Up Date

Been a while...I have been teaching all week along and coaching varsity baseball and then guiding on the weekends. Doesn’t leave much time for things like sitting around and writing blog posts, seeing your off spring, fishing for fun, tying flies....the list goes on.

Fishing wise here is a few reports...

Lower Yuba: has been coming and going with the recent spring storms as of late. Presently it is blown out and deer creek is raging as well. There is nice weather forecasted over the next week so it might come back into shape by mid to late week. Those that have caught the river when it has been fishable over the last few weeks have done well. Big attractor bugs like jimmy legs, Yuba stones, and Chubby cousins paired with dark colored caddis and PMD patterns has been catching the most fish. Look for fishing to get good to really good once the flows stabilize.

Lower Feather: There are a good number of spring steelhead in the lower feather river. Many are the traditional half pounders we see in the central valley this time of year but there are adults mixed in and most anglers are hooking at least one adult a day while out on the river. Fish are podded up between the hatchery down through Palm ave. Most fish are coming on caddis patterns, small olive mayfly nymphs, and attractor patterns nymphed under and indicator. A few fish are coming on swung flies when weather is warmer and the caddis start hatching. Once the weather gets around 75-80 the caddis should get going pretty good and swinging princes and caddis patterns will be GOOD.swinging flies on the feather for spring steel

Lower Sacramento River: I have not been on the lower sac for a while as it has been blown out then OK then blown out again pretty frequently. The upper float is clear down to the first trib on most days but the tribs will dump mud into the river with any significant rain. That said the river clears pretty quick even with the color. Flows are still low and afternoon PMD hatches have been pretty good if you hit it right in the upper stretches.

Trout Opener: Trout Season in the great bankrupt state of California opens the last Saturday in April. The only place that I know that ever fishes good on the opener is some of the states spring creeks, and they are packed! Most other bodies of water are blown out, to cold, or snowed in. I would recommend going to one of the various parking lot fairs held at various fly shops through out the state on the opener and save the gas money for cold, blown out, river fishing.

Striper and Herring (aka the shad) report: a few scattered reports of stripers being caught but nothing of significance. The Herring are still a few weeks away but I have caught them on the Sac outside Chico as early as May 5Th so they are coming.

IN OTHER NEWS....
I dropped my old Lowe motor boat off at Sutter Marine to get my Motor and electronics switched over to my new Lowe 1756 SC I got and will be rolling home with my new boat shortly. Right in time for the upcoming striper, shad, bass, and carp season.

Upcoming guiding opportunities:

- All the great Spring tail water fishing on the L. Sac, L.Yuba, and L. Feather is going on and if we can get a break from these springs storms fishing and hatches should be getting going.

- Trout season opens up soon and while nothing really fishes that great on the opener by Mid May to early June most rivers and creeks are going to be fishing well. I will be doing float trips and walk and wades on the North Fork of the Feather River, Pit River, Fall River, North Fork of the Yuba River, and many local Chico creeks.

- I will also be guiding on Lake Almanor and other Trout lakes in the Plumas Forrest area this summer.

- Of course I will spending a ton of time guiding for stripers, shad, carp, and big and small mouth bass all over the north state.

Available Dates:
May 12, 13.
June 2-7, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 27, 30
July 1-3, 9-12, 16-21, 25-27, 30, 31

hoganbrown@hotmail.com
www.hgbflyfishing.com