Though the storms have passed, this river is still muddy down low and on the rise. The warm weather we have now has started to melt recent snow resulting in runoff that has the river rising as of this afternoon. Your best bet here is to find fishable water, that will most likely be up above Dunsmuir or in the Cantara Loop area.

A good fly box will have various sizes of Parachute Adams from #14 - 18, Dark Stonefly Nymphs in #6-8, Black Midge Nymph Patterns and #12 Bird's Nest, #18 Gordon Prince Nymphs. See suggested fly patterns in the accompanying sidebar for reference.

Contact us about fishing the Upper Sac at 800-669-3474 or e-mail us! We want to talk about it.

The Fly Shop's® Tips: Fish a Stimulator dropping a #16-18 Gordon Prince! Use one or three SSG split shot when fishing the bigger faster water of the lower river. Throw #10-12 CB Bird's Nests. Pat's rubber legs is another good fly to have in your fly box. The rainbows of the Upper Sacramento river eat nymphs that are served up deep, in the rocks. Sometimes the indicator gets in the way of detecting strikes. These fish are really good at sampling a pattern, then spitting it out. Try fishing using the "high-stick" and "short line" technique. Use one, two, even three SSG sized split shot to get the flies down fast. Buy lots of flies! You will loose many to the rocks!

When nymphing on the Upper Sacramento River, always use double the amount of shot in order to get the flies down to the fish in the faster, bubbly water. If a run calls for one SSG, put on two. If you're not ticking the bottom from time to time (yes, this means losing a few flies), you're probably not getting down to where the fish are feeding. Use stronger tippet like 2X-3X for bigger flies in the #6-10 range, 4X for smaller #16-18. Keep your first fly within 6-8 inches of your split shot. Stronger tippet means fewer flies will be left on the bottom of the river. Sink tip lines with streamers attached are a good plan when there is room to cast.