The Upper Sac will probably be very high.  You might try local lakes.  Manzanita Lake could be good, and you can fish it by wading, if you don't have a floatation device with you.  Mike

I hope you have good conditions down there on the McCloud.  It seems they have been pulse flowing it quite a bit the last few years.  Try to get an updated report while in Redding.  Maybe they are done doing that this year, I dunno.  Not trying to burst your bubble but try to find out right before you go.  It's a long angry drive back out of the canyon if it looks like a milk truck drove into the river.  Trust me it's happened to me more than once, no matter if the internet says it's 350 cfs...best of luck. 

One of my buddies is up there right now Bob, so things are good.  If it's warming up a little the big stones will be moving underwater if not hatching already.  Big rubberlegs or 20 incher stones with whatever on the bottom, they will be on the stones more....matter of fact you said you are a couple weeks out still, by then the golden stones should be going.  I'm a stoner junkie, errrr....I meant stonefly junkie.  Other hatches should be kickin by then too. 

Had an awesome day Friday on the Lower Sac with the hardest working guide on the river, Ryan Johnson. Despite a bump in flows that spooked the fish he put us in the right spots again and again and we boated 20 fish for 29 hookups. Biggest was 17 inches. It was my first time with a guide and first time in a drift boat and Ryan was very patient and a great teacher. I learned a lot about playing fish.

Saturday morning we stopped at Ted Fays in Dunsmuir to get the latest conditions on the McCloud...they told us the flows were perfect but the river was jammed with anglers. There were 2 other guys in the shop going to the same spot. When we got there 90 minutes later it was just the 4 of us... Ah-di-nah was empty and there were no cars. They went upstream and we went down. We tangled with 3 rattlers before we got to the river but started hitting fish as soon as we got there. I was 4 for 5 and got 3 on a dark prince nymph and the other on a red copper John. Biggest about 12 inches. There were fish rising to bwos too. They went to sleep about noon and we didnt get another grab and left to drive home at 2pm. Amazing place to fish and we had it to ourselves all day. Happy days.