Just back from an awesome trip to the upper sac. and mccloud rivers. Got there last wendsday about 10 a.m started fishing about noon at the cantara loop access area and only caught 2 rainbows in about 3 hours of fishing, had a few other missed hits I think. Then it happened, I finnally fell in the river . Not a good start to my trip. Fished about an hour after that and it got Freakin cold. Next day I decide to try the mccloud river. Went to a place called lakin dam. Fished all morning and didnt even get a hit or see a fish. I hiked several miles that morning and eventually the river was no more then a small stream. Ok, time to go somewhere else, When i finnally got back to the parking lot I starting reading some of the fish info. that was posted. Apparently there are no rainbows in this section, It's managed specifically for the mccloud redband trout (looks like a golden) and rainbows were basically erraticated form this area to prevent crossbreeding and the decline of the species. Ok, so thats why I'm not having any action. Would have been cool to catch a redband though. So I move on the a spot called lower falls, At this point its intermittant hail and rain showers, Man it was cold ! Started working some small pools below the falls and BAM, starting getting into wild rainbows instantly, Mostly 6 to 8 inchers. So I work upstream and come to this big water fall with a really big pool deep pool below it, I new this was gonna be good. I knew getting down deep enough was gonna be a problem, Ran back to the car, And got my 6 weight with a sinktip line. Used a very long leader, with shot, Yeah, shot and a sinktip, Thats what it took for me to get to the bottom but once I did it was on, I picked off at least 15 nice quality rainbows, Bueatifullly colored wild fish and some really bright and quality holdovers, All these fish averaged a solid 14 inches, with several 16's mixed in. Getting a little late now, and its really starting to rain hard, Did I mention it was freaking freezing cold ! Next day it was way to cold to get on the water before about 10:30 a.m. went to the same large pool and damn, to many people already there. From maps I knew there were 2 more large water falls upstream, So I jump in the car and start looking around. Found a spot called middle falls, Walk over and take from a vista point and I new this was gonna be epic when I saw that Large pool below this HUGE water fall, Not a soul in sight to. Gear up and start heading down, Its quit a walk down a steep trail, even worse coming up after a day of fishing. Start out with my same sinktip with shot setup, and it was on from the first few casts, Landed at least twenty fish from this one pool, again A good mix of wild and holdovers that were alot like wild fsih, Largest was a good 16 inches, again most fish were around 14 inches, And a first for me, I landed my largest ever brookie from this pool, about 15 inches, and I also caught a nice brown about 16 inches, A triple play all in one day from one pool, Its was awesome fishing this day, Did I mention it was freezing cold ! Fished that one pool for about 6 hours that day. That night alot of the mountains around mount. shasta got a good coating of snow. next morning again was way to cold to get on the water before about 10:30 and it was still 40 degrees. Started this morning on the sac. at a spot called soda creek. On this morning there was a good hatch of small white colored mayflies coming off, about size 18. Fished a dry for awhile and didnt get anything. switched over to some nymphs and landed two nice fish 15 and 12 inchers. But I wanted more action, So agin take a ride up the road a ways and hit the same large pool on the mcccloud i did the day before, again fishing was excellent another awesome day I'd say about 15 rainbows caught and landed this day. the mccloud has now become my favorite river, its awesome, Its a bueatiful river and it has just the type of water I like to fish. Did I mention it was cold ! I think this was my best trip of the year and I've had plenty of trips this year. I never get tired of looking at that huge mountain up there, It is amazingly bueatiful country up there. I'll be fishing the mccloud alot more from now on. The fish in that river are the brightess colored fish I have ever caught. But I cant remeber the last time I was so damn cold ! I now have mixed emotions when it comes to the upper sac.
heres the only pic. I got. I charged my camera battery but i guess its done, Cause it died after taking one pic. But thats ok the pics in my head will last a lifetime. This guy was a holdover planter. I kept 2 for the grill one day and I'll tell ya they were really good eating, They were dark red meated just like good salmon is. I also forgot to add that alot of the rainbows I caught had some cutthroat in em, alot had a bright orange slash under there jaw. Did I mention it was cold, HaHa. I wish i was still up there freezin my behind off. I also found a pair of sunglasses in the sac. river when I picked them up wouldnt you know it, covered with new zealand mud snails. So I have seen the ways to get rid of them with formula 409 or bt freezing your waders. What the heck are you suppose to do if your fished mutiple rivers without access to a freezer or formula 409 after all i dont keep household cleaners in my tackle bag. So I checked my boots and waders really good and put them in a cooler with ice overnight then warmed em with the car heater on the way to the fishing spots. i hoped that worked. -- Edited by thecaptain at 15:03, 2007-10-07
thats just bad as, bet the brookie put up a fight, i remember catchin some brookie planters back in new york that definitly could put up a good fight, and this one being native i bet it was a blast. awsome job cappy. oh by the way is it me or does that water look stupid cold.
well hope to see you on the putah soon
again thanks the neos
__________________
Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
ok i was puttin it lightly, shoot almost looks like ice on that water, they heck with that. but i am glad that you had a blast. did you happen to read my new post from my outing on the 5th, lets just say a broken rod aint gonna stop me, a few leaks and or ozs of water in my waders aint gonna stop me from landing a 24" putah pig.
trust me on this, those waders got there full use worth that day, even fell in too, didnt get to wet, but it would have really sucked had i not had them.
would have been miserable
__________________
Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
Congrats. on that putah pig. I guess we all fall in or take a spill now and again. The rocks are mostly all lava rock up there and its alot more slippery then the granite rock that makes up the sierras that i'm used to fishing. Anyway I always figure if ya just stay the course and keep fishing the day usually turns out pretty good more times then not. Glad the waders are workin out for ya.
Nice report Captain. I hope it isn't quite so cold this weekend when I am up there. Makes me glad I booked a place with a fireplace in case my friend or I take a swim. I was wondering what you were using on the sinktip in the deep water? While we are planning to focus on the Upper Sac, we might drive over to the McCloud one day and give it a shot.
By the way, my friend Andan and I went up there last October specifically to catch a redband for our heritage trout certificate. We went to a stream north of the McCloud river and had a devil of a time catching them in 38 degree water. They are pretty fish however. I attached a picture of one we caught.
. Not a good start to my trip. Fished about an hour after that and it got Freakin cold. Next day I decide to try the mccloud river. Went to a place called lakin dam. Fished all morning and didnt even get a hit or see a fish. I hiked several miles that morning and eventually the river was no more then a small stream. Ok, time to go somewhere else, When i finnally got back to the parking lot I starting reading some of the fish info. that was posted. Apparently there are no rainbows in this section, It's managed specifically for the mccloud redband trout (looks like a golden) and rainbows were basically erraticated form this area to prevent crossbreeding and the decline of the species. Ok, so thats why I'm not having any action. Would have been cool to catch a redband though. So I move on the a spot called lower falls, At this point its intermittant hail and rain showers, Man it was cold ! Started working some small pools below the falls and BAM, starting getting into wild rainbows instantly, Mostly 6 to 8 inchers. So I work upstream and come to this big water fall with a really big pool deep pool below it, I new this was gonna be good. I knew getting down deep enough was gonna be a problem, Ran back to the car, And got my 6 weight with a sinktip line. Used a very long leader, with shot, Yeah, shot and a sinktip, Thats what it took for me to get to the bottom but once I did it was on, I picked off at least 15 nice quality rainbows, Bueatifullly colored wild fish and some really bright and quality holdovers, All these fish averaged a solid 14 inches, with several 16's mixed in. Getting a little late now, and its really starting to rain hard, Did I mention it was freaking freezing cold ! Next day it was way to cold to get on the water before about 10:30 a.m. went to the same large pool and damn, to many people already there. From maps I knew there were 2 more large water falls upstream, So I jump in the car and start looking around. Found a spot called middle falls, Walk over and take from a vista point and I new this was gonna be epic when I saw that Large pool below this HUGE water fall, Not a soul in sight to. Gear up and start heading down, Its quit a walk down a steep trail, even worse coming up after a day of fishing. Start out with my same sinktip with shot setup, and it was on from the first few casts, Landed at least twenty fish from this one pool, again A good mix of wild and holdovers that were alot like wild fsih, Largest was a good 16 inches, again most fish were around 14 inches, And a first for me, I landed my largest ever brookie from this pool, about 15 inches, and I also caught a nice brown about 16 inches, A triple play all in one day from one pool, Its was awesome fishing this day, Did I mention it was freezing cold ! Fished that one pool for about 6 hours that day. That night alot of the mountains around mount. shasta got a good coating of snow. next morning again was way to cold to get on the water before about 10:30 and it was still 40 degrees. Started this morning on the sac. at a spot called soda creek. On this morning there was a good hatch of small white colored mayflies coming off, about size 18. Fished a dry for awhile and didnt get anything. switched over to some nymphs and landed two nice fish 15 and 12 inchers. But I wanted more action, So agin take a ride up the road a ways and hit the same large pool on the mcccloud i did the day before, again fishing was excellent another awesome day I'd say about 15 rainbows caught and landed this day. the mccloud has now become my favorite river, its awesome, Its a bueatiful river and it has just the type of water I like to fish. Did I mention it was cold ! I think this was my best trip of the year and I've had plenty of trips this year. I never get tired of looking at that huge mountain up there, It is amazingly bueatiful country up there. I'll be fishing the mccloud alot more from now on. The fish in that river are the brightess colored fish I have ever caught. But I cant remeber the last time I was so damn cold ! I now have mixed emotions when it comes to the upper sac.
