Shad Fishing:
The annual shad run on the Sacramento River is just getting underway, according to Phil Peeples at The Tackle Box. "Some people are doing well on shad, and some people are not finding them", observed Peeples. "In general it seems that the anglers with boats are doing best at locating the fish. Several fish were seen rolling on Wednesday night at a couple of spots near Scotty's, but none were hooked.

"So far, the chartreuse/white head and chartreuse/red head jigs have been best. Use a one-sixteenth ounce leadhead, or a one-thirty-second ounce head with splitshot. There are not a lot of anglers out yet, and when more people go out, it will be easier to locate fish."

Peeples tipped, "The striper fishing is still good down below Tisdale, with some nice catches of 22 to 24-inch fish."

Trout Fishing

The stretch of the Sacramento River between Redding and Anderson is relatively lightly fished, but features some of the most spectacular rainbow trout fishing in the lower 48 states. Local guide Kevin Brock traditionally heads up there about mid-May. "This area is like a broken record. We haven't been here in a whole year, and we landed 39 fish out of over 50 hooked the first day out", said Brock. "Most of these beautiful rainbows were solid 14 to 20-inchers, but the biggest was almost five pounds. "The most productive technique is side-drifting with crickets, nightcrawlers and glo-bugs. Main line is six-pound test mono, with a three-foot leader of four-pound fluorocarbon, tipped with a black No.8 Owner Mosquito hook. Flycasters are mostly using nymph/indicator rigs.

The bite is all day long, and the water level is in the perfect range of 7,000 to 10,000 cfs. The fish are done spawning, and should be biting very well for the next several weeks.

Brock added, "This regulations in this section of river require 'barbless' hooks', and we practice 100-percent catch-and-release only. We are seeing tons of wildlife along the river, including an eagle and an otter this week."