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

Discount this Week!

Hey guys. I had some cancellations for this week and wanted to see if anyone was interested in some last minute deals. Right now the only rivers that I guide that are fishable are the Yuba and Feather. Both are fishing well. If I had to choose one then I would opt for the Yuba as I think that gives us the best opportunity of having a great day. Well here is the deal. You pay $295 and get a full day of guided fishing. Right now I have this Monday - Wednesday, Dec. 17-19 open at this rate. That is 30% off the normal rate of $425. Email me asap at ryan.johnston@hotmail.com if you want to get in on some good winter fishing. Tight Lines, Ryan

Good Late Season Feather Steelhead Fishing

I had a good late season steelhead trip on the Feather today. This year the Feather is fishing much later than normal. Expect for there to be good numbers of fish in the system through the first week of December. The fishing today was really consistent. In total we hooked 15+ steelhead in the 18-24" range. The majority of the fish came on eggs. Today was a tad better than the rest of the week but most days we are hooking between 12-14 fish. Not bad for the weekend after Thanksgiving. For anyone looking for a last minute egg bite trip then I have Nov. 27-28, 30 open. Anyone interested in these last minute trips then I will do them for the specail price of $295 for a full day. Email me ASAP at ryan@rjsflytrips.com if you are interested. Take Care.

Steelhead are HERE!!!

The last three weeks have been impressive. Lots of great days of steelhead fishing have been taking place in the valley. If you are itching to get on the water and feel the fight of these feisty fish then now is the time to get out there. Only a couple more weeks left for the valley steelhead game. I have a couple prime time openings still available to fish the Feather or Lower Sections of the Sac. Below is my current openings and full fishing report. Current Openings: Nov. 19, 25-28, 30 and Dec. 3-8, 10-12, 14-18, 20-21, 23 Feather River Putting out year after year! The fishing on the Feather has been awesome this fall. The great news is that our salmon population is holding on later than normal this year. We have small groups of salmon still making their way into the system and creating an egg bite that is lasting longer than normal. Expect the Feather to fish through Thanksgiving weekend this year. Right now we are hooking about 15 steelhead per day. Not to many places can boast of numbers like these. If you are into catching some pissed off fish then now is the time to give it a try. Fish in the 19-23" class are common and we are seeing a 25-26" about every 3 days. Call me ASAP for my only opening next week! Lower Sacramento River Old Reliable! The Sac has been solid the last couple of weeks. I have been putting all of my focus on the lower stretches of late. Fishing from Balls to Jellys Ferry and Red Bluff to Los Molinos has been good. For those of you looking to do some trout fishing and run into a couple of steelhead then the next two weeks is the time to do that. The Lower Drifts have been putting out about 20-25 trout per day and a couple shots at some big steelhead. Just this last Saturday a client hooked a fish that was probably 8 lbs. If you are into rolling the dice and looking for those monsters then Red Bluff is the drift for you. You throw in a bunch of trout to keep you interested then it turns into a really fun day. Call ASAP for my last opening this month. Yuba River If you treat me nice I might give you some dry fly loving! The Yuba like the Feather has had some decent late season fishing. There are still a few salmon in the river that are keeping a handful of fish eating eggs. I would call the fishing fairly average with most days resulting in 20ish hookups. The best part is there has been a blue wing olive hatch in the afternoons that has been getting the fish looking up. This last weekend we were able to throw dry flies for about 2 hours in the afternoon with fish rising to our flies consistently. So if you are looking for some good winter fishing then the Yuba can produce some decent nymphing with solid dry fly fishing thrown in the mix.

$100 Off Next 2 Weekends

The summer fishing has been REALLY GOOD. The weather is cooling off and I have some prime openings for guys looking to fish the next couple weekends. Thats right you can come hang out in the boat in the next couple of weeks and save a few bucks! These will be the last discounted trips for a long time. So those of you looking to save a couple dollars here is your last chance. Check out the details below. Email ryan.johnston@hotmail.com to reserve your spot. Lower Sac & Yuba The Lower Sac has been really solid this summer. We have been having some great days with these higher flows. The lower drifts from Balls Ferry to Bend have been good to excellent with most days hooking close to 50 fish. While the upper drifts have been good fishing for those big fiesty rainbows. So if you want lots of action then now is the time to get out. Perfect time to bring out those family members that have never done it before. The warm water fishing around Chico has been solid. There are still a handful of big stripers around if you are looking for a big fish. Last week I hooked 2 fish in the 15lb. class. Throw in a mix of smaller stripers, a handful of small mouth, and then finish the day throwing top water for largemouth and it can be a really fun day. This is your last time to hit the Yuba Hopper Game before it is over! There are a couple more weeks left for you dry fly guys. Then come the end of the month the egg bite is going to start. So reserve your spot now if you want to hit the Yuba during the most ridiculous time of the year. From September 20th through October 15th the Yuba is amazing! $100 OFF - Next 2 Weekends Aug. 24-25 (Fri. - Sat.) & Aug 31 (Fri.) Sept. 2-3 (Labor Day Weekend) EGG BITE IS COMING! RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW! PRIME OPENINGS BELOW. Yuba - Sept 24, 26, 30, Oct. 2-4 Lower Sac - Oct. 7-8, 12-13, 16, 19, 25-28 Feather - Nov. 1, 3-18 Tight Lines!

Discounted Trips - Yuba and Lower Sac Report

Hey guys. It has been a while since my last report. Things have definitely been different this summer with me staying in Chico for the fist time in 6 years. I have to admit that I am missing the cooler weather of Idaho and Wyoming. But needless to say the fishing remains really strong despite the hot weather. In this report you can find current reports on the Yuba and the Lower Sac plus save some money this summer with a discounted trip. Yuba: The Yuba has had good dry fly fishing the last 3 weeks. The hopper fishing has been really consistent from 1-4PM. It definitely seems like the fishing before and after that time window is really hit and miss. The best hopper fishing has been on the lower parts of the river near hammond grove. Right now this is the perfect time to go do a pure half day dry fly trip. The nymphing has been pretty average. On full day trips we have started fishing around 10AM and break for lunch around 1PM. In that time frame my clients have been hooking between 8-10 fish a morning. Then after lunch we go dry or die and stick with the hopper game for the rest of the afternoon. Most afternoons we have been getting about 15+ eats on the hopper. One thing to keep in mind is that it seems like the bigger fish are on the banks looking for hoppers as there aren't many bugs hatching right now. With the food source on the bank its natural for the larger fish to congegrate that way. Lower Sac: The Lower Sac has been really good with the warm weather of late. I have been spending the majority of my time between Jellys Ferry and Bend. Most days we are hooking 40+ fish. What is really cool right now is the variety of the fishing opportunities. We are catching fish in the rocks, clay, and swirls. A couple of the swirls are fishing really good right now. It is so cool hooking a fish in a swirl and watching it swim straight to the bottom bending those 6 weights in half. Openings: For those of you looking to get some fishing in my openings are below: Discounted Trips: A full day trip for the half day cost of $300. This is a savings of $130. Aug 2-3, 7-15 Regular Price Openings: Aug 19-29, 31 & Sept 1-5 I hope all of you are well and are getting some fishing in. Good luck out there and stay cool! Tight Lines!