Mid-June Ted Fay Fly Shop Fishing Report

6/18/26 Ted Fay Fly Shop Report

Sacramento River

Flow: 345 cfs at Delta

There is a smattering of all kinds of insects: small caddis, march browns, yellow sallies, pale morning duns, wasps, ants, termites and a sizable number of golden stones. Though few in number, there are a few green drakes about. On days with a glaring sun and no clouds, fishing is better in the morning or the evenings. On rare cloudy days, even the mid-day can fish well. Tight-line nymphing the bubbly pocket water is a great way to bring fish to the net. Use heavily-weighted small nymphs like a purple perdigon, a brush hog or a tungsten beaded pheasant tail. If fishing a 2 nymph set up, a large stone nymph or cased caddis is always a good choice. Let the nymphs swing at the end of a drift because that often triggers a fish to strike. Golden stones are hatching in the evening and that brings the fish out of the depths to feed.

Green Drake

McCloud River

Flow: 204 cfs at Ah Di Nah

Summer is upon us and days have been in the 90s. River temps in the McCloud stay cool even on the hot days and the river below Ash Camp was 50 degrees at noon yesterday. Patterns like a chubby chernobyl golden stone and a small baetis dropper (Little Amigo, Perdigon, Weiss Nymph) are still the ticket. Just make sure your dropper can get deep. Yesterday, with a dropper-dry set up, even though there were very few surface feeds, more fish were coaxed to take by the dry up until about noon. When the fish want a snack, they are keyed into the goldens. Fish the shady spots, like beneath the giant leaves of the riverside Indian Rhubarb. It’s highly effective to carry 2 rods, one for the dry-dropper and another with an indicator set up, with a heavily weighted stonefly nymph and baetis, so you can get in the deeper spots of holes. At 3:00 a small hatch of march browns started to hatch in the fast water and the fish started to feed. We switched to a Brown Parachute Adams (#16) and coaxed a few fish to strike.  If you see fish rising, don’t hesitate to put away the nymphs and fish a single dry that imitates whatever is hatching!

Indian Rhubarb

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!