Baum Lake

Fishing is good to excellent. Best fishing is on overcast days from 11am on. Trout are feeding on good hatches of midges and BWO’s. Best tactic is to start with a midge pupa under a parachute BWO when trout are feeding subsurface. The best presentation is a downstream drift from an anchored position in the slack water. An anchor is ideal for holding in a float tube or pontoon boat. Reports of good numbers of brown trout eating buggers on a sink tip line. This is the most consistent winter fishery if you can brave the cold.

Lake woolly buggers/streamers J Fair wiggle tail (olive, brown, burnt orange) BH woolly bugger (black, olive, brown), crystal bugger, mini bugger black/olive, seal bugger (rust, olive, black), hale bopp leach (brown, olive), Mack’s bugger, bunny leach (white), chub minnow (#6-12). BWO/Baetis nymphs Hogan’s S&M nymph, Hogan’s better baetis, Burk’s crystal hunchback, Hogan’s olive military may, tailwater tiny, flashy pheasant tail, Sloan’s mighty may, Burk’s olive hunchback two-tone, Mercer’s micro mayfly, tung split case BWO (#16-22). BWO dries (Listed elsewhere in report).

Feather River (Hwy 70 bridge to Gridley)

Fishing is fair to good. The upper stretch (Table Mountain Bicycle bridge to Hwy 70) has good numbers of steelhead in riffles and runs. A few steelhead are starting to spawn in shallow water. Please let these fish finish spawning. An Alevin pattern on a sink tip line will hook fish. Fish deep slots with a beadhead nymph and a green caddis pupa dropper. As the rain continues to fall, a san juan worm will be a deadly pattern. Expect a few more wild winter steelhead moving up the river followed by the start of the spring run steelhead.

Egg patterns Sucker spawn oregon cheese, Fox's fertilizer (shell pink, fire orange, flo red), glow-bug (peach, pink, champagne, light yellow, cheese, chartreuse),  Pettis’ Unreal egg clusters (gold nugget, burnt orange, dark roe, light row), clown egg, Pettis’ unreal single egg, unreal egg cluster (dk roe, burnt orange) (#8-16). Salmon sac-fry (Alevin) patterns Gummy fry, Hogan’s central valley alevin, Simmons’ salmon fry, Sloan’s American Alevin (#10-12). BWO/Baetis nymphs and Attractor beadhead nymphs (listed elsewhere).

Feather River, N.F. (Cresta powerhouse to Lake Oroville)

Fishing is fair to good. Best fishing is in the afternoon when trout are feeding on emerging midges and BWO’s. Attractor dry with a midge pupa dropper is a deadly combination. The section down from Poe has some great flats and riffles for fishing dries. Flows are currently high but fishable below Pulga with the best fishing between Pulga and Poe Powerhouse. When no hatches are present, go deep with a rubberleg stone and a beadhead nymph. Use plenty of split shot to get flies down between the boulders. For big fish, go deep with a streamer on a sink tip line in deep water. Be sure to use at least 10lb tippet for these large aggressive fish. The river below Cresta powerhouse is open all year, while above Cresta powerhouse closed on Nov. 15^th.

Attractor beadhead nymphs royal flush, Hogan’s Steelie Caddis, hare’s ear, twenty incher, Hart’s dark lord, copper john (red, black, lime, copper) Hogan’s amber wing attractor, Tungsten Hotwire prince (olive/copper & Green/Yellow), Queen prince, bird’s nest, black AP, prince of darkness, king prince, dirty bird (tan, olive), Hogan’s drifter, biotic nymph, Hogan’s Red Headed Step Child (#10-18). BWO/Baetis emerger/dries Brook's KD dun, fluttering mayfly cripple BWO, Harrop captive dun, BWO extended body, Brooks CDC dun baetis, hackle stacker BWO, loopwing paradun, parachute BWO, twilight baetis dun day-glo, BWO CDC transitional dun, Brook's sprout baetis, quill body baetis cripple, Harrop's CDC BWO emerger, Quigley’s loopy cripple stacker, Burk’s silhouette dun (#16-20). River woolly buggers /streamers BWO and nymphs and Golden stonefly nymphs (listed elsewhere in report).

Frank’s Tract & San Joaquin Delta (including Mildred, San Joaquin River, and nearby sloughs)

Fishing is poor to fair. Water temps have moved upward a couple degrees this week, so that might turn the bite on. Best fishing is from midday until dark, early morning is slow with the cold air temps. Use medium to fast sinking heads and a slow strip, with lots of drops. Most fish are taking on the drop. A variety of large and small clousers are producing. Stripers are running 3-6 lbs, so what they are lacking in numbers they are making up for in size. Good areas to try are Discovery Bay, Mokelumne River (especially Hog and Snodgrass Sloughs), and deeper holes in the rivers. Watch out for valley fog.

Striper patterns Flashtail clousers and whistlers in chartreuse/white, pink/white, all white, and black (2/0-3/0), pearly poppers (red/yellow, green/yellow), gurglers, crease fly.

Mokelumne, Lower

Fishing is good. Good numbers of steelhead feeding on BWO’s in the afternoon. Start the morning nymphing with a beadhead nymph (Hot fly: King Prince) with a BWO nymph dropper. As fish start rising, switch to a BWO dry on a 9’ leader down to 5 or 6X. Streamers are also catching fish in deep runs and pools. Some larger steelhead fish are in the river but it’s not easy to get flies past the smaller hatchery fish.

Attractor beadhead nymphs royal flush, Hogan’s Steelie Caddis, hare’s ear, twenty incher, Hart’s dark lord, copper john (red, black, lime, copper) Hogan’s amber wing attractor, Tungsten Hotwire prince (olive/copper & Green/Yellow), Queen prince, bird’s nest, black AP, prince of darkness, king prince, dirty bird (tan, olive), Hogan’s drifter, biotic nymph, Hogan’s Red Headed Step Child (#10-18). BWO/Baetis nymphs (listed elsewhere in report).

Putah Creek (below Lake Berryessa)

Fishing is fair to good. Good numbers of trout are in the system, but the bite has slowed some from previous weeks. Best fishing is in the afternoon when trout are keying on midges and BWO’s subsurface. Indicator nymph with small midge and BWO nymphs under a white indicator on 6X or 7X tippet. Use plenty of stealth at these low flows. Best action is between the dam and Access 3. Do not fish over spawning trout and stay away from redds.

BWO nymphs Hogan’s S&M nymph, Hogan’s better baetis, berry nymph in gooseberry, Burk’s crystal hunchback, Hogan’s olive military may, Mercer's BWO trigger nymph, Kyle's beerhead baetis, tailwater tiny, flashy pheasant tail, Sloan’s mighty may, Burk’s olive hunchback two-tone, Mercer’s micro mayfly (#16-22), Mercer’s Midgeling. BWO dries and Midge pupa (Listed elsewhere in report).

Pyramid Lake (outside of Reno)

Fishing is fair. Best fishing is when the wind stirs up the water. Hit and miss reports from Pelican and Warrior. The Lohantans are eating tui-chub minnows. A pyramid bugger with a tadpole tied off the bend of the bugger is a deadly combination.  Vary your retrieve between slow and fast with a pause to float the tadpole. A fast sinking shooting head on a 7 or 8wt rod is ideal. Fish are in 5-10 feet of water. The drop off is a little further out due to higher lake levels.

Pyramid Flies Estaz woolly worms, midnight cowboy buggers (black/purple, chartreuse/white, olive, black), Tadpole (black/purple, chartreuse/white, olive, black) (#8-12), Mahalo midge (black/silver, Fuchia #10, 14)

Sacramento River, Lower (below Keswick Reservoir)

Fishing is fair. Current weather will muddy the river below Anderson, but overall this is what we needed to put the fish on the bite. In rainy conditions be sure to try BWO and midge pupa in tandem with a beadhead nymph. Fish riffles and tailouts where fish will hold. Good numbers of hatchery juvenile steelhead from Red Bluff to Los Molinos. Try swinging Alevins on a sink tip in riffles and tailouts. Some isolated dry fly action on flats with BWO emergers. Best wading reports are from Posse Grounds (above Sundial bridge). Some big fish are showing on egg patterns and BWO nymphs.

Caddis pupa/emergers Lawson's caddis emerger (tan, olive), Hogan’s Yuba pupa, Hogan's swingin’ caddis, Fox's poopah (olive, tan), Hot wire caddis, Anderson's peeking green, green machine, Fox’s springtime poopah, Amber wing prince, M’s Dirty Bird, Hogan’s steelie caddis, Hogan's good & plenty nymph (tan, olive), Silvey’s prime time pupa, Silvey’s submerger caddis (olive, tan), Silvey’s edible emerger (#12-18), King Prince (#12-16), M’s Iron Sally (#16). Egg patterns and PMD nymphs and Attractor beadhead nymphs and BWO/Baetis nymphs and Golden stonefly nymphs (listed elsewhere in report).

Stanislaus River, Lower (below Tullock Reservoir)

Fishing is fair. Expect the best fishing in the afternoon when trout are rising to BWO’s and midges. Most consistent fishing is with BWO nymphs under an indicator. The highest concentration of trout are in the deep runs and pools, especially near the dam. Also try stripping buggers on a sink tip line. Most trout run 10-15 inches. This is a good winter fishery less than 2 hours from the Bay Area.

River woolly buggers/streamers J Fair wiggle tail (olive, brown, burnt orange) BH woolly bugger (black, olive, brown), crystal bugger, mini bugger black/olive, seal bugger (rust, olive, black), hale bopp leach (brown, olive), Mack’s bugger, bunny leach (white), chub minnow (#6-12). BWO/Baetis emerger/dries (Listed elsewhere in report). Midge pupa (Listed elsewhere in report).

Trinity River (near Lewiston)

Fishing is fair to good. Current weather will bring remaining steelhead around Junction City up river. Fish golden stones, psycho prince and BWO nymphs under an indicator. Swinging traditional steelhead wet flies will hook fish midday. Go big when water is off color (2X tippet and flies). Best action is above Rush Creek when water is off color. Good access above Bucktail, steel bridge and below Lewiston Bridge. The lower river is muddy from recent rains.

Steelhead wet flies/streamers Mossback, assassin (natural, copper), Herniator (silver, copper), cone sucking bunny, egg sucking crystal leach, general practitioner (black, orange), comet, green butted skunk, coal car, skykomish sunrise, prism, purple peril, silver hilton, winters hope, Gareth’s fire fly, red ant (#4-8). Golden stonefly nymphs jumbo john, Morrish cone stone, Morrish WMD, Poxyback golden stone nymph, Mercer's poxyquill golden stone, Pat’s Rubberleg. Attractor beadhead nymphs and Egg patterns (listed elsewhere).

Yuba River, Lower (from Englebright dam to Marysville)

Fishing is fair to good. Current weather will muddy the river but it will clear within a few days. Best action is in the afternoon swinging soft hackles in runs and riffles. A rubberleg stone (green #8 to match skwala) with a BWO nymph or egg dropper is also hooking a few Feather fin clipped steelhead on upper stretches below Parks Bar bridge. Some skwalas have been spotted in the bushes along the bank. Best action for skwalas at Hammond Grove along highway 20. Fish riffles with a skwala dry and keep an eye out for rising fish.

Midge pupa glass bead midge (red, black), crystal dip, disco midge, brassie, desert storm, zebra midge (rust, black), WD40 (olive, chocolate) WD50 tungsten (olive/wine), skinny nelson, biot midge, crystal HBI (#18-22). Skwala Stonefly Adults/Nymphs Hogan’s split wing skwala, Hogan’s skwala, Bullethead Skwala, pixy-back Skwala nymph, Mercer’s tungsten skwala nymph, tungsten bead skwala, flush floater skwala (#8-12).BWO/Baetis nymphs (listed elsewhere). Golden stonefly nymphs (listed elsewhere). Attractor beadhead nymphs (listed elsewhere). BWO/Baetis emerger/dries (listed elsewhere).