Ted Fay Fly Shop June Report

6/1/2026 Ted Fay Fly Shop Report 

Greetings from the oldest operating fly shop in California, located in the heart of Northern California’s fabled trout-filled rivers! 

Lately at the shop, the banter has been veering towards things of a metaphysical nature. Bob got a singing bowl for his retirement and the shop now has that peaceful, dawning-of-Aquarius vibe that one would expect from a business at the foot of ethereal Mount Shasta. Bob loves to play it, all you have to do is ask him. 

June is one of those months with so much to offer that the main problem is trying to make a decision of where to fish and what to fish for. The rivers are ripe for dry flies, the bass are in the shallows gorging themselves, the hexagenia hatch will close it off…essentially hungry fish are everywhere. Last weekend I was bringing a 15-16 inch rainbow to shore when a monster of a pikeminnow came up and grabbed it mid-section, took off with it and then swallowed it headfirst, leaving only its tail sticking out of its maw. I fought it for a bit and then it spit it out. No fooling! My wife saw it! Get out there and have some fun! 

Tip: Fly line has memory, so if it’s been sitting in the reel for a bit, it will come out spiraled which leads to poor casting, more challenging hook sets, and just doesn’t look pretty. On a warm day, set your hook in a tree branch or fence and then walk out your reel until you reach the backing. Pull it tight and leave that way in the sun for 10-15 minutes. As it is stretching, get some Mucilin and coat your entire fly line. This will help preserve your line, clean it, keep it afloat, give you a smoother and longer cast and help with a better presentation.

Upcoming Events:

• Dunsmuir Railroad Days (June 12–14, 2026): The town's biggest celebration of the year featuring a parade, live music, vendors, and historical displays at the ballpark and downtown. Look out for shows at local spots like the Dunsmuir Brewery Works and Bee Kind Bakery.

• Fly Tying Social Hour June 13th from 4-7pm at Ted Fay Fly Shop 

THE REPORT

Upper Sacramento River

Water Temp: 54 degrees at Cantara 

River Flows at Delta: 570 CFS and dropping

The Golden Stones are starting to show! There is still a smattering of Salmon Flies about. Dry dropper is very effective this time of year (think Chubby with a Brush Hog). The dry fly fishing is better in the mornings and evenings. Fish can be caught mid-day, but when the sun hits, they’re seeking deeper and shadier spots. Switch to nymphing and fish deep. Towards the evening, the fish spread out to feed. Pale Duns and Caddis have been hatching. Use a Light Cahill or other PMD pattern in size 12-14 to imitate the duns and a EC Caddis in size 14-16 for the Caddis. According to Bob and Corey, yellow humpies have also been effective

Nymphs 

Tungsten Bead Black Stone 

Golden Stones

Little Amigos #16-18

Golden Stones

Blowtorch #12-16

Duracells #14-16

Purple Perdigon #16-18

Brush Hog #12

Dries

Parachute Adams #14-18

Light Cahills #14-16

EC Caddis #14-16

Mosquito #16-18

Salmon Flies

Stimulators

Chubby Chernobyls 

Yellow Humpies #12-16

McCloud River

Water Temp: Upper 40s

River Flows Below McCloud Dam: 188 CFS

The McCloud has been busy and that is to be expected this time of the year. When the Golden Stones are hatching, even the most wary fish often lose their restraint and take a well presented fly. If you're willing, or able, to get deep in there, you can find seclusion on the McCloud even on busy weekends. Once again, dry fly fishing is better in the morning and evenings. Tight line nymphing or indicator set-ups work best during mid-day. Make sure you're getting your nymph close to the bottom. Remember, before wading into a hole, try fishing the pockets close to shore. The McCloud has a tendency to hold fish in places not fished by most fisherfolks. For dries: small Caddis, Pale Duns and Yellow Sallies are in the mix as well.

Remember, barbless hooks only on the McCloud. Beware rattlesnakes and poison oak.

Nymphs

Tung Tied Nymphs

S&M Nymphs

Bruised Baetis

Dark Lords #12-16

Little Amigos #16-18

Brush Hogs

Golden Stones

Tungsten Bead Black Stone

Dries:

Parachute Adams #12-16

Mosquito #16-18

Light Cahills

EC Caddis #14-16

BWOs #18

Golden Chubby Chernobyl

Yellow or Orange Stimulators

Lake Siskiyou

Water Temp: Mid to upper 60s

The smallmouth bass bite has been wide open. Find any kind of structure and fish will be there. Use an intermediate line, making quick, jerky and erratic strips, pause and then continue.  A large, bright clouser style streamer works great. Using a loop knot will give your streamer a more life-like presentation. Fishing Caddis dries in the shallows also works great. There are a lot of smaller bass in this lake, but bass in the 2-4 pound range are not uncommon. 5-6 pounders are in there!. 

The trout fishing has been fairly consistent as well. Using a floating or intermediate line, small wooly buggers, micro leeches, zirdles, swimming zug bugs or damsel nymphs are effective. Fish to rising fish with flying ants, mayfly emergers and half-sunken Natural Birdsnests size 16-18. Put a little bit of floatant on your Birdsnest so that it rides in the surface film. I often fish a 2 dry fly set up, using 5x or 6x with a flying ant and a birdnest or mayfly emerger trailing behind. 

Current flows: https://www.tedfay.com/forecasts-flows

- Report by Michael Kielich 

What we keep coming back to the Upper Sac for.

A Sacramento Sucker

A high-country, small stream jewel! Fishing an ant on a 3 wt.

A Golden romance

Memorial Weekend Guide Notes Update

Upper Sac 5/20

It’s dry fly season on the Upper Sac! Prolific hatches are happening in different areas. You can go to one place and see very few and then go to a new spot and there they are. Currently, it’s mostly mayflies, but the golden stones are just starting to show and some salmon flies are still fluttering about. Some small caddis, midges, termites, flying ants and craneflies are in the mix as well. The fish have really fattened up this month as they have been filling up on a variety of options.  In the evenings, the fish are actively feeding at the surface and if presented right, will often hit aggressively. It’s hard to beat seeing a trout come up from the depths and inhale your fly. Today, I pursued a rising fish and got him to rise to my fly 3 times before I finally got the hook set. The last time was by slightly twitching my Golden Stone style Chubby Chernobyl. Fishing a stimulator or golden chubby chernobyl for a dry and a brush hog, duracell, or perdigon dropper is the way to go right now, or just keep it simple and fish a dry fly when the fish are rising. Great smaller flies (size 12-18) are parachute adams, flying ants, mayfly emergers, and mosquitoes. It’s shaping up to be a beautiful end of May!

May Ted Fay Fly Shop Report

Fishing Report 5/1/26 

Upcoming Event: May 1st - 3rd - Dogwood Daze in Dunsmuir: live music, local tours, artisan vendors, kids activities,, and more… Check out the website: https://www.dunsmuir.com/events/dogwood-daze

As of late April, the hatches (March Browns, BWOs, Salmon Flies, Drakes, Termites) are starting to trickle in with some predictability and the dry fly action is starting to pick up. The fish are spread throughout the holes and riffles. If you see dry flies hatching and fish rising, drop the nymphs and switch to dries. When fish are surface feeding, you will likely get more action if you use dry flies rather than keeping your nymphs on. Tip: If you’ve fished over a rising fish for quite some time and haven’t managed to get it to rise, twitch your fly just a smidge and that can often trigger a hesitant fish to strike. Also, if you’ve fished a hole for a bit and the fish have spooked, take a 5 minute break in the shade of an alder, and wait for them to start feeding again. 

Side note: If anyone finds a gray Orvis hat with a caddis fly patch, please take it to Ted Fay Fly Shop and I’ll buy you a dozen flies. I stretched too far to get my flies out of an alder branch, slipped, and went for a swim. I loved that hat!

Upper Sac Report

Water Temp: 57 degrees at Soda Creek bridge (4/30)

River Flows at Delta: 1130 CFS and dropping

Local guides have been reporting success for their clients on the Upper Sac lately. The past three evenings I fished the Upper Sac near Dunsmuir and Soda Creek and had success using a size 14 Parachute Adams (brown) in the riffles and faster runs and a size 16-18 Mosquito for the fish that were slurping in the slower moving sections of the pools and tailouts. In one deeper hole, I was bringing an 8 inch rainbow to the shore and a big brown came out of the depth and swiped at it. I tied on a big streamer and tried to coax him back up, but to no avail. They’re in there, they're just not easy to catch. The rising fish love feeding in the foam lines. There are still some midges, but it’s the mayflies, drakes and salmonflies that make springtime anglers want to quit their day job. The Salmon Fly hatch is starting, so a dry dropper with a large salmon fly or chubby chernobyl and a beaded mayfly nymph is a solid choice. If you’re not seeing hatches, Black Stone Nymphs and Mayfly nymphs imitations are the go tos. Purple and reds continue to be effective colors. Remember, barbless hooks only on the Upper Sac.

Nymphs 

Tungsten Bead Black Stone 

Little Amigos #16-18

Golden Stones

Blowtorch #12-16

Duracells #14-16

Purple Perdigon #16-18

Brush Hog #12

Dries

BWOs #18

Parachute Adams #14-18

March Browns #14-16

Mosquito #16-18

Salmon Flies

Chubby Chernobyls 

McCloud River

Water Temp: 47 degrees (4/27)

River Flows: 292 CFS at Ah Di Nah

Recently, I went down to the McCloud near Ash Camp to do some dry fly fishing because I had heard some reports from locals that some good hatches were happening. I’d also heard some reports of decent nymphing. The journey was beautiful as always and when I arrived a sporadic hatch of small mayflies was bringing fish to the surface. The water was running clear and you could easily spot some of the fish that were feeding. A couple locals were fishing dries in a beautiful run with some success. I tried a couple different flies and had limited success until I tied on a size 18 Mosquito. My wife, who generally feels sorry for the fish, saw that I was having so much fun and gave it a try. She brought a couple to the net, apologized to each one, and called it good. May is a great month to be on this river, especially when the stone flies start hatching in good numbers.  Remember, barbless hooks only on the McCloud.

Nymphs

Tung Tied Nymphs

S&M Nymphs

Bruised Baetis

Dark Lords #12-16

Little Amigos #16-18

Brush Hogs

Tungsten Bead Black Stone

Dries:

Parachute Adams #12-16

Mosquito #16-18

March Browns

Salmon Flies

BWOs

Lake Siskiyou

Temp: 59 degrees and rising quickly (4/30)

Lake Siskiyou had some big temperature swings during April and it generally fished slow. We’re still waiting for it to turn on and it should happen any day now. If you’re not picky, the hatchery just did a big fish plant at the lake, so it should be easy to catch some dumb fish. As the weather warms, the rainbows, browns and smallies will be slurping ants, termites and midges in the debris lines and near shore. Otherwise, strip the usual streamers in blacks, browns and greens. A bit of red always seems to trigger strikes as well. May is the month when the smallmouth bass move into the shallows for their pre-spawn activity. These next 2 months are the best to tie into some of the hard fighting smallies this lake offers.

A lake-run Upper Sac bow

Lake Siskiyou Smallmouth

A gorgeous Upper Sac bow caught on a Parachute Adams

Salmon Flies are hatching!