without spooking them.

Other Small Streams

Conditions:  Runoff is beginning to slow and many of the small streams around are beginning to fish very well.  It's time to go, book ASAP.

Report: The small streams are fishing very well it's time to get out there and do it before they get too low or a ton of people start showing up. If you're interested in doing some really cool walk and wade stuff on small streams with hungry trout, give us an email or text and we can discuss which fisheries might work best for your outing.

Bass'n – Shasta Lake / Trinity Lake / Lake Oroville

Target Species: Bass and Trout

Hot Techniques: Float and Fly, stripping small minnow imitations.

Report: Shasta Lake continues to produce both trout and bass. Bass are bedding so sight fishing to larger fish is in the mix.  There are also pre and post spawn fish chasing shad balls around and trout can show up to the party anytime. With the current water temperatures, the bass are feeding aggressively so you can go out there and catch a bunch of fish. Haven't seen a good topwater bite yet but it should happen anytime now.

Trinity lake has some spawning fish. Seems that the smallmouth are spawning pretty well. We did catch one post-spawn largemouth, but it seemed that most of them had not spawned yet as of last week - though they should be pushing shallow in big numbers. You can fish from the shore down to 10 feet at this point and never have to go any deeper and catch a bunch of fish.

Lake Oroville though we don't have the permitting to guide this lake, we were able to help out with the cast hope benefit tournament. It was a lot of fun, those Oroville bass sure are chunky. They were fighting super hard and average in the 2+ pound range. It is truly a cool fishery. Certainly message us if you'd like to participate in the tournament next year. It is fly fishing only and the food, lodging, company and fishing are great. 

McCloud

It looks like it is going to be another good year on the McCloud. Opening weekend was productive, and showed off a healthy population of young fish with a couple of bigger ones mixed in. We are off to a solid start, and fishing should only improve as spring sets in and temperatures rise.

The river is sitting just above 300 CFS at Ah-Di-Na. Visibility is excellent. The creeks are still pushing a lot of water, so be ready for the river to be a little higher than you may expect below the gauge.

There were some sporadic mayfly hatches, but nothing significant enough to rise many trout. If you find yourself in a spring storm, be ready to throw a large green drake dry. This hatch on McCloud is inconsistent, but when it happens it can make for a great day. The focus right now is mostly on the nymph game. As is often the case, you just can’t beat the rubber legs. Fish seem particularly interested in it when swung or bounced. Fishing the dry dropper through shallow water can also be effective, and it won’t be long before golden stones start hatching and the trout start chasing that dry as well.

This time of year, the best fishing tends to be during the middle of the day after the water has had a chance to warm up a bit. Surely, this won’t be the only strong report out there on on McCloud, so don’t expect to have the river to yourself. The road to Ah-Di-Na is in it’s standard condition, and the road to Ash Camp is open.  

Upper Sacramento

The Upper Sac is just about to drop into what I consider prime flows. Today we are sitting at 1550 CFS, which is a bit high for the lower sections of the river, but excellent for fishing Conant and up. Early outings have been productive, with the main challenge being navigating a slippery river at pushy flows. Soft edges and pockets are holding fish well. Right now, it’s all been nymphing on the Upper Sac, but once the stoneflies get going this is one of my favorite places to fish. For now, size 12 and 14 mayflies such as Perdigon, Duracell, and Pheasant Tail have been working well.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or to book a day with one of our guides.

Riley Renick

info@wildwatersflyfishing.com

877-934-7466