This weekend we will turn our focus from winter steelhead onto the upcoming trout season.
This winter season was pretty typical of what we’ve come to expect fishing for winter steelhead: working really hard to scrape out occasional opportunities. With so much rain fall this year, cancelling days and cruising 101 looking for clear water felt like the norm. The challenge of winter steelhead fishing is what makes it my favorite thing to do, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to warm days and reaching for the net a little more regularly.
Looking ahead to spring trout fishing:
Last year on the McCloud was the kind of season you don’t write about until the roads snowed in. A few pics from last year that we’ve been holding back.
Access road to the McCloud are accessible as of writing, but keep an eye on this next storm. Water clarity and flow are ideal. Remember that though the McCloud is open to fishing year round, the nature conservancy property does not open until the last Saturday of April. You can expect a crowd that “opening weekend” but outside of that early spring can be a really pleasant time to be on the McCloud – pending weather. Fishing is generally consistent, and crowds don’t really start building until Memorial Day.
Upper sac
Spring is my favorite time to be on the upper sac, if you’re able to hit the runoff window right. Too early and you’re battling high water, too late and it’s low warm and clear already. Currently the upper sac sits at 7k cfs, which is far too high. Typically I want to see that gauge somewhere below 2k. However, the only flow gauge is at Lakehead, so where the water is coming in makes a big difference. Once they let water over the top of the dam spillway, the whole system is too high. Keep an eye out for updates, and on that flow gauge, but my best bet is that the cfs sweet spot will come in sometime around mid May this year.
If you have any questions or would like to book a spring trout fishing trip feel free to reach out:
877-934-7466
@wildwatersflyfishing
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