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We Boldly Predict Rain On the McCloud & Upper Sac (or, It's Raining As I Write This)

By Tom Chandler 10/23/2010

It's coming down pretty good (6:30 am, current forecast here), and for all the fly fishermen who typically populate the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers this time of year (including several clubs), waking up to the sound of a driving rain on the roof isn't listed on anyone's "Ten Favorite Things To Hear On A Fly Fishing Trip" bucket list.

Fly fishermen have a love/hate relationship with rain; a little damp drizzle or light rain tends to fire the BWOs (or simply keep them on the water longer), which brings up the trout.

It can also start washing October Caddis into the river, turning the biggest trout you'll see all year into real surface-feeding predators.

On the other hand, the heavy stuff - especially when driven by a little 15 mph wind (the case now) - isn't so helpful.

We've all fished those days where - despite swaddling yourself in the finest rain gear money can buy - you end up sloshing a little by lunch, and by the time you get back to your home/hotel/tent/cave, you're a wrinkled, pasty-looking "before" picture for an anti-aging product advertisement.

Flows on the Upper Sacramento have only gone up 40 cfs or so, suggesting we haven't seen much rain yet (probable), though the forecast for today and Sunday is simply "rain."

My hints for rainy day survival on the Upper Sacramento && McCloud Rivers?

The Big Bug
A little spike in flows can really get the trout feeding. I try to cover a lot of water using a big October Caddis dry, and I've been reminded a couple dozen times that shallow bankside feeding lanes can be hugely productive ("reminded" as in catching a great big trout out of nine inches of water after wading through miles of similar water without fishing it).

Just before noon, I try to find myself on a good BWO flat - a smooth-ish stretch of water that offers plenty of places for trout to feed, yet is bordered on its upstream end by a long riffle.

A good riffle is a bug factory (especially BWOs), and because trout aren't stupid (at least when it comes to lunch), they'll tend to congregate in the better chow lines.

And trust me - after you've put down a handful of these spooky fall trout - the availability of a few more is a real silver lining.

In ugly terms, more rising fish means more chances to work the kinks out of your small bug/wary trout game, and some of us experience a lot of kinks.

Finally, a lot of the water that creeps inside our little protective bubble of high-dollar Gore-Tex sneaks in through our sleeves, so make sure those neoprene wading jacket cuffs are reasonably tight.

See you in the rain, Tom Chandler

AuthorPicture

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.

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