Current Newsletter

Welcome to TheShastaFlyBlog’s Quarterly Newsletter! Below, you’ll find a Blog post re-cap, the “no-bull” fishing report, and my crystal ball fishing forecast for northern California good for the next couple of months.

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The lower Sac fished good this winter…but it’s ON FIRE as I’m writing this. A decent spring caddis hatch in late-Feb followed now by a steadily growing PMD hatch has fish on the bite and even a few fish looking up almost every day.  As good as the river is fishing now….it’s only going to get better as we get into April and May.  Love the Sac in the spring!!

The Upper Sac is at very fishable flows (500 cfs) and is fishing very good with NOT EVEN FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND!!  There’s been no one (hardly) fishing up there in months. The time is NOW to catch some of the best fish of the year up there before the crowds of spring arrive.  Call me if you need info on where to go early season

The Pit River …..still too high for my taste.  BE CAREFUL if you go.  Studded boots and a staff are standard on the Pit.

The Klamath ….fished good to great in the few trips I had there this winter.  Haven’t been in a month up there but have to believe it’s pretty much over by now.

The Trinity  fished good to very good most days through the season….especially after the blow-out rains we had mid-January.  Only had a small handful of days where we posted the dreaded “O-fer”  That’s pretty good steelheading!  It’s pretty much over now until the fly-only water opens.   So… another season in the books

The lower Sac is currently flowing at 4,000 cfs…as low and steady as it will be all spring.  Steady flows = steady fishing.  The ‘X’ factor in spring (other than a flow change) is the wind.  So far, we haven’t had too many days lost due to heavy winds.  Each spring is different.  Plan now folks!  When the word really gets out, finding your favorite guide on a weekend will be tough.

The Upper Sac – will continue to fish well until we get temps high enough to melt what little snow we have.  There WILL be a spike in the flows and then another drop.  The upper Sac will fish good on both sides of the run-off.  Here’s a tip….THE UPPER SAC WILL BE VERY TOUGH FISHING JULY, AUG, SEPT.  Low flow/dry years always see good fishing early when there’s enough cold water and it gets very tough very quickly when the air temps rise into summer which bumps the water temps.  Go now or very soon.  Again…call me if you need up to date info.

Hat Creek  – Salmonflies!!! Yes!!  Those of you that know me well know there’s NOWHERE I’d rather fish than the Hat in May.  Quality fish in shallow water but, only while the big bugs are out!  Mid-May to mid-June is prime time there and and the best dates are almost gone.  That’s where I’ll be…hope to see ya there!  See my Hat Creek photo Gallery

The Pit river - Hard to know how the new flow regime + runoff will do to the Pit.  It’s high..swift water.  I’ll try it this spring but I think it will be ‘uncomfortable’ wading.  Haven’t heard much about the Pit lately since the flows were raised last year.  Sucks really.  It was my favorite year-round stream in all of Nor Cali.  Update to follow…

Fall River – Gonna go on a limb and say the Fall should fish great right out of the gate!  Little rain/runoff should mean the flows will be at normal flow and PMD hatches already underway as of opening day.  The only X-factor will be the crowds.  I’ll be part of it as Fall river is my wife’s fav place in the world to fish.

Next Time – The next issue of TheShastaFlyBlog Newsletter will be out in June 2012 covering the fishing forecast for the rest of the trout season until fall 2012.  Until then, please have a VERY fishy spring and a happy opener!! …and feel free to get in touch if you’d like to plan a norCali fishing trip or just need a little advice when you venture out on your own.  As always, keep your lines wet and your powder dry!