Located within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, the Upper Sacramento River may be one of the best 'roadside' fisheries in the West. Just try to convince us here at The Fly Shop^® any different and you'll most likely be in for a longwinded conversation. Despite the nearly 40 miles of easily accessible water ¯ there are over 15 freeway exits and railroad tracks that parallel the length of the river ¯ the Upper Sac remains surprisingly lightly fished. In fact, anglers willing to hike even a mere 10 minutes along the railroad tracks from almost any access spot will find themselves fishing water that remains relatively untouched for most of the year.

The "Upper Sac" is freestone fishing at its best. The river is made up of riffles, runs, pocket water, small holes, huge pools and undercuts, all of which provide anglers with opportunities to fish dry flies, a variety of nymphing techniques, or even streamers, all in a day's fishing. Rainbows are the predominate fish in these waters, and most are healthy, wild, and native to the river system. They are full of fight, and usually go straight up in the air when they feel the prick of a fly in their lip.

The river is usually swollen with snowmelt from early to late spring, and although the fishing can be productive working the edges and slower runs we don't really focus much attention here until late May or early June. Depending on each year's snow pack, the river generally drops to fishable conditions in the early summer months, coinciding with great hatches of golden stoneflies, little yellow stoneflies, several types of caddis, and a variety of mayflies, such as green drakes, pale morning duns, blue wing olives, and even March Browns.

The hot summer months can be a great time to wet wade the Upper Sac, and by late July or early August the many submerged boulders on the river begin to turn black with midge larva. The river quickly turns into a fantastic midge fishery from mid-summer all through the fall.

Fall brings on a giant October Caddis hatch and some great blue-winged olive hatches on overcast days. From fall through winter, until winter storms start to blow the river out, it continues to fish well both with dry flies and nymphs.

When our guides aren't working on the Lower Sacramento, this is where they spend their fishing time, and some of our guides specialize in fishing this wonderful river. They know the river well, and have figured out the secrets to success for all the different seasons. Despite the easy river access on the Upper Sacramento, utilizing one of these professionals can dramatically increase the learning curve, saving hours of guesswork and frustrating lost time. Our guides are all excellent instructors, so your day on the river will be a great learning experience, not only about the river itself, but also the various techniques that can be successful there.