April Ted Fay Fly Shop Report
Bob Grace
Ted Fay Fly Shop Fishing Report 4/1/26
Correction from last week: The creek that flows into the McCloud at Ash Camp is called Hawkins Creek, not Ash Creek. (Thanks Steve!)
On the River Stories
A report from a reportedly reputable person said that an Oregonian, from Ashland, came last week and was fishing a small BWO dry somewhere near the Bikini Hole on the Upper Sac and landed a 24 inch Rainbow. He had a picture to prove it. Dang! Well ain’t that somethin’? You might ask, “Where is the bikini hole?”, but that is a different story for a different time and it might just get someone in trouble and I don’t want to reveal his NEW favorite hole. But enough of these musings: here’s the fishing report!
Upper Sac Report
Water Temp: 50 degrees in Dunsmuir
Current River Flows at Delta: 800 CFS
The weather had been in the 70s for the past couple weeks, which is unusual, so the seasonal changes are earlier this year. I have been seeing a march brown here and there, small caddis and small baetis, but not too much yet. There have been lots of midges hovering over the surface on some days. We have a short bit of winter-like weather coming back, but the warm weather returns by this weekend. Fishing reports for the last week of March were good for some, with healthy rainbows brought to the net. On the days that I fished, the fish seemed to be holding more towards the middle and the tails of holes. The majority of the fish I have been catching are on an 8 or 10 Black Tungsten Stonefly (see pic) and a Purple Perdigon in sizes 16 or 18. Corey and Jessica, the new owners at Ted Fay Fly Shop, report that purple and red have been the good colors lately. It’s about time for the Golden Stones to start hatching, so if you see them, put on a stimulator and do a dry-dropper set up. The water is clear, so spend a bit of time looking for fish in holes before you start casting. Remember, barbless hooks only on the Upper Sac.
Nymphs
Tungsten Bead Black Stone
Golden Stones
Blowtorch #12-16
Duracells #14-16
Purple Perdigon #16-18
Lemurian Soft Hackle PT
Dries
BWOs #18
March Browns #14-16
Caddis #16-18
McCloud River
Water Temp: 47 degrees
Current River Flows at Ah Di Nah: 240 cfs
According to Ted Fay Fly Shop, the few reports that were coming from the McCloud is that it was fishing decent, so I thought I’d go check it out on March 30th. It was an overcast late afternoon with an air temp of 61 degrees and water temp of 47 degrees. The water was clear. The Indian Rhubarb and dogwoods were starting to bloom. Very few bugs were hatching but I saw a few risers on small caddis and some tiny midges. I used an Elk Hair Caddis with a small baetis dropper underneath. I started to catch or get a grab here and there on the dropper throughout the hole I was fishing, but most of the fish were small (8-10 inches), had little fight in them, and were skinny and silver. This is the second time in a month that I’ve been down there and caught these cookie cutter fish that don’t look like McCloud River fish and I’ve come to the conclusion that these are fish that washed over the McCloud Reservoir dam during recent flooding and are now in the upper reaches of the river. Another fisherman was down there with a Euro Nymph set up and he had been managing to land a few smaller fish, mostly with a Red Tag nymph. He caught one nice 15 inch brown fishing a tail out. I decided to walk about a half mile down river and try it there. Sure enough, I caught 3 or 4 fish and they all had that distinctive McCloud look and they fought like a vigorous McCloud rainbow ought. The fish were in pocket water and deeper slots. These fish haven’t had the pressure of a whole summer, so as it’s turning on, the fishing will get better, especially when the Golden Stones start hatching. April will be a good bet to get on this river to catch some hungry fish. The road to Ah Di Nah is open, but the campground is still closed. Remember, only barbless hooks may be used.
Nymphs
Brush Hogs
Duracells #14-16
Tungsten Bead Black Stone
Golden Stone Nymphs
Zebra Midges #16-18
Red Tag Nymph #12-14
Lake Siskiyou
Water Temp: mid 50s
As I’m writing this report, Lake Siskiyou is in the process of turning over, where the stratified layers of the lake mix together. The water is a bit murky and there has been very little surface activity, but as long as the Spring-time weather holds, this is about to change. Reports have been mixed, but those who know where the fish are holding are finding success. Stripping wooly buggers, balanced leaches under an indicator and chironomids are the go-tos right now, but callibaetis will start showing soon.
Feisty Upper Sac Bow
This McCloud Bow fell for a baetis dropper
Blooming Indian Rhubarb
-Thank you to Michael Kielich for this report!