Sacramento River

Chico Shad Slows Down For Now

Chico Shad

Last week the shad fishing was really good but has since started to slow down. Perhaps the cooling front that is currently in the valley has slowed down the bite. The fish are there but it seems like they aren’t as aggressive. Hopefully there will be a nice push of shad coming through Chico soon.

On Tuesday I fished a different section of the Washout but all I caught was a little pike minnow. I switched back to the spot that I usually fish and the bite was really slow despite there being several anglers out. There were only two shad caught from what I observed. Throughout the evening I had three or four hits but nothing committed except a little striper.

Lil Striper

My switch rod casting has leveled up!
I can cast further and cleaner with less line hang ups, although there is still room for improvement. Nothing feels more bad ass than casting a double handed rod and doing it well. The casting was the most fun, the fish catching was just a bonus.

Double Handed Power

The wind has picked up again and the carp fishing will probably be a bust until the wind dies down. I haven’t looked around yet but they should be in spawn mode. I’m am itching to catch some carp soon…

Sacramento River

Shad Three Nights In A Row

Poor Man’s Tarpon

The shad fishing has been good all three evenings. I’ve figured out what works early before the sunsets and after. The best thing right now is that I can avoid the combat fishing as the anglers are concentrated on the bank further upstream from the Washout. It was pretty windy on Thursday and it was funny to see all the people upstream gone before it got dark. The previous night the cars where piling up to the side of the road, this night I saw only one truck.

First Striper

I hooked quite a few these past three nights and was able to land a bonus striper, my first! Fly fishing for shad is productive, fun, and feels like Christmas every night.

Fish on!
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