Rob George Reports on December 15th, 2024

Thank You 

Robert George 

The Bend Company Fly Fishing 

707-812-4671

thebendcoflyfishing.com

Instagram: @thebendco

Rob George Reports on November 12th, 2024

Trinity River Report

The fish are in!! We’ve had some seriously good days on the boat so far this season. There’s a good mix of adults and big half pounders in the river right now, which means a ton of opportunities to wrestle with a big adult steelhead. It’s all about finding the fish and getting your fly in front of their faces. They’ve been holding in shallow and deep sections and are scattered throughout the system so fish everything!!

Recommend flies:
Pats Rubber Legs
Duracell
Red copper John
Solitude Golden stone



Putah Creek

The flows on Putah dropped below 100cfs and it’s definitely turned down the volume on the bite. The fish will still eat your bugs, but we’re having to work for grabs. Locating the deeper pools on the creek is going to be your best shot at getting hook ups. The water is moving slower, the presentation of your bugs is the key to success. If you’re struggling on Putah, try switching to a smaller more realistic patterns.

Recommend flies:
(Nymphs)
Barr Emerger
WD-40
WD-50
Quasimodo Pheasant Tail
Zebra Midge
San Juan Worm
S&M Nymph


Thank You,

Robert George
The Bend Company Fly Fishing
707-812-4671
thebendcoflyfishing.com
Instagram: @thebendco

Riley Rennick of Wildwaters Flyfishing reports on Nov 12th, 2024

Klamath 

The Klamath continues to move sediment that was trapped behind Iron Gate dam. Turbidity is improving and beginning to approach what I would consider fishable. The banks and boat launches have significant amounts of mud, which will limit access. It’s hard to say when exactly the Klamath will be fishable again, but I am still hopefully that I will catch a 2024 Klamath steelhead. Though water clarity has limited our ability to fish this river, the fish are moving through with no problem. Salmon numbers in Klamath tribs are decent this year, and fish have already made it past the former dam site.

McCloud

It’s no secret that the McCloud is having a strong year. There have been plenty of October Caddis around, and the tail end of October and into November is when the fish really key into them. The river has been fairly crowded, but as per usual if you are willing to hike you can find some solitude. The usual Mccloud setups are still producing: dry dropper and indicator rigs with chubbys, rubber legs, and size 14 or 16 mayfly and caddis nymphs. The Nature conservancy shuts down on November 15^th, though the rest of the river is now open to fishing year-round. During the winter, the road is not plowed past the reservoir boat launch. A storm is predicted to drop 3-7 inches of snow at 4,000 feet on 11/13; with more precip in the 10-day forecast. 

Rogue

With the Klamath out thus far this season, we have been venturing north more often than usual. The Rogue is having a fairly thin year, but both indicator fishing and swinging has produced some quality fish. For the indicator – just your typical fall time setup: stonefly and a 8mm or 10mm bead. For swinging, light sink tips with classic flys or small intruder style flys. The coming storm could stir things up and get fish going again.

The Coast

Rumor has it the salmon guys have been getting into them out on the coast. With last years nonstop rain and high water, we are even more excited than usual to get out and start chasing winter steelhead. We will start poking around in about a month – and be full steam ahead by the new year, check back for more.

 

LCO Team Takes a Trip to the Trinity River on November 10th

Fall on the Trinity River is incredibly special — the colorful foliage, cooler temperatures, and a healthy return of steelhead make it a bucket list destination for many California anglers. This past weekend, I headed up to the Trinity with my colleague and good buddy Morgan. We had one noble yet difficult goal: hooking and landing an adult steelhead on the swing. 

We crashed in Arcata at a buddy’s place on Saturday night and had a great bonfire on the beach. Everyone involved stayed up too late, but that is customary for the evening before a highly anticipated trip. Campfire beers help kill the pre-trip jitters. 

On Sunday morning, we met Sammy MacDonnell of 530 Outfitters at a small put in and prepared for a day of swinging flies. Being a professional and experienced guide, Sammy made sure to remind us to set reasonable expectations for the day. He explained, “We have to remember that we are attempting to do one of the harder things in fly fishing, and that people call these things the fish of 1,000 casts for a reason.” 

To my surprise, I got a grab on the third cast of the day. It was absolutely beginner’s luck, but hooking a half pounder that leaped into the air felt great. I lost the fish, but got grabbed by another one fifteen or twenty minutes later. This time, the grab visibly jolted my scandi head. I resisted the temptation of setting the hook, but the pressure quickly faded signaling that the fish had dropped the fly or turned without getting hooked. We opined that it must have been an adult, and continued on our float down river.  

In the next run, Sammy set Morgan up on a soft inside corner that looked incredible. On Morgan’s first cast, he hooked a fish that immediately started peeling the line off the reel. His 12 foot 6wt was corked over, and the fish was slowly getting closer to the bank. Just as Sammy and Morgan put eyes on the fish, it made a turn and shook the fly loose. Sammy’s arms went up in disappointment, and Morgan may have let a few expletives fly. That was the fish we were looking for, and it had to have been around 7lbs. Even though we didn’t get Morgan’s fish to hand, we all accepted that the day was already successful. We encountered the animal we had set out to find, and it won. 

As the sun got a bit higher and we all shedded our down jackets, we floated down river, meticulously swinging Sammy’s favorite runs. Morgan and I hooked a dozen or so half-pounders and even doubled-up twice. The river kept getting prettier as we descended through canyons and gorges, and before we knew it, we were running out of light. 

While we pulled the boat out of the water, I realized how special the day had been. I had the opportunity to float a gorgeous river with great company, learn a lot from a phenomenal guide, and see Morgan hook a large adult steelhead. Overall, the day was a pleasant reminder that fishing is more than catching fish — good people, wild scenery, and elusive animals make each day on the water a true blessing.

In the last 2 months I have managed to catch my 2 best striper on Ocean Beach! 

The LCO team has been fishing like maniacs. Infact, on Sunday the entire team was fishing. I was on the Trinity, Jose and Brett were on the bay, Owen was in Idaho trout fishing, and Jake was on Stinson. It's pretty rad how much our team gets out to fish!

Striper fishing has been good! Jose and Brett went out with Captain Gregg Holand on the bay and caught some nice fish in the usual spots Red Rock and Angel Island. The delta fished well for me last week, but it's been really windy out west, Sherm and I casted in 25 MPH winds with 3/0 adachi rattle clousers and found a few quality fish up to maybe 10lbs.

The birds have been all over Ocean Beach and I found a couple of fish early in the week and then a few skunk days to remind me its Ocean Beach. Rising morning tides this week so thats cool!

A great time to be thinking about chrisy feild. 

Saturday/Sunday Trinity River to skate some dries with Tom Mahan at Swingwater guide service. Fish were starting to show up! I boiled a few in the evening. The recent rains should do well to get the fish moving around! Tom was fired up and great guide if you are looking to swing flies on the Trinity River. 

I managed to head back for a few days of work then spent a day with Capt. Ben Thompson on the Sac fishing for striper. A similar story to the delta we fished hard looking for the grande's. We caught some quality fish up to maybe 8 or 9lbs. Ben is an excellent capatian and I highly reccomend booking in on the Sac, Yuba, or Feather for striper or trout. 

Owen hopped on the airplane and touched down in ID for a trout trip with some of his college buddies fishing the Teton and South Fork Snake. 

Dave Neal reports on 2.8.19

Trinity River Steelhead

We had some violent storms this past week in Northern California.
The results of these storms have us slightly ahead (2”) of "normal" for
rainfall and looking good for water content in the snowpack. Woot Woot.
This is great news for salmon, steelhead and wild trout fisheries all over
California and especially here in the North state. Perhaps...

Dave Neal reports on 1.31.19

Trinity River

With several of the CA coastal rivers currently in shape and fishy the
upper Trinity has been fairly nice and quiet this week. Flows are
super fishable throughout the entire upper river so it becomes coin
toss each day on where we fish. I’ve been drifting Bucktail, Indian and
JC floats all this week with results about the same… fish are pretty
spread out and no...

John Rickard reports on 1.24.19

TRINITY RIVER:

The upper river will be seeing plenty of fisherman this coming week. Most will be rewarded for their efforts. Their seems to be a decent amount of fish around and the last storm has likely brought more on the way.

Anthony Carruesco reports on 1.16.18

We’re in the heart of Winter Steelhead season in Northern California. The past few weeks have dealt us a couple of good windows to get after these fish. As many of you should know going into these pursuits; these fish don’t often come easy. Even when you happen to time the conditions just right, it ain’t a sure thing. Winter Steelhead fishing requires a strong...

Dave Neal reports on 12.6.18

Here is a report for the Trinity River:

The amazing Trinity received a lot of rain over last week’s storm system. We thought she would blow out any day but the river held on until the very end… finally blowing out for just a day and a half over last weekend. As soon as it stopped raining the river was on the drop and clearing fast by 12/2/18

The river is back to low and...