January Lower Sac, Yuba, & Feather Report

In this post you will find discounted trips in February and an up-to-date fishing report from our valley rivers. I will give you the hot bugs and techniques so that you can go out on your own and be successful. Hope to see you on the water this spring. Get in contact with me if you want to book any trips for the spring CADDIS HATCH on the Lower Sac, DRY FLY fishing on the Yuba, or to chase some SPRING STEELHEAD on the Feather.

Now for the Nor Cal Valley Fishing Report:

Lower Sac:

The Lower Sac has had an interesting winter. Typically this is the time of year where we target those big rainbows up by the Posse Grounds. But usually we are fishing in prime cloudy and rainy conditions. This spring weather we are getting in January is affecting the fishing adversely. We want the clouds because it gets that second egg bite going. Yesterday on the river is was 70 degrees and there were summer caddis coming off. We still caught some great fish under the sun with the best going 21.5 inches. My clients and I ended up hooking 21 trout but only landing 10 fish. So needless to say that we had to work for them. It was the first time ever that I have caught a fish in the winter on a summer tan caddis pattern. The hot flies have been eggs, tan poopahs, Hogan's S&M, and olive micro mays.

There are things to get excited for with this warm weather. That means the spring caddis hatch is just around the corner. So get excited for some awesome fishing in late February through March. If you want to fish the Lower Sac during prime time then March is hard to beat. In 2010 this was the best month of the year.

Yuba:

The Yuba is in a similar trend to the Lower Sac. Lots of sun, minimal bugs, and higher flows makes for some tough fishing. I was out there yesterday guiding a buddy of mine and he hooked 6 fish in about 5 hours of fishing. Pretty tough for the Yuba but it would have been better if we had a second rod in the boat. The river is at higher flows and is currently at 3,000 cfs. It is definitely at the point where you need to fish it out of the boat. Not lots of wading opportunities at these flows. With the increased flows there are a few steelhead being caught. Even though they are rare this is the time of year this is when the majority of those ocean going fish show up. Look to find the majority of the fish in the flats and off the edges of the faster currents. At these flows fish really like to pod up. So where you catch one there should be another willing fish waiting. If the weather stays warm like this expect to start seeing some major skwalas in the next couple of weeks. I actually had a couple land on me in the boat yesterday. So it is getting close to that time. The hot bugs have been eggs, san juans, rubberlegs, skwala stones, and Hogans S&M.

Feather:

The Feather is in its winter dull drums. The next 6 weeks there is nothing to be done on the feather. There will be a random fish or two out there for the die hard fisherman. But this time of year you might as well go fish the American river. The American is a much more winter viable fishery as compared to the Feather.

Get excited though. Because those spring fish are on the way. Those springers will be in the river in good numbers by mid March. These are the hottest fish in the valley. Most days we hook 10+ springers between 14-24". If you want to catch some hot fish under the sunny conditions of March and April then this is your game. This is by far my favorite time of year to fish the Feather. There are two specials for you to take advantage of this winter:

In February I will be offering some discounted trips on days that I am having a hard time booking. The cost of a full day trip for the selected dates below is going to be $275. You get a full day trip at the half day cost. This is a savings of $125.

February 9-10, 14-15, 23

Looking forward if you are interested in doing any trips this winter or spring then my openings are below. For those of you that want to get prime weekend dates for spring fishing then now is the time to start looking at your schedules.

March 1-3, 5, 8, 12-13, 18-25, 28-31

April 1-6, 9-22, 24-29

Well......I think that is it. I want to thank all of you for a great 2010. We caught some great fish and made some awesome stories. To big fish that got away, a few beers being drunk, sitting in hail storms, breaking rods, falling in the river, and spending time with friends. I look forward to all of our future trips and memories.

Hope to see you this Spring.

Tight Lines!

Lower Sac Update

With all of the fluctuating flows I thought that I would give you and up-to-date report on the conditions I saw early this week.

I fished the Lower Sac on Monday and Tuesday. The river was flowing at 11,000 cfs. We had some solid winter fishing on beads. Monday we hooked 25+ fish and Tuesday hooked 35+ fish. I kept trying different nymphs throughout the day but could not find one that they would eat on a cosistent basis. We did manage to catch a couple fish on Hogans S&M. But all of the typical winter nymphs like micromays, Hogans red headed step child, and gidgets did not produce. The reason Tuesday was better than Monday is due to the rain we had on Tuesday. In the winter time the best fishing happens on overcast rainy days on all of the valley rivers. So put on that rain jacket and man up!! Just this morning they raised the river to 16,800 cfs. So give the river a couple of days to settle down and then it should be game on again. Most guides fish the river with good success all the way to 25,000.

The Yuba is still blown out. In my opinion the river needs to be below 4,000 cfs to be fishable. All week it has been flowing at 6,000 cfs so with this dry weather coming we may have a small window to get out there.

Lastly the upper parts of the Feather in downtown Oroville open on Jan. 1. Currently this is probably the most viable option in the valley. Low clear water is the name of the game. Expect good fishing for 3-6lb steelhead on eggs, baetis nymphs, and san juans. This is going to be a small window so make sure to get out there in the first three weeks. After these fish have been hit a few times they will move up into the hatchery. This is a great half day trip for someone looking to work on their nymphing technique and catch a few steelhead.

Well that is about it. Hope this points you in the right direction to find some fishing admist all of the high water. Anyone looking to do a trip I have Jan 3-4 and 10-16 open for any last minute bookings.

Happy New Year and Tight Lines.

Christmas Fishing Report

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

In this report you will find Holiday Fishing Discounts, Availabilities, and an Up-to-date Fishing report on the Lower Sac and Yuba.

BOOK 2 DAYS GET A 3RD DAY FREE

The Holiday Winter Special is back! Over the last 4 years this has become one of my biggest promotions of the year. How does it work. Book 2 days and get the 3rd free! If you book 2 days between January 1st and March 15th then you get the third free. All 3 days do not have to be consecutive. You could fish the Lower Sac in January during the second egg bite, then hit the Skwala Hatch on the Yuba in February, and finish is up with some spring steelhead on the Feather in March. This is a $400 value for free!

If you want to get some fishing in this winter then my openings are below:

January 1-3, 6, 10-29, 31 & Feb 1, 7-24, 28 & March 1-14

As for the fishing there are plenty of fish still be caught with all of the rain and high flows that the central valley has been receiving. Check out the current reports below.

Lower Sac: This is the time of year that we catch some of the biggest rainbows on the river. Daily we catch fish near the 20" mark. Just last week we had one trip where we landed 4 fish between 20-23 inches!!! So if you have the itch to chase some big rainbows and you dont mind a little rain then now is the time to go.

Currently the river is running at summer flows of 15,000 cfs. I have been out there the last two days and the river is fishing decently with most days resulting in 20ish hookups. The river should be dropping in the next week as these winter storms lighten up. The hot flies have been eggs, eggs, and eggs. In the next couple of weeks the second egg bite should be getting started. This means big fish looking for beads from those winter salmon. If you are going to head out there fish a little deeper and add some split shot. Remember you need to get those bugs down to the fish. If you bump them in the nose you will start fishing more effectively.

Yuba: The Yuba River was having the best winter that I could remember before it blew out this last week. We were having 30+ hookups on a daily basis out here the first couple weeks of December. Plus we were hooking a random winter steelhead. Some of these were big wild fish and others hatchery fish taking the wrong turn from the Feather. Last week we landed 2 steelhead with one going 21" and the other 22".

Currently the river is blown out but should be fishable by the end of the weekend. The river is dropping at a steady rate and we should see in the next few days what the outlook is going to be. Remember you can fish the Yuba effectively at flows below 4,000 CFS. The hot flies are going to be eggs, san juans, rubberlegs, Hogan's S&M, and small pheasant tails. Expect things to get really good come January. This is a fun time of year where fish gobble up those eggs and you have the potential of finding some chrome.

Well....... I think that is it. Hope you are all doing well.

Tight Lines!

Thanksgiving Fishing Report

November has been a fun month. Chasing big fish on both the Lower Sac and the Feather has been keeping me quite busy. Check out my report on all of the valley rivers that I guide. It has been another great fall. For those of you looking for a deal I am offering a discount on a few select dates.

I have had some last minute canceallations and days that I have been unable to fill. So I am offering discounted trips at the price of $275. This is $125 dollars off the regular full day price. What do you get? You get a full day of guided fly fishing at the half day cost. I provide all the gear and you bring your own lunch/drinks.

I have had some last minute canceallations and days that I have been unable to fill. So I am offering discounted trips at the price of $275. This is $125 dollars off the regular full day price. What do you get? You get a full day of guided fly fishing at the half day cost. I provide all the gear and you bring your own lunch/drinks.

Discounted Days: November 20-23, 28-30 & December 1-5

Regular Availabilities: December 17-23, 29-31 & January 1-6, 10-16, 18-31


Lower Sac: Best Big Fish Month Ever on Lower Sac!!!

The Lower Sac has had an interesting month. I have never seen this many big fish on the Lower Sac since I have been guiding the river. The upper stretches of the river by Sundial Bridge has been giving up some true trophies. Literally everyday we are catching multiple 20" fish!! The key to the fishing has been to do multiple short floats and then go up to Market Street in the afternoon. It is crazy when you are thinking the small ones are 18". Right now the river is fishing the best from 10AM until about 3PM. So there is no rush to be on the river. Hot flies are tan pupahs, olive micro mays, and birds nest.

Expect the fishing to remain solid on the river for the next few weeks. With this Indian Summer that we are having those rainbows are still chowing down on caddis. When the rain and winter finally decide to show up then it will be time to start throwing those eggs and baetis nymphs. Once we get to January then things will really start turning up.

Feather: This has been an excellent year on the Feather. We had huge returns of salmon this year and that led to lots of steelhead sitting behind them feasting on eggs. Most days we are hooking between 10-12 fish. All of the fish have been cookie cutter 3-5lb fish in the 20-23" range. These are some hot pissed off fish that like to run and jump as soon as you hook them. As of last week the river was fishing really well but all of this 75 degree weather in November has tightened up the fishing. Last day out there only hooked 5 fish. Seems like the majority of the fish have pushed up to the hatchery. However this should change as we get some nasty weather coming in for this weekend. If we get some bad weather for a while expect the Feather to fish decently all the way through the first part of December. It might not be lights out but there are going to be some great fish to be caught. The good news is that there are fresh salmon starting to spawn in high flow so eggs and bad weather for the next week could mean some really good fishing. If you go the hot flies have been eggs and red san juan worms.

Yuba: This time of year the Yuba can be a tough fishery as those fish have been gorging on eggs and have been caught multiple times. However there is good fishing to come. Not many people know that the Yuba fishes really well in December and January. If you are lucky enough to get out there on an overcast day then watch out. Those fish love to eat eggs and baetis nymphs under the clouds. Check out this fish that Bob Quinn caught from the Yuba last January on an egg pattern. If you don't mind a little cold then some great fishing can be had. If you are going out there try fishing eggs, small pheasant tails, Hogan's S&M, Hogan's Read Headed Step Child, and Skwala Nymphs.


I hope all of you are getting some good fishing in. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Tight Lines!

Fall Fishing Update

This has been an interesting month. Typically it is easy to figure out the best fishing this time of year. Do you want tons of grabs or roll the dice and try to find some steelhead? This is the question that typically answers itself in October. However this month it has been some what of a head scratcher. Read my thoughts and outlooks below. Hope this helps you to figure out where to go next week.

Lower Sac: The fishing on the Sac has been good but not great. This fall our numbers on trout have been down. Most days right now we are landing 20-25 trout. The egg bite is slowly still progressing and is usually better on overcast/rainy days. However the one bright spot for the Sac has been the size of the rainbows. Take yesterday for example. Just in the afternoon we landed 3 20" fish, 4 19" fish, and 3 18" fish. For the pure size of the trout it really doesn't get any better. So the name of the game has been doing a short float in the morning when the fishing is tight and then heading back up river to Posse grounds once the fishing picks up in the afternoon. The last three weeks the afternoon has been much better than the morning. Hot flies have been eggs, tan pupahs, tan birds nest, micro mays, and Hogan's S&M. I would expect the Lower Sac to stay status quo for the next couple of weeks. However those of you looking to do some steelhead fishing things should improve on the lower stretches of the river. Expect the pressure on the river to start decreasing as people move over to the Trinity.

Feather: The Feather is continuing to progress nicely. There are still tons of salmon spawning in the river. But even more exciting than that is there are still salmon in the deep water moving up. The next month on the Feather should be really good. I guided 2 half day trips on the river this week and each day we saw a mix of half pounders and adults. Monday we hooked 8 fish and Thursday we hooked 7 in about 5hours of fishing. Most of the steelhead that are in the system are between 18-23". However there are a few big fish still being caught. I have yet to go down to High Flow but will venture down there this week. The hot flies have been eggs and eggs. Every fish that I have hooked in the last four trips on the river has been on an egg pattern.

Yuba: I don't have the best information on the Yuba as I have not been over in three weeks. I keep hearing rumors that there are salmon in the lower stretches of the river by Hammond Grove. If you go over there try eggs and small may fly nymphs. This river is going to stop fishing once we get into the dull drums of November. So don't have huge expectations if you head out to the Yuba. Things will pick up again in December once the winter run of Salmon start and there is less pressure on the water.

Well........that is about everything that I have seen. Hope this info helps you out. Get excited because the first good steelhead fishing of the year is just around the corner. If you are looking for some last minute openings I have November 9,17,22-23, and 28-30 available. See you out there.

Fish Hard!

Cancellation this Saturday

For anyone interested I just had a cancellation for this Saturday. Right now the Yuba is fishing really good for trout. So that is probably where you will want to go. The last couple of days out there have been impressive with 30+ hookups on great fish. Actually yesterday is the best trip I have ever had out there. If you want to go out email me ASAP at ryan@rjsflytrips.com.

Tight Lines!

Yuba & Lower Sac Report

Well I am finally back on the river. It has been a nice three weeks off of catching up on overdue Cast Hope work and sleeping in. It is nice being able to get up around 8AM each morning. Not to many more days of that left until Thanksgiving. The good news is that the fall is quickly approaching and the signs of the first salmon have been spotted on both the Yuba and Lower Sac. I was on each river once this last week. Here is a detailed report of what I saw on each.

The Yuba fished well.......my clients hooked 20+ rainbows and landed about 15 for the boat. Pretty typical day on the Yuba. It seemed like the morning and the middle of the day fished the best. The fishing seemed to tighten up in the afternoon around 3PM. What was crazy is that one of my clients had two fish on the same nymph rig twice during the day. We never landed both trout. It seems like this happens periodically throughout the year but rarely do we land both fish. In 7 years of guiding have only landed both twice. The good news is that I saw about 30 salmon swimming around in the deeper water. So in about 1-2 weeks we should start to see our first salmon on redds. The hot flies were eggs, fox pupah, small pheasant tails, and copper johns.

The Lower Sac was a different story as compared to the Yuba. I had a Cast Hope trip there on Thursday and I decided to do a short float from Posse Grounds down to Aqua Golf. We fished from 10AM till 3PM. The morning was brutal!!!! We didn't even hook our first fish until noon. The fishing was so tough we pulled over underneath the Sundial bridge to pick some blackberries. I thought this would keep the youngster entertained for a while. After some blackberry picking and eating lunch the fishing turned on. The fish started to eat around 1PM and for the rest of the day it was pretty typical Lower Sac. The hot flies were tan birds nest, fox pupah, and Hogans S&M.

I will be on the water 6-7 days a week through the end of October so I will try to update my blog once a week to keep everyone in touch of current conditions.

For those of you looking to do some fishing my October is completely booked. However now is the time to book prime steelhead dates for the Feather and Lower Sac. I currently have Nov. 1-6 and 8-11 available. These are the two best weeks for steelhead fishing on both of these rivers.

Tight Lines!