Best Flies for Upper Sacramento River (California)

What's hatching now

Month, insect, size, and pattern from the Upper Sacramento River hatch chart. August is highlighted when that month exists in the chart. We do not invent a hatch that is not on the chart.

Nymphs

Subsurface patterns matched to this river's chart and catalog. Fish them at the size the chart lists, not the size that looks good in the bin.

Midge

Zebra Midge

The Zebra Midge is the simplest and most effective midge pattern ever designed. A thread body with wire rib an

Size #16

Soft Hackle Carrot

A hare's-ear-bodied nymph with a fluorescent-orange Glo Brite rib, CDC hackle, and a shrimp-pink ice-dub colla

Sizes #12–#18

Nymph

Nymph

Tungsten Soft Hackle Hare's Ear

Old Dominion Trout Bum's tungsten-bead jig take on the soft hackle hare's ear — a euro-style emerger with a CD

Sizes #14–#18

Nymph

Beadhead Caddis Pupa

This simple caddis pupa imitation features a dubbed body with a contrasting thorax and a soft hackle collar su

Sizes #12–#18

Egan's GTi Caddis

A weighted Hydropsychidae (net-builder) caddis larva with a contrasting shellback, designed around Hare-Tron d

Sizes #10–#14

Nymph

Emerger

Emerging Caddis Pupa

This pattern captures the explosive moment when a caddis pupa ascends through the water column and breaks thro

Size #12

Dries

Dries and terrestrials for the Upper Sacramento River. If the chart says a size 18 PMD, do not start with a 12.

BWO Sparkle Dun

Craig Mathews design. Z-lon shuck, deer hair wing. Size 18-20 for spring BWOs.

Size #14

Dry

Dry

BWO Parachute

The BWO Parachute is a specific-color Adams variant tied to match the ubiquitous Blue-Winged Olive mayfly hatc

Size #16

Dry

Sparkle Dun

Craig Mathews' Sparkle Dun combines a deer hair fan wing with a Z-lon trailing shuck, bridging the gap between

Size #14

Dry

Stimulator

Randall Kaufmann's Stimulator is a large, buoyant attractor dry fly that suggests adult stoneflies, caddis, an

Size #8

Dry

Elk Hair Caddis

Al Troth's Elk Hair Caddis is the definitive adult caddis imitation. The palmered hackle body and tent-shaped

Sizes #12–#18

Dry

X-Caddis

Craig Mathews' X-Caddis omits the hackle of an Elk Hair Caddis, creating a lower-riding fly that hangs in the

Size #14

Terrestrial

Dave's Hopper

Dave Whitlock's Hopper is the original modern grasshopper imitation, featuring a spun deer hair head, knotted

Size #6

Dry

Goddard Caddis

John Goddard and Cliff Henry's spun deer hair caddis is the most buoyant caddis imitation ever conceived. The

Size #10

Egan's Corn-Fed Caddis

A heavy-winged CDC caddis dry with a Super Fine dubbed body, Antron shuck, Trigger Point overwing, and a CDC h

Size #12

Dry

Front End Loader Caddis

A hackle-stacker elk hair caddis with a Callibaetis Super Fine body, Glo Brite tag, and grizzly hackle wrapped

Size #10

Dry

Streamers

Streamers and wets for stained water, banks, and low light. This is not a claim that streamers are "on" today.

Wet

Soft Hackle Hare's Ear

A Hare's Ear body with a soft Hungarian partridge hackle collar, designed to be swung across and downstream to

Size #12

Wet

Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail

A marriage of the Pheasant Tail Nymph and soft hackle tradition, this pattern fishes brilliantly on the swing.

Size #14

Setup

4X and 5X cover most nymphing. 4X on dries until the fish get picky, then 5X. A 3.0–3.8mm tungsten on the point and a lighter dropper is a default until you see the water. Tight-line the near bank and the heads of pockets. Use an indicator only when you need to search water you cannot euro.

FAQ

What flies work on the Upper Sacramento River?

Start with BWO Sparkle Dun and BWO Parachute, then match size to the hatch chart for the month you are standing in. The Upper Sacramento River does not need a 40-pattern box. It needs the right size on the insect that is actually in the drift.

When is the best time to fly fish the Upper Sacramento River?

The editorial window we list is May, June, July, August, September. That is a planning month range, not a guarantee. Shoulder months can fish well if flows and water temperature cooperate.

Do I need a guide on the Upper Sacramento River?

California has walk-up wade water and, on some sections, float water. A guide is worth it for a first float or a technical tailwater. A hatch chart and a gauge are enough for a first wade if you already nymph. We list local guides and shops on this page when we have them.

Where can I see live flow for the Upper Sacramento River?

Open the Upper Sacramento River river page for the USGS gauge, access notes, and the same hatch chart this fly list is built from. We do not publish other people's spots or fish counts.

Is this a report of what's working now on the Upper Sacramento River?

No. Executive Angler does not publish other anglers' catches, GPS, or a crowdsourced hot fly. This page is hatch-chart patterns plus catalog flies. Presence on the river page is gauge and weather only.

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