CANCELATION MARCH 16TH...and all the normal reports, forecasts, predictions, and music rants.

So Spring has sprung!!!! …. Atleast at various hours on a few days lately it has felt like it. The rivers are full of water making room in most reservoirs for the record snow fall that is starting to melt. While many of our valley rivers like the Lower Sacramento, Feather, and Lower Yuba can and will fish at high flows we are not even to “fishable” high flows.

CANCELATION this Saturday March 16!!!

Lake Oroville is turning on for spotted bass and has been fishing well. With all the rivers blown out of the most part this is a great option for the next few months with record snow pack and rain this year our reservoirs are full and the tailwater are high. If you have never fished one of the big reservoirs this is a great time to do it. Here is a short video of high lights and some photos from the last few weeks.

Best option for fishing right now is the valley and foothill reservoirs for spotted bass, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass. I personally have been guiding lake Oroville. While not every client is game to switch from fishing the Yuba or Feather to heading out to the lakes, those that have, have been having some fun. The lakes are such a foreign environment for most fly anglers and the scenery is pretty cool right now with all the waterfalls and cool water features dumping into the reservoirs. Most days we have the areas we fish to our selves and even the few boats that are starting to show up on the lakes spread out as these are enormous bodies of water. Add that to the fact that fishing has been pretty damn good as the fish are moving into pre-spawn mode and fattening up for the spring spawn. Most of the time we are fishing the float’n fly technique but as water temps warm we will start looking for top water action and stripped fly fishing.

Fishing Water falls and income creeks on Oroville

Nice Oroville Spotted Bass

SUMMER STRIPER FISHING
Summer striper will be here SOON. I was getting bummed about the current conditions the other day and I thought back to 2017 when we had a very similar winter...the following summer and fall were the best striper season I have had. SO that cheered me up a bunch...We had migratory fish north of Chico and we hooked more big fish that summer and fall AND even winter then ever before...Amazing what a good winter can do for fish. So Get on the books now as I hope this summer/fall will be no different.

OPEN DATES:
June 8, 12-14, 17-19,
July 1 - 3, 5, 6, 13, 15-20, 22, 24-27, 29-31
August 1-3, 5, 7, 8, 24, 31

The Lower Yuba River has seemed to level out around 4800 CFS with Deer Creek at 487 and pretty stable. I usually will not float or fish the river until it gets around 3000cfs and even then that is pretty touchy as the fishing is not typical Yuba fishing. It is high water tactics in a few of the bigger runs and bolder fields where fish go during high flows. From what I have heard the clarity is decent so if anyone is jonesing to get out walking the bank and high sticking some spots may produce…who knows.

Lower Feather River Flow is a good option right now as it is flowing at 730cfs as of today not sure what the clarity is

Lower Sacramento River trout fishing will be good ounce the flows come down a bit as they are at 37,000cfs out of Keswick. Usually “high water” fishing starts around 20K cfs and can be could if the clarity is fishable.

Lower Sacramento Striper Fishing – All this high water should be good for the migratory striper run as I imagine they are RUSHING up river as I type with all this high water. Ounce the flows out of Keswick come down a bit and the clarity improves I am sure the fishing out of Colusa will get going. With regards to resident striper fishing the same goes, a flow drop out of Keswick and an improvement in clarity should get us back out on the river.

MUSIC ....

In lieu of listening to music lately I have been listening to a bunch of pod cast and you tube videos. The Barbless Podcast clan has been putting up some pretty cool episodes from the recent fly fishing show. I listen to a few comic book podcasts and you tube channels each week that are good...if you are a total nerd and like comic books like I have grown to these are worth it. 

Albums wise I am on this total album kick...so driving home from the fly fishing show in Pleasanton a a few weeks ago I decided I was going to listen Classic Artist (Bob Dylan, The Band, etc.) whole albums...like pick and album and go the whole way through...usually albums that I wasnt familiar with or were a little on the abstract/eccentric side...NO SKIPPING OF SONGS! So, I have been listening to some live bob dylan albums, hooker and heat, and various The Band Albums ... it is a great little exercise for long drives, sunny afternoons, or long days indoors.