Lower Sac Report

I was lucky enough to be asked to film an episode of “Fly Fishing the World with Conway Bowman”, a great TV show on the sportsman channel. I have known Conway for 6 or 7 years and I have worked with Justin Karnopp the producer of the show on other shows and with Idylwilde as he is also a contract tier for Idylwilde. We scheduled the filming of the show for this last weekend on the Lower Sac. They wanted to hit the spring caddis hatch.

Filming a TV show is always a stressful event for me as the pressure is on to put the fish on film. Luckily we had no problem with this as fishing has been lights out great on the Sac lately and Conway is a phenomenal angler. Coming from a salt background to trout fishing is a big change. Hook sets while fishing indicators, fighting trout, and all the line management of getting a dead drift is different. Conway had it all down though as he grew up fishing trout in Idaho and still does a bunch of trout fishing in the Mammoth area. What I found amazing was the shear focus he had, I think this comes from a salt background and just knowing that to make the show work he has to seal the deal on each opportunity. All that said by lunch of the first day we had put more then enough fish in the net for the show, but we kept fishing hard for the rest of the day and next.

We floated from Anderson to Balls Ferry the first day and Aqua Golf to Anderson the second. Bonnieview to Anderson seems to be the most crowded float but also seems to be cranking out the biggest fish. We hooked great fish both days but the bigger fish did seem to be on the Aqua Golf to Anderson float. Both days the top bugs were Jimmy Leggs, a new march brown nymph I am working on, and the S&M PMD. A few fish ate sucker eggs but not enough to say it was a hot bug. Fish seemed to be spread out in all types of bug water eating may fly nymphs in the flats and slower runs and Jimmy Leggs in the faster riffles. I tried like hell to get the fish to eat caddis but mayflies seemed to be much more to their liking this weekend.

Sports Report

I am loving the tournament. My bracket is in shambles even though I did pick a few of the upsets. I picked Harvard and Oregon, but no way did I have LaSalle and Florida Gulf Coast in the Sweet 16. I am pretty excited for this weekends games as any time under dogs make a run for it.

GIANTS open up the season this Monday April 1 in Los Angles and I would love nothing more then to take it to the Dodgers in LA for the opener. We have some serious questions though with the latest injury’s to Pablo and the question mark at Second base…I am sure Boch will put something together though.

Fermented Beverage and BBQ Report

It is transition time right now…I finished off some scotch this last few weeks that had been hanging around and I still have a really nice bottle yet to crack but I may hold off on it as the weather is heating up and it is feeling like Margarita time. Beer wise I have been straight domestics lately. Budweiser. Just seems natural as baseball is starting and I have been grilling some serious Carne Asada I have been getting from a local carniceria, El Torro Loco. Stuff is amazing and dirt cheap. I got a 6 pack of bud, enough carne asada to feed my whole family and have left overs, chips, and fresh salsa verde for $17. Awesome. So, I am thinking this weekend may be the first margarita weekend at my house as I am also planning to put in my garden. Also I may get the first 12er of bud light lime this weekend as that is a great warm weather session beer.

UPCOMING

There are a few reports of stripers lower in the Feather and Sac. I will be getting out over the next few days to see what I can find. Also there are reports of spring steelhead in the Feather, but I think some warmer weather is needed to get these fish going. Lots of great spring and summer fishing on its way here are a list of open dates over the next few months.

May 11, 25, 26, 27

June 10, 12-14, 17, 23-29

July 1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16-27, 30, 31

*Evening Shad dates available all of the above plus these mid week dates: May 21-24, 28, 30 June 3-6

Report and Random information

Spring I think is officially here as day time temps are reaching anywhere from 70-80 degrees and I have officially pulled out my flip flops.  Among my fellow guide buddies I am always the last guy to go flip flops and shorts in the boat so this is a telling sign. night time temperatures still get down from the high 30's to low 50's so there are some big swings in the morning and evening temps once the sun goes down.

The Lower Sac has been fishing great with some large numbers of fish being caught. This is where I have been spending the most time. March is traditionally the start of the caddis hatches but there has been a smorgesboard of hatches lately with PMD's, Baetis, and March Brown's out in the morning followed by the caddis hatch. This is a great time of year on the Lower Sac as the weather is beautiful and the fishing is great!

I have not been on the Lower Yuba much sense the Lower Sac has been fishing so good. I usually move over to the Yuba starting in April for the PMD hatches. I have talked to a few buddies that have said the Yuba is fishing good but the fishing is pretty technical. Clear water and finicky fish eating March Browns and some early PMD's when the hatches come off. Nymphing has been decent and the fish are holding the riffles there is plenty of water to nymph with fish in the flats and riffles. April is a great month on the L. Yuba and one of my favorite of the year so fishing is only going to get better over on the Yuba.

There has been a few reports of spring steelhead on the Feather, Ryan J. has gone over there and had a decent day or two hooking a few fresh adult fish and a few half pounders. April and May are the best months here so it is still a bit early. Come april there should be decent numbers of fresh spring fish in the river and the cadddis should get going so swinging caddis patterns on switch rods or light spey rods is a great option.

Bass are starting to get active. I have talked to a few guys that have been going out to some lakes around chico and getting into some fish but I think night time temps need to get a bit warmer to help warm up and turn over some water to get the bass really going. April and May should be great this year with the early spring.

Shad and stripers should get going soon to as April and May arrive.

Athletic news...
March madness is here!!! and the brackets are out with the "first four" games starting tonight with St. Mary's locally getting it going. I love the NCAA tourney and everything tourney related!!! I got my bracket filled out yesterday and it was tough based on the up and down nature of the season with so many teams looking great then falling apart. I am not a multiple bracket guy though. I fill out one and run with run in all my pools and wagering. Pick and commit!!!!

I am also loving the World Baseball Classic...even though I kind of feel like I am in the minority here. It is great baseball in March and beats the MLB network replays of spring training games every night. I have noticed that I am really the only person I know watching it though. I have tried to talk about it with some buddies and I mise well of started talking about MLS Soccer.

Staying on baseball news I have caught a few giant spring games on the radio or TV and there is some great young talent coming up. Johnny Monel is going to give Hector Sanchez a run for the 2nd catchers spot and the young pitchers Blackburn, Krick, and Stratton are looking GREAT!!!

Booze News...
I am not proud of it but I have been drinking the new Budweiser Black Crown...really good and kind of a guilty pleasure.

Random things Clients Say (a new addition to the Blog)...
Client: "Can the trout even tell the difference between a caddis and a PMD?"
Me: "I don't know can you tell the difference between a steak and an Ice cream cone?"
Client: "Well isn't it all just silhouette?"
Me: "Ya that is pretty important...Ice Cream Cone/Steak...silhouette a bit different last time I checked"

Belated Report and other random news

Lots going on in Northern California…Spring seemed to be here and then Tornados, Hail, Rain, Wind, and Snow rolled in for a day or two. Pretty typical late winter early spring February fishing though really, when the weather is nice 60-70 with now wind fishing is good. When the wind, cold, rain, and what ever else gets cooked up moves in fishing can get tough. I spent a few days over the last 2 weeks on the Lower Sac and Lower Yuba Rivers. Fishing was good, great, and tough on various days or all of the three in one given day as the weather changed. Here are some reports and observations.

Lower Yuba

The Lower Yuba fished fair I would say, but like I said above very dependent on what the weather conditions were and more importantly what water was open. Bottom line the river is really crowded. Which is funny as I have worked my tail off to put fair to good numbers of fish in the boat over my last few trips and most of my fish are coming in water that people can’t wade fish. Fish to me seemed to be podded up as a result I think of getting pushed out of a bunch of water by wade fishermen. This Saturday there was wade fishermen in almost every run they could get into.  I don’t have a problem with a crowded river but it does push the fish around.

Most of my fish came on small may fly and midge patterns. I got fish on the new S&M PMD, Better Baetis, brown and coffee black jimmy legs, and quasimoto PT’s. In the back swirls and back waters there has been TONS of midge schucks from midge hatches so I had a duh experience and tied on a zebra midge…next pass both clients hooked fish.

Midge Schucks on the Lower Yuba

Even More Midge Schucks

Lower Yuba Bow

There are also a few small PMD’s when the sun is out and a few baetis when the clouds role in and temperature drops.  I have seen ovipositing skwalas around, but if there is a fish in the river that has not seen or been fooled by a skwala pattern I would be surprised.  I even grabbed one and dropped it down a run that I was pretty sure there were fish in and either there wasn’t fish home or no fish were interested. I found fish podded up in deeper water, swirls , and deep runs. That said I didn’t get a chance to really fish any true riffles as those are where wade fishermen usually congregate.

Fishing should continue to improve over the next few months as weather warms and becomes more stable. Some of the best dry fly fishing of the year is coming up with the PMD, PED, and Caddis hatches.

Lower Sacramento River

The Lower Sac has been good to great on those nice 65-70 degree days. Key is no wind. On the cooler and/or windy days fishing can be a bit tougher. On the warm days the caddis can come off and fish get really grabby that said clarity is still an issue but the lower one goes in the river the better the clarity is. I am still catching good numbers of fish on attractor eggs and stoneflies but over the last few days I have seen more and more fish come on bugs, mostly amber wing caddis, a black Fox poopah with amber wings, S&M PMD Nymph, and bigger flash back PT’s.

I have been spending most of my time between Bonnie View and Anderson and Anderson to Balls Ferry but I know that a few people have done down low from Barge to Bend and had some great days. I think that as the upper stretches get more crowded and the Trinity guides come back on over to the Sac I will move down lower and lower.

Fishing should continue to become more consistent over the next month but can fluctuate with wind and air temps.

Lower Sac Trout

More Lower Sac Trout

BOTTOM LINE

Spring fishing is about to get really good as the weather stabilizes and moves into nice warm spring weather. Fishing on both the lower Sac and Lower Yuba along with the Lower Feather is going to be getting really good. I have a few dates still open in march and april.

March 16, 17

April 3, 6, 7, 13, 14, 21, 28

In other News

The Giants first spring training game is coming up on Feb 23 this coming Saturday…This marks the official beginning of baseball season in my book. Daily games and reports on players. It is hard to catch spring training games as they are all day games for the most part but I DVR the ones I can and listen to ones on KNBR 680 when I can. I was a bit surprised but not to surprised when Bochy named Cain the opening day starter before spring training games ever began but who could argue the decision.

Pleasanton Fly Fishing Show is coming up this coming weekend as well. Cast Hope will be there with a booth and a great raffle. Stop by say HI to Ryan and the crew and buy a raffle ticket. You may win something cool. I am going to try to make it on Sunday but I might have to work all 3 days of the show. Simms fishing products will also be there showing all the new Fall/Winter products. Stop by and see John Sherman and the simms guys to look at the new products…make sure to look at the Kenai Shirt, Windstopper Soft Shell Hoody, and the Cold weather Shirt, these are my must have’s for the fall/winter/early spring.

Booze News: Got a bottle of Makers Mark from the Deeler and have been hooked on Makers, soda water, and a lime. Also been drinking some of the Sierra Nevada Tumbler and the Ovila Abby Quad…so good but not cheap. The New Big Foot ale is out but I have not had a chance to have any yet. I gotta have an evening where I can get a good buzz working to have the Big Foot.

Super bowl Sunday report

Guided the Yuba yesterday. Ryan Johnston has been on it a bit this week and said the dry fly fishing had been decent and the nymph grab was good as well. He also said it was crowded...like someone put up a "free beer" sign crowded. Couple this with Yuba County Water cutting the flows Friday morning from 1700cfs to 1400cfs because it was the 2nd driest January in the last 106 years I was a bit skeptical about how fishing was going to turn out. I had expected to be fishing with an armada of drift boats and blow up toys but when I got to the put in there was one boat in and me...I saw 3 other boats and pontooon throughout the day so not to bad. TONS of wader fishermen though, every run up and down the river it seemed. Flows at 1400cfs though are still high enough where there is room for both boats and wade fishermen, but there was some spots that were a bit cramped.

There was some sporadic bursts of PMD's and a few baetis hatching throughout the day. I have yet to see one skwala flying around but I did see a bank angler hook a fish on a skwala in a swirl behind a rock. I had my clients fish skwala dries and some PMD dries over likely spots with no success and most of the people around in boats and on the bank were throwing dries so I stuck with nymphs most of the day. We hooked fish on small nymphs for the most part, the S&M Pmd nymph was the best with a few fish coming on egg patterns, rubber legs, and PT flash backs. I would say the fishing was, "good winter trout fishing", we hooked some nice fish and got grabs in most spots, but by no means hooked any monsters or had ridiculous numbers.

Fishing should just get better as the weather gets warmer and we move into march. This time of year can be pretty up and down as the weather changes. Look for hatches of PMD's, March Browns, small caddis and maybe some skwalas.

In other news it is super bowl sunday and I took the day off to hopefully enjoy a "Good Game"...I am not a huge NFL guy but Ryan and the Johnston family are coming over as well as my parents to watch the game and have some food. To all the Niners Fans I wish them good luck and enjoy the day.

In music news...if you haven't ever bought a Ryan Adams, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, or Whiskey Town Cd do your self a favor and get one...really anything with Ryan Adams is good. Pretty mellow on the verge of spring but you know there will still be some rainy and gloomy february and march days to come.

Beer News...Cracked a bottle of Sierra Nevada Hop Harmony last night. This is a big American IPA brewed especially for the Hop Growers of America Convention a few weeks ago at the brewery. Pretty sure it was only given out to attendees...I did not attend but I know people.

Post Weekend Report

Spent a few days on the L. Yuba this weekend and fishing was fair. Good numbers of fish and a few nice ones mixed in. Flows have been stable at around 1900cfs though are going to drop to 1700cfs the morning of Jan 24. Clarity is 4-5’ and only in the deeper water is there any remaining color to the river. I found the fish to be spread out in their typical winter haunts. Most of our fish came in the flat water or slower water below runs. As the skwalas get active they should move into some faster water…that is assuming there are still some around after the sustained high water earlier this winter. Most of our fish came on attractor egg patterns, smaller rubber legs, and small mayfly nymphs like S&M’s, Flash back PT’s, and such. I did fish skwala dries for a few runs midday and rose one fish. I did see a handful of fish rise through out the day, but they seemed to be in more May fly water …. Flats and slower water. I did see some smaller baetis flying around, but nothing that I would call a hatch. I did not see one skwala and even got out and turned some rocks over looking for them with no success. That said it is a bit early ESPECIALLY with all the cold weather. I think with these warmer days the hatch should get going in the next week or so.

On the Lower Sac the caddis should start getting going with a few more weeks of warm weather as well. Spring is getting close!!!

I have a few days open over the next few weeks if anyone is interested in getting out on the L. Sac or Lower Yuba.

Jan 26

Feb 2, 9, 16

The Good and the Bad...

We will start with the bad news…As many may now know local California tier, guide, conservationist Bill Carnazzo passed away early this week. While I would not consider myself one of Bill’s good friends I would consider us long time acquaintances…well over a decade. This industry is small and if you work in it for any amount of time you run into everyone at one time or the other. Bill was a huge advocate for out sport, he taught tons of people how to fish the freestone streams of the Sierra Nevada’s and inter mountain region. His tight line nymphing technique is one of the best ways I know of to fish rivers like the North Fork Yuba, North Fork Feather, Upper Sac, Pit, McCloud, and really any river with big rocks, fast water, and trout. I remember the first times I met Bill were when I was working at Nevada City Anglers. He would come in with groups of people he was taking up fishing on the North Fork of the Yuba River. He seemed to be always sharing the sport and what he knew with people. He will be missed but I am sure never forgotten as long as people keep sharing what they learned from him.

In Good news …. Bill wrote a great piece (I think maybe one of his last) for his Fly tying column in California Fly Fishers on my Red Headed Step Child. If you have ever wanted to learn how to tie this fly check out the Jan 2013 issue of California Fly Fisher. Bill convinced me to spill the beans….

Also I have a feature article in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Northwest Fly Fishing on the North Fork Feather with some great photography by Kienes employee and my good friend Adam Grace. I have always said the north fork feather is the best-kept secret in the state of CA.

I also signed on to film a show of Fly Fishing the world with Conway Bowman this spring. Should be fun to take the Mako Shark king out trout fishing. More to come on how this goes and when the show will air

Sense we are on the trend of media I down loaded the new Pinback CD this week “Information Retrieved” from I tunes. I love these guys. They are a truly original band and one that while being very original is very accessible and has some catchy tunes. They play this Sunday at Harlow’s in Sacramento and I am going to try to get down to see them but we will have to see how things go with guiding and such. May have to rally as they are from New York so this is a pretty rare west coast non bay area appearance. 

Winter and Early Spring Guiding up date

The onslaught of late fall / early winter storms seems to have passed and the rivers and creeks are settling back to normal and getting on with winter fishing. There is plenty of water, and we are not seeing the low flows of mid winter that we have in previous winters.  With no big storms on the forecast winter hatches and fishing should be consistent for the next few weeks if not months.

The Lower Yuba has been stable for over a week now at 1900cfs and the clarity is perfect with a bit of color. There are a few winter steelhead in the system and with the higher then normal flows more and more should show up over the next 2 months. Skwala Stonefly hatches should start to get going as the weather is suppose to
warm up over the next week and the baetis hatches should get going as well with maybe even a few early march browns. This is a great time of year, as long as the weather stays stable, to swing flies, nymph, and fish dries all in the same day.

The Lower Sacramento River is back to fishable clarity and cranking out its normal big winter fish. I have spent a fair amount of days over the last month on the upper floats on the sac and hooked some of the biggest rainbows of the year. We are
not hooking huge numbers of fish but plenty of action throughout the day with some big fish in the mix. Fishing should remain good over the next few weeks. If we start to get some of that early warm February weather the spring caddis hatches will start up and move into March,which is one of the best months of the year on the Lower Sac.

Butte Creek will remain open until Feb 15 and with any rain the river will jump up again to floatable flows, but for right now the flows are at perfect wade fishing flows. There are good numbers of fish throughout the creek and fishing so far this season has been very good.

Feather River spring steelhead fishing usually gets going in March and if the fall run was any indication of how the spring run will be it should be a great year. Spring is a great time to swing flies on switch rods or light spey rods along with nymphing. I have both Scott and Echo switch and light spey rods for anglers to use if they want to try this style of fishing.

I have raised my rates for 2013 to $425 for a full day and
$325 for a half day and I still have a few winter and early spring dates open:

Jan 20, 21, 26
Feb 2, 3, 9, 16,
March 16, 17, 23, 24, 31