#frlake

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McCloud River Fly Fishing Report

Chuck Volckhausen reports on 9.6.18

The Hirz Fire is still burning up the McCloud arm from Shasta Lake.  The river is still open at The Nature Conservancy and above and the fishing is good if you can take the smoke.  Some days are worse than others. 

I’ve been fishing as far North as the Williamson and as far West as the lower Klamath.  It’s hard to get out of the smoke.  The fishing is good though.  

The Klamath river has some fish coming in and we caught some.  Water temps are warm and we’ll be waiting a bit to get after those fish.  

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Lakes Fly Fishing Report

John Richard reports on 5.10.18

Lakes

Early in the mornings and at the last hours of the day you can find some sensational Bass and Panfish fishing in our area's lakes and ponds. Poppers, Mice, Crawfish and Minnow patterns have been great. 

Nothing like catching a big bluegill brings me back to my angling beginnings. However nostalgic, these fish and the pursuit of them would excite any permit/bonefish/tarpon fisherman. 

Stalking your prey in clear water, perfect cast between trees and tight to the reeds, seeing the eat and a surprising fight will make any angler smile. Best yet....  no strip set necessary! You can hit em like you have a Lower Sac indicator rig on, or like Bill Dance.

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Mt. Shasta Nearby Lakes Fly Fishing Report

Rick Cox reports on 5.3.18

Nearby Lakes

Just to switch it up a little, those looking for something different we are finding some great bucket mouth fishing in nearby lakes. It’s that time of the year for these ravenous creatures to go on the prowl and we are getting into some excellent top popper action. You might think about stalking these beast early morning and topping off the day with chasing trout on the river .... we offer just that.

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Foothill Bass Fly Fishing Report

Chuck Regan reports on 2.28.19

As our Cal Delta stays high and our Central Valley Rivers continue to gush with the heavy storms that have passed or are passing through, there are still some prime opportunities to find a place to tame our addiction to fly fishing.  Foothill bass fishing offers great opportunities in the high water months when many other fisheries are too high, blown out or difficult to access.  

Thanks to the introduction of spotted bass in the early 70’s, Foothill lakes offer good angling opportunity to a species that tolerate cold water and stay suspended at times higher up in the column when the temps drop.  

Fishing has been fairly good this week and should only be getting better.  Contact the shop or myself for available dates or for info on DIY float tube, pontoon or kayak locations.  Fish hard, stay focused and get home safe.  Capt. Chuck Ragan Travis Milligan of Truckee, CA. with his PB spotted bass on the fly.

The Foothill reservoirs this time of year continue to prove that even when some if not all of the surrounding rivers are blown out, there’s still fish to be caught and adventures to be had.  Water is cold this time of year so presentations need to be slowed drastically but if you’re able to locate fish, you will find multiple opportunities before wearing out your welcome.  Water has been 43-47 degrees depending on the reservoir you’re in, the traffic has been low and the numbers have been fair to great for spotted bass.  

Streamer presentations fished slow across points or in coves have proven to produce and of course suspended presentations seem to put fish most methods as the game fish slow down.  Rock piles and coves are always a great place to start and paying attention to your electronics for depth and temps once you begin to get bit.  The eats have been subtle but as usual, these “lethargic” predators dive and fight hard when hooked and offer a great experience for any angler of all skill levels. Stay focused, fish hard and get home safe. Chuck Ragan

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Foothill Fly Fishing Bass Report

Capt. Chuck Regan reports on 1.21.19

Foothill Lakes for Spotted Bass:The recent rain has been filling our reservoirs which means it’s a perfect time to be out chasing spotted bass.  Fishing has been fair to great as far as numbers go with a shot at a magnum here and there.  Our float-n-fly method has been the hot ticket but have been getting them on slow and low deepwater sinkline tactics.

Our Foothill lakes and reservoirs contain world record spotted bass.  Are you the lucky one;).  A few Late Winter and Spring dates available for fishing Englebright, Scott’s, Rollins, Collins, Bullards and Oroville.  

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Northern Sierra Fishing Report

Jon Baiocchi reports on 6.25.2017

On Monday the 12th we had extremely cold weather and snow, in fact at Frenchman’s Lake there was 2 inches on the ground. A week later and it’s been Africa hot, thank goodness it cools down at night. I’m seeing the effects from a wet winter all around in the mountains. There are so many wildflowers blooming right now that are providing a beautiful color spot everywhere you look. Also there has been an explosion of many different species of beetles flying about. Birdlife is also off the charts, and with all this high water and free standing water in Sierra Valley the ducks are loving it. It seems Mother Nature is about 3 weeks late when it comes to a normal rhythm of seasonal life.

Lake Davis – 

Hot weather has ignited the damselfly hatch at the lake and the fish are keyed in on them. With low populations of fish, it is important to find the points that have working fish around them. With hotter weather the hatch will start earlier and being on the water at 7am ready to stalk is the smart thing to do. The resident rainbows are being very selective so change your damsel pattern often and slow down that retrieve until you find a combination that works. After the hatch winds down, indicator rigs are working in 8 to 12 feet of water using callibaetis patterns and chironomids. Surface water temperatures are 60 in the early morning and by late afternoon are topping out at near 70 degrees. I saw my fist hex the other morning while buzzing across the south end of the lake, you can expect the hatch to increase in the weeks to come. All the fish I’ve seen landed are huge! There are some really big toads out there to catch, and there is some opportunity to catch them on Callibaetis adults when the timing is right. Cast less, observe more, and carefully plan your attack.

Frenchman’s Lake – 

It’s been really fun at Frenchman’s the last week, lots of grabs and big numbers to the boat. Coves north of Lunker Point have been very productive either stripping flies or using the indicator. There have been some brief moments stalking fish off the bank eating a black size 16 midge adult. Chironomid hatches have been thick and throat sampling reveals just that. There are a few callibaetis in the mix but that’s about it. Fishing pressure has been heavy but everybody is catching fish. Water temps are about the same as Lake Davis, and getting on the water early is very beneficial. Using a personal watercraft or boat is best to fish deeper water, especially during mid to late in the day.

Middle Fork Feather River –

 The river is dropping into shape nicely but the flows are still big, but manageable. Water temps are in the mid 50’s. Snow melt has increased with this hot weather and feeder creeks have risen a bit with colder inflows to the river. Hatches of PMD’s, BWO’s, and the little green stone are out. Golden stones are staging on the side water waiting for emergence. It’s been a nymphing game and a good rig will consist of a Flesh Juan Worm with an olive X-May trailer. We should see some great evening dry fly fishing during the month of July. The best area to focus on is above the Two Rivers Access upstream to Clio, Jamison Creek is adding much more volume and the water levels downstream are a little high. Fishing pressure is extremely light, and the greenery lining the banks is amazing. They don’t call this a “Wild & Scenic” river for nothing.

North Fork Yuba River – 

Currently the NFYR is extremely high and fast, especially in the tighter section of the upper watershed. You’ll have more fishable water lower downstream of Downieville. Water temps are in the high 40’s, and not much bug activity at all. On today’s scouting mission I did not see one angler out fishing, it’s like a ghost town up there right now. One observation I had was at Union Flat campground, the big flows of our past winter has moved the river channel back towards the campground side. I’m sure there are many more changes to see but we’ll have to wait for the flows to recede. I think the river will fall into shape near the end of July, with August, September, and October being the best months. The roar of the white water is impressive right now, as is Loves Falls. Get out there and enjoy the beauty of the Northern Sierra, it’s free and for the taking.

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Lower Sac and Sierra Foothills Fly Fishing Report

Hogan Brown reports on 3.16.17

Still chasing some bass out on the Oroville Afterbay. Found water in the 50-62 degree range so a HUGE fluctuation throughout the lake. Clarity is still way off so fishing slow and meticulous, with dark flies with a rattle is best. Water levels fluctuated A LOT over the last 2 weeks and the fish have been on and off the bite as I think they are fluctuating on and off shallow flats in preparation to spawn. With the water clarity it is hard to tell if there are beds or fish milling around so it is pretty much conjecture at this point. That said with some stable water levels and such fishing should stabilize a bit.

Lower Sac outside of Chico is dropping every day as the flows out of Keswick are WAY down...that said clarity is still at best 6-10". Shasta Lake is mud but some clearer water is coming in up the arms which is good news but the lake will be brown for a long time I imagine. There are a few reports of stripers being caught down by Colusa but with clarity as it is fishing flies is a tough one. All black with rattles would be mandatory in these conditions. I will be getting out up by Chico to check to see if any fish are eating and there is usually clearer water back in the backwaters that the largemouth, smallmouth, and stripers will move into. Lots to explore with some higher water.

Capt. Hogan Brown

530-514-2453

www.hgbflyfishing.com

www.hgbflyfishing.blogspot.com

www.casthope.org

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Plumas County Fly Fishing Report

Jon Baiocchi reports on 5.24.18

Plumas

Frenchman Lake 

Water temps are 58-60 degrees, the last two weeks the weather has been colder with thunderstorms and rain. Lake capacity is at 101%. Fishing was slow yesterday and not many bugs out, just a few Callibaetis and blood midges. The lake is loaded with Lahontan Redside Shiners, yet no fish are crashing them like last fall. Western grebes are starting their courtship, and those pelicans are having a feast on the shiners often working together to herd them into a pocket on the shoreline. Fishing pressure at both lakes is very light. We need some warmer weather to get those aquatic insects going, especially the damsels.

Lake Davis 

Water temps are 55-58 degrees, and the lake is full at 99% of capacity. I do not like it when the lake is that full, not many coves and all the points are under water. Lots of small midges mixed with a few blood midges. I did not see any damsels actively swimming near the water’s surface. The most alarming thing I saw was how many bass are in the lake. I took a peek over the spillway, and the entire surface erupted with baby bass fleeing from my presence. I have never seen these conditions before in my whole life. Lake Davis needs some TLC from our state agencies. I’ll be poking around in the next month and keeping an eye on the damsel hatch. See you out there…

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Shasta Lake Fly Fishing Report

Aaron Grabiel reports on 5.10.18

Shasta Lake

It’s a great time of year to get out and fish on the lake for Spotted Bass. Shasta Lake is fishing size 10 Woolly Buggers and Crawdad imitations. The Spotted Bass can be found from shore out to 25 ft. 

Intermediate sinking line has been working the best. 3-4x Tippet has been working well. The Bass are averaging 11-18 inches. HarvestWild operates under a Shasta Trinity National Forest Service Permit as well as a BLM permit.