Hello Fellow Anglers,
Boy, April was one crazy month, the fishing on the Lower Sac was and still is absolutely EPIC, the Feather had some great fishing at the beginning of the month, then when the word got out, the fishing tightened up a bit, but that's fishing pressure for you. With rain still coming down every now and then, and the snow pack still needing to melt, May as well as June and even the late summer months are going to be great.
Lower Sac:
Even though its a bit of a drive, it is well worth it. I have been spending a good amount of time on this river because the fishing is almost to good to believe. Hooking 25 to 35 fish a day is the norm, with fish ranging from 16 to 26". Nymphing with rubberlegs, caddis, pmds and other mayfly patters has been the main game, but if you know the right spots you can get some fish swinging as well. Water flows are great, fishing is absolutely "EPIC" and will continue to be great for the next month or even two. If you are looking to hook a lot of fish, this is the place for you. My next few weeks looking pretty full with only a few available dates, so if you are looking to get out asap, book now. Also dont forget about fall fishing, I am already starting to book for fall trips, don't wait last minute to book your fall egg bite trip.
Feather:
Even though its not as good as it was a few weeks ago, we are still hooking 8 to 12 hook fishing a day with fish ranging from 16 to 26", not bad for steelhead fishing in my book. Nymphing of course is the main producer here, with princes, caddis and mays as the main flys, and trying worms, sucker spawns and even eggs for tougher days. Fly selection has been a bit more important the last few weeks. Swinging this time of year can be awesome, especially with the nice caddis hatches we are seeing. With flows just ramping up in the High Flow to 2k cfs, this will bring up not only the spring run salmon, but also more hot spring run steelhead that we all seek. Fishing should continue to be good, sometimes even great for the next month, maybe 6 weeks, and slowly taper off after that. Looking to hook into some sweet steelhead, this is the only place in town, and there are still some nice fish to be had. Remember, I don't have to many days remaining in May, book now before they are gone. Also, don't forget about the fall fishing on the Feather, dates are being booked now for the egg bite, dont wait to book.
American:
This is the one river that has recently surprised us. Both myself and Tom recently went out in search of Steelhead, Striper and Shad and we were pretty happy with the outcome. Now we didn't find any steelhead, but we have the Feather for that, the shad are slowly making there way in, as far up as Gristmil, but the numbers are not great yet, but if you put in your time you will get a few. Give it another week or so and shad fishing should be really good. With the nice high flows, this should be one epic shad run, nothing like hooking 20,30 even 40 fish in just a few hours, and the fight is nothing but incredible. Now lets talk about the Striper fishing. We found many willing stripers to eat our flies from 16" to 7lbs, with many grabs, some nice ones to the boat and many big ones seen swimming around. Even though its "NOT STRIPER TIME" yet, now is the time to target these bruisers on the fly before it gets to crowded. We are using 8wt rods throwing 350gr striper lines and our special clousers to get the job done. Want to get into some fishing without the drive for fish that pull like Mack trucks, look no further than the American River. Dates are already filling up in June for shad and striper trips, and with very few days in May, time to think about your next trip.
Truckee:
Quality, Quality and Quality. Thats all I have to say about that. Yes the water is a bit cooler than normal, but the flows are perfect and the big fish are on the eat. The snow melt hasn't hit yet, and I think there are a few more weeks before that happens, so get up there now while the fishing is good. Again its all about quality not quantity this year, and we are seeing some really big fish to hand, bows ranging from 16 to 22" and browns pushing upper 20"s. The numbers of fish are not there, but what we give up for numbers we truly do make up for in the quality (size) of fish. What can you do to get these fish to eat, well lets see, Nymphing, high sticking, Czech nymphing, streamers, drys, and well just about anything really. Once the snow melt happens, it will be about 3-4 weeks before its fishable again, once that comes around, this summer is going to be really really good. I plan on doing many trips up the the Truckee this year, so if you are looking to learn one of the coolest trout fisheries on the Eastern Side, this is the place for you.
Yuba:
The river is still a bit high to fish effectively. Once the flows come down to reasonable levels, look for this place to start fishing really well. But if you cant travel and want to get a few hours of fishing in, try fishing the edges with stones, caddis and mays and you should pick up a few fish. But be careful, flows are really high and I do not recommend wading. Id give this place about a month, and it should be ready for the taking.
Putah:
She has been a tough one this year, with the fire, came a lot of silt which filled in a good amount of the holding areas for these fish. If you put in your time you will get some fish, but its nothing like it was in the past few years. Its unfortunate that the fire hurt the creek this badly, but Putah is a resilient river, and I look forward to seeing how she fishes in the months to follow. As always, small caddis, mays and midges with light tippet will get you on the fish. Plan on moving around a lot to find them though.
As stated above, we are already booking fall/winter trips, and with the fishing as good as it is right now, best we have seen in years, not only will May, June and July have some great fishing, its going to be good to great through summer, fall and winter. If you are looking to book a fishing trip in the near future, over the summer or for the fall/winter fishing, look to get those prime dates now. Also I have listed my Trinity River dates as well.
Available Dates:
May 11,13,15,17(half day morning),18,19,24(half day evening),26,27,28,30
June 1,2,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,18(half day morning),19(half day evening),20,21,22,23,24,27,28,29,30
July 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31
Also due to the addition of a second guide, additional dates
may be available. Please inquire if none of the dates above work for you.
Trinity River Available Dates:
Time to start thinking about the Trinity once again, man I cant wait
September - Depends on water conditions and requests
October 19-26
November 16-23
December 16-23
January 16-23
February 6-13,27,28
March 1-14
One of the most important things coming up in the near future for Nor Cal Fly Guides is:
That we will have a booth at the Auburn NorCal Rec Show starting May 20-22. Please make sure you come up and say hi.
There you have it folks, I really hope you are all out enjoying some of the great fishing that Northern California has to offer right now. Things are really looking up for the next few months as well as going into late summer, and even fall/winter. Its going to be great 2016 fishing season.
I hope you all enjoyed the report
As always thank you for your support
and
Looking forward to hearing and seeing you all soon
