The American River is a valley tailwater going through the heart of Sacramento. With runs of Steelhead, Shad, Salmon, and Striped Bass, there are lots of options on this river. Both Nymphing and Spey are wonderful ways to fish this river. The American is best fished from a drift boat, which allows access to much more water than wade fishing. Starting in January, the winter run steelhead season begins, followed by a small run of spring run steelhead till the end of March to the beginning of April. Striped Bass enter the upper stretches of river in April and will stay in the river for a month or two. Beginning in May, the Shad start running. This is the best time on the American as there can be a massive amount of fish in the system. Starting in July the King Salmon start to enter the system. These will stay in the river spawning up until the end of the year. Summer through fall there is a run of Half Pound Steelhead that can be very fun to fish for. The American is a river worth checking out!

Putah Creek is a special tailwater fishery, known as one of the more difficult rivers to fish in California. But don’t let that stop you! This river is known for it’s wary, acrobatic fish, that once hooked will give you a run for your money. Putah Creek is a Heritage Wild Trout water, and for good reason. The rainbows here are all wild, and get very large very fast. Mainly a nymphing river, throwing bugs sizes 18-22 is the norm. Putah Creek is a Barbless Single Artificial river that is 100% catch and release. That means your’e throwing bugs to large, educated fish. Dry fly fishing isn’t very common, due to the insane number of sub surface food opportunities for the fish. Tippet sizes go from 5x-7x. Landing a big fish on light line is no easy task, but that’s the name of the game here at Putah. With Midges and Baetis in the water year round, these fish get very big with a steady supply of food and cold water from Monticello Dam. Less than 45 minutes outside of Sacramento bordering State Highway 128, this is incredible fishery that just keeps you coming back for more. This is Zac’s favorite river close to home.

The Yuba river is a challenging, yet rewarding river. The wild rainbow trout of this river are a very special fish. The fight of these fish are a sight to behold. With wonderful dry fly opportunities this river can be absolutely a blast when the fishing is hot. This river is known for its legendary Skwala Stonefly hatch. There are also great hatches of PMD, BWO, Caddis, and Terrestrials. The Yuba is a river that will test your skills to the fullest, but it can be very rewarding!

The Low Flow section of the Feather River is a unique river to fish. With Fall and Spring runs of steelhead there are definitely quality fish to be had! A great river to drift or wade fish, it can be fished in many different ways. Wether drifting bugs under an indicator, swinging flies, or even euro nymphing for these beautiful anadromous fish, they all work. Zac loves to wade fish the upper reaches of this river, even going out at times with a 3wt tightline setup. This river can be just plain fun!

The Lower Sac can be summed up in one word. Magical. This incredible water situated right below Mt Shasta running through the town of Redding, is a trout addicts paradise. Large wild Rainbows are the name of the game here. The Lower Sac is special in that it fishes great all year long, and there are not many rivers that can boast that feat. With productive trout water from Redding to Red Bluff, this is without a doubt some of the best trout fishing in California, if not the West Coast.