It has been a while since I have posted a report. Life has been extremely busy in the Johnston house with lots of guiding, running the Cast Hope Annual Benefit, having a new born, and all of life's normal chores. Today is going to be my last day of guiding in Northern California before I leave for my 5th summer in Idaho. The South Fork of the Snake with its huge hatches of stoneflies and pmds awaits me. As most of you know it has been a very unusual spring for both CA and ID. But there are still fish to be caught below you can find a report of what I have been seeing on our local valley rivers.
Lower Sac: The Sac has been good and difficult at times over the last 6 weeks. Currently the river is at 11,000 cfs but it should be going over 20,000 sometime real soon. But again we have been saying this since March but it has to happen with the amount of water they have in Shasta right now. It seems like the best plan right now is to do long drifts and cover as much water as possible. Each day you get grabs in every place you should but rather than getting lots of multiples you are getting 1-2 hookups in the good spots. It has been really hard to fish slow and do well. Almost everyone right now is fishing Posse to Anderson but I have been switching it up a little bit and doing Bonny to Anderson and RV to Balls. Going out there expect to land right around 20 fish + or - a 2-3 fish. One thing you really have to watch out for is how fast the fish are eating your flies. If you are not right on that indicator as its going under the water then you miss them every time. The hot flies have been rubberlegs, tan pupahs, mercers pmd, flashback pt, and a red copper john.
Yuba: I haven't been on the Yuba for the last couple of weeks since it went to 8,000+ but the first of June the Yuba was fishing really well. Before this spring I thought that the Yuba was unfishable over 4,000cfs. But I went out there several times between 5,000-7,000 cfs. The river was crazy high but the fish were still there. They we stacked up in the drop offs, behind bushes, and the slow flats. To be honest it really felt like fishing in Idaho. The only different thing that you had to do was do the drift twice. So I was fishing from 20 to Sycamore twice in a day and hooking 20+ rainbows each day. Which is great for the spring time on that river and especially good given the conditions. Now it did take me a couple of trips trying to figure things out but it worked out really well. Hot flies were rubberlegs, red copper johns, tan birds nest, and san juans.
Well that is it. Just wanted to keep you guys in the loop. Right now really pay attention to the flows as they are going to be changing at any time. Be careful out there and have a great summer. See you guys when I get back the first week of September.
Tight Lines!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Finally Fishing!
Well............it has been an interesting month. If you haven't noticed Northern California has been getting pounded with rain and snow. Needless to say it has been a tough month. Because of all the weather and Bonnie being on the edge of going into labor I didn't guide one day in March. I had to reschedule 21 days for the month. I started to think of my break as a sabbatical from the oars. It came as good timing though with the birth of our first child Maggie on March 21. So I have had a couple of weeks to help Bonnie out and bond with the baby. To be honest I think the baby has taken more out of me then working. LOL. But even with the restless nights of feedings and trying to sleep I am over joyed with the new addition to our family.
Okay............I know get on to the Fishing! The good news is that the Lower Sac is back in shape and fishing well. So there are going to be some lips ripped in the next couple of weeks.
In this post you will find reports from the Lower Sac, Forecasts on conditions for the Yuba/Feather, Openings, and a couple discounted trips! For all discounted trips I will offer a full day at the half day cost of $275.
Dates Available:
April: 12 ($275), 17, 25-26 ($275), May 3, 6, 17-20, June 7-10
Lower Sac:
As of yesterday we have a couple rivers (Lower Sac/Feather) in the valley that is fishable. The Lower Sac is currently at 15,000 cfs and the clarity is about 6-7 feet. The fishing has been really good all week as those fish plow down on anything that lands in front of them. They finally get some rest and time to eat after the high flows. Both trips I have done this week have resulted in 30+ fish days with many others lost. With the high water the key is to find those soft edges where the fish can settle in and get out of the heavy current. It wasn't hard to find some hungry fish as they tried up to eat the yellow brain fly, the famous bead, and a rubberleg. Around 1PM there was a solid hatch of pmds and as soon as the bugs came out a flashback pt and mercers pmd caught a handful of fish. The quality of fish on the river yesterday was awesome with lots of 17-19" rainbows crushing our bugs.
Yuba River:
Well there haven't been any reports from the Yuba as it has been unfishable for several weeks now. The flows on the Yuba have been bouncing around between 5,000-6,000 cfs. Currently the flows on the Yuba are 5,200+ cfs. So this is still to high to fish the river effectively. In my opinion the river needs to be below 4,000 cfs but is even better when it drops to 3,000 cfs. Now with all of that said that doesn't mean one cant catch fish over there at this flow. With this much flow you have to focus on the slower deeper runs and plan on doing 2 floats as you will be flying down the river.
The forecast for the Yuba is still a couple of weeks out but the last couple of days they have been flirting with that 4,000 cfs mark. We are probably looking to the middle or later parts of April to get out on the river. When things finally get fishable watch out because it is going to be lights out on this river for several weeks. Lots of fish looking to eat after all of the high water conditions. Expect the Yuba to fish really well through June this year. Stay tuned for reports on my blog.
Feather River:
The Feather dropped into shape on Wednesday. I guided the Low Flow section today and found decent success. With two rookies who had never fly fished before we hooked 7 spring steelhead that were all of good size. These were not your typical 16" fish that you see over there during March/April. All of the fish were between 19-22" fat footballs. There was a little pressure on the river with 2 other drift boats and about 3 guys wading the upper parts of the drift. We had to cover a lot of water to find the fish but they were pretty evenly spread out throughout the entire low flow. The hot flies were a prince nymph and lightning bug. But try san juans, microspawn, birds nest, king princes, pts, Hogan's S&M, etc. if you plan on going over there. Expect things to get really good on the Feather in a couple of weeks once some more fish move into the system.
Well that is it. We are finally back to fishing in the valley. Expect the next three weeks to be really good.
Tight Lines!
Okay............I know get on to the Fishing! The good news is that the Lower Sac is back in shape and fishing well. So there are going to be some lips ripped in the next couple of weeks.
In this post you will find reports from the Lower Sac, Forecasts on conditions for the Yuba/Feather, Openings, and a couple discounted trips! For all discounted trips I will offer a full day at the half day cost of $275.
Dates Available:
April: 12 ($275), 17, 25-26 ($275), May 3, 6, 17-20, June 7-10
Lower Sac:
As of yesterday we have a couple rivers (Lower Sac/Feather) in the valley that is fishable. The Lower Sac is currently at 15,000 cfs and the clarity is about 6-7 feet. The fishing has been really good all week as those fish plow down on anything that lands in front of them. They finally get some rest and time to eat after the high flows. Both trips I have done this week have resulted in 30+ fish days with many others lost. With the high water the key is to find those soft edges where the fish can settle in and get out of the heavy current. It wasn't hard to find some hungry fish as they tried up to eat the yellow brain fly, the famous bead, and a rubberleg. Around 1PM there was a solid hatch of pmds and as soon as the bugs came out a flashback pt and mercers pmd caught a handful of fish. The quality of fish on the river yesterday was awesome with lots of 17-19" rainbows crushing our bugs.
Yuba River:
Well there haven't been any reports from the Yuba as it has been unfishable for several weeks now. The flows on the Yuba have been bouncing around between 5,000-6,000 cfs. Currently the flows on the Yuba are 5,200+ cfs. So this is still to high to fish the river effectively. In my opinion the river needs to be below 4,000 cfs but is even better when it drops to 3,000 cfs. Now with all of that said that doesn't mean one cant catch fish over there at this flow. With this much flow you have to focus on the slower deeper runs and plan on doing 2 floats as you will be flying down the river.
The forecast for the Yuba is still a couple of weeks out but the last couple of days they have been flirting with that 4,000 cfs mark. We are probably looking to the middle or later parts of April to get out on the river. When things finally get fishable watch out because it is going to be lights out on this river for several weeks. Lots of fish looking to eat after all of the high water conditions. Expect the Yuba to fish really well through June this year. Stay tuned for reports on my blog.
Feather River:
The Feather dropped into shape on Wednesday. I guided the Low Flow section today and found decent success. With two rookies who had never fly fished before we hooked 7 spring steelhead that were all of good size. These were not your typical 16" fish that you see over there during March/April. All of the fish were between 19-22" fat footballs. There was a little pressure on the river with 2 other drift boats and about 3 guys wading the upper parts of the drift. We had to cover a lot of water to find the fish but they were pretty evenly spread out throughout the entire low flow. The hot flies were a prince nymph and lightning bug. But try san juans, microspawn, birds nest, king princes, pts, Hogan's S&M, etc. if you plan on going over there. Expect things to get really good on the Feather in a couple of weeks once some more fish move into the system.
Well that is it. We are finally back to fishing in the valley. Expect the next three weeks to be really good.
Tight Lines!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Water! Water! Water!
Well not much to report on as all of the valley rivers are currently blown out. Right now the Lower Sac is at 40K cfs, the Yuba is 15K, and Low Flow on the Feather is 18K. Needless to say all of this water has finally caught up with the reservoirs. So it looks like I wont be guiding for the next couple of weeks. It does come at good timing as Bonnie is expecting our first child on March 31. Right now we need a couple solid weeks of dry weather for everything to drop back into shape. I will keep you posted as things progress. For those of you interested in what are good levels for the flow then here you go.
Lower Sac: Needs to be 30K or less. 30K is still really big but it can fish really well from 20-25K. So if it drops into that range then we are back into the game.
Yuba: Needs to be 4K or less with deer creek in the 100-200 range. The Yuba has had a tough spring thus far. I cant wait for things to settle over there.
Feather: Needs to be 3K of less. I haven't seen the Feather this big since 2004. Dont even try to fish it right now. This is dangerous flows and could be hazardous to your life.
Well............thats about it. Just praying for some stable weather so I don't lose my entire spring season. I hope all of you are doing well.
Tight Lines & Dry Weather!
Lower Sac: Needs to be 30K or less. 30K is still really big but it can fish really well from 20-25K. So if it drops into that range then we are back into the game.
Yuba: Needs to be 4K or less with deer creek in the 100-200 range. The Yuba has had a tough spring thus far. I cant wait for things to settle over there.
Feather: Needs to be 3K of less. I haven't seen the Feather this big since 2004. Dont even try to fish it right now. This is dangerous flows and could be hazardous to your life.
Well............thats about it. Just praying for some stable weather so I don't lose my entire spring season. I hope all of you are doing well.
Tight Lines & Dry Weather!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
February Big Fish Report
I hope you are all having a great week. Well winter is still here in the North Valley. Hopefully you guys are not frozen blocks of ice from the cold last week. I think that my fingers are just now defrosting. The last couple of weeks have been some of the coldest that I have ever seen. One client of mine was not so lucky 2 weeks ago when we sat in 1.5 hours of snow in Redding. Yes I said snow in Redding. But even with the snow flakes we were able to find a few fish to bite. Things are starting to look warmer for the week to come but even with that there is more rain in the forecast. Well you ready for the good news...............cold weather means the hatches are going to be huge when it gets warm again. So expect the fishing from the mid March - mid April to be excellent. That means there will still be March Browns on the Yuba and Caddis on the Lower Sac. So get excited because there is really good fishing to come. Check out my latest fishing report and openings below. I look forward to spending some time with you guys this spring.
Openings:
March: 3-4, 8, 12-17, 20-24
April: 3-6, 11-13, 15, 20-22, 25-26
May: 2-7, 9-10, 17-20, 28-31
Weekend Dates Still Open: March 12-13, March 20, April 3, May 7, May 28-29
Lower Sac:
Well it has been an interesting month on the Lower Sac. The conditions have been all over the board. Warm early in the month and freezing temperatures of late. Needless to say the hatches on the Sac have also been bouncing around. We have seen some huge caddis hatches under the sunny weather and really big blue wing hatches with the rain. The hatches have been impressive for the last month. I had clients last week that were lucky enough to be in the biggest caddis hatch of the year thus far. There were so many caddis out that we grabbed a dry fly rod. In one tail out we hooked 2 fish on caddis dries. Now I know that doesn't seem like a big deal but that is more rare than hooking a steelhead on the Sac. The middle stretches of the Sac continue to fish the best with most of my time being spent on either Bonnyview to Anderson or Anderson to Balls Ferry. The hot flies of late have been prince nymphs, Hogan's S&M, Brown Micro Mays, Small Flashback PTs, and rubberlegs. Currently the river is fishing pretty normal with most days resulting in 25+ rainbows landed. Expect things to blow up on the Lower Sac when we finally get some sunny weather in the high 60s. When that happens the fishing is going to be SILLY!
Yuba River:
The Yuba has been having a rough go for the last couple of weeks. There have been small windows to fish the Yuba with major fluctuating flows on the river. Currently the river is fishable and flowing at 2,000 CFS. However with more rain coming tomorrow I expect Deer Creek to blow the Yuba out for a couple more days. Probably by next weekend the Yuba will be good to go again. It just depends on how much water we get in the next couple of days. With all of the changing conditions I have not been on the Yuba for the last couple of weeks. But if I were to go out there I would try rubberlegs, San Juans, Hogans S&M, Hogans Clinger, Copper Johns, and even some eggs. Expect things to get really good hear as well when we get some warm weather. Hopefully the flows will not be up when that happens. To be honest I am bitting at the bit to get out there.
Feather River:
Well................It is not spring time on the Feather! The only reason is there are very few fish in there right now. I talked to a guy who guided the Feather last week and they only hooked a couple of fish. So it is still to early for the Feather to start fishing. But get pumped because we are about 2-3 weeks away from this place blowing up as well. If you want to go out there scouting then throw all of your favorite green caddis patterns, Hogans S&Ms, San Juans, Birds Nest, Alevins, Etc. The Spring is by far my favorite time of year to fish the Feather. If you fish it enough then you will have one of those magical days out there where everything seems to align and there are tons of fish in the system that want to eat your fly. Hang on and don't screw up when you hit the big one. Expect the Feather to peak from mid March through April.
February's Big Fish of the Month!
The big fish award for February is going to Jesus Cardenas. Jesus has been fishing with me for about 3 years now. He lucked into this great 23" clipped steelhead on the Lower Sac the second week of February. The best part of this fish is that it absolutely hammered his fly. This fish was moving so fast that I saw it under the boat by the time he was setting the hook. The crazy part is this fish passed up the Rubberlegs to eat a small prince nymph. Dumb fish! In the end Jesus did everything right and we netted this fish right above Deschutes Bridge. Jesus will get $50 off his next trip with me. I hope there are more steelhead to come this spring! It seems like there are always a few it just depends if you are lucky enough to land one. Maybe you will be the next big fish winner.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Last Minute Cancellation
To anyone interested I had a last minute cancellation for Monday. I will offer a full day of fishing at the half day cost of 275. The trip will have to be on the Lower Sac as the Yuba is currently blown out. Right now we are landing between 20-25 rainbows a day on the Sac. Plus it looks like the weather on Monday is going to be awesome. Email me at ryan@rjsflytrips.com if you want to get in on the deal.
Hope everyone is staying warm.
Tight Lines!
Hope everyone is staying warm.
Tight Lines!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Lower Sac Snow
Well today is the second day ever that I have guided in the snow. Pretty crazy weather for Redding. We started fishing about 9AM and the first 1.5 hours there was a steady snow/sleet coming down. Needless to say there wer not lots of bugs coming off in the cold. However right about 11AM the fish started to eat. We landed 5 fish in the hour on Red Headed Step Childs, Olive Gidgets, adnd Micromays. The only issue was that my client threw in the towel a little after noon. I guess all of the rain/snow/sleet got to him. Once you start shivering I guess there is nothing that you can really do except get out of the cold. I can tell you though he was more excited about the car heater than a kid on Christmas morning!!! Hindsight we should have started around 10:30 but I guess you never know. Things are looking up for the weekend if you want to fish in Redding. Looks like Saturday and Sunday the weather is going to hold up for us.
Just as a note the Yuba is currently blown out. So check the flows before heading out toward Marysville.
Tight Lines!
Just as a note the Yuba is currently blown out. So check the flows before heading out toward Marysville.
Tight Lines!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Spring Fishing Awaits.
Fly Guys & Gals,
I hope you are all having a great week. It looks like we are finally getting a real taste of winter again. Rain is forecasted for the next week. For awhile there I was thinking spring was here to stay. The big news is that all of our valley rivers are already starting to fish good. Big caddis hatches on the Sac and even the March Browns are starting to pop their heads up on the Yuba. It is a little scary that we started catching fish on our spring patterns in the end of January. The weather this winter is setting up for a great spring on all of our valley rivers. Low flows and lots of bugs! Check out the fishing reports and my openings below. I look forward to spending some time with you this spring.
It is that time of year again when the Sac, Yuba, and Feather blow up. So make sure to get in on the bite. You dont want to miss the caddis hatch on the Sac, the March Brown/PMD hatch on the Yuba, or the run of Spring Steelhead on the Feather. Prime weekend dates are already filling up. Check out my openings below.
March: 3-4, 8, 12-13, 15-18, 20-24, 30-31
April: 2-6, 9, 11-13, 15, 20-22, 24-26
Lower Sac:
Caddis Hatch in January & February? YES, the Sac is already in its spring time trends. The middle parts of the river from Anderson down to Balls Ferry have been fishing LIGHTS OUT for average sized fish. Currently most days we are landing 30+ rainbows. If you are into lots of grabs then from now until April the Lower Sac is going to be the place to be. We are not seeing lots of big fish as most of the rainbows we are catching are going from 12-14". However every day we are getting a handful of great quality trout. This last week one of my clients found and landed a late 23" clipped hen on this drift. So there are some great fish still to be caught. This cold weather will slow things down for a bit but come March time the Sac is going to be blow up! Hot flies have been prince nymphs, king prince, zug bug, micromay, and Hogan's S&M.
Yuba River:
Is the same thing happening on the Yuba? Well yes. Spring Time has hit the Yuba as well. There are Skwalas flying around, March Browns starting to hatch, and a crazy early PMD here and there. The Skwala hatch has not been quite as good this year. The word on the street is that the high flows in December probably knocked these bugs around as they started their crawling migration. However I have been seeing a few on the water. Currently most days we are hooking 15-20 rainbows. However watch out for the next set of warm weather. With this little bit of cold those bugs will be itching to do their thing when it gets back to 70. WATCH OUT BECAUSE THE YUBA IS GOING TO BE GOOD! The hot bugs of late have been rubberlegs, red copper johns, skwala stone, Hogan's Clinger, Hogan's S&M, and of course San Juans!
Feather River:
Well................It is not spring time on the Feather! The only reason is there are very few fish in there right now. Get pumped because we are about 1 month away from this place blowing up as well. For those of you that dont know this is by far my favorite time of year to fish on the Feather. There is not a hotter fish in the valley. If you are lucky enough to hook one of those Feather River Adult steelhead then that fish will keep you coming back year after year. I literally have clients that only want to fish this river with me. Typical days on the Feather result in 10-12 hookups on steelhead between 16-24". If you are lucky enough then sometimes you can find that fish that is pushing the high 20's mark. Prime time is Mid March to Mid May!
Tight Lines,
Ryan Johnston
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