Freestone · Mixed · Northern California, US

Middle Fork American River

Middle Fork American River venue image

A steep, gorgeous canyon freestone that drops toward Auburn, with hydro plumbing up top that nudges the flows around — so it's worth a look before you commit to the long walk in.

Tomorrow · About as good as it gets
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
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 · Tomorrow
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via South Fork American River
Water temp14.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather18°C
WindN 10 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.4 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from South Fork American River. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Ideal
14°C est.ideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Rainbow 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
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Reed Smut

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 85%
Also:Trico51%Flying Ants40%
Peak emergence window8 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Reed Smut (Reed Smut, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · September 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
Rainbow Trout fly box
SD
Sex Dungeon
2-6 · Pattern
Proven pattern for this period
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
South Fork American River
14 km
80
Rainbow trout
North Fork American River
18 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Rubicon River
34 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Lower American River
38 km
Rainbow trout
Lower Yuba River
44 km
Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A steep, gorgeous canyon freestone that drops toward Auburn, with hydro plumbing up top that nudges the flows around — so it's worth a look before you commit to the long walk in. The wild rainbows hold in the pocket water and the green tailouts, and once the spring melt clears out the river fishes beautifully to a dry-dropper. This is rugged, scrambling country, the kind of place where you earn your trout with your legs as much as your casting. Go in the cool seasons and after the runoff has settled.

  • Mixed
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'American River, Middle Fork' (CAR5144201020020610125450), 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) · CAR5144201020020610125450

The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 90%
How the 81 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity63 × 12%7.6
Conditions total= 81
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via South Fork American Riverproxy
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 Last Saturday in April → 15 November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts