Underground Fishes Upper Sacramento on April Fools. The Joke’s on Him
By Tom Chandler on Apr 2, 2007 in Underground Entertainment
Spring is perhaps the best time of the year to be young and alive (or in my case, middle-aged and still breathing, though shallowly at times), but let’s be blunt; it can get a little capricious.
Saturday I wasn’t exactly surrounded by big fish feeding with abandon, but there was enough trout eating the March Browns that I hooked a couple?
A good day on the water? Or an April Fools setup by trout hungry for revenge?
Uhh, That Second Choice
Chris Raine, Mike Lucia and myself drove to the site of Saturday’s visit, unfortunately finding several cars and at least one guide on the stretch.
Our fallback produced a very light March Brown hatch, a very light BWO hatch, and zero rising fish.
The joke’s on me.
I even fished a Hare’s Ear soft hackle but found no takers.
Right now, nymphing will bring you fish, and I’ve heard news of a couple locals repeatedly pounding the hell out of a large pod of pre-spawn fish (a report that conjures visions of buffalo being shot from trains)
My 8.5′ Phillipson Power-Pakt. Gorgeous, though in need of a little epoxy.
In honor of my ongoing Phillipson Rod company stories (Part I & Part II) I brought a refinished 8.5′ 5wt Phillipson Power-Pakt, a gorgeous rod that casts even better than it looks.
Sadly, I pulled a ferrule while taking it apart (after 60 years, I guess it’s understandable if the glue dries out), but it’s at Chris’ shop right now, and I expect to have it in hand for more adventures real soon.
What’s in store for the Upper Sacramento?
Flows right now are unseasonably low, and in the hatch department, I get a sense of an engine that’s sputtering and chugging, but not quite ready to start.
Forecast is for largely sunny days but temperatures in the low-to-mid 60s, so we’re not going to see a big surge of runoff this week.
Will the hatches take hold? Or will the trout engineer yet another April Fools for anglers?
Stay tuned. See you on the river, Tom Chandler.
Technorati Tags: fly fishing, upper sac, upper sacramento river, phillipson
Heddon17 | Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
With spawning now in high gear on the Upper Sac perhaps a poster like this one should be put up at the various access points………..
Spawning Poster at Westfly
Brian
Tom Chandler | Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
Thanks! I haven’t seen many redds yet, but it has to start soon.
Brian, I turned the link (running off the page) into clickable text. Great poster, and I downloaded it and will try to put up a link in a couple days.
Heddon17 | Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
You’re welcome!
The fact that you haven’t seen too many redds yet is not surprising since spawning probably has not started in the upper reaches of the river. Spawning up there can go on until late May. I saw several fish still on redds in the Cantera area on Memorial Day Weekend about two years ago.
It’s probably about done down on the very lower sections below Dog Creek, etc.
Educating anglers about redds, how to avoid stepping on them while wading, etc. on the Upper Sac is certainly a good idea. If anglers start getting careless about protecting redds, etc., then it’s possible we could lose the year-round regs on the Upper Sac in the future.
Brian
isaac roman | Apr 2, 2007 | Reply
there are some fiesty wild fish out there. i was a little hung over an the fools day, but it helped me to sit in one spot for a while. threw the dry first pulled a few. but then i tossed some legs and eggs, yeah i know what your thinking, steelie rig—-well the golden stone only brought in one,but those eggs are a protien filled morsel, and mine is yarn and has a hook in it. clutch pattern during the spawn. even the stubborn love them