…..Hot Flies have been Boles Bazooka’s in Sockeye and Steelhead Orange. Yellow Micro Spawn eggs are a very good choice in the spring on any N. California river, but especially the “Sac”. #6-8 brown rubber legs are another good choice. You might be surprised to know that alevin patterns are working. Try any of the various alevin patterns you can buy at The Fly Shop”.
Tom M. with a Lower Sac Trout- Springtime!
Sunny skies, warm weather. A few clouds dot the horizon looking west from downtown Redding, CA. I heard a couple great reports coming off the Lower Sacramento today by a couple guests that fished with Ernie and Lonnie. Hard to believe it was raining cats and dogs and there was no end in site to the unfishable conditions on the Sac at this time last week. As of Monday April 4th, we are looking at flows of 26,000 cfs, which is perfect. I prefer to fish this river at flows over 10,000 cfs, but Shasta Lake hasn’t had those reserves in recent years. So here we are, back into the classic Lower Sac I love. Just got off the phone with Greg Kennedy, and he remembers how we used to fish it at 20k all the time, not to mention how well it fished! All this water is going to do wonders for this river. And I know, the fishing has been good, but in my mind, I always look back to 2005, 2006 when we had bigger flows, and more reliable fishing in the lower sections of the river, below Anderson, below Jelly’s Ferry, sections of the Lower Sac located south of Redding, CA. If you have ever experienced the killer fishing in all those giant swirls of water below Jelly’s Ferry, you know what I’m talking about. Right now, there’s a few side channels that, no doubt, hold fish trying to escape the crazy water out in the main-stem of the Sac. I think the last time the river looked as good as it does right now was back in 2005? I could pull up graphs and show the history of river levels, but that’s not what this message is about. Just want to let you know, it’s a good time to try fishing the Lower Sacramento here in Redding, CA.
Hot Flies have been Boles Bazooka’s in Sockeye and Steelhead Orange. Yellow Micro Spawn eggs are a very good choice in the spring on any N. California river, but especially the “Sac”. #6-8 brown rubber legs are another good choice. You might be surprised to know that alevin patterns are working. Try any of the various alevin patterns you can buy at The Fly Shop. At these flows, the “Sac” is a totally different river. All the likely spots, like out front of the Posse Grounds, or upstream of that river access, are not going to fish like they did at the low flows of 3,000-4,000. Look for new water! Concentrate on the slower flat stretches. Pick longer floats. Instead of drifting between the Posse Grounds and Bonnieview, try Posse to Anderson River Park. The Fly Shop can help with car shuttles if that’s an issue. The key is keep moving, and that won’t be a problem given the amount of water moving through the Lower Sac.
