Lower Sacramento Striper Report
Ryan Johnston Reports on 8.23.19
Ryan Johnston Reports on 8.23.19
Capt. Hogan Brown
AFFTA Board Member
Director of Marketing for Cast Hope
It’s summertime, folks.. That means there are a lot of options to get out and get after trout with a fly rod. Our main squeeze: the Lower Sac is currently on the drop and is expected to stay steady at 10k cubes this summer. This is the PERFECT flow for the Lower Sac in the Summer. Summer is the most underrated time of year on this powerhouse tailwater. Yes, the days can be hot but this only means one thing: Big afternoon and evening Caddis hatches which equate to some very, very good trout fishing. This is a great time of year to step outside of the box and fish the river with a few different techniques and approaches. Dry fly fishing is a real possibility late in the day during strong Caddis hatches.. getting out of the boat and swinging emerges pre-hatch can be very fruitful. Shallow water dry-dropper and even “tight-line” nymphing can be very productive in the right spots.
LCO 6/13/19
Lower Sac
If you enjoy fly fishing in Northern California you better not be taking any "rest
days"; right now. Some of the best fly fishing of the year is happening now and
things will get better in the coming weeks! So many options (which include
trout of course) but throw Bass, Stripers and American Shad in the mix and it
becomes head spinning the number of great fishing options that exist within 1-3
hours of where you live.
Since I need to focus my energy I will talk about the trout fishing for now…
Lower Sacramento River flows have dropped to 10k in Redding and the fishing
has been improving (mostly been pretty damn good already). We are seeing
good numbers of caddis, little yellow stones and pmd’s in the morning and
afternoon and these bugs are driving the trout fishing right now. We are also
beginning to see prolific ped’s in the evening time… leading to an impressive
spinnerfall in the early mornings.
Fishing all the usual suspects for summer caddis will get you in the game… tan
Birds Nests, tan Silvey’s, cinn Poopahs, and maybe tie up some other flies that
these fish don’t see every day (stick with brown, tan, rusty shades). Be open to
throwing some PMD stuff like small #16 Pheasant Tail variations, Hogan’s S&M,
Nose Pickers, Peaches & Cream, etc… I like the brown S& M early in the morning as I believe the fish eat it as a drowned spinner just as well as a nymph.
Cannot wait for July and August on this river when the caddis really get going!
The evening dry fly fishing can be lights out after sunset on those hot summer
days!
Currently, I have a few days open at the end of June and I would be stoked to
fish with you… June 24, 25, 26, 27.
One last note, it’s not all Lower Sac fishing right now. Flows on the Upper Sac,
McCloud and Pit River are coming into fine shape. Walk & wade season is
underway on these amazing wild trout rivers. Some of the best dry fly fishing of
the season will happen over the next few weeks. Come up and experience it!
Capt. Hogan Brown
AFFTA Board Member
Director of Marketing for Cast Hope
John Rickard reports on 5.30.19
Capt. Hogan Brown reports on 5.30.19
Valley Striper fishing has been hit or miss with the weather but with the weather stabilizing and supposedly hitting 91 by saturday fishing should stabilize and all the rivers resident stripers should get on a more stable pattern of feeding. June - October is prime time on the Yuba, Feather, and Sac for resident stripers and with all the water these rivers have this year fishing should be very good. There are not many guides that fish these rivers and are licensed captains so if you are not on anyones books yet make sure to get on them. I know I have a few dates left as does Capt. Chuck Ragan and Capt. Darrin Deel but soon the calendars will be full and we will be booking 2020.