Freestone · Mixed · Northern California, US

Upper Sacramento River

The Cantara Loop railway bridge spanning the Upper Sacramento River canyon, the river below.
Today · About as good as it gets
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Forecast · Today
About as good as it gets
On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% projected
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.17 m
Water temp12.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindN 5 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
13°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 21:00

12:00(now) — Mahogany Dun

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 63%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 21:00 — Brown Dun (Brown Dun, 5 food groups active)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Western Green DrakeHatch
2
2
Flav (Small Western Green Drake)Hatch
2
3
2
Mahogany DunHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • CDFW general trout season; some reaches open all year — verify.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 2
McCloud River
18 km
78
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Lake Britton
56 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The Cantara Loop railway bridge spanning the Upper Sacramento River canyon, the river below.
    Upper Sacramento at Cantara Loop
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Sacramento River (Above Shasta Lake)' (CAR5252203320000209092549), 2024 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · CAR5252203320000209092549

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 82 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 82
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout Último Saturday in April → 15 November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts