Seeking Advice for N. Cal in May

J

Jasonalm

Smolt
Looking to do a 4 day trip to fish N. Cal rivers the 1st week of May. Thinking floating the Lower Sac 1 day with a guide, 1 day hitting the highway pulloffs on the Upper Sac (not sure if where I'm thinking about is actually the upper part of the lower Sac), and then a day or two on the McCloud, Pitt, or other smaller creek. My questions are:

Is this likely going to put us in high water season? If so, are there enough good spring creeks options to keep us busy?

What would be a good central location to stay that has a cool small town vibe? Dunsmuir?

Any other moving water that we shouldn't miss if in the area?

Appreciate any enlightenment!
 
If you have any interest in lakes there are several very good ones in the area, need a means to get on them. Good backup if rivers are blown. Lower Sac below the dam is almost always fishable and a great tail water. The Fly Shop website has good intel on all the NorCal waters. Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir has excellent food, lots of lodging options, including rail cars. Chicken fried steak is the best. Friend and his son liked it. Mt. Shasta city has a couple nice food options, probably some lodging options and not far to McLoud and Pit.
 
If you haven't been on the Fall River, easily the nicest spring creek/river in Ca with outstanding fish on tap, do yourself a favor and make it a destination, and May usually features an outstanding PMD hatch.
The Fly Shop in Redding would be a good source regarding lodging (the Circle 7 Ranch being one of them), electric boat rentals (a must) or guided trip.
 
If you stay in Dunsmuir make sure to stop at Yak's, it's the best burger joint I've ever been to.

The Lower Sac should be pretty good with some great caddis hatches. Wade fishing options in town are good and I THINK the flows are still low for most of May. They ramp up flows in the summer so make sure and check in to that.

I don't have a ton of Upper Sac experience. The McCloud is insanely beautiful but it seems to shut off every single time I approach the river. it's always "shoulda been here yesterday!!" I still highly recommend it.

If you do the Pit River, bring a buddy. Wading is really really gnarly and the hike in and out is a steep rugged canyon in a lot of places. It's not a place you want to break an ankle and get stranded. I love the Pit but I won't fish it alone.

An interesting nearby lake option in Baum Lake outside of Burney. It's a small reservoir above the famous fly fishing section of Hat Creek. It has a million cookie cutter stocked browns and bows, and also some VERY large wild rainbows and browns. In May when the weeds grow out you can stalk big cruising bows sipping callibaetis emergers. A couple years ago I fished for this cruising bow that probably went 24" for two hours, only to be foiled by a bad knot when he finally took the fly. I love Baum Lake, it's one of my favorite places.

I never fished Hat Creek very much. I know they've done a lot of restoration efforts in recent years so it's probably worth checking out.

The Fall River is cool as hell. Access is a bit limited and you can't launch a boat with a gas motor at the CalTrout access. I've only fished it during the Hex hatch and it's a lot of fun.

Looking the other direction, the Trinity will probably be crap, but Lewiston Lake can be an absolute blast. It's feast or famine there, at least in my experience. It has some wadable flats that are a lot of fun for cruising rainbows. There are also GIANT browns in Lewiston lake, I've only ever seen one, but they're in there.

The deltas in Trinity Lake (formally known as Claire Engle Lake) can be fun that time of year. I fished the mouth of Swift Creek one early June and had a really fun day catching smallmouth. One time on the Stuart Fork, I saw what I think was a huge brown chasing fish around the shallow tailout of this big pool. I didn't have a rod on me but that was fun to see.

Have a blast! That's such a cool area to fish
 
Travis Bille said:
If you do the Pit River, bring a buddy. Wading is really really gnarly and the hike in and out is a steep rugged canyon in a lot of places. It's not a place you want to break an ankle and get stranded. I love the Pit but I won't fish it alone.
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not to mention the numerous rattlesnakes, having had one lunge at me when passing by his sunning rock at Powerhouse #3.
so much good fishing on that eastern plateau
 
Man, I loved the Pit before they changed the flows. There were fish everywhere and some really nice ones too. I went once after they jacked the flows and won't be back.

That should be prime time on the L Sac. Do the guide thing then do a day or two of walk in. Plenty of access to good water.
 
I am partial to the mixed berry milkshakes at Floyd’s Frosty in McCloud. Burgers are pretty good too. Dine outdoors with a bangin’ view of Mt Shasta . Oh the fishing is good too, agree with all the other info posted here.
 
So first week of May you might encounter the white stuff. McArthur Burney state park is nice, you can camp or maybe get one of the austere cabins, if they're not booked out. The Fall River is an amazing place, I have spent countless days on this water. Very difficult fishing due to the crystal clear water...it is the largest spring fed aquifer in North America. I plead wit you to spend one of your earliest days on this water. Circle 7 is nice, especially the small house with a balcony above the river. PM me for more details.
McCloud River is awesome, suggest trying the Nature Conservancy stretch. I have broken off some very large fish here, caught many lesser ones. Also the Pit River (I don't think it's that hard to wade) and Hat Creek are nearby....nothing wrong with the Sacramento River around Redding either....have fun!
 
and for your future visits, put Lassen Park on the agenda, beautiful place, and Manzanita Lake within can be hella fun flyfishing...the summer boatman hatch just before dark = bent rods till dark
 
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