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One of the best bets on the upper Sacramento is the newly opened section of river from the confluence of Soda Creek to the bridge at Sweetbriar. This stretch of river was previously open to catch and release only and limited to anglers fishing artificial lures. Due to recent efforts by United Anglers and several other local fishing groups, the stretch is now open to bait fishermen with a 5 fish daily limit and 10 fish in possession. One angler who was able to get in on the action was Larry Ward, program director for United Anglers of California. "I fished the upper Sacramento on opening day and caught some absolutely gorgeous fish," said Ward. "The river was extremely crowded, but a lot of the fishermen cleared out early and I was able to catch some real quality rainbows." According to Ward, water temperatures were quite cool at first light, and the majority of the active fish were small planters running 10 to 12 inches. "As we got into late morning and temperatures began to warm up, the bigger fish became active," he explained. "I ended up catching a total of 8 fish, keeping a total of 3 fish in the 16 to 18 inch class. Ward's trick to catching the larger native fish was drifting nightcrawlers behind a small split-shot. "The big crowds didn't really bother me because most fishermen are pounding the water with salmon eggs and catching the planters," he explained. "I like to drift a nightcrawler on a #4 Gamakatsu hook for the larger fish." |
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While opening day was very busy, Ward returned the following weekend, May 4 and 5 and literally had the water to himself. "It was marvelous," he explained. "The crowds were down to 10 percent of what they were opening day and the fishing was just as good if not better." Ward fished the same four mile stretch of river from the Soda Creek confluence to Sweetbriar and he also ventured downriver to a few spots below Dog Creek and the Delta Hole. "I caught a total of 9 fish and kept 3 beautiful rainbows, a pair of 18 inchers and a 20 incher. The largest fish I heard of being caught was 21 inches. There were a lot of fish caught on salmon eggs, Panther Martins and Roostertails." "United Anglers made the original request to open this section of river up to bait fishing and several other local fishing groups worked very hard to make it happen," explained Ward. The upper section of river from the Scarlett Way Bridge to Box Canyon Dam is still closed to the taking of fish and limited to barbless hooks and artificial lures. This stretch of river was untouched by the Cantera Loop spill in July of 1991 and is the key to replenishing the entire river with native fish. The section of river below the county bridge at Sweetbriar is also restricted to artificials only, but anglers are allowed to keep two fish here. "The river is in absolutely beautiful shape right now and there are no visible effects from the devastation of 1991," added Ward. "The fish are spawning nicely and the amount of life and vegetation looks exactly like it did prior to the spill." Bob Grace of Ted Fays Fly Shop in Dunsmuir said the entire river has been producing solid action for fly fishermen as well. "The water level is still a little high, but it is lower than it was at this time last year," he explained. "Anglers have been catching some quality rainbows from 14 to 22 inches on a variety of patterns including golden stones, caddis patterns, March browns, parachute adams and prince nymphs." For more information on a trip to the upper Sacramento River, contact Ted Fay's Fly Shop at (530) 235-2969. |
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