Well it has been a great month of fishing. For those of you that were lucky enough to hit the Feather in the last 6 weeks have experienced some of the best steelhead fishing that I have ever seen. It has been a blast to watch you guys light up when that chrome eats your bead and jumps out of the water. In this email you will find a detailed report on the local fishing on the Lower Sac, Yuba, and Feather Rivers. In addition to that you will find DISCOUNTED TRIPS on selected dates in the end of November and start of December.

It is that time of year again where I am offering a handful of discounted trips on the Lower Sac and Yuba Rivers. Here is the deal.........You get a full day trip at the half day cost. That means you save more than 25% off your trip at a price of $275. Check out the dates that I have below.

Discounted Trips: Nov. 27-30, Dec. 1-3, 6-8

Feather - Epic Steelheading

The month of October on the Feather was impressive. I have never seen so many steelhead in the Feather ever since I have been guiding the river. The salmon counts were way up this year and this meant there were lots of eggs for the steelhead to feast upon. For over a month we were averaging 15-20 hookups per day on the river. It was great fun on 6 weights as these chromers ripped line off the reel. Many guys had their first ever steelhead experience and from that have now turned their attention to this famous game fish. Steelhead Junkies in the making.

What is currently going on........the Feather has about a week left before the major run of fish is going to be gone. The salmon are slowly starting to disappear and so are the steelhead that are sitting behind them. There are still fresh fish in the High Flow so they will continue to keep things interesting for another couple of weeks. If you are looking to wade I would expect to hook a handful of fish in all of the standard spots. The hot flies have been eggs, eggs, eggs, and some more eggs. I have tried lots of nymphs the last couple of weeks with minimal success. The next good fishing on the river will be when the upper river by the hatchery opens on January 1st.

Lower Sac - Excellent Trout Fishing

The Lower Sac has been really good the last month. I know that everyone has been complaining about the egg bite not going off up bye Posse Grounds but it you are willing to go down river then there is still lots of great trout fishing to be had. The lower drifts below Balls Ferry have been fishing well. I have been spending the majority of my time either on Balls to Jellys or Barge to Bend. The best part of fishing the lower river is there has been no one else down there. It literally has felt like a private fishery. Most days on the lower river we have been landing 30-40 trout and hooking 1-2 steelhead. Now it doesn't get much better than that. Lots of fish, no crowds, and a handful of steelhead makes for a lot of happy customers. The hot flies on the lower drifts have been rubberlegs, eggs, tan birds nest, and micro mays. The trout have definitely been smaller than the fish on the upper river but there are still lots of high quality trout to keep those smiles going. The only downfall on the lower river is that you are catching the majority of your fish between 9AM and 3PM. After 3PM you might as well go home as the fishing gets extremely tough.

Expect good fishing to remain for a couple of more weeks on the lower river. Once the winter salmon start showing up then it will be time to head back up to the Posse Grounds. For those of you looking to get out around the Holidays then make sure to take advantage of my discounted trips.


Yuba - Great Month But Slowing Up


The Yuba has been solid fishing but not great. Early/Mid October had some really good fishing on the river. I actually had 2 of my largest days ever on the Yuba during October but things have since changed. The Yuba should get better once we get some rain and consistent cloudy weather. The darker conditions will make the egg and baetis fishing much more consistent. The last time I fished the river was last week and the hot flies were rubberlegs, eggs, and small pheasant tails. We were able to land 3 fish on baetis dries as well. The majority of the fish were on the smaller side and the nice ones that we ran into were on the lower river below Hammond Grove. It seems like the bigger fish were still eating eggs behind the handful of salmon that are still spawning. Most days the last couple of weeks sounds like guys are hooking 20-30 rainbows per day. Dont be surprised if you run into a steelhead as this is the time of year that they start showing up.

I hope all of you are doing well and I would like to be the first person to say Happy Thanksgiving. I know this year I am grateful for my family, the ability to make a living as a fishing guide, and for those of you that have become friends over my last 9 years of guiding. Hope your Thanksgiving is a good one.

Tight Lines,
Ryan Johnston

Fishing this fall has been plain ridiculous!!!!! The Feather was on Fire. The Lower Sac continues to put out great numbers of healthy trout in December. For those of you looking to get away from the Holiday Stress then what is better than treating yourself to a great day of trout fishing on the Lower Sac or Yuba Rivers. Expect the next 3-4 weeks to have some solid trout fishing on our local valley rivers. The weather has been gorgeous and most days have been in the low-mid 60s on the river. Good fishing and sunshine in December makes for some very happy fisherman. There is all kinds of good stuff in this post! * Fishing Reports on Sac, Yuba, and Feather * Discounted Fishing Trips in the next 2 weeks * Great Gift Ideas for Christmas I hope all of you have a great Christmas. Thanks for another great year on the river. If it wasn't for you then I would not be able to pursue my passion of chasing these beautiful creatures we call fish. I look forward to all of our adventures in 2012! It is that time of year again where I am offering a handful of discounted trips on the Lower Sac and Yuba Rivers. Here is the deal.........You get a full day trip at the half day cost. That means you save more than 25% off your trip. Check out the dates that I have below. Discounted Trips: Dec. 7, 10, 15-19, 22-23 Lower Sac - Good December Trout Fishing The trout fishing over the last week has been really good for this time of year. The last week I have had several days where we have boated between 25-30 rainbows on the Sac. The key has been to find the drift with the most consistent action. The last 2 days on the river I have floated from Anderson River Park down to Balls Ferry. The action has been really good with trout in the 12-16" class. The hot flies have been eggs, small tan birds nest, Hogan's S&M, and an olive micro may. There really has been no reason to change your flies as the fish just bounce up and down your rig the entire day. What too expect in the upcoming weeks.......as long as we have consistent weather then the fishing should stay solid on those middle drifts. For those of you looking to hook a few steelhead then there are still a handful of chromers down below barge hole. Lots of options for those of you looking to get out around the holidays. Yuba - Good Trout Fishing Coming Soon Things are getting close again on the Yuba. For those of you looking for some good winter trout fishing then the Yuba is a viable option in December/January. This time of year we often have shots of throwing blue wing olive dries, nymphing with egg patterns, and even hooking the random steelhead. This time of year expect to hook about 20 rainbows per day on a variety of patterns and methods. Hot flies are going to be rubberlegs, eggs, Hogans S&M, small flashback PTs, and zebra midges. Often times in the winter we run into random Feather Steelhead or the big Winter Steelhead. Only the lucky ones land the big dogs but the truly put all of us to the test. Feather - Thank You For an Incredible Season! I am totally bummed that the Feather does not get a bigger run of fish that continues through the winter. It was a fantastic year over there. Seriously the best I have seen in my 9 years of guiding. For those of you that are really looking to find some fish then there are still a handful of steelhead on the river. I have heard some random reports over the last couple of weeks of guys catching a few. The next real good fishing window is going to be after the opener on January 1st. After the opener there should be a couple decent weeks of catching these chromers before the go into the hatchery. Hot flies are going to be eggs, Hogans S&M, Flashback PTs, Alevins, and olive birds nests. For those of you that are looking into the near future my calendar is open to start booking steelhead trips in March/April. April is a prime month on the river and these dates are going to fill up quickly. Email me if you want dates that far in advance. Christmas Shopping List! Christmas is here and often times we are left wondering what we should buy for our family and friends. Well this year give the gift of fly fishing. Below are some options: Gift Certificates: For any $ amount. Buy a full day trip or give a $50 gift certificate to be used on their next trip. Tell the family and put this on your list! Alternative Gift: Someone already have everything.....then make a donation to Cast Hope in their honor and we will send them a Christmas Card notifying them of the donation. Send a kid fly fishing this Christmas. Check out the website at www.casthope.org for more information. Tight Lines!

I took 2 of my regular clients out on the Lower Sac and the fishing was absolutely ridiculous. It was seriously the best February day of fishing that I have ever had in 9 years of guiding. Today was one of those days that seemed like nothing could go wrong. We boated over 50+ rainbows, 3 steelhead in the 20-22" range, and caught 2 fish on dry flies. I think I had a little taste of heaven today. SPRING CADDIS have already started. Today fished like the first of March. There was caddis hatching throughout the day and the fish were on the grab. I think as long as the warm weather holds then there is going to be great fishing on the Lower Sac in the next couple of weeks. If you are into lots of action and pulling on a bunch of fish then you need to get out there. Now all of the trips might not be 50 fish days but there a lot of hungry fish willing to eat your fly. I still have Feb. 9, 11-12, 14-17 open in the next couple of weeks. They are forecasting a 70 degree day on Thursday and those caddis are going to come off strong with that warm weather. Let me know if you want to get in some last minute fishing for a screaming deal of $295. Tight Lines!

The Dry Fly Fishing has been the best I have ever seen it in the valley. The Skwala fishing on the Yuba has been solid. Nothing better than aggressive strikes from rainbows blowing up on a stonefly dry. While the Yuba is more known for dry fly fishing what has been impressive is the amount of fish looking up on the Lower Sac. If you hit one of those warm days when the bugs come out there are fish eating on the top everywhere. I have had multiple days where we have literally thrown dry flies for 2+ hours. I have never seen it this way. Now all we need is some warm weather to get those bugs happy again. Bring those 4 weights!!!

What is the big news in my life? Maggie just started walking two weeks ago. It is so amazing to see the progression and learning process that children go through. Even though she is doing the slow Frankenstein walk I am one proud papa. What a fun ride we have begun.

In this post you will find a handful of openings that I have in the upcoming months, a fishing report on the Yuba, Sac, Feather, and of course couple big fish shots from February. Hope you are well and are getting to tug on some fish this winter.


Spring Openings

We are approaching prime time on the valley rivers. From now until mid May the Lower Sac, Yuba, and Feather are going to have great fishing. If you have been putting off booking a trip now is the time to do so. As you can see below the calendar is filling up. Don't Miss Out!

March: 24-25 (Sat/Sun), 26-27

April: 11, 20, 24, 27, 30

May: 8-11, 13-18, 20-25, 26-28 (Memorial Day Weekend), 29-31


Current Fishing Reports

Some of the best fishing of the year is just around the corner. For those dry fly fisherman out there the Yuba is going to be prime. The Skwala Hatch is starting to wrap up and the March Browns will be coming out soon. The March Brown hatch is the best hatch of the year!!! Big mayflies floating down the river get those rainbows really happy. If you are into throwing dries to picky feisty rainbows then there is no better time of year. For nymphing on the Yuba the best bugs have been rubberlegs, copper johns, and Hogans S&M.


The Lower Sac has been really good the last 3 weeks. The caddis hatch is in full swing and the PMDs have already begun hatching. With a plethora of bugs out those Lower Sac fish have been hungry. If you want lots of numbers and good dry fly fishing then the Lower Drifts have been best. But if you are chasing the big boys then you can readily catch 18-20" rainbows up in town. This is literally my favorite time of year on the Sac. With more warm weather coming the fishing is going to be really good. Hot flies have been all your prince nymph variations, micro mays, mercers pmd nymph, and Hogans S&M.


The Feather spring steelhead season is getting really close. I have already heard a couple reports of some early fish in the system. I wont be heading over there for another couple of weeks but I am getting pumped to fish for these little chromers. By far my favorite venue of the valley. If you have not checked out the Feather then the spring is a great time to do that. You will never see a river fish move so fast in your life!!! If its anything like last year then we are in for a treat. Get in on the action from mid March to mid May.



Tight Lines!

Had a fun evening shad fishing last night with John and Linda from Lafayette. We had 25+ fish to hand and probably missed another dozen grabs. We started fishing around 5PM and got off the river right at dark. Most of the normal Chico River spots had plenty of fish in them. It was Lindas first time throwing a shooting head so it took some practice for her to get used to the line but she ended up doing great and landing about half of the fish.

Still have some openings this week if anyone is interested.

Tight Lines!

The summer fishing has been REALLY GOOD. The weather is cooling off and I have some prime openings for guys looking to fish the next couple weekends. Thats right you can come hang out in the boat in the next couple of weeks and save a few bucks! These will be the last discounted trips for a long time. So those of you looking to save a couple dollars here is your last chance. Check out the details below. Email ryan.johnston@hotmail.com to reserve your spot.

Lower Sac & Yuba

The Lower Sac has been really solid this summer. We have been having some great days with these higher flows. The lower drifts from Balls Ferry to Bend have been good to excellent with most days hooking close to 50 fish. While the upper drifts have been good fishing for those big fiesty rainbows. So if you want lots of action then now is the time to get out. Perfect time to bring out those family members that have never done it before.

The warm water fishing around Chico has been solid. There are still a handful of big stripers around if you are looking for a big fish. Last week I hooked 2 fish in the 15lb. class. Throw in a mix of smaller stripers, a handful of small mouth, and then finish the day throwing top water for largemouth and it can be a really fun day.

This is your last time to hit the Yuba Hopper Game before it is over! There are a couple more weeks left for you dry fly guys. Then come the end of the month the egg bite is going to start. So reserve your spot now if you want to hit the Yuba during the most ridiculous time of the year. From September 20th through October 15th the Yuba is amazing!


$100 OFF - Next 2 Weekends
Aug. 24-25 (Fri. - Sat.) & Aug 31 (Fri.)
Sept. 2-3 (Labor Day Weekend)

EGG BITE IS COMING! RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW! PRIME OPENINGS BELOW.

Yuba - Sept 24, 26, 30, Oct. 2-4

Lower Sac - Oct. 7-8, 12-13, 16, 19, 25-28

Feather - Nov. 1, 3-18


Tight Lines!

The last three weeks have been impressive. Lots of great days of steelhead fishing have been taking place in the valley. If you are itching to get on the water and feel the fight of these feisty fish then now is the time to get out there. Only a couple more weeks left for the valley steelhead game. I have a couple prime time openings still available to fish the Feather or Lower Sections of the Sac. Below is my current openings and full fishing report.

Current Openings: Nov. 19, 25-28, 30 and Dec. 3-8, 10-12, 14-18, 20-21, 23

Feather River
Putting out year after year!

The fishing on the Feather has been awesome this fall. The great news is that our salmon population is holding on later than normal this year. We have small groups of salmon still making their way into the system and creating an egg bite that is lasting longer than normal. Expect the Feather to fish through Thanksgiving weekend this year. Right now we are hooking about 15 steelhead per day. Not to many places can boast of numbers like these. If you are into catching some pissed off fish then now is the time to give it a try. Fish in the 19-23" class are common and we are seeing a 25-26" about every 3 days. Call me ASAP for my only opening next week!

Lower Sacramento River
Old Reliable!

The Sac has been solid the last couple of weeks. I have been putting all of my focus on the lower stretches of late. Fishing from Balls to Jellys Ferry and Red Bluff to Los Molinos has been good. For those of you looking to do some trout fishing and run into a couple of steelhead then the next two weeks is the time to do that. The Lower Drifts have been putting out about 20-25 trout per day and a couple shots at some big steelhead. Just this last Saturday a client hooked a fish that was probably 8 lbs. If you are into rolling the dice and looking for those monsters then Red Bluff is the drift for you. You throw in a bunch of trout to keep you interested then it turns into a really fun day. Call ASAP for my last openings this month.

Yuba River
If you treat me nice I might give you some dry fly loving!

The Yuba like the Feather has had some decent late season fishing. There are still a few salmon in the river that are keeping a handful of fish eating eggs. I would call the fishing fairly average with most days resulting in 20ish hookups. The best part is there has been a blue wing olive hatch in the afternoons that has been getting the fish looking up. This last weekend we were able to throw dry flies for about 2 hours in the afternoon with fish rising to our flies consistently. So if you are looking for some good winter fishing then the Yuba can produce some decent nymphing with solid dry fly fishing thrown in the mix.

Tight Lines,
Ryan Johnston
ryan.johnston@hotmail.com

Hey guys. I had some cancellations for this week and wanted to see if anyone was interested in some last minute deals. Right now the only rivers that I guide that are fishable are the Yuba and Feather. Both are fishing well. If I had to choose one then I would opt for the Yuba as I think that gives us the best opportunity of having a great day.

Well here is the deal. You pay $295 and get a full day of guided fishing. Right now I have this Monday - Wednesday, Dec. 17-19 open at this rate. That is 30% off the normal rate of $425. Email me asap at ryan.johnston@hotmail.com if you want to get in on some good winter fishing.

Tight Lines,
Ryan

I hope that all of you had a good holiday season. I can tell you one thing for sure is that I am glad that we are having some consistent dry weather after all of the rain we had in December. In December I was seriouslly thinking about going back to skiing and putting up my fly rods. Well the good news is that with all of this dry weather the rivers have dropped into shape and are currently in their good winter fishing patterns. This is a report of all of our local Northern California Valley Rivers that I guide. I hope that you find this report helpful.

<b>Yuba:</b> The Yuba has been fishing good with most days resutling in about 15-20 hookups. The key on the Yuba right now is to find the large groups of fish. If you can find a couple pods of fish then you will do really well. It seems to me that the river is fishing best below the big island. I have started to see some major changes over the last year where the lower river is getting better and bettter while there are times above the island when it is hard to catch fish. Maybe its a confidence thing but see if you notice any difference. Hot flies have been eggs and rubberlegs. Nothing wrong with throwing that. This is also the time of year that we see a decent number of steelhead in the system so dont be surprised to run into a 20-23" fish over there right now.

<b>Lower Sac:</b> The Sac is definitely in its winter trend. No need to get out there early as the fishing isnt really going till about 11AM. Time wise 11AM - 3PM is your window to really put the hammer to them. Before and after you can catch some fish but it is tough fishing for Sac standards. Most days on the river we have been landing about 20 rainbows. Currently the best drifts have been from Bonnyview down to Anderson and Anderson to Balls Ferry. There is better odds at biggger fish on the upper river and more numbers below Anderson. The hot flies have been eggs, rubberlegs, Hogans SM, and Hogans Red Headed Step Child. There has been a small baetis hatch in the early afternoon if the sun is out.

<b>Feather:</b> The Feather is fishing really well on the upper parts of the river near the hatchery. However with the flows being up the wading access is difficult. If you are a strong wader and are willing to get into some deeper areas then there is excellent nymphing to be had with egg patterns. This only has about one week to go as a lot of the fish are starting to get really dark. Last Friday it was a mix bag of half fresh fish and half downers. If you are in the need for an easy access steelhead itch then this is your last shot until spring time.

Well....that is all the information that I have. If you are looking to do some fishing in the next month then I have some limited openings. Email me at ryan@rjsflytrips.com for openings. Im currently running my winter special where if you book 1 trip then you get a second trip 50% off. The only catch is that all of the trips have to take place by March 7th.

I hope all of you guys are doing well.

Take Care,
Ryan Johnston
www.rjsflytrips.com
www.casthope.org

I hope this note finds all of you well. One thing I know for sure that this March Madness has been insane on the court and on the river. Now on the river my clients and I are doing really well. The Lower Sac has been en fuego for a month! Now on the other side of things my bracket is a mess. I will admit that this year I only predicted one team right for the final four. But lets be honest who picked Wichita State to go this deep. Well enough about my ramblings onto the fishing.

The Lower Sac from Posse down to Balls Ferry has been really good. Most days right now we are hooking 50+ rainbows. The best fishing right now is in the afternoon so no need to get on the river early. You can get some love in the morning but it has really been an afternoon delight. From 1PM to 5PM the fishing have really been dialed into those mayfly hatches. Currently there are March Browns, PMDS, and baetis hatching in good numbers. It seems like the majority of the caddis hatch is over by this point. By far the March Browns are dominating the food source. Hot flies have been pheasant tails, eng things, dark lords, prince nymphs, yellow egg, etc. Good luck in finding the yellow egg as it seems that most shops have received an egg with a bad set of dye. So make sure the yellow egg you are buying is actually yellow and not whiteish with a touch of pink.

I havent been on the Feather or the Yuba for the last three weeks so I dont have any current information for you there. But there should be a decent number of steelhead on the Feather by this point and the March Browns/PMDs should be thick on the Yuba.

For those of you looking to do some fishing with me then my schedule is really booked up the next six weeks. my next openings are: May 17, 21-24, 28-31, June 2-5, 7, 9-12, 14, 16.

Now remember for those of you looking to do some shad fishing the best dates for shad around Chico is the first two weeks of June. June 2-16 are prime shad dates.

Tight Lines.

Ryan Johnston
www.rjsflytrips.com

My post last week said good fishing was days away with the rain and we were right on. I got out one day last week during the dark rain conditions and we caught more big fish that day than I have in the last 2-3 weeks. We landed lots of nice 18-20" rainbows on eggs and small nymphs.The reality is the best winter fishing happens on overcast and rainy days. Looking at the 10 day forecast there is lots of good fishing coming all next week. Forecast for Redding - http://www.weather.com/weather/tenda...+USCA0922:1:US. I have lots of openings for next week. It is going to be wet. So bring your waders, put on a good rain jacket, and lets go catch some big rainbows on the Sac.


Below is a short fishing report of current conditions:


Lower Sac: I have been fishing the Sac the last couple of weeks and the river is fishing pretty normal with most days resulting in 20-25 rainbows to the boat. If you fish the lower sections of the river then there are still a handful of steelhead to be caught. Hot flies right now are beads, small pheasant tails, Hogan's S&M, small prince nymphs, and pmd nypmhs. The egg fishing should be awesome in the rainy weather.


Yuba: I fished the Yuba this last week and had decent fishing. We hooked 15+ rainbows on eggs and small mayflies. Plus had an hour of some technical blue wing olive fishing in the flats. We got a couple of fish on size 18 & 20 blue wing emergers. The Skwalas are starting to hatch on the Yuba but the rainy weather will slow that hatch down. Generally you want really warm conditions. So wait for some warm dry weather over the next couple of weeks and get out there if you are hunting Skwala fishing. Once the skwalas are done expect to start seeing some March Browns by the end of February. Hot flies on the Yuba were eggs, red copper johns, Hogans S&M, and an olive Fox Poopah.


Feather: The Feather is over by this time of the year. Expect the next big run of fish to show up in the spring time. Generally the springers show up in March and then stay around till the middle parts of May. Expect late March through April to be prime time. This has become a very popular destination for me in the spring time so make sure to reserve your spots ahead of time. These are the hottest fish that you will ever find in the valley.

Openings:

$100 Off Select Dates:

February 6, 8-9 (Sat/Sun), 10-12, 14


Presidents Week Openings:

February 15 (Sat) & 17-20, 22

*Remember parents - Some kids have this week off!


Spring Openings:

February 25-27


March 2-9, 18-26, 28, 30-31


April 2-12, 14-17, 21-30


Email to ryan@rjsflytrips.com with any questions or if you want to reserve dates. Thanks for the support guys.