Small Stream Clinic- Great clinic for a beginning or novice angler. The streams surrounding Chico are full of hungry and willing trout. Dry fly fishing on these streams is very good. Topics covered include rigging, “reading” water, and techniques to fish both nymphs and dry flies. Most important, students will have plenty of practice learning how to hook, fight, and land trout. Exact stream location will depend on current water conditions. Clinic is limited to 3 students. July 5, 11, 18 August 8,22,29 September 19. Cost is $175 per person.

Lake Almanor Hex hatch is picking up around Prattville and near the dam on the west side of the lake.  Start the day around 4pm fishing a hex nymph on a fast sinking line. Vary your retrieve or troll with lots of turns slowing and speeding up the fly. At 5pm bring the nymph up in the water column. Switch to a floating line with a longer 3X leader around 6pm. Casting and stripping the fly back can get some aggressive grabs. When hex flies are thick switch to an emerger or dun and cast to rising or cruising fish. Reports are day to day. Good numbers of large fish caught in the last week. Baum Lake is fishing best from 10am to dusk with fish feeding on smaller midges in the morning and callibaetis in the afternoon on warmer days. Overcast days are slowing the dry fly action. Stripping streamers around weed beds will find feeding fish. Butt Lake is fishing very well from 4pm to dark with rainbows, browns and bass feeding on Hexagenia nymphs and dries. Start with tandem hex nymphs on a sinking line around the dam from 3-5pm. When hex start hatching, switch to a floating line with a hex nymph on a longer 3X leader. Use an erratic retrieve to bring nymphs through the water column. When fish are steadily rising switch to a hex dry on a 3X leader. Reports of large rainbows and browns caught in the last week. The hatch is varying in duration and size day to day. Feather River (Hwy 70 bridge to Gridley) Flushing flows have pushed steelhead out of the riffles.  Look for more steelhead moving into the river system in late July to October. Feather River, MF Flows are coming down and hatches are picking up. Hatches of midges and mayflies in the morning, caddis in the afternoon and stoneflies in the evening. Better hatches on sunny days. Thunderstorms will put down hatches of caddis and stoneflies down. Fishing sub-surface with a rubberleg stone and smaller mayfly nymph will hook fish around boulders and in tailouts below riffles. Putah Creek (below Lake Berryessa) High summer flows making for tough wading. Best fishing is early and late in the day with small mayfly nymphs and caddis pupa. Small 4-8 inch trout are rising to dries in the evening to caddis. Butte Creek (Butte Meadows) Best fishing is at dusk when rainbows are feeding on stoneflies and caddis. Some fish around Cherry Hill campground but the bigger fish are in the canyon section where access is difficult. Lower Stanislaus River (below Tulloch Reservoir) High flows (1249 cfs at Orange Blossom). Trinity River (Fly only water below Lewiston) Flows are currently 700 cfs. Flows are decreasing and will stabilize at 450 cfs on July 6th. Yuba River, NF (near Downieville) Best fishing is from Sierra City to Downieville with fishable flows and trout rising to smaller mayflies in the morning, caddis in the afternoon and stoneflies in the evening before dusk. Fish are smaller but plentiful. A 3 weight rod will get a good bend from scrappy rainbows and browns. Walker River, East Fork (below Bridgeport Reservoir) Flows are on the rise (237 cfs). Consistent flows will put fish back on the bite. Good hatches of mayflies and caddis with fish feeding aggressively mid-morning and again from 4pm to dusk. Stripping streamers will hook some big browns. Fish larger streamers and strip them back from the bank. 2X tippet is a must for streamers.

Sacramento River- Shad are scattered from Princeton to Red Bluff with the bulk of the run moving back down stream. Cover lots of water with a 200 grain shooting head on a 6 wt. rod with Rio’s slick shooter running line.  Numbers are low but still reports of some good sized females caught in the last week. American River- Flows are higher making wading a little more difficult. Shad are scattered from Sailor bar down. Yuba River-Shad are below Daguerre dam. Reports are scattered with some anglers getting into them good and some anglers only finding a few fish.  Access at Hallwood Ave. Feather River-Shad are scattered below Shanghai bend. Shad run is just about done on the Feather.