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Fishing Report

Rogue River, Klamath River, Upper Sacramento and McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

Rogue River, Klamath River, Upper Sacramento and McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

Rick Cox Reports on 10.7.2019

Our Wild Waters Fly Fishing guides have been super busy burning the miles and taking advantage of all the current opportunities that are presenting themselves. Fall is such a great opportunistic time to sample the many rivers near us. The Rogue River has had an excellent return of summer steelhead and the fall/winter fish are just starting to arrive. We have been doing beats from the dam down to TouVelle Park and finding fish. Chrome has also been giving us a good year on the Klamath with an outstanding run of half pounders mixed in with adults. Both of these rivers will only improve as we get into the rest of Fall and when we start getting rain. The Lower Sacramento continues to be just a solid choice for those wanting a day in the boat chasing the big rainbows that the river offers. The salmon are spawning now and the trout menu is all about gobbling eggs. The McCloud has seen crowded on the weekends but mid week has been much quieter as far as crowds. We have been seeing an outstanding year for the October Caddis and the big Stimulators and Chubbys have been the ticket. It closes on the 15th and the browns are beginning their spawning so caution when wading, give the redds a wide birth. The Upper Sacramento, which stays open all year, has been giving up some large fish and is fishing well from Ney Springs to Delta. The October Caddis seem more prevalent from Dunsmuir up to Ney so if you want to throw big dries this is where you want to be, particularly in the late afternoon.
 
Give us a shout if any of these tickle you, we would love to get you out on the river with one of our excellent guides.
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McCloud , Upper Sacramento, and Klamath Rivers Fly Fishing Report

McCloud , Upper Sacramento, and Klamath Rivers Fly Fishing Report

Rick Cox Reports on 10.16.2019

Well kids we are right in the middle of another great Fall season here in the north state. Our guides are in full throttle mode covering the McCloud, Upper Sacramento and Klamath Rivers chasing and finding some awesome fishing. The McCloud River has been giving up some beautiful bows and brownies producing big smiles from our satisfied customers. You can currently find the fish taking both nymphs and dries. The October Caddis are out and about in the mornings and late afternoon. The fish are just starting to key in on them and it will only get better as we get deeper into October and early November. An outing yesterday found top feeders almost all day grabbing Stimmies, Chubby’s and Adams. The Upper Sac has also been fishing great. Mornings are cold and the fishing has been on the slow side but as the afternoon kicks in the fish have been very grabby. Here too the October Caddis are making a showing particularly from Gibson up to Ney Springs. Our outings have had more success recently nymphing but the fish should be getting tickled enough any time soon by these big caddis and start thinking about these USDA choice morsels. Lots of smaller Caddis out too so think Poopahs as a go to nymph. Up on the Klamath we are seeing an outstanding return of half pounders. We have been covering the river from Happy Camp up to Iron Gate Dam and finding sizable half pounders and a few adults sprinkled in.
 
Will all these opportunities presenting themselves my recommendation is you folks get up here now before the train leaves the station and another great Fall season has slipped by. Give us a call and we can get you setup with one of our many Wild Waters Fly Fishing guides for a fun day on the river.
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Upper Sac, McCloud River and McCloud Reservoir Fly Fishing Report

Upper Sac, McCloud River and McCloud Reservoir Fly Fishing Report

Wild Waters Fly Fishing Reports on 8.29.2019

August fishing has actually been pretty good considering it’s usually the slowest month here. Given we are still experiencing the last of the snow melt and cooler water temps it has been a good time the last few weeks on both the McCloud, Upper Sac, Lower Sac and McCloud Reservoir for clients. It looks like a hot spell is upon us right now but by Labor Day weekend temps get back to 80’s. This will probably be the last of the hot, the nights will be cooling soon and the fishing will improve. Best bet right now is nymphing your bugs deep near the bottom, fishing the faster oxygenated water and pockets. We are finding small midges, soft hackles and rubber legs are getting some nice fish for us. Surprisingly too the McCloud Reservoir has been putting out unbelievable numbers, this is always a great alternative this time of year. Give us a shout if you want to join in on the fun.

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McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

McCloud River Fly Fishing Report
The McCloud River
 
The magical McCloud River has been giving up some excellent days for us. Again evenings here are the main theme for catching fish. If you are willing to stay late you will be rewarded with some spectacular dry fly fishing.  Big bushy bugs about size 8 with a dropped nymph or a small Adams trailed behind it will get you in the game. The river has clouded up some due to Mud Creek so the spooky ability factor is diminished. Small bugs in size 14 and smaller are getting the job done for us but don’t be shy about throwing on that big rubber leg occasionally. The McCloud in the summer offers no crowds and nice cold water, a good recipe for giving us a shout and booking one of our outstanding McCloud guides.
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Upper Sac, Pit River, McCloud, Fall River Fly Fishing Reports

Upper Sac, Pit River, McCloud, Fall River Fly Fishing Reports

LCO Reports on 6.26.2019

We have been up fishing in Northern California and having great fishing. The Upper Sacramento River (check out our Upper Sacramento River Profile)  continue to drop into perfect shape. Reports from the McCloud have been moments of brilliance bookended by hard work. The weather has been unseasonably cool for this time of year throwing the bugs off a bit. The Pit River has been the shining star up north with excellent nymphing and fish holding in nearly every little pocket. 

If you are looking for a killer day on a boat check out the fall river. The 5 rivers just completed and the Fall River boasted some incredible #'s and the largest fish of 22". The hex hatch is in full swing on the Lower Fall too!

from Cal Trout: 

All teams crushed it on the third day of the 5 Rivers Challenge, netting a collective 2,449 fish inches across the five rivers. It was a tight race with only 124.5 total fish inches separating the top three teams

🥉 Third place went to Brent Ryhlick and David Merisko with 1,231.5 total fish inches and 109 fish caught.

🥈 Second place went to David Moser and Steve Johnson, who had an epic day on the Upper Sac and McCloud. They netted 117 fish over the three days for a total of 1,246.5 fish inches

🥇 First place went to returning champ Josh Udesen and partner Chad Alderson who reeled in 513" on day three where they fished the Pit and Hat Creek. Josh netted 29 fish on the Pit alone. Their three-day total came in at 123 fish and 1,356 fish inches.

🎣 Largest fish of the tournament was caught by Michael Parry - a 22" hog on the Fall River

We want to thank all the participants and guides for making the time to support CalTrout in this unique way. Huge shoutout to Clearwater Lodge at The Pit River for hosting the event! All proceeds from 5RC go to our work ensuring these five rivers and others across the state have healthy waters for fish and people.

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McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

Max Salit reports on 6.6.19

McCloud River 

After plans for a float trip fell through, there was one river in CA
that I knew I couldn’t pass up for a long weekend getaway to start up
my trout season: The McCloud River. The flows were considerably high
for the time time of year but after all the rain and snow last winter,
this was expected.

The weekend started with sunshine and massive salmon flies and stone
everywhere. We didn’t see many fish rising but the dark lord nymph
game was strong.

Working the water efficiently and covering the ground was mandatory
because the river access in many areas was limited due to high flows.
We fished the accessible stots we could as hard as we could and worked
the holes and deep channels with streamers. The latter paid off with
midday a 21’ brown on the LCO recommended Dali Lama streamer.

On Saturday night the rain came in…hard. It remained on and off rainy
all Sunday and made one clear change to the fish and river: lots of
small mayflies popping and plenty of fish rising. This gave us an
opportunity to tie on some tiny dries that ended up with rewarding us
with more nice fish.


My takeaways:

Its ALWAYS worth the drive.

Plastic Tarps are worth their weight in gold when camping in the rain.

Always bring dry flies… you never know when you will use them.

Browns are aggressive and temperamental meat eaters they will surprise
you with their ability to smash a fast moving big chunky fly.

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McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

John Rickard reports on 5.30.19

McCloud River
The flows on the McCloud are slowly dropping and are currently 625 cfs at Ah Di Na. Typical summer flows are around 250 cfs, so it is still quite high. These flows shouldn’t deter you as we are catching some wonderful fish on both dries and nymphs. A few monster browns have already come to the net and it is shaping up to be yet another stellar year on Californias most prized river. Wildflowers are blooming everywhere and the bug life is thick.
Salmonflies are prolific and everyday we are seeing more and more golden stones. Techniques that are working best are the dry n dropper in the slicks and few pockets, the bobber n’ nymph in the pools and seams, and the dry fly in the slicks and pockets. We would love to get you out on the river and have some of our best guides available. Please give Rick a call at 877-934-7466.
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McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

Wildwaters reports on 5.23.19

It’s been quite the dance this past week with all the rain and even a bit of snow. However, we have been making things work. It’s been about putting on the raincoat and dealing with the increased flows. We’ve seen some spectacular fish come to the net and even the dry fly has been working.

The McCloud River

The river has seen its fair share of recent rain , the gauge

 at the dam registered 7 inches since last week. Releases out the dam bumped up but are starting to decrease. The river is still high running at 700 cfs but fish can be found. It continues to drop slowly and the forecast after this Memorial Day weekend is for great spring weather. You want to be here, the Golden Stones will be busting out soon along with the Mayflies and Caddis. Give us a shout for Prime Time NOW!

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McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

John Richard reports on 5.9.19

McCloud River Fishing Report

The McCloud River is still experiencing high flows (532 CFS at Ah Di Na), but the fishing is quite good. The higher flows may limit some access and adjust the way you approach your favorite spot but it is likely that you’ll thoroughly enjoy your day. Last week our guides caught fish in a variety of ways. We were thrilled to throw the dry...

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