Spring Fishing Report and a bit more...(BAJA)

Hello Everyone,

WOW, what a start to the 2017 fishing season. All we can say is water, water and more water. Oh and more water to come. Hopefully the rainy season is behind us, and only good fishing to come.

This year has been a bit challenging, especially on local water. The opener on the American was the worst in years, the Feather was brown due to the damage to the dam, the Yuba was high and brown as well, everything was high and brown, even the Lower Sac. The only fishable water that kept me busy was the Trinity, but even that is now flowing to high. So you may be asking, is there anything fishable right now, and  the answer is yes and thats soon to come. 

For those that typically book fall/winter trips, I would highly recommend booking well in advance, the sooner the better. This fall is going to be one to remember, and I hope to be able to experience it with you. With the amount of water that we have, with plenty more to come, we will have plenty of water for fall fishing, and the water temps are going to be very favorable for the fish. Once all these rivers come into shape, available dates will be hard to come by. We are already booking fall trips, so now is the time to get your dates for the fall/winter season.

So lets talk current fishing report:

American:

Current flows are 15k, water clarity is really good. The only fishing to be had right now are for stripers. You are going to work for a handful of fish, but this time of year is when you will find the bigger fish. So if you want to hook that 10-15lber now is the time. Also, we should start seeing shad in the next few weeks, which will bring in even more stripers. As far as steelhead, dont even bother, think fall for these chrome domes, mid to late October before the upper closer can be a ton of fun. For now think stripers, and in a few weeks shad.

Feather:

DONT BOTHER!!!!! Flows are 35k, a bit to high to fish effectively. Start looking towards the fall for your trips here. Advanced booking highly recommended. October and November is prime time. Late Sept early October, pre-egg bite/pre-spawn can be epic.

Yuba:

The clarity is absolutely perfect, and I hope the flows come down to fishable levels soon. As soon as it hits 3-4k, Ill be out there working it hard. Current flows are 7500cfs and very slowly dropping. Once the flows drop to fishable levels, its going to be interesting. I scouted it about a month back and I am super excited in what I saw. A very braided river, and its definitely a NEWBA River, and one will have to relearn it all over again. Dont know how soon it will be fishable, Im guessing July, but who knows. What I do know is if you are looking to fish it this in the fall, I highly recommend advance booking. I love fishing it mid Sept to mid Oct before the crowds, pre-egg bite/pre-spawn.

Trinity:
Current flows 11k, definitely not fishable and wont be for a long time. Ill start back on this river come mid/late August, and fish it hard till late March early April. Im already booking fall/winter trips, and if you are looking to do the same, start booking now. If you like to swing like me, late August to late October is prime time for swinging. Lot of swinging with muddlers and skaters during that time of year and a good amount of action to boot. If you want to learn how to swing, I can not think of a better, more beautiful place than the Trinity in the fall. Hot fish eating swung flies throughout the day, while seeing lots of wildlife as well as fall colors, no bobbers needed. This river is becoming more popular every year for my clients, and finding available dates is becoming harder to find. So if you are looking to book a trip or two on the Trinity between August and April, advance booking is extremely recommended. 

Lower Sac:

I have done a few trips on the Lower Sac over the past few weeks. All the trips have been at 20k, 25k and 30k, personally, not my style of fishing, it just wasn't fun for us (clients and myself). Several trips were postponed mostly due to myself not wanting to subject my clients to those fishing conditions, and they also agreed with me. Was it fishable, yes, were we hooking a good number of fish, yes, however, not much fishable water. Where there was, typically 4-8 boats working the same float (about 100yrds long), most fishing was done with beads and above Bonneyview. Also we were doing a double float from Posse to Bonney and the water at the time was 18-20" of viz in brownish water. It just wasn't the experience I wanted to give me clients, and not an experience they personally wanted.

However, there is good news for the very near future. Come 5/1 flows will be at 9k and dropping slowly to 7k by 5/3. If you know the Lower Sac and have fished it this time of you, you know that its prime time both flows and timing. So if you are looking to get out and wet a line, I highly recommend booking your trip on the Lower Sac starting 5/1. 

There you have it folks, your current fishing report. Wish I had more to report, but with all the water coming down, its hard to find good fishable water to take clients out on. But in just a week, the Lower Sac will be ready for you, and hopefully the fishing will get better over the next few weeks. 

As stated earlier, if you typically book fall/winter trips with me on any river system, I highly recommend booking well in advance. With how things are and have been over the past few months, everyone will be itching to get out this fall/winter, and dates will be hard to come by. Book now - fun later!!!!

Available Dates:

May 3,4,5,6,8,10,11,14,15,20-25,29-31

Please contact me for more available dates in 2017/2018

Available Trinity Dates:

August - Sept

30,31,1,2,5,6

Sept

11,12,13,14,22,23,26

October

10,11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,20

November

14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22

December

15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23

Please contact me for more available dates in 2017/2018

Lastly, I still have a few spots available for my July 24th-28th hosted trip to Baja, through Baja Pirates. The cost for 5 days, 4 nights, 3 days fishing is $1100. 

If you are interested in more info about this hosted trip, please contact me and Ill send you all the info needed for booking a spot.

There you have it folks, hope you enjoyed the report. Some good fishing just around the corner, cant wait to see what the rest of the season holds. 

Hope to see you on the water soon,

Thank you again for all your support

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER
KEEP THOSE LINES TIGHT

Brian Clemens

NOR CAL FLY GUIDES
530-354-3740
WWW.NORCALFLYGUIDES.COM
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*Due to the high volume of bookings, Nor Cal Fly Guides is unable to hold a date(s) for more than 24hrs unless a specific agreement is made. All bookings are done on a first come first serve basis.*