Discounted Trips on Select Dates in December

Save $100 on Select Dates The fishing this last week has been good despite the frigid weather. The good news is the weather is going to warm up the rest of the week. Early next week the weather man is calling for temps in the high 60s. It is going to be a beautiful time to be on the river. Don't miss out on probably the last warm weather of the year. Lower Sac: I have been spending the majority of my time on the Lower Sac the last couple of weeks. Fishing has been really solid on the upper drifts. We are hooking 30-40 rainbows a day on eggs and small may fly nymphs. Expect really good fishing on the Sac for the rest of December and January as we have the winter egg bite. Yuba: I spent a couple of days on the Yuba this last week and had good fishing as well. Most days we were hooking 20ish fish on eggs. The great news is that the fish quality is finally back up and we are seeing lots of 16-17" rainbows again. Gone are those days where you catch a bunch of small trout. The best part of the day was that we had a great blue wing olive hatch come off that brought quite a few rainbows to the surface. We ended up throwing dries for over an hour to rising fish. If you are looking to save a little cash then here is your chance. Book a trip during the select dates below and receive $100 off my normal rate. It is a great time to get that family member on the water for Christmas. My discounted openings are Dec. 16-18, 20-21 (Friday/Saturday), 28-29 (Saturday/Sunday). For those of you looking more in advance on your calendars then I have Jan 1-11, 14-19, 21-31 still open as well. Email or Call ASAP to get in the last spots of the year. Tight Lines, Ryan Johnston www.rjsflytrips.com ryan.Johnston@Hotmail.com 619-540-9259

Fall and Winter Fishing

Great Winter Fishing is Coming! The fishing this fall has been simply amazing. For those of you lucky enough to get in on the Lower Sac or the Feather River this October and November it didn't disappoint. This year there have been lots of big steelhead in the Lower Sacramento River System. Here is the great news....Supposedly we have a really good late fall /early winter run of salmon coming up the river. This should prolong some good trout and steelhead fishing for us way into December. For those of you that missed out on the action then there are lots of opportunities to get out in December.

Lower Sac Trout & Steelhead: Things are setting up nicely for the Lower Sac this winter. December is a great time of year to escape the crowds and go hunt for some big fish. With winter salmon making their way up the system then we should see some monster trout being caught during the second egg bite. Not to mention the large amount of steelhead in the system this year should produce some chances at some big fish like the one above. Here steelie, here steelie! Come help me find the elusive 10lber.

Feather River Steelhead: The Feather has once again been ridiculous this year. Lots of fish in the system and there have been many more big fish than normal. Daily we are seeing fish in the 24-25" class. It literally has been the year of the 6-7lb fish. Things are slowly winding down on the Feather. But here is what I can tell you there are still plenty of fish there to be caught. Most days right now we are hooking between 12-15 fish. I would expect the Feather to continue to fish through early December. If we get a second push of winter Salmon then things could potentially even go longer. Generally this is the time of year where we start to see the big boys trying to make their way through the system.

Yuba Rainbows & Steelhead: I Personally haven't been on the Yuba much lately as the Feather has been so good. But I have been hearing some good reports. Typically the winter time on the Yuba is pretty special. Decent trout fishing, a handful of steelhead, and potential for some blue wing olive dry fly fishing makes for a fun day. December and January are two great months to get on the Yuba and have the river to yourself.

Fishing Report - Lower Sac Trout and Stripers Fishing Great

I have decided that I am going to continue my summer discount through the Labor Day weekend. I will take $125 off on any full day guide trip. I have several openings coming up in the next month if you want to check out some solid fishing and save a few bucks. These will be the last discounted trips through the fall. Check out this email to see your fishing options. There is some really good fishing to be had right now. Check out the report below.

Lower Sac: The trout fishing on the Lower Sac is starting to ramp back up. The lower drifts from Balls Ferry to Los Molinos are all fishing well. This time of year it is all about fishing structure. Fish those rocks, clay, and anything else that will break up that current. If you are into a different style of nymphing on the Lower Sac then the next month is time of year to come check out all the structure fishing that we do. Currently the best flies have been rubberlegs and larger birds nest. Most days right now we are boating between 25-30 rainbows. If you fish below Red Bluff then there is the chance at the first couple steelhead of the year. Actually 1st steelhead of the season for my clients hit the net yesterday. Cant wait for some more chrome. Expect the Sac to fish well through the middle of September.

Yuba River: The Yuba has had a solid summer. The hopper fishing has been decent but not great. If you want to go out there and throw dries then it is reasonable to expect about 10 rises on hopper patterns. You combine dry fly fishing with nymphing and you can have a solid day on the river. Hands down the best fishing is from Noon until 6PM. That is prime hopper hours and the best nymphing has been towards the middle parts of the day. Right now we are hooking about 20-25 rainbows per day. Hot flies have been birds nest, red copper johns, and Hogans SM.

Lower Lower Sac Stripers: The striper fishing has been REALLY GOOD the last three weeks. If you want to come check out some striper fishing outside of Chico then NOW IS THE TIME to do that. There is about 3 more weeks left to this season and the sooner you can get out the better. There are lots of fish in the system. Most of the fish are in the 2-3lb range with most days having multiple shots at fish in the 5-7lb range. If you have experience throwing shooting heads it is reasonable to find fish in nearly every run. Throw in a handful of smallmouth into the mix and this year has been awesome on Lower Lower Sac. Like usual the hot color this year has been chart over white. Meet in Chico at 6:30AM and fish till 3PM. You get to eat dinner with the family and fish all morning. Egg Bite: The EGG BITE is just around the corner. You want to start thinking about what dates are going to work the best for you this year. Right now my calendar is starting to fill up for late September through Thanksgiving. Starting with the Yuba in late September, then onto the Lower Sac in mid October, and then finishing on the Feather in November it is hard to go wrong during those two months. Check out my dates if you want to reserve one of these prime time dates. It literally could be the best 8 weeks of fishing all year long. Openings: Discounted Trips ($125 off full day): Aug 8-12, 14, 18-23, 29, 31, and Sept 2-5 Egg Bite: Yuba: September 23-27, 29-30, and Oct. 2-3 Lower Sac: Oct. 8-9, 15-16, 20-21 Feather: 24-25, 29, 31 and Nov. 4, 6, 8-10, 13-15, 17-20 Hope all of you are doing well. Looking forward to doing some fishing with you guys this fall. Thanks for everything and for supporting me these last 10 years. Email me to book dates. Tight Lines, Ryan Johnston www.casthope.org www.rjsflytrips.com ryan.johnston@hotmail.com

Trout, Steelhead, Bass, Shad - To Many Choices Report!

I am still shaking my head in disbelieft of how great the fishing was this spring and how this warm weather continues to put out great fishing in the valley. I hope that you were one of the lucky few that got to experience this springs epic trips. Here is the good news - The fishing is holding strong and there are lots of opportunities to do more fishing in the upcoming months. If you are into trout, bass, shad, or steelhead then we can find a trip for you. Check out my email to see what the next 8 weeks is going to hold. Dont miss out on some awesome early summer fishing. Openings: May 28-30 June 2, 3-5, 7, 10-12, 16, 17-18, 26, 28-30 July 1, 4-7,8-9, 11-12, 15-25, 29-31 Shad Dates June 2, 3-5, 7, 10-12, 17-18 Lower Sac: Currently the Lower Sac is fishing really solid. Most days right now we are hooking 40-50 fish. The higher flows have really made the fish happy. Currently the river is holding at 12,000 cfs. This is perfect for fishing the lower river from Barge Hole down to Bend. This is one of my favorite times of year as we get to fish the Swirls, the Rocks, Clay Ledges, and all kinds of other weird water. Watch out because as the flows increase the lower river is going to go off. Want to get off the standard Posse Grounds to Anderson float then the summertime is for you. The big fish on the upper river are still an option but its a blast to fish the lower river. Currently the best fishing is from 10AM - 3PM and the hot flies have been eng things, sucker spawn, tan birds nest, etc. Feather: The Feather still has plenty of fish in it. I would say this year the Feather is going to be fishable all the way till the early parts of June. This last week I was having some great luck hooking 15-20 fish per day. Not to often do you get to fish in 90 degree weather and do some steelhead fishing. I have been focusing my efforts on the Low Flow as it seems most of the fish are in the upper parts of the system now. Hot flies have been caddis, caddis, and caddis. Literally anything tan should catch them. I only have a few more days open before the Feather season is going to be over. Bass: I know that most of you don't get excited about bass fishing. You think of the typical angler at the Bass Master Classic decked out in all kind of sponsor patches and holding up two big bucketmouths. Well lets say that fly fishing for bass is nothing like that. I have quickly gained the ability to take you to some incredible bass fishing spots whether that is private water or on the Sacramento River itself. This is seriously one of my favorite game fish to chase with a fly rod locally. The top water fishing is insane and if you want to sight fish then we have that opportunity as well. Come give it a try this summer and see if you don't leave wanting more! I have started guiding Luk Lake. For those of you who dont know about Luk Lake it is the best topwater bass fishing that I have ever seen. Come on out and do and evening topwater trip to check out this special place. Luk Lake space is Limited. Shad: The Shad are making their way up the Sacramento River as we speak. Typically this run is very short every year. There is about 5 prime weeks of shad fishing near Chico. So if you want to catch a bunch of fish in a very short period of time then this is the trip for you. This is the perfect half day trip. Meet in Chico at 4PM and fish till dark for $250. Reserve your spot ASAP for the migration as last year was epic. If this year is half the run of last year then I will be one happy guide. Hope all of you are well and getting some fishing. Thanks for the support over the last several years. I am lucky to be able to take people out on the water and show them the ins and outs of fishing in the north valley. Email me with questions or to inquire about availabilities. Tight Lines. Ryan Johnston ryan.johnston@hotmail.com

Awesome Spring Fishing Continues

I hope this note finds all of you well. One thing I know for sure that this March Madness has been insane on the court and on the river. Now on the river my clients and I are doing really well. The Lower Sac has been en fuego for a month! Now on the other side of things my bracket is a mess. I will admit that this year I only predicted one team right for the final four. But lets be honest who picked Wichita State to go this deep. Well enough about my ramblings onto the fishing. The Lower Sac from Posse down to Balls Ferry has been really good. Most days right now we are hooking 50+ rainbows. The best fishing right now is in the afternoon so no need to get on the river early. You can get some love in the morning but it has really been an afternoon delight. From 1PM to 5PM the fishing have really been dialed into those mayfly hatches. Currently there are March Browns, PMDS, and baetis hatching in good numbers. It seems like the majority of the caddis hatch is over by this point. By far the March Browns are dominating the food source. Hot flies have been pheasant tails, eng things, dark lords, prince nymphs, yellow egg, etc. Good luck in finding the yellow egg as it seems that most shops have received an egg with a bad set of dye. So make sure the yellow egg you are buying is actually yellow and not whiteish with a touch of pink. I havent been on the Feather or the Yuba for the last three weeks so I dont have any current information for you there. But there should be a decent number of steelhead on the Feather by this point and the March Browns/PMDs should be thick on the Yuba. For those of you looking to do some fishing with me then my schedule is really booked up the next six weeks. my next openings are: May 17, 21-24, 28-31, June 2-5, 7, 9-12, 14, 16. Now remember for those of you looking to do some shad fishing the best dates for shad around Chico is the first two weeks of June. June 2-16 are prime shad dates. Tight Lines. Ryan Johnston www.rjsflytrips.com

Discounted Trip

Hey guys. I had a client cancel for Monday, March 25th. The weather is supposed to be great and the fishing is going to be awesome with that warm weather. I am offering a $100 discount off of a full day guided trip for anyone that wants to go on a short notice guide trip. Email me asap at ryan@rjsflytrips.com to book the trip. I have also filled April 5th with a good client. Thanks for everything guys. Ryan Johnston www.rjsflytrips.com www.casthope.org

Lower Sac es en Fuego!

For those of you looking to fish the Lower Sac the river has been on fire over the last week. We have been posting some huge numbers and size of fish in the last couple of weeks. Literally in the last two weeks I have been averaging between 40-50 hookups per day. The two drifts that are currently fishing the best is Posse to Anderson and Anderson to Balls Ferry. I have also been hearing some rumors of some awesome fishing below Balls Ferry as well. Right now it seems hard to go wrong on the Lower Sac. The hot flies of late have been pheasant tails, prince nymphs, eng thing, and rubberlegs. If you are looking to get out on the river my only opening from now until May is Friday, April 5th. Send me an email if you are interested in booking that date. Take Care and Tight Lines!

Skwalas - Yuba River Report

Here is your latest Skwala report....I was on the river yesterday to find great conditions with a warm 65 degrees and crystal clear water. Currently the flows are 1,700+ at the highway 20 bridge. I had one client fishing yesterday and we hooked 15 rainbows. We caught 8 of those fish under and indicator and hooked 7 on Skwala Dries. It was interesting that all of the nice fish we caught came on dry flies. Most of the fish were in the 12-16" range with one nice 18" fish to hand. I didnt see any skwalas flying around but there are enough of them that the fish were starting to look up. It is my estimate that in the next week things are going to get really good over there. I have some last minute Skwala openings if you are interested in hitting the first big hatch of the year. [B]If you fish in the next two weeks I will take a $100 off my normal guide rate. That will be a full day trip at the cost of $325.[/B] This is your chance to go throw some Skwalas. Expect there to be Skwalas hatching on the Yuba for the next 3-4 weeks. Discounted Openings: Feb. 4 - 6, 11, 13-14 Email me ASAP at ryan@rjsflytrips.com for last minute openings. Tight Lines!

Lower Sac Goes Off

I had some incredible fishing on the Lower Sac this week. For January it is some of the best fishing that I have ever seen. The warm weather is getting those rainbows really happy. Both days we hooked over 40+ rainbows on rubberlegs and eggs. There is not a lot in terms of bugs out yet but with the water a little off color those fish are looking to feed. With it being the winter time the best fishing is from 10AM-2PM. So no need to get out there early. If you are looking to do some last minute fishing then I have January 30-31, February 1-6, 11, 12-14, 25-26, 28 open.

Here is what to expect in the upcoming weeks: The Lower Sac assuming that it stays warm is going to be really good for the next 6-8 weeks. It wont be long now util the caddis decide to start hatching. Typically by the middle parts of February the caddis fishing gets really silly on the Lower Sac. If you are looking for a lot of grabs then the spring caddis hatch is the time of the year to come do some fishing. The Yuba is getting really close to blowing up as well. Expect the Skwala fishing to be getting good in a couple weeks. Typically the best Skwala fishing of the year starts around Super Bowl Sunday. If you are looking for the perfect day to go fishing then Super Bowl Sunday can be pretty awesome. You get the river to yourself and the Skwalas are starting to hatch. Not a bad combination if you dont mind missing a little football. You can still drink beer on the river. Hope you guys are doing well and getting some fishing in. Send me an email at ryan.johnston@hotmail.com if you are interested in doing some fishing. Tight Lines.

Lower Valley Fishing Report - Sac, Feather, Yuba

I hope that all of you had a good holiday season. I can tell you one thing for sure is that I am glad that we are having some consistent dry weather after all of the rain we had in December. In December I was seriouslly thinking about going back to skiing and putting up my fly rods. Well the good news is that with all of this dry weather the rivers have dropped into shape and are currently in their good winter fishing patterns. This is a report of all of our local Northern California Valley Rivers that I guide. I hope that you find this report helpful. Yuba: The Yuba has been fishing good with most days resutling in about 15-20 hookups. The key on the Yuba right now is to find the large groups of fish. If you can find a couple pods of fish then you will do really well. It seems to me that the river is fishing best below the big island. I have started to see some major changes over the last year where the lower river is getting better and bettter while there are times above the island when it is hard to catch fish. Maybe its a confidence thing but see if you notice any difference. Hot flies have been eggs and rubberlegs. Nothing wrong with throwing that. This is also the time of year that we see a decent number of steelhead in the system so dont be surprised to run into a 20-23" fish over there right now. Lower Sac: The Sac is definitely in its winter trend. No need to get out there early as the fishing isnt really going till about 11AM. Time wise 11AM - 3PM is your window to really put the hammer to them. Before and after you can catch some fish but it is tough fishing for Sac standards. Most days on the river we have been landing about 20 rainbows. Currently the best drifts have been from Bonnyview down to Anderson and Anderson to Balls Ferry. There is better odds at biggger fish on the upper river and more numbers below Anderson. The hot flies have been eggs, rubberlegs, Hogans SM, and Hogans Red Headed Step Child. There has been a small baetis hatch in the early afternoon if the sun is out. Feather: The Feather is fishing really well on the upper parts of the river near the hatchery. However with the flows being up the wading access is difficult. If you are a strong wader and are willing to get into some deeper areas then there is excellent nymphing to be had with egg patterns. This only has about one week to go as a lot of the fish are starting to get really dark. Last Friday it was a mix bag of half fresh fish and half downers. If you are in the need for an easy access steelhead itch then this is your last shot until spring time. Well....that is all the information that I have. If you are looking to do some fishing in the next month then I have some limited openings. Email me at ryan@rjsflytrips.com for openings. Im currently running my winter special where if you book 1 trip then you get a second trip 50% off. The only catch is that all of the trips have to take place by March 7th. I hope all of you guys are doing well. Take Care, Ryan Johnston www.rjsflytrips.com www.casthope.org