The Seasons of the Upper Sacramento River

Regulations were changed a few years ago to allow year-round fishing on the main stem of Upper Sacramento River from Box Canyon down to Lake Shasta. The tributary streams, where virtually all the spawning occurs, continue to follow the General Trout Season (open to fishing only during the last Saturday in April through November 15th). While runoff and weather conditions can impact the river’s fishability at times, The Upper Sacramento can provide some great walk and wade, classic freestone fly fishing options through much of the year.

February, March, and April

Late winter and early Spring fishing on the Upper Sacramento, if water conditions and weather cooperate, is terrific. There are hatches of March Brown mayflies and smaller caddisflies that can begin as early as February and run throughout March and April, topped out by PMDs that start in mid-April. Perhaps the biggest draw to this early-season fishery is the huge pteronarcys californica (salmon fly) that begins to hatch as the weather warms in April.

The fishing during these early months is entire dependent upon weather conditions and runoff. During wet winters, the Upper Sacramento can be high and off-color for much of the late winter and spring, making fishing difficult. On dry years, however, the river often remains low and wadeable. It may come up and get off-color after a big storm, but will typically clear with a few days of sunny weather. Those warm, sunny days that mark the start of spring in the North State are also the best for the fishing that time of year. The warm weather gets the bugs moving, and the more bugs are active the more responsive the trout are likely to be.

May and June

Runoff can impact the Upper Sacramento on most years from the end of April through the start of June. The river remains fishable even in the high-water, with the fish concentrated in the slower moving pockets and pools. This can be a great time of year on the Upper Sac. Wading can be difficult, but anglers generally find masses of fish podded up in certain pools, and some of the most prolific hatches take place this time of year.

Salmonflies, Golden Stoneflies, Little Yellow Stoneflies, PMDs, Green Drakes, and caddisflies make up the major hatches during the early summer months, with dozens of smaller mayflies and caddis making appearances as well. There are epic days when you can cast dry flies to rising trout from dawn till dusk. Even if the fish aren’t rising, nymphing the deep pools remains effective throughout the middle of the day and the hatches are predictable every evening.

July and August

The “dog days” of summer are the best time of year to wet-wade the Upper Sac, and highsticking the pocket water and oxygenated pools of the river will produce nice trout throughout the morning and middle of the day, with hatches of Golden Stoneflies and caddis bringing nearly every fish in the river to the surface in the hour or so just before dark.

By late July or early August the many submerged boulders on the river begin to turn black with midge larva, providing a new delicacy for the trout from late summer through the fall. Angling traffic on the river is light during the summer months, but it is literally one of our favorite times of year on the river. You will rarely see another angler, and it can be a great time of year to join the 20/20 club (20 inch fish on #20 fly).

September, and October

Autumn brings on the giant October Caddis, as well as the nicest weather of the season. The first of the monstrous October Caddis larvae begin to appear on the rocks and boulders near the edge of the river as early as late August, but by mid September there are literally millions of the inch-long cases decorating the river bottom as they prepare to emerge with the cooler nights of fall. The adult insects hatch at dusk throughout October and November, proving brief flurries of dry fly activity every evening and enticing trout to rise to big attractor patterns sometimes even in the middle of the day. Moreover, they’ll eat the larvae and pupae of the caddis like trout candy every hour of the day.

On overcast days, there can be some phenomenal blue-winged olive hatches. These tiny mayflies respond to changes in barometric pressure, and hatch whenever a storm front moves through the area, stimulating some great midday dry fly action on all of our regional streams, including the Upper Sacramento, throughout both the fall and winter seasons.

November, December, and January

The Winter Months on the Upper Sac provides some great late-season opportunities for die-hard trout anglers. The mornings and evenings are often cold in the narrow river canyon, but midday sunshine can warm the river up and provide some good action on nymphs and streamers for some of the river’s bigger fish holding in the deeper pools. And anglers fishing the Upper Sac in the winter months should always be prepared with a few blue-winged olive dry flies, as overcast afternoons can have some memorable Baetis mayfly hatches.