Lower Sac

An angler with a wild trout caught near the Sundial Bridge

Guided Float Trips

$600 for 1-2 Anglers

Year-round
Drift Boat Trips

The Lower Sacramento River between Redding and Red Bluff is California´s premier wild trout fishery. It is one of the few destinations where anglers can expect to hook into 18+" fish on a regular basis. Clear, cold, consistent flows coming out of Lake Shasta provide excellent conditions for the aquatic insects that trout eat. The Lower Sac is open to fishing year round. The Confluence Outfitters guide team can get you hooked up with quality wild trout on the Lower Sac at any time of year!

Lower Sac guide trips usually start between 7am and 9am depending on arrangements made with your guide. Most of our Lower Sac guide trips are drift boat trips, although we also do a lot of jet boat trips for folks who want to use Trout Spey techniques. Most of our guests opt for the shuttle-included rate, which means your guide can pick you up at your hotel and then drop you off again at the end of the day. If you opt to not include a shuttle, then plan on following your guide to the river in your own vehicle and assisting with shuttling the guide's vehicle to the take-out. You can hop into the boat in regular street clothes most days - waders are only necessary in inclement weather. Our guides can put more fish in the net by keeping their guests in the boat all day, but will definitely accommodate you if you want to do some wade fishing. Most days we fish nymphs and indicators all day long. Lunch is served on the river and trips usually wrap up by 5:30pm. On any given day you could be on one of six full-day floats - well over 60 miles of river. If fishing is red-hot in one area, our guides will sometimes do the same short float twice in one day.

Dry fly fishing can be very good almost any time of year. Our guides are always on the lookout for splashy rises in shallow riffles and stealthy risers in the flats. The best time for dry fly fishing is usually after lunch when water temperatures are warmer and there is more bug activity. If you have an interest in dry fly fishing please let your guide know so he can plan the day accordingly. The fish don't rise everywhere - you really have to be in the right place at the right time.

Lower Sac Guide Team

Our Lower Sac guide team includes Andrew Harris, Brian Kohlman, Kevin Kay, Luke Geraty, Ben Thompson, Peter Santley, Colin Coogan, Mike Wright, DJ Spivey, and Andreas Fuhrmann.

Recent Lower Sac Fishing Reports

May 25, 2023

Lower Sac Report by Luke Geraty

Eric brought his 19 year old son, Ayden, to fish the Lower Sac with me and we had a REALLY great time. The fishing started out pretty consistent and that lasted until the afternoon. The grabs were steady throughout the day and though the morning belonged to Ayden, the ending belonged to Eric! I guess dads have to teach their sons how to keep at it, right? Ha ha! The bugs didn't really ever get going like I was hoping but the fish were eating caddis right off the bat and we also picked up fish on PMDs, Red Headed Step Childs, and other various small nymphs. NOTHING on a rubber legs, shockingly. Toward the end of the day the wind picked up, but that's why it's nice to start early, right? Water clarity down to Anderson was great and in most of the usual spots, we hooked fish. What a great day for this father / son duo and it was great fishing with these great anglers! Casting is definitely important with fly fishing but what's also important on the Lower Sac is getting a good drift because if you can mend appropriately, you'll get eats! And these two got eats!

May 23, 2023

Lower Sac Report by Luke Geraty

Spent a half day with David and one of his buddies and the caddis eats were on point. David had the hot stick and the first couple of hours were consistent with most of our fish eating caddis. I think we got one other fish on a PMD and one other on a rubber legs, but the fish were definitely focused on eating caddis. Didn't see many caddis popping off and it was surprising in that there were a consistent amount of PMDs coming off, but that's the Lower Sac for ya. Flows had dropped 2,000 cfs in the morning, but thankfully the fishing didn't seem much affected by that. Drops are always better than when they raise it!

May 13, 2023

Lower Sac Report by Luke Geraty

Had a really nice day on the Lower Sac with Doug and the fishing started off pretty great! Doug landed a number of really nice 18-20" fish in the first couple of hours and there was definitely a bite going on. The fish were eating rubber legs, caddis, and the spherical baetis pattern ??Flows have been fairly steady inbetween 12,700 to 13,400 cfs throughout the days. Fish may still be a little unsettled but for the most part the river feels more stable than the past couple of weeks.While we got fish to eat caddis, we didn't see but a few. Saw a lot of PMD's but they didn't seem to be really keying in on those bugs with just a few grabs on mayfly imitations.What I'm really enjoying about the Sac right now is just how different it is with the flow change. It's such a change with more than double the flows and finding the fish is both a challenge and part of the fun.Anyway, the afternoon got pretty warm and the high sun seemed to slow fishing down and the grabs were less often in the afternoon in comparison to the morning.On a side note, Brian Kohlman and I are hosting a trip to Ascension Bay this next year and we would LOVE for you to join us on this multi-species trip! Plus we will have legit shots at permit! Find more info here: https://confluenceoutfitters.com/hosted-travel.aspx

Lower Sac Hatch Chart

Mayflies
March Browns
Baetis
PMD
Callibaetis
Caddisflies
Brachycentrus
Rhyacophila
Hydropsyche
Stoneflies
Golden Stones
Giant Stoneflies
Little Yellow Stones
Other
Salmon Eggs
Steelhead Present

Jan		Feb		Mar		Apr		May		Jun		Jul		Aug		Sep		Oct		Nov		Dec

Lodging Recommendations

The Lower Sac runs right through Redding and Red Bluff. Please visit our Redding Info Page and Red Bluff Info Page for ideas on lodging, logistics, and other activities in the area.