Fishing Reports: Lower Sacramento

Overall fishing on the Sac has been good. The egg bite has slowed down, but the feeding still continues. There are good numbers of steelhead from Balls Ferry south. Almost everyday we hook fish that go well into the backing and are never seen again. There were a few days last week where the water flows were very inconsistent and made for some tough days, however, the flows are in the process of stabilizing now. The flows are now below 4k, if have been waiting to wade the Sac, now is the time.

I will post images when I get them.

Fishing Reports: Feather

Overall the Feather has been very slow... I spent 8 days on the Feather and had a wide range of results. I guided Ron Lewis and Lincoln Gray of Tie-Fast a week ago and hooked into more than a dozen fish, we hooked fish of all sizes; halfies, juveniles and adults. I was hopeful for the next day... The next day we hooked 3... the day after that 2... day after that 6... and so on. There was one other day where we hooked 10. I am not sure where the fish are but I am hopeful the fish are on the way. I will be looking into December for prime conditions. There are decent numbers of fish in upper river; however, there has been a fair amount of pressure. For those of you that are looking to hook steelhead this year keep an eye on the Feather, I have my fingers crossed that the end of November and most of December will be on.

If you are planning on fishing the Feather arm yourself with egg patterns, caddis and small mayflies. With warmer water temps give the swing a go...

Here are a few shots from the Feather....

Fishing Report: 10 Days Worth

Being on the river everyday is demanding and does not leave me with much energy to post everyday. The following is a summary of fishing reports from the Lower Sac, Feather and Yuba. I will be on the river most of November as well and will try to get you more up-to-date reports and information.

The following are summaries by river:

Lower Sac:
Overall fishing has been great, the egg bite has been strong throughout the river as well as the runs of steelhead. I have been floating mostly the lower river and having great days hooking 20-40 trout and a few steelhead everyday. Myself as well as several other guides have watched clients hook huge chromers in the Barge hole area. In 5 days we hooked 12 fish that were over 6 pounds, one might have pushed the 12 pound mark... of course that one got away, so we will call it 13 pounds ☺! Fishing will continue to fish very well for the next few months, look for bigger trout to move in to the feeding lanes during these colder months. I have had insane days all the way through January.

Flies: Brown Rubberlegs, eggs patterns, PT's, Hare's Ear, Poxyback Micro Stones in black (size 12), Amber wing prince, and Hogan's S&M nymph.

Technique: Nymphing under an indicator.

A few digital memories

The All-Mighty 'Bow

Nice Sac Steel


Injured Bald EagleBarge Hole SteelNice fish Sasquatch They were made for each other.

Yuba River:
The Yuba has improved since the last time I fished it. I was on it a few days over the last few weeks and was pleased to see that we are still landing some fat rainbows. I am anxious to get out there after this rain to see what came in and what moved around. Fishing should improve dramatically with a few more storms and higher water. There have been some incredible dry fly fishing opportunities thus far. If you are looking for dry fly action in the winter months don’t forget to try the Yuba.

Flies: Egg patterns, rubberlegs, golden stone patterns, midges, PT’s, Hogan’s S&M pattern and leeches in black and olive.

Techniques: Nymphing under indicators and swinging with light spey rods(switch rods).

Quick Pic

Yuba McFatty

Feather River:
Overall fishing has been tough, there are a few big fish in the river, however, the numbers of fish are currently low. I will be on the Feather tomorrow and expect to find some big, fresh steelies. The number of salmon that are in the low flow looks to be normal, currently the numbers in the high flow are low, but I feel that with the last shot of rain we got the big fall-run chinook should be on their way if they are not there already.

October Chrome:

Muy Caliente

Classic Feather River Steelhead

One of the coolest features about this time of year is just how quickly things change. In a matter of hours a salmon can cut a redd and begin spawning. This goes for all the rivers with spawning fish. The key to success this time of year is time on task, if you have a poor day on the river don't sweat it, just get back to the river as soon as possible. The Feather will fish well through November and even into the first few weeks of December.

Flies: Egg Patterns, Pt's, Kyle's Beerhead Baetis, Sloan's Mighty May, green caddis.

Technique: Nymphing under and indicator.

Well, thanks for checking back in! I will be on the water most of November, if you would like to book a trip I am currently taking names for a waiting list. If I have a cancelation, I will contact the next person on the list.

Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you and take care,
Ryan

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Slabs of the week

Lower Sac: October 16 and 17

The Lower Sacramento is in FULL swing, the egg bite is on and fish are keyed in to the program. On the 16th I floated Anderson to Barge and felt that the upper river was a little slow. We hooked a few fish here and there, but it wasn’t quite red-hot. There were several spots where the fish were stacked up and we had a good time picking them off one by one. Once we headed over the white water below Ball's it was on, we hooked 12 or more right away. We continued to hook sweet 'bows for the rest of the float; almost every spot we fished gave us a fish to fight. Once we got into the Barge area we were able to sneak in behind the other drift/jet boats and stick a nice steelhead (pictures to come) out of the "hole". Overall the day was good, the afternoon sealed the deal. Great weather (for sun tanning), great clients and crazy tout...

Today, the 17th, I floated Ball's to Jelly's and was pleased with the fishing. I had a cool father and son team that tackled the big waters of the Sac for the first time. The dad, Kenny, was fairly new to fly casting... especially the Krusteez, 2-3 flies and 2 spit shot and I must say that he did a great job. After figuring out the fly cast we quickly got into fish. His son, Justin was rifling off casts in the back of the boat and nailing aggressive slabs. All in all we landed enough fish to loose count and hooked enough to last a year. Justin and Kenny were a dynamic team that fished hard all day and were handsomely rewarded.
Thanks to all for two awesome days on the Sac.

Tomorrow, I will be on the Sac again, then on to the Feather. Stay tuned!

Yuba: October 13, 2008

She gave us glimpse of glory! Overall fishing was slow, however, we did managed to hook some fat 'bows and LDR'd a few more. There were still very few eaters over the course of the river. One of the last runs of the day really produced. We landed 4 or 5 and hooked 6 or 7 out of one run. It sure is nice to have a few crazy moments in the day like that.

Flies that worked: Eggs, poxyback stones, pt's...

The Yuba is improving. Flows appear to be dropping a little.

Yuba: October 12, 2008

The Yuba showed her temperamental self to us. She threw us for a major curve ball not yielding very many hungry fish. As you may have read the fishing was great over the last few weeks, and then things came to a screeching halt. I guided Rob Elam as we pounded the water with indicators and spey rods. We worked every nook and cranny and threw the kitchen sink at them, with limited results. We managed to hook a few on egg patterns, but not much else. I will say that we did not mind the slow fishing, we had a blast working different spey rods with different lines, playing with flies and generally working hard to crack the code. We were accompanied by other boat who also drew up a blank... crazy river. The salmon continue to stack up and cut more redds, it is only a matter of time before fishing is back on!

Flies that worked: Kitchen Sink, color: stainless, tied by Moen

Gotta love the Yuba-

Putah Creek: Ocotber 11

Adrian Psuty and myself lead a group of 4 anglers through the trails of Putah creek in search for resident and migratory trout. We did a half-day and were able to stick several dozen resident rainbows. Many of them came on larger mayfly and caddis patterns. We fished many smaller insects with little success. The flows were great (280cfs) and fishing pressure was low for a weekend. Fishing this creek can be fun if you get water to fish.

October 8, Guide Day Off-

A much needed thing in the world of guiding. Spent time at Costco, cleaned the boat, stocked up on terminal supplies at Kiene's and then did what any normal guide would do... fish. I hit a local piece of water with a 2 weight and hammered some awesome wild rainbows!

Lower Sac: October 7th

Floated Anderson to Barge and found good numbers of fat trout eating with authority. Right off the bat we hooked several smaller fish on tiny mayflies. From there I was able to maneuver the boat into a tight run and hammer on a few monster slabs. It is fun when we find fish balled up looking to chow. We has a blast as we whacked fish throughout the river. We did not get a clear shot at the barge run so we spent time in the "hole" and was not able to prick any chromers. Maybe next time!

Pictures to follow soon.

Flies: Usual Suspects!

Gotta love that river!

Lower Sac: October 6th

Our day on the Lower Sac was great, we had very clear, warm conditions that kicked off a few hatching caddis and several active fish. We floated Bonnyview to Anderson and found fish scattered throughout the whole float. I would say that fishing was not red-hot, we went through several nice runs with no grabs; however, there were plenty of spots where the fish were schooled up and anxious to eat. I was a little disappointed in the number of spawning salmon in that section, with a little time we should see full redds. My clients Barry and Linda Allen were a pleasure to guide, we spent plenty of time taking in the rays and solving the world's problems. All is all another great day on the Sac.

Flies: Amber wing prince, fox’s poopah, eggs, micro mays, gidget and PT’s

Chillin'
you get the idea

This is by far one of the best video clips I'v seen. This says it all... why we fly fish, why we endure the elements and what keeps us sane. I am anxious for the release!


Hustle and Fish "Fishporn Teaser" from dave wilson on Vimeo.

One Hour From Sactown

An hour outside the hustle and bustle of the city lay one incredible tailout... the Yuba. Fishing continues to stay strong while more salmon have moved in and posted on redds. The egg bite was still on, however, I noticed they changed what colors they ate. Make sure to play with color and size. With nearly 20 fish in the boat, not one came on a bug. This may change so stay on it. Here a few picts form the day.

Yuba... The other day

I wanted to follow up on a previous post from the other day...
I had a great time with a few friends on the water. We fished hard all day and found several fish to keep us occupied. Overall, the conditions were great, the flows are still holding and the fish are cooperating nicely. Again, I am pleased to see the number of salmon in the river. Many of them are not yet staged, this will change soon. If you are thinking about heading out, cover water and if you are not finding fish try changing flies or technique.

Flies: Egg patterns, micro mays, small caddis
Techniques: Indicator fishing with Krusteez

Thanks to Adrian and Teresa for a great day.

It is always hard to tell steelhead from trout on the Yuba, I am going with steelhead on this brute.
Nice fish Teresa!
Guide Day off...

Yuba...

Today the Yuba fished very well, however, the river was very busy with anglers.

Posivitves... they were endless.
Highlights: we did a good deal of swinging today and hooked a few nice fish-bonus!

Why Not?

For the next few days I will be on the Lower Sac