Reel Adventures Guide Service

Prime Date Just Opened Up...

Due to a cancellation I have August 2nd open. This will be the opening week of the top section of the Lower Sac which has been closed to fishing since April 1st. It is always a good time. Contact me asap if you are interested....

 

 

Doing what we can and still loving every minute of it....

It is HOT out and nothing is gonna change for the 15 day forecast. So, we might as well make the best of it and just adapt... it's summer season.

I mentioned already (see post below) a few strategies I use to mitigate these HOT summer days. 100+ degree days are nothing new here in Redding (although the 100's seem to be arriving earlier and staying longer).

As local anglers & guides we have become sort of used to the yearly cycle of things. We fish the Valley Rivers all winter and spring then head for the higher mountains and spring-fed rivers for the summer. We have A LOT of fishing options in northern California and nearly all of them are cold water spring fed systems or giant tailwaters with big, cold reservoirs above. We still fish the Lower Sacramento River in Redding all summer long - mornings and evenings can fish very well despite the heat. More on that later...

This past week we have been all around the area from Hat Creek to Fall River to back on the Lower Sac to a few of the hidden gems we don't discuss in public.

(Frank B and I spent a day on lower Hat Creek recently. Despite it being mid week the stream was actually quite busy and crowded... we decide to just go head hunting and throw the big dry fly on the water not getting pounded (there are salmonflies hatching at night). This fish demolished a #4 foam stonefly dry fly at 2pm in the afternoon!) 

 

Consider wet wading this time of year (Frank is wearing Simms wading pants in the pic above, short waders w/o the upper portion). Yes, its a good idea. It's also a good idea to start early in the A.M. or fish the last few hours of the day in the P.M. ... low light periods when the shade is on the water. It can be more comfortable for you the angler and also you may find the bugs more active and the fish more grabby.

When fishing from the drift boat on the Lower Sac I have been meeting early and just going for it till we get too hot... fishing till about 2pm or 3pm... depending on the day. But we have had some fun full days recently- despite the heat - with an early start and an early off.

(Images: Jeff, his awesome daughter, Zoey, and I, spent a wonderful morning - afternoon floating the Lower Sac this week. We were on the water early and off before it got too hot. Super fun and super enjoyable day with these two adventure seekers. Zoey was a natural angler and she will be threat to fish everywhere from here on out!) 

The Lower Sac river water temp is around 55 degrees currently so the fish are plenty happy and healthy. As noted in recent news we may see a creep in water temps this summer as we begin to lose the "cold water pool" in Shasta reservoir. The Shasta Dam has a temp control device that can draw water from certain depths in the lake. For salmon recovery the BOR tries to keep the river water temps at a very cold 53 degrees. That is Freaking cold.

Typically, this is a huge pool of super cold water and we never see any "warm water" coming from Shasta Lake. This year the lake is VERY low so many are concerned about the cool pool being exhausted by the end of summer. We don't know for sure what the future will bring and it's simply out of our control anyway.

At this point, everything is fine and the water temps are cold - so we are fishing and enjoying what we have at this point. We'll continue to monitor the situation as summer progresses.

And if things gets too crazy and our rivers and streams get too warm this summer.... There is always Bass Fishing!

(Somedays it's all about the Base... bout the base. Smallmouth and Largemouth bass can be found in tons of waters very near or connected to our trout streams and lakes around here. Fishing for bass on a fly rod is nothing new but I am surprised how many fly anglers have never experienced the epic eats that bass provide.)

 

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July weekend... we'll see you next week.

 

How To Cope... with the brutal heat wave

(Mt Shasta is a good backdrop to stare at while fishing the Fall River)

It's been hot - real hot. And, it's only still June! <Crying face emoji>

One good thing about these 112-115 degree days is that when it finally cools down to 100 degrees or less... It doesn't really feel that hot any more. LOL. You get used to it.

As for fishing, there are several ways we mitigate the heat as we move into summer season:

One.. Trout live in cold water. Get In It! Wet wading and even taking swim breaks are the solution- leave the plastic waders for the fall/winter season. Buy some neoprene "wet wading socks" (to fill the space in your wading boots) or wear some thick wool socks. Light pants or longer shorts are nice to keep brush and rocks scrapes to a minimum while bushwhacking or hiking spot to spot. Also, light synthetic pants are good for sun pro, too. 

Two.. Fish during the cooler periods of the day AM and PM and take a long afternoon break. Swim, lunch and a nap, anyone? The 4-5 hour window in the morning or 4 hour window as the sun gets low in the evenings typically offer a good time to fish right now, at least it's the most comfortable time for the angler. The days are long in June/July with the recent passing of the Summer Solstice - so that sun is rising before 6am right now and it's not getting dark till after 9pm. Choose your time and efforts wisely... maybe a half day makes more sense?

Three.. On float trips when in a drift boat I am a big fan of the occasional hat dunk and wearing appropriate clothing for the sun. The key is to get the sun off of you... your skin. Long sleeve shirts and pants are a better solution than short sleeves and shorts. Todays light weight UPF garments and hoody sun shirts are key... and Buffs. Don't forget your Buff. More and more guides and anglers have seen the light on these and for good reason.

Stopping and getting out of the boat to wade fish a riffle or two isn't a bad idea either. The Lower Sac is a cold river - typically running in the mid 50's to low 60's for water temps depending on where you are floating. Stepping into the cold water will cool you right down. A big advantage of the drift boat vs wade fishing is that we are not hiking from spot to spot (getting all hot and stuff) we are floating down a cold river. We can get into the water at any time...so Get In It! 

As for fly fishing reports - I will have a report at some point soon. We have been busy fishing the Lower Sacramento River, Upper Sac, Hat Creek, Fall River and a few other spots we don't talk about. There are some solid fishing options around, despite the heat wave we are experiencing. Contact me for more info or visit the website www.reeladventuresguideservice.com

(Cold spring fed water of Hat Creek. Beautiful stream amazing scenery)

Big cool down this week....

After the near record heat wave we recently endured during the first week of June... Ma Nature is gonna chill things out a bit. How do you like low 80's in Redding, CA beginning the week. And, I've got a few days off to boot. Stuff is gonna happen and fun will be had.

Speaking of fun...

(Images: David V. took advantage of the "Two fer One Nighter Program". Drive up and fish a Half Day evening session - stay 1 night - then fish a Half Day morning session and then drive home. Your wife or husband will barely miss you... LOL. 2 days of fishing prime-time hours while avoiding the heat of the day with only 1 night at the hotel. Perfect. And, it was.... we had 2 excellent days of fly fishing for these amazing wild trout on the Lower Sac here in Redding)

The Lower Sac continues to be pretty solid most days. We are seeing good hatches of PMD's and PED's along with caddis and little yellow Sallies. Some big fish on the prowl lately!!

I have had a few tougher days on the river and it seems that things can be a bit up and down, depending on different variables mostly outside of our control. I hope things get more consistent as summer season gets in full swing and we see the bigger caddis hatches of summer.

(Images: Sean and Matthew worked hard for a few good ones... fishing was a little up and down w/ the 107-109 deg days last week. We chose to fish the early morning and late evening sessions to avoid the hottest part of the day) 

I'm looking forward to the rest of June and July in anticipation of more caddis, pale evening duns and little yellow Sally stones. We should see some consistent dry fly fishing real soon on the big river.

For those who want to see something different - the Pit River, Hat Creek and Fall River should all be solid bets for the next few weeks. The time is now as they say!

www.reeladventuresguideservice.com Contact me soon to set up your dates.

Walk and Wade Fly Fishing Season...

The months of May and June are typically great for walk and wade fishing trips here in Northern California... of course, July - October can be good, too, but the early summer season is just special. It's when we get the best bug hatches... and it's not hot yet!

The famous rivers like the McCloud, Upper Sacramento and Pit River are tough to beat during the summer season: 

(Image: The famous McCloud River... where it was cool to high-stick, tight-line, indicatorless nymph fish before it was even called Euro Nymphing. LOL)

(Tightline indicatorless fly fishing provides great control of the depth and speed of your flies drift... it also provides the quickest response to those subtle grabs)

(Image: Another McCloud River beauty about to be admired...)

(Image: Of course the Dry Fly works, too, when they are looking up!!! Love those cloudy days when the Drakes begin to emerge) 

(Image: Bring your wading staff, good boots, and willingness to hike away from the crowds on any of our freestone rivers in Nor Cal. Here are 2 generations of Vidinsky's ready to rumble. I think we did 8 miles one day and 9 miles the next!)

The Pit River and Hat Creek are also solid bets right now. We had everything hatching on the days I was last on them... green drakes, pmd's, caddis, golden stones and little yellow stones. Now is the time!

(Image above: Pit River perfection... it doesn't get much better than this!!) 

(Image: A day wading Hat Creek under cloudy skies, casting dry flies and with no other anglers around? Yes Please!!!) 

Don't let time slip away. I have many days still open in June for some fly fishing adventures. Contact me ASAP to discuss your plans www.reeladventuresguideservice.com