Mike came up back in October during our famous egg bite and was back for round two, only this time he brought his son, Connor. C-Dawg is a fly fishing guide in Colorado on the Arkansas River, a fantastic brown trout fishery that I've been fortunate enough to fish a couple days on. So how would the Lower Sac stack up against the Arkansas? Well in many ways they just can't be compared because they are SO different. The Arkansas has a million browns and you can use streamers or big dry flies all day long. The lower Sac? No browns and dry fly fishing is pretty sporadic, tho it's definitely a thing starting in thr spring... but what we lack in the brown trout department is made up in the sheer average size of our rainbows. Averaging around 18 inches up in Redding, it's no wonder it's considered by many to be one of the best tailwaters in America.

Connor and Mike had a great day. Guiding guides is super fun because they fish a lot and understand the golden rule: do what the guide says ?? Plus, Mike has become a "stick," so we spent more time hooking and LANDING fish rather than missing fish or losing 'em.

That being said, Connor and I both had to remind Mike to ENJOY fighting his fish! He told me he was competitive and just wanted to get the fish in the net immediately, but I had to remind him that one does not just DRAG an 18 inch rainbow to the boat. The stand out moment of the day was when he was fighting one of his fish and borderline horsing it in and told me, "I'd like to see the net out right about now." That was his gracious way of saying, "Luke, net my fish... NOW." Well Connor and I had a good laugh and told him to take his time and enjoy fighting the fish... and, when it was the appropriate time, I net his fish. "Trust your guide, Mike. Trust your guide." Haha.

As I've noted before, December isn't a numbers game but it sure is a quality game. We got several 18+ inch fish and had grabs throughout most of the day. There is definitely a peak "bite" between 9am to 1pm lately, but if you fish hard until the end, you can scratch out fish here and there.

So what are they eating and what's the river conditions? Great questions! If you wanna know the best flies to use, book a trip and I'll show ya (haha). The Sac's flow is currently at 3160cfs, so it shouldn't get any lower (Lord willing!). The clarity all depends on where you are. I'd say the average visibility is around 3 feet, give or take 6 inches. There are a TON of BWO's coming off around 11:30am most days, especially with this cloud cover and rain. You'll see smolt eating on the surface here and there but larger fish haven't seemed to care (yet) and our BWO nymphs haven't been thr primary bug they are eating... but that should change soon. Until then, I'm definitely running at least one mayfly nymph because we ARE catching fish on them. Which one, you ask? And what size? See aforementioned booking directions ??

But seriously... the Lower Sac has big fish in it... and they are beautiful, so let's go! Connor and Mike did it and we had a great day! And if you head to Salida to fish the Arkansas, look him up at UpRiver Fly Fishing!