Ted Fay Report : April 26, 2024

USac is BIG

Back in not so ancient times on planet earth tomorrow would be among the holiest and most sacred day, the traditional opening of trout season which occurred on the last Saturday in April. Anglers and flyfishers would be in a frenzy making plans on where they were going to fish, but alas that was yesterday, so now most but not all rivers are open all year. My plans would be to avoid the crowds on the opener and wait till the next weekend (I had a real job then). So now it’s just another day in the park/river.

The USac is bumping around 2-3k and moving fast so my suggestion is to avoid it for now. On the other hand the McCloud is definitely fishable. Flows out of the dam are about 260cfs and around 400cfs at Ah Di Nah. A recent report from Chris D. showed he was catching fish predominately on legs and LBS (Little Black Shit), check out his pics below. I suggest you take advantage of this clarity as soon as you can, over the last few years when Mud Creek starts flowing the river has clouded up due to extreme turbitity, just a heads up.

I want to make a big shoutout to a new bakery startup in Dunsmuir. It’s a legit bakery and the real deal that in my estimation is the best between Redding and Ashland. Its name is Bee Kind Bakery and y’all know I’m a pastry whore.

https://beekindcatering.com/index.html checkout the pics below and checkout their hours.

Cheers

Rick Cox

USac bank to bank

Tributaries are full on USac

McCloud River perfect color Photo by Chris Devine

Purdy McCloud bow. Photo by Chris Devine

McCloud little mighty warrior bow. Photo by Chris Devine

Bee Kind Bakery Dunsmuir

Pastry Porn from Bee Kind Bakery

Pastry Porn Bee Kind Bakery

Ted Fay Report : April 14, 2024

Full of snow

Well boys I’m back. Been on the disabled list for about 9 months but I am back in the saddle. Woke up this morning to snow but the rest of the week is going to be stellar. USac is running just under 3k but this is the time of the year when the river runs like a roller coaster when the snow melts. Made a trip down to Ash Camp on the McCloud River on a 70 degree day last week and it was great to see the river, it really warmed my cockles to see it as it was waking up from a long winters sleep. BWO’s were hatching on this warm day but no fish were feeding on top.. If you are thinking of fishing it soon think little black shit. Access across the dam and down to Ash Camp is great and on the day I was there we had it all to ourselves. The river is running about 265 cfs out of the dam and visibility was 3-5 feet. Time to get jiggy!

Cheers

Rick Cox

Snow day

USac running bank to bank

Ash Camp

McCloud River is looking bueno

McCloud River is looking muy bueno

Hawkins Creek running full

Brother Wayne fishing the McCloud River

Ted Fay Report : June 13, 2023

Time to get excited and get your game face on. The USac has dropped to 1.4k which is on the high side but fishable and continues to show signs of a steady drop in flows. As long as there’s no prolonged heat wave in the high country y’all should be good to go. However be careful wading, I just heard of an angler being swept downstream recently into some sweepers but fortunately he had a knife on him and was able to do a rapid extraction. The McCloud River is a bit milky but flows are normal. Ah Di Nah campground is open and so is the Conservancy. Both rivers are showing signs of hatching Salmonflies. Golden Stones, caddis and mayflies. June is always prime time for hatches, absolutely my favorite time to throw dries.

Just a heads up, I’m going on the DL for some time so this will be my last report for some time. All questions should be directed to Bob at the shop.

Cheers

Rick Cox

High water fishing USac

Get out and enjoy a pastry or three