Current Fishing Report

Here is a shot from hexing 2 nights ago.  Burt & John got at least 50 grabs on hex dries despite some poor conditions.

My client John from Menlo Park ladned a 20 rainbow on a hex dry this afternoon.  The hatch is really good this year.  On a cloudy day like today there are a lot of hex that come off during the daytime.  Some really nice fish take notice, too.  Burt and John got about 10 grabs on hex dries this afternoon.  We're hoping for no wind and a clear sky for this evening's hex trip...

John got this one on a hex dry today

A fairly large hex adult

Burt landed this fish on a small nymph

I snuck away on another epic trip to Mexico a few weeks ago to chase the famous rooster fish of Baja. Much more technical fishing than the juvenile tarpon of the Yucatan, but a must do for the ultra keen angler. The operation that I used was superb in every aspect, with excellent guides, pristine beachfront accommodation, and the best authentic Mexican food I have ever had. I am putting a trip together for next April or May along with two other Tarpon Tours that are in the books. Flights to Mexico are affordable, the package deals are the best value in the saltwater industry,and the fishing is some of my favorite in the world. Contact me for details.

Jeff from Alaska with an epic rooster

Guide Justin spotting cruising roosters

We had some funky weather the last few days but fishing has been great overall. The Mac: nymphing in the morning has picked up, but its all about the afternoon dry fly fishing most days. Hat Creek: the recent chilly whether has slowed down the hatches, but warmer whether will improve fishing next week. Fall River: hex hatch is full on when conditions are good. the best fishing during the day has been nymphing, but I had some epic dry fly fishing today from around 1 to 3:30. Small streams are still fishing excellent.

We had an outstanding day today on one of our local small streams.  The weather is very strange for June.  Highs were in the low 70s today and we had overcast all day.  The fish were looking up for dries all day.  Burt and John landed many wild fish up to ten inches and a few hatchery fish that went a little larger.  Our best flies were a Turck's Tarantula and a brown stimulator size 10.

The Hex hatch is really going off this year. I fished it the last 4 nights in 4 different locations and caught fish in all of them. Last night we landed a fish around 4 pounds that had shoulders that reminded me of a New Zealand brown trout. We did not see any other boats where I was. During the day we fished the lake system and landed multiple fish between 18 and 20 inches. The fish in upper Fall are really spreading out now, so you don't need to race to the upper river with everyone else anymore. Confluence is on the water every single night in multiple locations on the river. We have access to both the upper and lower river to make sure that our clients have the best opportunity to be in the best possible spot for the hatch on any given night. Our team of guides is the most experienced on the river for hexing, by far...by leaps and bounds actually.

I guided the Upper Sac today.  We sampled three sections of the river, from Pollard Flat up to Dunsmuir.  There were a lot of golden stones flying around in the afternoon.  We got a couple grabs on golden stone dries, but I bet it will be incredible this evening.  The fishing was so-so for us today.  We had to cover a lot of water to get a grab.  We caught a few small to medium-sized rainbows on nymphs.  Water levels are nice and low and the river is highly fishable.

Hooked up on the Upper Sac

The hex hatch has started in a big way.  Despite cool weather and high winds, there was a HUGE hatch last night.  There were too many bugs on the water.  We would cast to rising fish and there would be 50 other bugs within 3 feet of the splash.  This happens some nights.  Hopefully the hatch will be a little more sparse tonight.  Fishing during the day on upper Fall River was very good yesterday.  Frank and Doug caught a lot of fish on nymphs.  Pheasant tails and micro mayflies are working great!  There was a thick hatch of size 16 PMDs from 11am-2pm.

Frank with one of many fish today

Nice hat Doug!

The morning after

I had a fun day with my client Dan on Battle Creek today.  The rainbows were pretty grabby all day.  We had great luck with parachute Adams in the morning and then a size 10 royal parachute madax X (PMX) in the afternoon.  Battle Creek fishes great all summer long.  It's spring-fed so the flows don't change at all.  If you are looking for some excellent small stream fishing, it's hard to beat!  We also saw about 10 big spring-run chinook today.  They'll spend the next three months hunkered down in the deep holes and then spawn in mid to late-September.

small stream fishing at its finest

Bring your 3wt rod!

Notice the size 10 royal PMX

It is prime time on Fall River right now.  The famous Hex Hatch has started, and fishing during the day has been solid from around 10am until 3pm with a variety of techniques.    

I guided Everet and Jesse from San Francisco on Saturday, we floated from Balls Ferry to Jelly's Ferry. Even with record heat 110 to 112 degrees the fishing was almost comfortable, as long as the breeze and the boat kept moving. The flows ramped up to 13,500 cfs on Thursday, seemed to put the fishing off a bit, we landed several fish on jimmy legs. I think the fishing will improve as the flows stabilise.Don't be totally turned off by the summer heat in Redding, being on the water feels much cooler than the actual temperature. Just be sure to have a good hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and drink a lot of water!!!

next lesson, holding the fish for a pic

he wasn't actually choking the fish!

We had a fun day on the Lower Sac today.  The fishing was a little off in the morning, but picked up and was pretty good after lunch.  There was a good hatch of PMDs size 18 in the afternoon and the fish were grabbing small mayfly nymph patterns.  We also had a few on rubberlegs.  Not bad for 110 degrees and high winds!

The Lower Sac was a little tough for us today.  I did a morning half-day from Posse Grounds to Bonnyview and the bite just wasn't on.  We still landed a couple of nice fish and lost a couple others, though.  The river came up to 13000cfs yesterday.

Jon's big fish

Fall River fished very well for us today.  Rick and Jon from Marin caught a lot of fish.  We did very well with nymphs today, especially pheasant tails size 16.  We boated about 3 dozen fish before lunch, which doesn't happen very often on Fall River.  They were fish of all sizes, from 3 inchers to 18 inchers.  We had a few doubles in the mix.  In the afternoon we targeted some larger fish and landed some very nice 16-18 fish and lost some bigger fish.  The hot weather hasn't thrown off the fishing.  Hexes should be hatching in good numbers within a week!

Rick with one of many

Jon got the big fish of the day

Jon finished up with this nice rainbow

I took clients Jon & Rick to Manzanita Lake today.  What a great place to spend a hot day!  Manzanita Lake is at 6000ft elevation and stays pretty cool even on a hot summer day.  We fished a lot of flies and techniques today.  Manzanita Lake fish are smart - they're all wild and they see a lot of flies.  A lot of the grabs we got today were lightning-fast!  We had fun sight-fishing but it wasn't highly productive.  We did better in the deeper water.  There is a good callibaetis hatch right now from noon until 3pm.  We also saw a lot of damsels and some flying termites.

Manzanita Lake brown

Fall River is always a challenge.  One of the biggest challenges is deciding where to fish.  Sometimes we drive past 10,000 fish to catch fish in a different spot.  Sometimes we catch them right off of our dock.  Today the receptive ones were close to our launch and the farther we went upstream the harder they were to fool.  There are massive pods of big fish in the upper end of the river, but they are not easy to catch.  We did best today on brown leech patterns and pheasant tail nymphs.  Fishing was pretty good up through 1pm and then got progressively tougher.  It got a little better again around 5pm.  There is a decent PMD hatch starting around 11am that has some fish working the surface.

Fall River is fishing very well right now.  The fish are starting to spread out, which is nice.  There are still ridiculous concentrations of fish in some of the upper parts of the river, but they've seen a lot of flies already and are pretty wily.  Look for fish that have just moved into some of the runs downstream for easier fishing.  There is a good PMD hatch mid-day and there are plenty of dry fly opportunities if that's what you're looking for.  The nymphing and streamer fishing has been excellent.  Try small mayfly nymphs with no flash or bead.

Ilene's 20 incher

Dax and crew landing a nice fish

The temperatures are warming up and hatches are picking up on Fall River and surrounding waters. Fall River: fishing with all techniques has been great in the afternoons. Look for more pmd hatches every day. The hex hatch should only be a few weeks away. The fish are finally stacking up in pods below Island Bridge...go there for less crowds and less pressured fish. Manzanita Lake: fishing is super fun on Manzanita right now. Sight fishing for cruising fish with dry flys is a tough game, but I love it. The nymph grab is ridiculously easy. If you want to learn all the ways to fish the lake, hire us for the day...we have the only permit to guide it. Pit River: fishing is great for people who can charge and cover water. All nymphs work if presented properly and the fish are eating. The Mac: slow in mornings, good in afternoons. Very crowded on weekends. Hat Creek: the warmer weather will make conditions prime for dry fly fishing this weekend. Tricos in morning, stones in afternoons

June is coming, and so is the famous Fall River Hex Hatch which is one of the primary reasons why I spend the early summer months in the beautiful Fall River Valley.  Mid June to mid July is prime for catching the hex hatch in the evening and head hunting with dry flies during the day on the Fall and other venues. Fishing has been pretty good on Fall River between 1 and 3.  Not much dry fly action yet, but will be picking up in the next few weeks. The Mac has been solid with good afternoon dry fly fishing.  Pit 3 has been good in the afternoons with lots of yellow sallies.  Hat Creek has been pretty tough lately.  Small mountain streams have been fishing excellent. Venues that depend on hatchery fish such as Baum Lake, Burney Creek, and Cassel Flats have been fishing very tough, due to almost no fish being present.  I'm heading to Baja next week to chase Rooster Fish and explore another hosted travel venue.       

Hex Hatch happens right at sunset..epic

A double hex hookup

Fall River fished very well for us today.  The weed beds are growing in nicely and the fish are spreading out throughout the upper part of the river system.  We fished to giant pods of fish and hooked fish from 6 inches to 18 inches.  The nymph grab was so good that my client Shirley hooked two fish at once on her two nymphs.  The dry fly fishing was very difficult and the streamer fishing was okay.  This should be an excellent season on Fall River.