American River

Rainy Day On The American

by Matt
Paradise Beach Combat Fishing

This morning I dropped my fiancee off at the Sacramento Airport where she is flying to visit her brother in Nebraska and since I was already about halfway there, I decided to explore some more of the American River afterwards.

Rain, rain, and more rain. That was the condition I was dealt with this visit. I explored two new river access points this trip: Paradise Beach and Hagan Park.

Good Water But No Fish

Paradise Beach is one of the lower stretches where I was hoping to intercept an incoming fall/winter steelie. As I swung through the single riffle that was there, I had a few nibbles but no solid takes. A few gear anglers were holed up just below the riffle so I wasn’t able to hit the entire stretch. I don’t know what they were fishing for… salmon? This time of year the only salmon I find are either zombie fish or rotting corpses so I don’t know.

Hagan Access No Fish

Hagan Park was the next access I visited. There wasn’t a whole lot of water to work with here but at least I had the whole section to myself for a bit. I swung through the two riffles here very carefully making sure to hit each possible bit of water but no luck.
I’m thinking I hit the river a bit too early. The water is not quite cold enough yet. Also I learned today to fish the American during the work week rather than the weekend. There isn’t a whole lot of water to work with after the “middle-section” closes so don’t hope too much.

Butte Creek

Beautiful Autumn Day On Butte Creek

by Matt
Butte Creek Plateau

Butte Creek is a tributary of the Sacramento River that is quite unique in that it hosts great runs of endangered spring-run king salmon. Anadromous fish swim up from the lower reaches of the creek navigating their way through the endless sloughs in the valley to get to the furthest point upstream, a natural barrier about one mile below the Centerville Head dam.

Despite the many signs along the road stating “Closed to fishing” the creek above HWY 99 to Centerville Head dam is open between November 15th through February 15th and is artificial lures with barbless hooks only.

The day after opening day, let’s go fish Butte Creek!

Butte Creek Natives

Butte Creek is a difficult steelhead fishery. The fishing is heavily affected by the amount of rain in a given season, the flows, the clarity, and the weather. Butte Creek’s flows can fluctuate quickly depending on the amount of rainfall. I like to think of it as a coastal stream where the rain and high flows bring up the steelhead from downstream. The limited amount of steelies that run up the creek don’t hold there for long therefore you have to be at the right place at the right time to catch them. Honestly, Butte Creek is everything I imagine about fly fishing for steelhead. You have to be okay not catching one.

“Fish it hard and don’t expect anything.” That’s my motto for fishing Butte Creek. Access to the Butte creek is very limited unless you can float it or know someone who lives along the creek. I work the public access to the fullest fishing every nook and cranny whether it’s indicator fishing a deep pool, swinging through riffles, tight-lining around rocks, or getting my flies underneath trees, I don’t miss a single spot.

Changing Leaves
Fall Riffles in Butte Canyon

The Butte Creek Canyon is very beautiful in the fall. The leaves are still in their autumn colors both on the trees and drifting through the creek. The towering plateaus are simply amazing. Having the creek all to myself is something I don’t take for-granted either.

First Fish of the Day

After about five hours of covering a mile of water I ended the day hooking three native trout and one wild steelhead.

Fighting a Butte Creek steelhead on a 3WT never gets old. Many jumps, runs, and netting attempts were performed before I finally got the beauty into the net. This marks my second Butte Creek steelhead.

Butte Creek Wild Steel
Big & Wild
1 … 73 74 75 76 77 … 168

Keep Calm and Fly Fish™