Lower Sacramento River
The Lower Sacramento River was pretty epic this October and much of that had to do with the number of salmon that returned to the upper stretches to spawn. This is one of the busiest times of year on the river and for good reason. The Lower Sac Egg Bite! If you haven't experienced it, I highly recommend booking a trip for next October now before guides calendars start to fill up. We saw a lot of trips this year get turned away due to guides being fully booked.
Trinity River
The Trinity River took a bit of a backseat to the Lower Sac this October, as most guides and anglers focused on the Lower Sac’s productive egg bite. As a result, the Trinity saw noticeably less pressure than usual. Despite that, some very nice steelhead were landed throughout the month, especially by anglers swinging flies.
McCloud And Upper Sac Walk and Wade
October was a great month to get out and explore the McCloud and Upper Sacramento Rivers with a fly rod in hand. As fall settled into the mountains around Mount Shasta, the changing seasons brought cooler temperatures, beautiful scenery, and some excellent opportunities for walk-and-wade fly fishing.
The McCloud River continued to offer the kind of experience that makes this fishery so special. Its beautiful surroundings, classic pocket water, and wild brown trout make it a favorite for anglers looking to slow things down and enjoy a day on the water. We had a bunch of record-setting brown trout come to the net making this one of our favorite fall fisheries.
The Upper Sacramento River offered a different experience, with miles of accessible water, varied pocket water, riffles, and deeper runs to explore. This is a river that rewards anglers willing to cover water, read the current, and adjust their approach throughout the day.
Lower Sac Striper Fishing
Striper fishing was very good this October. We saw a big transition between summer fishing at the start of October and true fall fishing by the last 10-14 days of October. We saw bigger fish move into the feeding zones in the early mornings with consistancy and had some great fish come to the boat. Most fish were coming on heavy sinking lines and bigger than average flies as bait is much bigger this time of year than say the spring or summer months. We did have some tough days during barometer swings but even on the tough days there were times when the fish would eat.