Current River Conditions: River flows are hovering around 800 CFS near Shasta Lake. The flows are high, but not too high. Extreme caution keeps the smart fly angler out of catastrophic trouble. We don't want to make it sound like conditions are "crazy" or "treacherous", but caution leads to bent fly rods and amazing photos of Upper Sacramento River wild rainbow trout!

Hot Flies: #6 Thurmanator Dark Stones, #14-16 Dark Lords, Amber Wing Gordon Princes in #12-16 and Red Copper Johns will do the trick. Have a few BWO patterns ready. Always have a few Parachute Adams in #16 in your fly box.

The Fly Shop's?? Tips: You might consider fishing buggers this time of year. There's some seriously big rainbows in this river during the winter. Steelhead like. They love to chow on stuff that swims.

Fish small #16-18 dark colored nymphs in addition to copper johns for best results. Have a few #16 Parachute Adams handy. Pat's rubber legs is another good fly to have in your fly box. The rainbows of the Upper Sacramento river eat flies 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.

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.

Water Flows:
• Upper Sacramento River Flows

Suggested Fly Patterns:

Dry Flies:
• Parachute Adams - #14-16
• Adams - #16-18
• The Quigley Cripple - Callibaetis

Nymphs/Wet Flies:
• Zack's Pseudo May - Black #16-18
• Zack's Thermanator Dark Stone #6
• Mercer's GB Dark Stone #8
• Mercer's Dark Stone #6
• Pat's Rubber Legs - Brown #6-8
• GB Birds Nest - #12-14
• Gordon's Amber Wing Prince #12-18
• Swink's BTS
• Red Copper John #14-16
• Micro Mayfly - #14-16

Streamers/Leeches:
• Sheila Sculpin
• Woolly Buggers
• Muddler Minnows - #10

Fly Fishing Gear:
• The Fly Shop's?? Tapered Nylon Leaders
• The Fly Shop's?? Tough Nylon Tippet
• Simms?? Dry Creek™ Chest Pack
• Patagonia's?? Double Haul
• C&F S Series Waterproof Fly Boxes
• Dr. Slick/TFS Quick Release Forceps