Ted Fay Report : May 12, 2017

The Upper and Lower Sac are running big but fish are being caught. The Lower Sac went back up to 13,000cfs over the weekend but the fish did not seem to be bothered. It’s a great time to be out on it while the temps are mild. A recent trip on it used a combo of running drifts from the boat and getting out to fish buckets and side channels …. very effective and cooling. The Upper Sac remains high due to the melt but targeting the edges will be your best bet. It’s running north of 2000cfs but keep an eye on it, once she drops below that benchmark many more locations open up. The McCloud River has been seeing dam releases bouncing around from 900cfs to 550cfs and is currently back up to 800cfs. Once again snow melt is the culprit here. It’s is all about the edges still, the fish want that path of least resistance where their food is easier pickings.

If you have any further questions please call the shop and when you are in the area pop in and bug Bob.

Cheers

Rick Cox

www.wildwatersflyfishing.com

www.mccloudflyfishing.com

Ted Fay Report : May 5, 2017

The mighty McCloud

The Snow melt has kicked in after 80 degree weather the last few days. The Upper Sac is now at 4500 cfs, way BIG, and the McCloud is running at 900cfs at Ah Di Na. PG&E has stated that the McCloud Dam release will hold steady at the 900 cfs mark for the rest of May unless there is an extreme weather event. The river at 900 cfs is approachable but be careful....edges, edges is the key for finding fish. The shots below were taken last Saturday on my visit to Ah Di Na Campground and beyond. As you can see there are fallen trees at the campground but people/diehards camping. The water was not on and alot of cleanup had to be done. Also I was able to drive to the Preserve parking lot but there are trees blocking access into some of the rough camp sites. Of note the river has received a major scouring so be prepared to witness a different looking river when you visit .... just as beautiful as usual though.

Ah Di Na tree damage

Note the scouring

Note how high the river got

A kayaker actually shot these falls recently on the Upper McCloud and survived with a black eye.

If you have any further questions please call the shop and when you are in the area stop in and bug Uncle Bob.

Cheers

Rick Cox

www.mccloudflyfishing.com

www.wildwatersflyfishing.com 

Ted Fay Report : April 28, 2017

Here's a statement released yesterday from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest regarding the road situation into Ah Di Na......

Today, additional work is being completed to clear some rocks off of the roadway and the large tree has been cleared as well. The road will be open to the USFS Campground by this evening (April 27).  

NEXT WEEK:  We will have a temporary road closure on MAY 4 (next Thursday); to complete the permanent fix at Battle Creek.  The road will be closed to vehicles entering and anyone exiting should be prepared to wait until after mid-afternoon before the road will be passable again.

FOLLOWING WEEK:  We will have a partial road closure on May 8 (following Monday) to repair the culvert and small hole in the road approximately ¼ mile further up the road from Battle Creek.  There is room to go around this spot, but we will need to hold vehicles when the equipment is on the road doing the repair.

Ash Camp: The Hawkins Creek road below McCloud Dam is passable but down to ONE LANE.  Please be cautious when driving around the corner; it is narrow with limited sight distance.

Current flows this morning at Ah Di Na are down to 900 cfs, still very high but at least dropping. Lots of snow to melt though, hot days forecast next week.

Rick Cox

Ted Fay Report : April 26, 2017

            Celebrating

     A New Fishing Season

The holiest of days is close and I'm sure the twitches are settling in for all you die hards. As you know and can witness below the north state is experiencing the results of the record setting Winter. Current conditions on most of our rivers present marginal fishing until all this settles down. The nonstop march of storms from the Pacific is predicted to finally end and a normal Spring with dry sunny weather is in the long range forecast. Right now the best option for those who have to pay their respects Saturday is Hat Creek. I recently paid a visit to it and enjoyed the great work Caltrout has put into it's restoration between Power House 2 and Carbon Bridge. Although hatches were very sparse I noticed feeding fish dimpling under the surface. The down side here is it will be CROWDED for the opener. Otherwise all the other local rivers are big and dangerous. The saving grace is all are slowly dropping so a window of opportunity will soon present itself until the high mountain melt starts when the weather warms. Recent info from the Forest Service snow survey shows the McCloud watershed water content running about 105% above normal and the Mt. Shasta content about 109%. The Upper Sac River should be approachable by this weekend for high water spots that open up when flows drop below 2000cfs. The McCloud River is pumping water out of the dam and is a beast. For those of you who just have to get on it be prepared for lots of walking/hiking between spots, it's presently running about 1100cfs at Ah Di Na which is big (normally 250-300cfs summer). Attempting crossings on either river is suicidal. Figure hanging on a branch with one hand and casting with the other. Also, good news, the Lower Sac flows have dropped from 30,000 to a more manageable 20,000 cfs and great reports are coming in for fish being caught ... nothing like a beautiful Spring day float in May for this river....give us a shout!

Now for those who are concerned about the McCloud River access to Ah Di Na and the Conservancy. I had a discussion yesterday with 3 different Forest Service administrators. They said they are attempting to open up the road and make it temporarily available for the opener by Friday. If the government doesn't experience a shutdown they will then close the road next week and do a more permanent fix. They mentioned they have a very large tree blocking the road entirely and another washout past the Battle Creek culvert washout to deal with.

Stay tuned kids, more updates to follow. The up side on all this, fishing will be stellar all the way through summer.

Zen Thought Of The Day ..... What do you call a fly fishing guide who looses his girlfriend? HOMELESS!

If you have any further questions please call the shop and when you are in the area stop in and bug Uncle Bob.

Cheers

Rick Cox

www.wildwatersflyfishing.com

www.mccloudflyfishing.com

Ted Fay Report : April 6, 2017

Upper Sac Is A Beast At 5000cfs

Been awhile but there really hasn't been much to write about due to Mother Nature's relentless record setting winter here in Dogpatch..... 90 inches of rain and climbing right now, it's raining again of COURSE!. It has been one spanking after another for us. Really, this whole thing has put the big hurt on any and all fishing/guiding. There has been a brief window or two but nothing to write home about. We are now realizing the results of this whole thing and it is not pretty for us and all you sports itching to get out of the house and up here. Options to start the season are and will continue to be limited. To start off the McCloud River access is in jepaordy for its opener on April 29. Here's an email I got from the Forest Service yesterday, not pretty when you think about they haven't even been able to assess the road beyond this washout to Ah Di Na. I am sure there are snow drifts, downed trees, washouts which cannot be accessed until this is repaired ........ 

I hate sending these messages, this year it seems like there are several of them. We have been out doing storm damage assessments to the roads with the recent snowmelt and we found another one that is impassible to fishing sites. The road to Ah-Di-Na is currently not driveable from the Battle Creek road crossing. This is the first creek crossing when you turn on the dirt road to Ah-Di-Na from the reservoir (38N53). This is obviously going to cause many problems with accessing the McCloud River. I was also told the road heading to Ash Camp being problematic just beyond the road to the McCloud Dam where the road has been slowly degrading. My understanding is our road crew is currently doing repairs to the Fenders Ferrry road which was also blown out in parts. Please let others know of the condition of the roads to the McCloud River. I know this will create major headaches with the upcoming opening of the McCloud River fishing season. I will keep you all posted as I find out more information.

This sucks of course. There's a butt load of snow in the surrounding mountains yet to melt so at best for those streams that are accessible expect high water conditions. I will be posting a up to date report in a couple of weeks to bring you the latest and nastiest news prior to the "opener".

 Road to Ah Di Na Is Toast

In the mean time I think I picked the right year to honeymoon in Hawaii and The Azores .... really did not miss much here this winter other than sitting in the bar with my buddies whining and/or taking up knitting.

Comfort Food From The Azores

If you have any further questions call the shop and when you are in the area stop in and say howdy to Bob.

Cheers

Rick Cox

www.mccloudflyfishing.com

www.wildwatersflyfishing.com