Humbled in Northern California Fishing Report

Thanks for reading my humbled in California Fishing Report. Oh yes, it’s been quite a week, with not many fish caught by me.

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King salmon, right next to me, old and moldy.

On Monday, Alex brought me fly fishing on (in, we were wading) the Feather River. As we walked on top of a berm to the fishing spot, I spotted what I mistakenly thought was a pair of otters. Turned out they were 20-pound Chinook or king salmon. The river was full of them. They were oldy and moldy, on redds. There’s an emergency closure on all angling for chinooks in California- we were after steelhead. Alex got one about 20 inches long, but we weren’t close to each other, so no photo. I hooked two kings, one in the butt (I broke it off) and one somehow in the mouth. It shook the hook, a good thing. No fish for me.

A BIG trout at the Trinity Fly Shop.

Tuesday found us steelheading on the Trinity River. We stopped at the Trinity Fly Shop first, then spent several very chilly hours in the river. I had one bite from a guppy, and we were properly skunked.

We stopped by the Sundial Bridge in Redding on the way home.

Alex had to work on Wednesday, so I soloed it on the upper Sacramento River. I met a very kind angler by the name of Eric in the parking area. He took me down the river, giving me pointers as we walked. We got to the “spot”, then split up.

The Sacramento River, one view.

My only fish of the week.

I fished a couple hours without a bite. Large, round boulders made wading difficult, a recurring them out here. The erudite fly fisher here carries a wading staff. I’ve never used one, never having seen the need, but the need here is painfully obvious!

The spot where I captured the beast.

Working my way back up the river, I ran into Eric again. He’d gotten two little ones, and was leaving to go somewhere else. I stayed, and at the next spot I got the first fish I’ve caught in California, a rainbow trout that may have been eight inches long. At least if didn’t have any parr marks! Hey, it was a fish!

Imagine these rocks under 2-3 feet of water and covered with algae- that’s what I was wading in.

I managed to fall down, not in the river, without hurting myself. My feet slid out from under me on a steep slope cover with pine needles and leaves. BOOM! Down I went. Humbling.

Mexican sage, in the genus Salvia.

Thursday Allison and I visited three parks, one of which had an herb garden. The most interesting from a fishing standpoint was the Horsetown Clear Creek Preserve. From the top of the gorge, we could look down into the water and watch salmon fanning their redds, just awesome. I’d like to visit with a fly rod…

Manzanita tree, common in these parts.

On Friday, Maxx and I went to the upper Sacramento again, a different spot this time. Again, tough wading. Again, I got skunked. Again, I fell down, tripping on a stick. Maxx hooked three fish, lost one while the photo guy fumbled with his phone, lost one on his own, and got the other. Not real big, but good for him!

Maxx with one of his fish on the upper Sacramento.

Saturday was our last fishing day. We went out, on the lower Sacramento River in Alex’s new drift boat. Would I get a real fish? Would any of us?

Messing with the boat.

As it turns out, I once again stank up the boat with a solid skunking. Maxx, however, caught three wild rainbow trout, one of which was respectable. I got to row Alex’s boat, a Clackacraft, which rows like a dream. I was impressed with it. We had a great time, and I enjoyed spending the day with my sons way more than any minor disappointment from not catching a fish. Maxx got some- we were good.

Maxx, hooked up. Alex, on the oars.

His first.

His second.

The last one, up close. Courtesy Maxx Kumiski.

There are so many mountains, so many trout streams connected to the Sacramento River- check out the watershed map below.

That’s the humbled in California Fishing Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on a road trip! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

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