Mid-September Guide Notes
Bob Grace
9/15/26 Ted Fay Fly Shop Mid-Month Report
Upper Sacramento River
Upper Sacramento River
Water Temp: Mid 50s in Dunsmuir
River Flows at Delta: 224 CFS
I went out this weekend, during the late afternoon to one of my favorite holes to see if I could catch some lake-run rainbows. It’s a fairly deep hole, so I set my indicator at 7-8 feet above my lead fly, put on some extra weight, and caught quite a few nice healthy fish out of that one hole. 4 or 5 were caught on a Black Tungsten Stone, but a couple were caught on a size 16 Olive Little Amigo. The sooner you can get your flies to dead drift near the bottom the sooner you’re in the sweet spot. Although they were on the smaller side (12-14”s), they were full of feist. As for the rest of the river, catch rates have been hit or miss, with some fishermen reporting good success, while others have sporadic success.. Ted Fay Fly Shop posted a pic of a whopper of a rainbow that was caught this week. Baby Assassins, Black Brassies, Rubber Leg Stones, Blow Torches, Little Amigos, Caddis Pupas continue to be some great patterns. As for hatches, they haven’t really started too much yet, but that will change soon. The river is moving into some of its prime months! Get ready!
McCloud River
Water Temp: Upper 40s at Ash Camp
River flows at Ah Di Nah: 195 CFS
I recently guided on the McCloud and had some success, 6 or 7 rainbows, to the net. I had remembered having success using a Robinson’s Hares Ear (orange) at the end of the summer a few years ago and that is what the fish wanted on this particular day. Two were caught on a tungsten black stone, the rest on the hares ear. We did see a large brown deep in a hole, but it showed no interest in anything that we tried to coax it with. Rubber leg stones are standard for this river and are a great fly for a chance of hooking a big brown as well as rainbows.
The large black bear is still being aggressive towards people at the Conservancy and Ah Di Nah. It charged a fisherman last week and he (the fisherman) decided to leave the area promptly. This bear is a serious problem, so if you go down there be careful and carry pepper spray.
Nice Rainbow
Sneaky fish