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Upper Sac: , by Luke Geraty: Winter Fishing on the Upper Sac: 3 stars

My favorite time to fish the Upper Sacramento River is in the winter. There's something about walking up and down the river looking for big fish that excites me. The theory is that there are fish from Lake Shasta that make their way up river for a little vacation, but who knows. The largest fish I've caught up there was taped at 26 inches and I've seen a few 24 inch fish too. My point? It's a thing. So I was excited to make my way to the Upper Sac for a little exploratory trip, specifically to use my Redington 4 wt. switch rod. Using a switch rod up there isn't necessary by any means, but it was nice to do a simple roll cast with indicators and then to be able to take the bobber off and throw some streamers. Well the river was as beautiful as ever and the floats were a tad over 700cfs. Once the river gets over 1,000cfs, there seems to be larger fish in the river, so that's usually my que. This trip didn't produce any fish over 18 inches, but I caught a handful of fish between 15 and 17 inches on tiny may fly nymphs. I also had one monster grab on the swing, but didn't connect. This week I'll be mostly on the Lower Sac, but for those of you who like the adventure of walking and wading and exploring, the Upper Sac is a great option! Not only are there nymphing and streamer options, hopper-dropper methods work great too!

A handful of trout.
A handful of trout.
Miles of beautiful water!
Miles of beautiful water!
Beautiful spots.
Beautiful spots.
Next 10 open days for Luke Geraty: Apr 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 29, 30, May 1
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