The Upper Sacramento River is an odd mix of tailwater and freestone river; even when the Box Canyon Dam releases are controlled, the river picks up a lot of water from its tribs.
I fished the river last Friday, and was surprised at the flows and lack of clarity.
Later, flows at the delta peaked at 4,060 cfs, which is pretty damned unfishable on 99% of the river, and though they dropped to 600 cfs, I can guarantee they’re headed back upwards – it started raining steadily again this morning. (Check the latest flows here.)
Now that’s some spike in flows, and it’s headed back upwards.
Once again, I’d suggest a lake instead of the Upper Sacramento River, and – typically – we haven’t heard anything from PG&E about the repairs on the McCloud (which was initially projected to return to normal flows on the 7th).
Meanwhile, it’s a typical fall up here: the fishing’s uncertain, but there’s plenty to do getting ready for winter.
Chris Raine is building and shipping his hollowuilt bamboo fly rods again, the local guides are largely sick of guiding sports (yet are still looking for a couple more trips to round out the season), and
Dave Roberts is tying flies in the separate building he had built because all his fly tying junk paraphenalia couldn’t be made to fit in a spare bedroom any more. He’s promised me a picture of a handy little BWO Quigley Cripple style emerger, which I’ll print as soon as I get it.
See you anywhere but the River, Tom Chandler.
Powered by ScribeFire.
