November 27, 2011 – 5:44 pm 
The weather on the Lower Sacramento River has been spectacular, sunny and warm with the fall colors peaking. While fishing remains superb, the catching continues to be fair to good. Our guests have enjoyed numerous hook ups each day and some of the best dry fly fishing of the season. The weather forecast is calling for more of the same so we recommend you take a break from your holiday shopping and get here now!
While the epic egg bite never materialized this year, and the salmon are mostly done with their annual migration, we have enjoyed some prolific hatches including some of the largest Blue Wing Olive hatches ever. Most mornings start a bit slow, we typically spend this prehatch period nymphing looking for some caddis to pop as the day warms and waiting for the BWO’s to get started midday. The nymphing can be a bit technical with strike recognition and quick, solid hook sets being key. It can be a challenge to hook and land the trophy trout the Lower Sac is famed for with these tiny flies. As a result, experienced anglers are enjoying more success than those new to the technique.
For those in the know the dry fly fishing on select flats has been exceptional. You have to look carefully for pods of working fish as their riseforms can often be quite subtle. These fish are usually spooky so long leaders and accurate casts and presentations are required. Unfortunately for those of us with aging eyes, emergers and nymphs drifted in the film along with low floating dries seem to outperform the easier to see high floating flies. For those up to the challenge, a few of these hot big ‘bows can make your day.
Flows have been steady at 7,000 cfs and were dropped today to 6,000. Which makes even more of the river accessible to wading though angling from a boat has been considerably more productive. There are currently no other scheduled releases. For the latest conditions or to schedule a great local guide, just drop us a line.
November 23, 2011 – 6:10 pm 
November 20th
Hank, an eleven year old fly fisher, landed a trophy Klamath River Steelhead while on a fishing trip with his father, brother and both his grandfathers at the Klamathon Lodge. Hank also landed a steelhead on a dry fly while visiting the Klamathon Lodge for the Salmonfly hatch in June which was his first entry in the Hawg of Fame that includes a video of the battle taken by his father.
Not many anglers lay claim to an adult steelhead on a dry and then follow it up with a trophy Steelhead in fall, not only in the same season but on their next visit. This fine fish allows Hank to again join his father Mike and grandfather Ed in Shasta Trout’s Hawg of Fame. They are our first and only three generation entry!
November 18, 2011 – 8:21 pm 
November 16, Klamath River
Dave, a Shasta Trout guest on his first steelhead trip ever, caught a trophy Klamath River wild hen steelhead on his very first cast. What are the odds of catching a steelhead on your very first cast, your first cast ever for a steelhead? Pretty tall! Talk about a quick study, the fish took several strong runs but Dave played her perfectly landing the hefty hen in short order. The weather was near perfect and he and his partner Carlo played numerous other fish on a gorgeous fall day. Dave proceeded to catch another nice steelhead on his very last cast of the day as well. Magical!
November 13, 2011 – 10:23 pm 
We have hosted a number of great groups and guests steelheading on the Klamath River in the past month, including several at the exclusive Klamathon Lodge, and everyone has come away exceptionally pleased, with several folks reporting their best steelheading ever, anywhere!
Anglers have enjoyed a satisfying smorgasbord with good numbers of Jack Salmon, juvenile Steelhead, Rainbow Trout, hatchery Steelhead, wild adult Steelhead, and the most numerous of all, the famous Klamath River half-pounders. The action has been nearly nonstop. We are enjoying an Indian summer with fine weather and spectacular fall colors. Flows have been nearly ideal, steady and clear (about 4 feet of visibility), just above 1300 cfs out of Iron Gate Dam, with no change expected.
The vast majority of Salmon have finished spawning and the Rainbows and Steelhead are making their way out of the shallows and drop offs below the Salmon redds and back into the main runs. While egg patterns will continue to take their fair share of fish, nymphs have become increasingly important. Those looking to swing will find more available dance partners moving into classic swing water. Water temps have dropped into the high forties, so deeper, slower presentations will find more willing dancers. Small dark flies are still outperforming larger patterns and leeches, even for the biggest fish.
The forecast is calling for a small front to move through this upcoming weekend which could make for a terrific holiday outing as fresh Steelhead will likely be pushed upstream sparking an already outstanding bite. We recommend you get here now!
Shasta Trout guides spend as many days on the Klamath individually as our biggest competitor’s guides spend collectively. We still have a few guide dates available and we believe there is no substitute for their first hand knowledge. Drop us a line to schedule a trip steelheading with the finest local guides on the legendary Klamath.
November 13, 2011 – 9:32 pm 
The Lower Sacramento River remains fair to good, particularly for larger fish, though we are not experiencing the epic egg bite we have grown accustomed to over the years. We have hosted a number of groups recently and those venturing to the Lower Sac have enjoyed some fantastic weather, perfect conditions and some exceptional trout. While the numbers of fish we are seeing is not what we might hope for this time of year, the average size of the fish has been good, particularly on the upper beats.
The best action has been on a midday caddis hatch along with tiny mayflies in the late afternoon. The small bugs, particularly the tiny mayfly patterns make it a challenge to hook and land the big trophy Rainbows that we have been seeing. The mayflies have on occasion offered some opportunities for experienced dry fly anglers to test their skills. The best rise activity is often on shallow flats where the fish are exceptionally wary and anglers often only get a few shots at making the perfect presentation.
There was a sizable run of Salmon this year and the hope was that many of them would make their way upstream to spawn. Unfortunately it looks like most of them took a turn on tributaries or perhaps more likely turned off bound for the Battle Creek Hatchery. There are a few pods of spawning Salmon with some trout feeding downstream from them but the fishable ones have been hit pretty hard, making the trophy Rainbows the Lower Sac if famous for this time of year, reluctant to stick around for the feast.
More fair weather is in the forecast with a mild storm expected to arrive this weekend with showers which should only improve the hatches and catches. Flows out of Keswick remain steady at 7200 cfs with no scheduled changes. Drop us a line if you would like to enjoy fall fishing for trophy Rainbows with the finest local guides.
October 23, 2011 – 7:23 pm 
Fall fly fishing on the Upper Sacramento River has been spectacular. The Indian summer we are experiencing has provided phenomenal conditions to enjoy this legendary river in its full glory. The blackberries are ripe, the trees are full of brightly colored leaves framing a snow covered Mt. Shasta, and there is nothing but fair weather in the forecast. It doesn’t get much better than this.
The catching has been pretty good as well, particularly for experienced anglers. Flows are low and clear making stealthy approaches and presentations critical. Nymphing during the day has produced best with some large fish showing, particularly in the mid and lower river areas. Small nymphs such as PT’s, Micromays, Birdsnests, S&M’s, and Gordon Princes have found the most fish while larger nymphs, including rubberlegs have seduced some of the larger specimens, which we recommend you check out on Rick Cox’s report on the Ted Fay “Guide Notes” blog.
The October Caddis are out and about in the upper River making for exciting evening dry fly and dry-dropper fishing. We have also been experiencing some exceptional BWO hatches late in the afternoon, be prepared with long leaders, light tippets and tiny flies for fish that have seen an angler or few lately. Still lots of room to roam for those who enjoy some solitude, the Upper Sac is a better option than the McCloud River this time of year. Contact us now to schedule a date with on of our great local guides who spends as much time individually on the Upper Sac as our competitor’s guides spend collectively, We believe there is no substitute for their first hand knowledge.
