Lost Coast Outfitters Fishing Report 12/14/22

Upper Sacramento: It’s winter, who knew?! Access is tough on upper river just due to snow. If you’re sniffing around the Upper Sac, stay below Conant for less snow and easier parking/walking. Anglers fishing the McCartle area have reported decent catching. Stick to small mayfly nymphs #16-18, Rubber Legs #8-10 and small yellow egg patterns to boot. Nothing unusual to report, fair fishing if you are willing to put in some time. The water is a little lower than normal, but that’s largely due to the cold temps and no snowmelt/rain.

Pop in or Call Ted Fay Fly Shop for up to the minute reports. 

Lower Sacramento: Fishing well, as it often does in winter. Strong BWO hatches and good nymphing, S&M, Psycho May. Small Pheasant Tails #16-18 mayflies, anything olive baetis looking. Attach a bobber, and just add water. While strong hatches don’t always translate to good dry fly fishing on the Lower Sac, it’s certainly possible and it pays to keep an eye out for heads sipping adult mayflies. Releases out of the dam are on the low side for this time of year hover around 3000cfs.

Call Dustin Revel for a day on the Lower Sac: 530-921-1563

Putah Creek: We are under a voluntary spawning closure right now. It runs December 1 st through March 1 st every year. Yes, the creek is technically open to fish, but please give these wild trout a break and venture elsewhere. If you want to watch some spawning activity, take a walk along the trails next to the creek and look for big fish in pairs or pods over clean gravel in moving water. Super cool and educational.

The Delta: Beautiful conditions post storm. Clean water through much of the Delta, but a fairly tough bite. It’s between season out there, and the fishing is marginal as expected. Water temperatures are below 50 degrees and fish are in their winter pattern. Look for flats where the water will warm a bit through the day. Sometimes it only takes a couple degrees to turn on the bite. 10-20 fish/day for the boat is a good day right now and you need work for them. This isn’t big fish time, but still some decent fish reported, in the 5 pound range. Nothing to get super excited about currently, but well worth fishing on decent weather days. Not much pressure out there either, so if you want to have a pleasant day without any competition winter is where it’s at!

Call Bryce Tedford for trips on the Delta year-round: 206-696-2437

The Bay/Beach: It’s perch time on the Bay Area beaches. In between storms, look for calm days without a big swell. Sinking lines with an array of small brown/tan/orange crab patterns will net you a few of our palm sized native beach dwellers. Stop by the shop and pick up a couple of our custom perch patterns and we’ll line you out on a good stretch of beach to check out.

Eastern Sierra:

The East Walker is closed for the season. Opens again on the last Saturday in April.

Upper Owens: Snow and more snow on the upper river. This is good, but makes access tough. The river is accessible by snowmobile, skis or walking in on snow machine tracks. The water and conditions are COLD. However, it’s worth the effort, because trophy trout swim up from Crowley Lake in winter and hang in the river. The drought has affected the river as it enters the lake and made it tough for fish to get up into the river, but the fish want to get out of the lake as it freezes over and they will make it up eventually. The big fish are parked in the deeper pools and cut banks. To find them you need to be systematic and fish each spot thoroughly. They won’t move far to eat a fly. They are lethargic due to cold temps, but just keep casting and you’ll find them. San Juan worm in pink and red is the number one pattern. Eggs, tiny Pheasant Tails and other small mayfly nymphs under a small indicator are the way to go. Be patient, fish hard.

Lower Owens: The lower river, near Bishop, is much warmer and fishing well. Bonus: no snow on the ground. Air temps are in the 50’s and water temps only a little lower. BWO’s are showing in the late morning and the window is short, but if you want to get fish on dry flies in December, this is one of your best opportunities. Fish a #18 parachute BWO, Quigley Cripple or Sparkle Flag on a long leader. Drift the foam lines, the fish are there. On the nymphing side, fish the deeper buckets with #16-20 Pheasant Tails, midges, Hares Ears and other standard nymphs under a bobber or tightline.

Report From Jim Stimson

Truckee:

As expected, the water is low and cold. Anywhere on the California side is hard to access right now just due to snow. Much-needed recent storms have dumped feet of powder on the Tahoe region and most of the locals are skiing. However, if you cruise on down to the NV side, east past Sparks, you’ll find no snow and some decent fishing (remember to buy a Nevada fishing license). The Nature Conservancy section is a good option, with more flow and access. Not much in the dry fly category right now, but streamers and nymphs will put you in the money. If you’re chucking streamers, concentrate on the slower water and pools and throw standard patterns, like black leeches and various Bugger patterns. Nymphing with Zebra Midges and egg patterns under a bobber is the ticket if you want to go that route. Or, do both, and fish all the water. Find yourself a two-footer for Christmas.

Call Matt “Gilligan” Koles to fish the Truckee, year-round: 775-351-6665

Lower Yuba: The last storm blew out Deer Creek, and therefore most of the lower river. Good news is it’s already clearing up and fishable. It will keep dropping and clearing as conditions dry out. Anytime you see a high water event, strap on a Rubberlegs and a worm and throw it under a bobber. That’s a foolproof recipe. You may still see a few salmon spawning and various egg patterns are still in the mix. Mostly the trout are keyed on small baetis and midges, as is standard for winter. Small Pheasant Tails, Zebra Midges, S&M BWO or anything small and olive/brown will take fish. Anglers are catching a few steelhead here and there so stay cool if you set the hook on something substantial that rips some line off your reel. Dry fly action is possible 365 days a year on the Lower Yuba. It’s a little inconsistent right now but if you’re patient and keep your eyes open you’ll find fish sipping BWO’s here and there. Tie on a #18 Parachute Adams on a long leader and make an accurate cast. Streamer fishing produces throughout the winter too. Buggers, Zonkers, soft hackles will all produce, stripped or swung.

Call Ben Thompson to get out on the Lower Yuba: 916-743-8290

Trinity River: Good days and tough days mixed in. When a good rain storm hits and freshens up the water, anglers are getting good numbers of fish, but when it’s cold and dry most folks are only getting a handful of hook-ups a day. Still, 2-4 fish a day doesn’t suck and if you play your calendar right with the water conditions, you can hook triple that number. Still a few spawning salmon around so a glo bug or bead will take fish. Most folks have been fishing smaller nymphs like Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Dark Lord and of course stoneflies like black/brown Rubber Legs. Flows out of the dam are spot on normal for this time of year at 297cfs.

Call Dustin Revel for year-round trips on the Trinity: 530-921-1563

Klamath River: Fishing is fair to good depending on the day and time of day. The upper 30 miles are sporting excellent water conditions, albeit a bit low compared to the long-term median flow. All the recent precipitation has come in the form of snow, so the water clarity is good and stable. Water temps are solid, in the high 40s to low 50s. The bite is kind of tough mid-day just because of cold weather. Both swinging and nymphing are producing fish. If you’re swinging think sink tip and smaller wet flies. If you’re nymphing stick to stoneflies and egg patterns. Fish the water appropriately, meaning, swing the riffles and runs and nymph the seams and pockets. Cover all the holding water you can find and you’ll find fish.

Call Chuck at Wild Waters Fly Fishing for Klamath River trips: 530-859-3474

Napa River: Clean water mid 50s temps with good fishing before the before the rain blew it out and muddied up the water. The Napa is often off-color, but if it’s too brown it can be unfishable. As soon as we get a few dry days in a row it will be game on. Watch the tides and don’t get stuck in the mud.

Call Patrick Mackinzie year-round for guided trips on the Napa River: 707-721-6700

AC Flyfishing Reports on 10.22.20

We're entering the heart of our Fall fishing season here in Northern California. We've had some exceptionally good fishing taking place on our local rivers and the weather has been fantastic. From the Lower Sac to the Upper Sac, McCloud, Fall River, etc. There are so many excellent options this time of year. 

Dave Neal Reports on 3.11.2020

There are a lot of solid fly fishing options in Northern CA right now and through the months of March and April. My short list includes: the Lower Sacramento River, Trinity River, Upper Sac, Pit 3, Shasta Lake for bass.

Steelhead season is winding down. There are fish in the upper Trinity River and believe it when I say that February & March have been some of the best fishing we have seen all season long. The reason? The wild fish arrived and with the tribs too low they’ve been hanging out in the river with no place to go. That all may change this weekend when/if we see a return of rain. If the tribs bump… those fish will too! I wish them the best…it’s been a tough few months to be a steelhead in northern CA and they have places they should be.

Lower Sac is a solid option right now. Fishing has been what you’d expect in March with great weather… it’s ON. Water conditions are good, flows are good and many of the springtime bugs are active. PMD’s, BWO’s, spring caddis, along with stoneflies, large drake nymphs, midges and egg patterns rounding out the menu.

The Lower Sac should remain a top choice for anglers over the next few months…

For those walk n wade fly fishers who just wanna… the Upper Sac and Pit 3 can offer up some amazing potential right now. Flows are prime time perfect… just keep an eye on the precip headed this way this weekend. Heavy rain might affect the Upper Sac more than the tailwater of the Pit River below Lake Britton. Similar bugs to the Lower Sac with maybe more of a focus on general attractor patterns like Pheasant Tails, Price Nymphs (hard to beat the Gordon’s Prince), black midges, rubber legs, etc… along with any of your favorite tung. Czech nymphs you’ve been tying up all winter. 

Finally, Shasta bass fishing is really heating up. Yesterday, on the eastside of the lake I saw some of the warmest surface temps yet 55-58 degrees. I got into a mess of spots and some nice hard pulling smallies, too. A lot of fish still clinging deep in 30-40’ of water but plenty are willing on the float n fly as temps warm up in the shallow areas later afternoon. When I’m not trout fishing on the Lower Sac or running late season trips to the Trinity… I am out on Shasta Lake in the bass boat every chance I get right now. 

Dave Neal Reports on 2.20.20

I’m not really quite sure what to make of the weather lately… I’m conflicted. On one hand it has been wonderful soaking up spring like sunny weather every day. It’s been beautiful for weeks!!!

But deep down inside I know that we should be dealing with ice in the snake guides, frozen anchor ropes and numb fingers at this time of year. It’s winter steelhead season for F&%$# sake! We should be swinging flies with dredging tips and dumbbell eyes. All the while questioning our sanity for being out there - in horrid conditions - understanding that all the rain and snow we are enduring is exactly what our wild trout and wild steelhead need at this time of year and for the long hot summer ahead.  

So, as nice as it’s been fishing and working in these wonderful sunny conditions lately… winter should be wintering right now. It shouldn’t feel like spring, yet. 

Trinity River:

Fishing the Trinity River for steelhead has been very good these past few weeks. We have had some of our best days of the season in early to mid February. The wild fish have slowly trickled in and I suspect we’ll see more arrive when we get some rain and another good flow bump. It seems that a lot of anglers gave up on the Trinity this winter (as the Coast turned on). So, it has been real quiet lately. Many days we were the only boat on an entire stretch of river along with maybe one bank angler. The fish are around and they have all been wild. Swinging flies can be a good time right now…

The water conditions are back to very low and clear. It’s been on a slow drop for a while. I imagine things will be much tougher from here on out until we get rain. The fish in the river system will hunker down in the holes and deeper water, waiting for rain and flows to rise in the tribs.  

Keep an eye on the forecast and I would say Game On when we finally get some rain.

Lower Sacramento River

The Lower Sacramento trout fishery is decent right now. The window is short… more like a half day 4-5 hours when the fish are most active. 11-4pm is solid and you can look for the small caddis, midges, along with midday PMD action.

Who knows what’s in the forecast? Will we have a Miracle March? Odds are good that rain at some point this spring will return. Don’t put away the Gore-Tex yet. For now, I suggest getting out and fishing! 

March-May is a great time on the Lower Sac (probably my favorite time of year on this river). We will soon see developing PMD emergence & the Pink Alberts, March Brown mayflies, and random drakes along with little yellow stones, GS stones, and ubiquitous caddis. If you haven’t experienced a trip on this river, ever, or it has been a while, you should do so this season.

Aaron Grabiel Reports on 2.17.20

Trinity

Lower Sacramento

Fishing is steady with fish eating drys and swung soft hackles.   This is a great time of year to explore the “lower Sac” as with the low water wading is effective in many areas.  Get out and fish this place it’s a trout factory.  Size 12-16 tan poopahs, peaches and cream, size 16-18 black micro mays, various May flies.   On top the Mercer’s missing link in black size 16 has been great. 

Coast

Brian Clemens Reports on Happy New Years Everyone,

TRINITY

FEATHER

Flows: 800 Low Flow, 1900 High Flow
Clarity: Perfect 8-10ft viz hint of green
Fishing: Good to Great
The section above hwy70 is now open

YUBA

AMERICAN 

Lower Sac

YUBA RIVER SHAD and STRIPER trips:

My Available Dates for Feather, Yuba, Lower Sac, American

My Trinity Lower Sac Dates

August, September, and October are great months to get out and chase steelhead. the tricky thing is showing restraint when the temps get too high. The Lower Trinity, Klamath, Rogue River offer great steelhead opportunities this time of year. We hope you get out there and skate a Dry and get a few blow ups! It's the best way to fish steelhead. 

A quick note if you are planning a trip to the Trinity:

The Trinity River flows are increasing from 450 cfs (cubic feet per second) to 2,650 cfs between September 1st and 2nd (During Labor Day weekend!). Flows will return to 450 cfs by September 5.