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The Upper Sacramento Fly Fishing Report: I Told You. But Did You Listen?

By Tom Chandler 12/8/2008

A week ago I told the Undergrounders the October Caddis bite was continuing, and that those without financial responsibilities (or a poorly defined moral sense about these things) should head up for stellar dry fly fishing.

Hell, I even threw you a bone about a couple good places to eat.

Well, Undergrounders, your time is waning; Wayne Eng and I found the October Caddis bite (the big, big dry) still working on the Upper Sacramento, though it's clearly winding down.

Wayne Eng fly fishing the Upper Sacramento River
One of only a few pictures worth showing; Wayne high-sticks a big dry.

Is there still time to abandon your family and catch trout on big dries in the afternoon? Probably. Will it last forever? Certainly not.

By this time last year, we were past our first big snow storm of the year, and I was well into my wrestling match with Satan's Snowblower.

This year, it's been cold at night, but the days are clear and sunny, temporarily prolonging the October Caddis dry fly bite.

In truth, it's something to marvel at; you're wearing layers of warm clothing, the water's cold enough to sting your fingers, there's ice on the rocks, yet good-sized trout are eating #8 dry flies off the surface.

Fly Fishing By the Numbers
Wayne and I descended into a canyon section of the river, looking not so much for numbers of trout as a couple better specimens. It didn't work out that way - I landed four in the footlong range and lost more than that to slow/poor/limp-wristed hook sets (it's a big fly), and Wayne did about the same.

Rainbow trout gill plate
Closeup, flash-lit photo of today's star attraction; these trout are gorgeous.

Leaves carpet the banks of the river, and trees are completely bare. In short, it's what winter looks like on the Upper Sacramento (sans snow, and we're going to talk about that in a bit).

The canyon stretch was dark enough that 80% of the pictures were unusable due to camera shake (the result of too little light and too-slow shutter speeds).

I fished an 8.5' 5wt Steffen Brothers fiberglass fly rod, which Wayne tried and promptly wanted to steal. One thing's true of good glass rods - everybody who tries one is well and truly surprised by the experience, and about half want to buy one immediately.

Tom Chandler Fly Fishing the Upper Sacramento River
Our intrepid blogger trying to be sneaky (I missed this fish). [Wayne Eng photo]

I've said it before (and because I post often I'm doomed to repeat myself), given the dueling aspects of cost, durability and the demands of under-60' casts and playing fish on fine tippets, there probably isn't a better material for trout fly rods than fiberglass.

And speaking of gear, I test flew a new Patagonia soft shell jacket - something worth a post in the near future.

Soft shell technology is firmly rooted in other outdoor sports (mountaineering, skiing, etc), and we're seeing it trickle into fly fishing clothing, and I'll give you the reasons why you might (and might not) want to look at it.

See you on the (still largely empty) river, Tom Chandler.

An old Superglide transmission?
Wayne tentatively identified this as a Chevy Superglide Powerglide transmission. It's been there forever.

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Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

12 comments
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Exactly how are old auto parts making it from the Little Stinking to the Upper Sacramento? (And many pound test line did it take to land it?)
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Methinks me knows exaaaaaactly where you guys was! But I won't tell.
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Drifted the Lower Sac today. There were no October Caddis in Redding, no ice on the rocks, just some really insane bridge construction, a couple nice fish and a day of staring at yarn balls... somehow, I think I should have pushed up another hour and high sticked some O.C.'s. Great post and great photos. I miss stopping by Wayne's after a day on the water.
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Beautiful pictures as always...That looks like my kind of water with lots of fast runs and nice big pockets. Scenery like that makes it worth the trip even if there weren't fish there not too mention the great colors on that 'bow!
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Actually, powerglides are super simple and very durable, and are used all over the place for drag racing. But back to fishing... I think I would like the added durability of a fiberglass rod, but I have never had the chance to play with one.
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Alex....You are correct powerglides are a two speed automatic tranny put in chevys from the early 50's to the mid 60's we called them slipomatics .A good tranny for a granny but not street racing..Superglides are cool Myrna Rae had one I had a Electra glide both shovel -heads by Harley-Davidson...I may have been misquoted...The Steffen Bros. rod is smooth as Oban single malt and nice to look at to!......maybe ... more Thomas will let me fish it again....E.t.
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Great images. Might Wayne have been thinking of a Powerglide? I think a superglide is a morotcycle. :)
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Every time I read your reports I want to get in my car and make the 15 hour drive and wet a line in this river.
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as always, great photos and and write-up. I've been using soft shells on the water over the past couple seasons, pretty tough skin to beat. Lightweight and functional, they feel less bulky than wearing a hard shell, especially with waders. I look forward to your upcoming soft shell post.
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Don: Wayne's no fool - it was steep climb out, and should the rod fail to return to the loving embrace of its owner, well... accidents happen. That's all I'm saying here. Jolyon: I switch between cane and glass pretty easily (they cast similarly), and any thought that I'm favoring one over the other is probably just circumstance. I tend to fish glass when I'm traveling (traveling with glass is less ... more stressful); I'll use graphite when I'm planning to throw streamers and sinking lines (warranty, baby); and I fished the Steffen this time because the descent into the canyon required the use of two free hands, and the 4-pc Steffen fit into my pack. Seems to me I use rods in streaks, and in fact, a lot of this year's October Caddis trips (I don't blog every local fishing trip) saw me fishing a Raine 8' Upper Sac Special. I've long said I'm not a partisan in the cane wars; I fish the things not because they confer some kind of moral superiority (and there are fly fishermen who think they do), but because they feel - to me anyway - like a fly rod is supposed to feel. That's true of a some glass rods too, notably the Steffens, the 8.5' 4wt and 8' 5wt Diamondglass rods, etc.
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"I've said it before (and because I post often I'm doomed to repeat myself), given the dueling aspects of cost, durability and the demands of lt;60′ casts and playing fish on fine tippets, there probably isn't a better material for trout fly rods than fiberglass." Tom, you seem to have been using glass more and cane less recently, or is that just my imagination? As you have both -- and in spades ... more -- is there a reason? Is there much difference between the two and if not why have I spent so much on cane recently (gnash, wail)? J
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Those Steffen Bros. glass rods really send me too. Ergo, there must be an omission of the facts to your story. I find it very hard to believe that Wayne just gave the rod back. That doesn't make any sense at all! You must know where he lives or something.
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