Even though I’m too deadlined to leave my office and go fly fishing (the beautiful spring weather is clearly designed to taunt me personally), I’m cursed blessed with friends eager to relate their fly fishing news.

Sure, friends like that could drive a lesser blogger to drink to excess (and don’t think I haven’t considered it), and with that in mind, I’m taking those lemons and turning them into hard lemon cider (hic).

Here’s the Underground’s Local Fly Fishing Forecast & Report (hic).

The Upper Sacramento River

On the Underground’s Ancestral Waters, the flows barely bumped up during the recent hot spell and the visible snow is going fast, so there will be no big runoff event this year. Right now the Upper Sac’s running 1300 and falling, and while the river’s far from comletely wadeable, it is plenty fishable in places – and it will get better every day.

This weekend might be OK; next week will certainly be better, and while the Harmonic Convergence of Work won’t clear for me until the end of next week, expect an evening or two worth of reports between now and then.

The McCloud River

Hawkins Creek flows are diminishing fast, and as a result, the McCloud’s fast becoming fishable, though it’s the most fishable (by far) between the McCloud Reservoir dam and Hawkins.

Someone in my Online Marketing Boot Camp class said he saw/photographed/worked rising fish two evenings ago, and that plenty of salmonflies were in evidence. (I think I don’t like him very much now either.)

UPDATE: A little birdy tells me the McCloud’s fishing was hot the last couple days. (We report, you cast.)

The Pit River

Local guide Craig Neilsen hit what he described as an “epic” hatch on the Pit, and while guides do have a vested interested in getting you hyped about the fly fishing, Neilsen’s not really in that category.

Want to catch fish? the Pit’s your best bet right now.

UPDATE: A little birdy tells me the Pit’s fishing even hotter than the McCloud. (We report, you salivate.)

The Rogue

Dave Roberts reports the Rogue is running high (4800 cfs), an amount he considers borderline unfishable. The salmonflies aren’t really showing yet. Before they kicked up the flows, the Holy Water looked interesting, but now it’s awfully high too.

The Small Stuff

A lot of the smaller streams in the area are rounding nicely into shape, though don’t think for a second I’m going to point you directly at any of them.

Let’s face reality here: I believe all the small streams in the area are mine to rule as I see fit, and the fact that others get to fish them is simply an unfortunate reality based on my inability to cheat the laws of physics and be in two places at one time. (Tomorrow’s post: Living With Megalomania in the Age of Blogging.)

Still, if you’ve had your eye on a small stream, consider giving it a shot earlier rather than later; the third year of low snowpack means a lot of the small streams will be running thin and hot come summer, and while “thin and hot” is an admirable description for a girlfriend/boyfriend, it isn’t a prescription for fly fishing success.

The Bugs

At this point, you leave the house without a fair number of stonefly patterns (both the salmonfly and the golden stones) at your own peril, though it is a little early for most rivers.

You might expect to see some caddis in places, and the Pink Alberts were already starting to pop on the Upper Sacramento.

The Trout Underground’s Secret Fly Pattern Tip of the Day

Ants.

And not the tiny little ones, but the decent-sized carpenter and flying ants. I’m looking at one right now on the outside of my office window (the teasing bastard). They work, and they work well. Don’t leave home without ‘em.

Bob Grace at the Ted Fay Fly Shop reports seeing most of his ant patterns go otu the door, though more are due tomorrow (now today).

See you in my office (you dirtbags), Tom [I'm not Bitter] Chandler.

Posted in Fishing Report, Upper Sacramento and tagged , , , , , , .