The Seasons of the Lower Sacramento River

We are truly fortunate here in California to have such an incredible year-round fishery in the Lower Sacramento River. For years people just considered the Lower Sacramento to be an off-season fishery, somewhere to toss a few casts when other rivers weren’t fishing well. More and more, however, anglers are realizing that the Sacramento is really a great option for catching trophy rainbow trout nearly every day of the year.

Still, the Lower Sacramento is a big river, its flows changing throughout the year based largely on agricultural needs in the Central Valley. As the flows – and seasonal weather patterns – change, so does the nature of the river, creating several distinct seasons. With the many miles of river available to float, combined with the different seasons and hatches, there are many diverse faces of the Lower Sacramento that any dedicated angler should get to know.

September, October & November

Fall is a special time of year on the Lower Sacramento River. The nights begin to cool, the colors start to change, and the fishing for trout and steelhead is at its peak. Starting in September, the water starts to recede from the high flows of summer, and shortly thereafter first of the Fall run of Chinook Salmon begin to arrive. As salmon begin to lay their eggs in the tailouts – usually by the first week in October – fat hungry Rainbow Trout move into the shallows as well to gorge themselves on the eggs and aquatic insects kicked up by the spawning Salmon. There are still caddis hatching in the evenings, and on slightly overcast days in October and November we can see some good Baetis hatches, too.

One of the biggest highlights of the fall season is the arrival of Steelhead in the lower reaches of the river, from Anderson down to Los Molinos. These lower floats take you through some beautiful, rural countryside decorated by monstrous valley oaks and pock-marked by molten rock left over from the region’s volcanic past. When our guides drift this lower river they will frequently hook into one or two of these angry brutes in a day (although landing them is often an entirely different story!), along with the healthy resident rainbows that the Lower Sac is famous for.

December, January & February

By December the weather starts to turn cold and winter storms are more frequent, keeping many of the anglers that come to fish the Lower Sacramento River in the Fall at home so that the die-hards on the river frequently have the water to themselves. The Late-Fall run of Chinook Salmon enter the spawning gravel, so there are still plenty of eggs popping loose. The trout have been feeding heavily on a high-protein diet for several months, and their girth in the winter is evidence. We don't always get the number days this time of year, but it is definitely the best time of year to catch truly massive Rainbow Trout; we're talking about fish that are better measured in pounds than inches!
In addition to eggs, the winter months show us some of the best Baetis hatches of the year. Any overcast, drizzly day will bring off thousands of these tiny mayflies, and if you’re lucky you may even get some shots at casting dries to rising trout! Flows on the river are also at their lowest during the winter months, making wade-fishing a good option on the many riffles and gravel bars that are submerged through much of the year.

March, April & May

The Springtime on the Lower Sacramento River is generally the most productive time of year to fish dry flies. Midday brachycentrus Caddis hatches (often referred to as the Mother’s Day Caddis across the West) can blanket the water, occasionally producing sporadic surface activity from hungry trout. Sometimes there's just plain too many Caddis on the surface, and the fish will focus on subsurface patterns. The Sac’s rainbows are also busy trying to bulk up before they spawn, so the fish eat very actively, and the Spring can be one of the best times on the river for hooking epic numbers of fish.

June, July & August

Summer can be hot on the Lower Sacramento River... both the fishing and the weather. In fact, days of 100 degrees and more are quite common. Fortunately, the constant cool water temperatures (56 degrees) we have in the river helps to keep both anglers and fish cool during the midday heat. All Summer there is a focus on the Hydropsyche Caddis that emerge in the late-afternoon and evening. This creates excellent fishing throughout the afternoon on emerging Caddis pupa and even dry fly opportunities sometimes in the evenings.

Over the decades, we’ve learned that whenever possible the most productive way to fish the Lower Sacramento River in the summer months is to start late and fish late. The trout often don’t start feeding until after 11:00 anyway, so there’s never a rush to get on the water early. In fact, our favorite summertime schedule is to start around noon and fish into the evening, hopefully finding some dry fly action at the end of the day.