Well this has come a bit later than I would have liked but then again this year has been a very strange and interesting year. I was fully booked out from March to June, but then covid came along and I didnt do one guided trip in March or April as everyone cancelled their trips, and it was very understandable. Since May things have been somewhat back to normal and I've been guiding very regularly, until 7/19/20. This is when we were blessed with our baby boy Brayden John Clemens at 8lbs 9oz and 20.5" long. It was a rollercoaster ride during his first week of life, some great highs but some really bad lows, but after all is said and done we finally got him home and how time flies as he turned 1 month old yesterday. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!
Currently the fishing is going good to great throughout Northern California, whether you are looking to fish locally or fish a bit more north you can't go wrong on any of our tailwater fishery right now.
One word of advice for all anglers looking to get out and go fishing in weeks to come. If the water temps are right for swimming in then its way to warm to fish. Get yourself a thermometer and check water temps frequently. 65 deg is borderline, 68 deg is not good, and anything over 70 is deadly. I like anything lower than 60 degrees, but upper 50s and lower 60s is fishable. Please make sure to handle the fish carefully, keep them in the water in your net, no hero pics, land them and let them go.
On to the FISHING REPORT
Yuba River
Flows
Hwy20 - 2600cfs, flows will drop 200 per day starting 8/21 to 1600 by 8/26
Below Daguerre - roughly 500cfs less than Hwy20 flows
Fishing - Good to Great
Clarity - very clear
I have been spending a ton of time on the Yuba and this river truly amazes me daily. Not only the way that it fishes and how it changes daily even hourly but its pure beauty. I love having this river in my backyard now. The fishing has been pretty darn good, we have been getting fish swinging, on hoppers and under an indicator as well. Fish have been getting a bit more selective on flies, but knowing where to fish is more important than what to fish with. Fishing locations change a great deal from morning to noon to late afternoon on into the evening. Toughest time of the day has been from 3pm to 6pm, also the hottest part of the day too. I have been getting on early and off by 3-330, but the last hour or 2 of light has been stellar for drys. Fish are healthy, and eating a plethora of bugs, mainly stones, caddis and mayflies, but also try some eggs and midges early in the day. The fishing is really good right now and will only get better as we get into fall. If you like fishing in the fall, then you know its the best time of year, and there can be some epic fishing. As always, book your fall egg bite trip on the Yuba now, dates are filling up fast.
Dries: Hoppers, Stimulators, Stones, Caddis
Swinging: sculpins, tan soft hackles,
Nymphs: Rubberlegs, Caddis, Mays, Midges, Eggs,
Guides tip: Fish shallow water early, shallow to mid depth mid day, riffles and deep pools midday to evening. Find these types of water and you will find more fish.Feather River
Low Flow - 1000cfs
High Flow - 2800cfs
Fishing - Good
Clarity - Clear, 15ft
Its been well over a month, pre July 16th salmon opener since I was on the Feather last as warm water plagued the high flow, and the low flow was flowing as low as 600cfs, things were not looking good. Recently, the flows were bumped up to 1500 in the low flow which not only cooled down the high flow, but it also brought some more chrome into the river. A few trips over the last 2 weeks have yielded good numbers of steelhead, all wild fish and what I think are our spring run that decided to wait to show up, better late than never. They have been big, hot and aggressive to the point of good luck holding on, lots of fish have been broken off in these recent trips. Nymphing has been producing good numbers of these late spring run fish and swinging will give you a hand full of great gabs throughout the day. All in all, this is one sweet fishery right now and worth the trek. While the fishing is good right now, once we get full swing into fall, the fishing can only be described as EPIC. Once again if you like fishing the Feather in the fall, I highly recommend booking well in advance for Oct and Nov dates.
Swinging: Anderson Euphoria's, Anything Olive (sculpins, wooly buggers), tan and olive soft hackles
Nymphing: Princes, Caddis, Mays, Eggs
Guides tip: if fishing the high flow, fish it early before the water gets too warm, then switch over to the low flow. Swing something big and bright in the high flow in the big deep runs you never know what you might swing up, possibly a king. Best to do this at first light.
Lower Sac
Flows - 10k but dropping to 8750 by 8/24
Fishing - Good to Great
Clarity - Clear, 12-15ft
I have been spending a bit of time up north on the trout factory we call the Lower Sac and it has been fishing well. While some of the better fishing has been in the evening, most anglers pick the early on early off method of fishing to beat the heat. Some days the fishing comes easy, other days we work for them, but big fish have been on the menu throughout the day. Some fish pushing the mid 20s have been on our lines, but not many making it to the net. Nymphing has been the name of the game, there is a small egg bite early in the morning and typically from Hwy299 up. The fishing is pretty darn good right now and will only get better as the salmon push up the system and start dropping eggs. As I always say, if you are looking to book a fall trip, I recommend booking them asap as the fall season is one of the busiest times of the year.
Nymphs - Stones, Caddis, Bwos, Amber wing Princes, Birds Nests, Eggs, Pmds
Drys - Caddis, PMDs, Hoppers
Swinging - Sculpins, tan and olive soft hackles
Guide Tip - bring your A game as these fish have been eating well and are sitting heavy. Bring a spot on hook set and be ready to chase them down. Don't hesitate to fish a hopper dropper on those shallower flats and edges of the river. You'd be surprised what's sitting in that 2-4ft of slower water.
Trinity River
Flows
Lewiston - 450
Douglas City - 475
Junction City - 490
Water is too warm to ethically fish below JC/North Fork Trinity
Fishing - Fair
Clarity - Clear
Fishing was good early season, now that we are seeing the steady flows of summer, fishing has slowed a bit, but we are still seeing some nice half pounders and an occasional adult on the swing. This time of year we leave the bobbers and nymphing rods at home and only swing, either 2 handed rods or single handers. Perfect time of year to learn how to swing both 2 handed rods as well as those smaller single handed rods. Fishing on top has been productive early and late, and during the day a light sink tip with a small sparse spey fly does the trick. As the summer tails off, we are going to see cooler temps and more fish will join the current crowds. Fishing the fly only water is also a good bet as there are always some fish up there and the water is always cold. Dont forget to bring your 5/6wt dry fly rods as you can have some epic fishing in the evenings with caddis drys. As for water temps, fishing from DC up is your best bet, water temps are in the high 50s and low 60s, in JC above North fork, they are low to mid/upper 60s. If you are going to fish down in JC please do so during the first few hours of light. Please do not fish below the North Fork as the water is too warm to ethically fish.
Swinging - Anderson Euphorias, GT40s, Heisenburg, Olive Martini, Klamath intruders, olive sculpins, Muddlers, Muddled Euphorias, Birdseye Caddis
Guides tip - when fishing on top or skating fish early and fish late, but most importantly fish the shade.
There you have it folks, your Northern California fishing report from Nor Cal Fly Guides. I hope this report gets you excited to get out and go fishing right now, fishing is really good, despite the smoggy/smokey conditions. If you are waiting for the weather to clear up and cool down, then book that fall trip now and enjoy a trip of a lifetime on some of the best water Northern California has to offer.
A few things to mention:
1) I am now offering an All inclusive Swing Only Fly Fishing Adventure on the Lower Klamath River, within 20 miles of the ocean and just upstream of Blue Creek. This is a Jet Boat only trip, no roads in or out of the lodge. This is being offered through me and we will all be staying at Rivers West Lodge. It is a 3 day minimum excursion, minimum of 2 anglers, your food, lodging and guide is covered for the 3 days as well. The cost is $500 per day, per angler and I can personally fish up to 3 anglers in my boat. While 2020 trips are fully booked up, I am currently booking trips for 2021 as early as July on through the end of Sept. Next year is the higher water River Dance flows and the fishing will be off the hook. If interested please shoot me an email and I can give you more information.
2) I currently have cancellations for a few dates in Sept and Oct. They are all located on the Trinity River. You can either book them all for yourself, or you can split them with the other angler. If you split them with the other angler, they are all swing trips, if you book them on your own, you can swing or nymph.
These dates are
Sept 14,15,16
Oct 12,13
3) My18x54 Super Drifters Power Drifter is available for purchase. That's right, I am selling my 2018
Power Drifter with a 90/60 Etec outboard tiller jet. Here is some info on it. 2018 18x54 PD, 2018 90/60 Evinrude Etec tiller jet a tad over 300hrs, recent 300hr service, new water pump and a few other small items and a full clean bill of health, haul has lifting strakes and a tunnel haul which makes it the shallowest running jet boat you will ever ride in. Comes with uhmw bottom, 2 6gal gas tanks, 55lb anchor, anchor rope and full pulley anchor system 3 to 1 ratio, custom trolling motor puck bracket, boat cover and bra both that can be traveled with, brand new trailer tires, 1 new axle bearing and other bearing repacked, 60/40 seat boxes with seats on adjustable frame rail, 1 folding Tempress seat the other is a rower style high back, lean bars front and back, small lightweight cracking motor battery. It will also come with stock 3 blade stainless steel impeller and for the right price a brand new 4 blade ss impeller as well as a new lower intake and intake fins (which will come off my new motor), doesn't come with oars, blades, or oar locks, but can recommend the best rowing system on the market. I am probably forgetting a few things but thats the majority of it. I am asking 26k firm with all stated above, willing to drop to 25k firm if I keep the 4 blade ss impeller and new intake and fins. So the motor would only come with current 3 blade ss impeller and its current intake and fins.
My Available Local Dates: Yuba, Feather, American, Putah, Truckee
Sept 23
Oct 1,2,3,18,19,23,25,26,27,28,29,
Nov 15,18,21,22,23,25,27,28,29,30
For additional dates please feel free to ask
My Available Trinity Lower Sac Dates:
Oct 6,7,8,9,14,18 (12,13 cancellation dates)
Nov 2,5,8,9,10,11,12,30
Dec 1,5,6,7,10
For additional dates please feel free to ask
FYI, I am already booking for SHAD 2021, if you are all about the shad and want to fish the Lower Yuba with me, book those dates now.
Also as a reminder, as each year passes, my available dates during peak season become less available and harder to book due to the high demand of my service. As much as I would love to guide each and every one of you, I just don't have enough days to go around. Those that enjoy fishing with me during Spring, Shad season and Fall, booking 6 months to a year in advance is highly recommended in order to get those specific dates you want.
If you have any questions regarding fishing, fishing products, booking future trips or anything related to fishing please feel free to contact me any time.
I look forward to seeing you on the water soon.
Solid Grabs
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER
KEEP THOSE LINES TIGHT
KEEP THOSE LINES TIGHT
Brian Clemens
NOR CAL FLY GUIDES
530-354-3740
WWW.NORCALFLYGUIDES.COM
Check us out on Facebook
530-354-3740
WWW.NORCALFLYGUIDES.COM
Check us out on Facebook
*Due to the high volume of bookings, NCFG 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. Once a date is mutually agreed upon, and the trip is booked via phone call, text, email or private messenger, it is implied that the client agrees to NCFG's payment and cancellation policy.*
