Current River Conditions:
River flows are 8800 cubic feet per second, decreasing to 8200 CFS on October 3rd. The fly fishing has been fair to good! Lot's of King Salmon are moving into the Redding section of the Lower Sacramento, causing the rainbows to get pushed around. The King Salmon is a very large fish, some going 15-20lbs, kind of overwhelming for Mr. & Mrs. Rainbow. Imagine a family of 50' neighbors moved in next door. You would be a little nervous until they started serving you free cake and ice cream. For the rainbow family, the cake and ice cream comes in the form of dislodged nymphs and eggs, a by-product of the spawning process the Kings are dead set on commencing any day now. So, the fishing is good, and it's going to get better. Start stocking up on various egg patterns in orange, sockeye, pink. Once the rainbows start eating eggs, they become stupidly attracted to colors that suggest the orange salmon roe (that's eggs. Roe=eggs). We don't fish for the salmon because they are spawning. But, rainbow trout can be densely scattered near the spawning redd, eating all sorts of nymphs and eggs! (redd= a hollow in a riverbed made by a trout or salmon to spawn in).

Click here for up to date Lower Sacramento flow

The Fly Shop's ? Tips:
Fishing a long, 9' leader tapered to 3x (the second fly can be attached using 4X) with a big indicator and an SSG split shot will get the flies down to the fish. If you are wading the river and not in a drift boat, add another AAA or even a second SSG to your rig. The sooner the flies get to the bottom of the river, the more time you spend "fishing". As we close in on the end of September, look for the first of the fall-run Chinooks setting up in shallow water, fanning the rivers gravel and preparing for the Autumn spawn. Trout are always near the spawning salmon.

Bridge News:
All of the construction projects have finished their in-river work, so there are no longer hazards in the river at any of the bridges, and there are no longer flow-related boating restrictions anywhere on the river. Yeah!

River Fact:
How did the Sacramento River get it's name? In 1808, Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga, on a journey to find suitable sites for the construction of missions, became the first foreigner to see the river clearly. Judging its huge breadth and power he named it Rio de good Sacramentos, or "River of the Blessed Sacrament".

Flies:

Dries:
• Mercer's Missing Link #14-16
• Cutter's E/C Caddis Tan #14-16
• Dean's Twilight Caddis #10-14
• Crowning Poopah Cinnamon

Nymphs/Wet Flies:
• Pat's Rubberlegs #4-8
• Eng Thing #16
• Black Zebra Midge #16-18
• GB Flashback Olive PT #16-18
• CB Birds Nest #12-16
• S&M #16-18 (Any Color)
• TB Pseudo May #16-18 Brn/Olive
• Zaddis Amber #12-14
• Red Micro Mayfly #16-18
• Cinnamon BH Poopah #12-14
• Skip Nymph #16

Streamers/Leeches:
• Muddler Minnow #10
• Freshwater Clouser Olive/White

Eggs:
• MC Redd Reaper Peachy King
• Micro Spawn Salmon Egg
• Single Eggs (Any)
• Surreal Eggs (Any)
• Boles Bazookas (Any)