Fly fishing Lower Sacramento River California
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Tailwater
Species
Rainbow Trout
Chinook Salmon
Steelhead
Size
Large
Location
Northern California
Nearest Towns
Redding, California
Season
Year-round
Access:
Good
Special Regulations
Salmon/Steelhead – See Current
Non-Resident License
State of California
Seasons:
Excellent fishing is provided
throughout the entire year.
Spring:
Spring is the best time for dry fly
fishing due to the hatches of mayflies
and caddisflies.
Summer:
Summertime can be on the warm side but the fishing remains fairly good due to the constant cold water releases.
Fall:
Fall is the time the Chinook Salmon and Steelhead arrive in the Lower Sac.
Winter:
It is possible to catch trout anytime during the winter but it is best when the weather cooperates. Steelhead fishing continues into the Winter.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Lower Sacramento River Fishing Report – November 10, 2024 Good conditions continue to exist. The river is flowing near a normal level with clear water. Very good hatches are taking place. We received another good report from a customer fishing this past week. Hatchery steelhead are coming into the river and being caught in good numbers.
Stream Conditions: Rate: 6050 cfs
Level: 9.57 ft
Afternoon Water Temperature: 56
Clarity: Mostly clear
USGS Real-Time Stream Flow Data at Keswick
7 Day Weather Forecast: (click the link below for more detailed weather info)
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16, 18 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Cream and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
October Caddis, size 6, pupa and adults
Western Ginger Quills, size 14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Pale Evening Duns, size 14, nymphs, emergers, duns and spinners
Spotted Sedge Caddis, size 14/16, larva, pupa and adults
Tricos, size 20, nymphs, emergers, male and female duns and male and female spinners.
Perfect Flies are designed and tied to to imitate and behave like the natural foods fish rely on to survive as much as possible. The more your fly looks like and moves through and on the surface of the water like the real things, the higher your odds of success.
Recommended Steelhead Flies: Send us an email for a fly list.
Fly Fishing On The Lower Sacramento River In California: The Lower Sacramento River is considered the section below Keswick Dam located three miles north of the city of Redding, downstream. It is the state’s largest trout stream. The river flows through the city. Fly fishing the lower Sacramento River can be a real treat. It has some very large rainbow trout averaging close to fifteen inches and up to twenty inches. The river provides year-round trout fishing. There’s lots of food for the trout including a huge population of aquatic insects. That’s what provides the food for the trout to grow fast and very large. The bottom discharge of water that flows from the dam at Shasta Lake averages about the same temperature year-round. It’s about nine miles above the Keswick Dam. Lake Shasta not only receives the water from the Upper Sacramento River, it receives the water from the McCloud River, Pit River, Fall River, Hat Creek and Squaw Creeks, all fertile streams with good populations of insects. If there is a disadvantage to this, it is the fact that this also results in a lot of variables that affect the discharges of water into the Lower Sacramento River and consequently, constantly changing fishing conditions.Some consider this the best rainbow trout fishing water the state of California has to offer but there’s also many that would disagree. One reason is the continuing changing water levels of Keswick Reservoir and its varying discharges of water through the dam that is the Lower Sacramento River. The discharges mostly depends on the agricultural needs of the Central Valley.The Lower Sacramento River also has a good population of several other fish that can be taken on the fly. Runs of steelhead and Chinook salmon take place. It also has a good population of shad, strippers, smallmouth and largemouth bass. The further downstream you venture, the warmer the water gets and the more the fish species become warm water species. Most of the fishing in the Summer months is done from drift boats. The highest flows take place during the warmer months of the year. Wading can be done on low flows and they occur mostly during the Spring and Fall. Access to the Lower Sacramento River is plentiful and easy. There’s a total of six boat launches for drift boats. Interstate Highway 5 parallels the river. The Lower Sacramento isn’t exactly the easiest water to fish. It is a big tailwater with smooth stretches of water. In places it reminds one of a big spring creek. The smooth currents are deceptive and tricky to get drag free drift in. The trout tend to get a good look at your presentation and realistic flies are a big plus. There are some long riffles and long, deep pools. Islands break up the flows in places. Wading is limited to areas of public access and public parks.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Lower Sacramento River: Fly fishing the Lower Sacramento River depends highly on keeping up with the changing water and weather conditions. The Lower Sacramento River is a tailwater and that means its flows are strictly dependent on the discharges from the Keswick Dam. Be certain to check on this flow levels and predicted discharges before fishing the river.Since the water from the river is used for agriculture purposes, high flows can be expected throughout the Summer when demands are the highest. Low flows are normal during the Winter. Both high and low flow levels can be fished but they will vary the methods and strategies you should use. High water usually requires floating the river. The currents can easily be too strong for safe wading. The best rainbow trout fishing in the river is generally between the Sun Dial Bridge downstream to Anderson River Park. There are other areas of the river that will produce well but this is usually the best area to select from. Most of the time, floating the river using a drift boat is the best method to fish it. As just mentioned, It’s the only way in most places when the water is high. There are a few areas the river can be waded during low water conditions. One area is the Cypress Road Bridge in Redding. Another place is Knighton Road. Wading can be dangerous and you need to make sure you keep a tight wading belt and watch for rising water levels at all times.The Fall season maybe the very best time to fish the Lower Sac. Its fall runs of spawning salmon provide a huge food supply for the rainbow trout. Not only do the rainbows feed on their eggs, they also are keenly aware of the aquatic insects nymphs and larvae that are dislodged when the salmon build their redds. They will feed downstream on the spawning process of the large Chinook Salmon throughout the entire process. The lower part of the river from Anderson down to Los Molinos is prime territory for steelhead fishing. You can continue to fish for them on into the Winter provided you can withstand the cold weather. Springtime provides the most hatches of caddisflies, mayflies and stoneflies and therefore it’s the best time to catch the large rainbows on dry flies. Summertime can also be good at times. Since the water released from the depths of the lake is cold, even during the hot Summer. This keeps the fish active especially early and late in the days when it’s most comfortable to fish.
Lower Sacramento Hatches and Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in the Lower Sacramento River and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726 The most consistent mayfly that hatches on the Lower Sacramento River is the Blue-winged Olive. Of course, the little olives represent several different species of different genera. Most of the larger ones are baetis species in a hook size 18. They start hatching in March and hatch off and on throughout the Spring, Summer and early Fall. Other hatches can occur during the winter months depending on the particular species. You should always have some imitations along with you. On cloudy, overcast days they likely to show up. Pale Evening Duns can hatch from March through June. Both the duns and spinners of this mayfly can be important. Little Black Caddisflies, brachcentrus genus species, hatch from about the first of March on into the middle of May depending on the section of river and weather. Spotted Sedge caddisfly hatches occur from May through the middle of October. These are the most common caddisflies on the Lower Sacramento River. They are several species and most of the heavy hatches occur during the Summer months. There are also plenty of Green Sedges. The different species hatch from the first of March until the middle of May. Imitations of their larvae, called Green Rock Worms, are effective all year. Golden Stoneflies hatch from the middle of March until the middle of May depending on the section of water you are fishing. Little Yellow Stoneflies are the most plentiful stonefly species. They hatch from April through June. Most anglers call these Yellow Sallies. You should have imitations of both the larva and the adults. October Caddis are very plentiful and are a fish producing hatch. It occurs according to its name, during October on the Lower Sacramento River.Terrestrial season on the river starts in warm months of the year. Beetles can become important anytime from the first of May until through the first of September. Grasshopper usually become large enough to become important in June and last through July and August.Although few anglers fish them, imitations of midge larvae and pupae will catch rainbows on this river throughout the year. They are most important when few other insects are hatching. Many anglers think the tiny flies are too little to catch the big rainbows on the Lower Sac but they are wrong. They can be very effective fished correctly. Streamers are very important. Imitations of sculpin, minnows and baitfish will catch trout all year. They are very important during low light situations or when the water is slightly off color.Be sure to check our Hatch Chart Link on your left and be sure to use our Perfect Flies to match the various insects.