Archive | May, 2016

May 27, 2016 McCloud & Upper Sac by Rick Cox

The Commute

Raining on the party these days and the fishing has dropped off. Forecasters saying will be this way for most of the week but clearing for the Memorial Day weekend stampede. Both the Upper Sac and McCloud have been cranky lately but should start heating up soon, we just need to get this wet stuff out of the way.

The USac flows are creeping down and are at 575 cfs, not ideal but definitely worth fishing. The upper sections have a few Salmonflies out and about …. Caddis, Yellow Sallies and Mayflies were starting to show, but this rain has put the kibosh on the bug hatch. You might see some Baetis hatches though as I witnessed Friday so be prepared. We are still managing to pick up some nice fish though ….. nymphing with a nice swing at the end of the drift (my fav) got Pat G. a nice beefy brownie above Dunsmuir the other day.

The McCloud was it usual McCrowd up until the weather moved in and has quieted down as a result, resting until the next surge. I predict that fishing will improve here, hatches as usual will explode and finding your own personal rock to fish from will be a challenge. But it is what it is and you cannot find a better river to spend a day on for fishing and scenery ….. so cowboy up and have fun. The Salmonfies are around, am starting to see some Drakes, occasional Mayflies and a few Caddis but so far not much top feeding … unless you throw a dry/dropper in some pocket water.

Some Days You Just Love The Scenery

Some Days You Just Love The Scenery

Other Days When It's Dumping ..... Well @#%&!

Other Days When It’s Dumping ….. Well @#%&!

But There's Nothing Like These Beautiful McBows

But There’s Nothing Like These Beautiful McBows

Boot's Ass Getting Some Butterfly Love

Boot’s Ass Getting Some Butterfly Love

Then There's Some Salmonfly Love Too

Then There’s Some Salmonfly Love Too

Upper Sac Brownie

Upper Sac Brownie

Upper Sac Bow

Upper Sac Bow

The McCloud River is open for business!

Come one, come all, beckon your wild call. The McCloud River opened to fisherman on April 30th and has been putting on quite a show. Good hatches and rising fish means we have been having a lot of fun with dry flies. Be prepared with Grey Drakes, Golden Stones, PMDs and (fingers crossed) Green Drakes. The biggest concentration of fish are in the first miles below the dam, but you’ll find more bugs down river. June is our favorite month on this river so pack your bags.

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April Fishing Report

April has come and gone and we have not yet given out a fishing report. So here is the recap. The Lower Sacramento River continued to dominate, the spring of 2016 will long be remembered as one of the best. Our guides have been busy and putting in many floats from Redding to Red Bluff and everyone from beginners to experts have had the epic. We watched the flows settle out and the pmds went nuts.

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Besides the fantastic Lower Sac we have been out and about on all sorts of adventures.

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