Freestone · Mixed · Northern California, US

Upper Sacramento River

The Cantara Loop railway bridge spanning the Upper Sacramento River canyon, the river below.

Classic pocket-water freestone tumbling from Mount Shasta down to Shasta Lake, easy to reach off the I-5 and rail corridor.

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
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.17 m
Water temp12.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather17°C
WindN 6 km/h
Pressure1016 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.1 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 · tomorrowPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Mahogany Dun

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 53%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Mahogany Dun (Mahogany Dun, 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 · 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
Brown Trout fly box
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
About this water

Classic pocket-water freestone tumbling from Mount Shasta down to Shasta Lake, easy to reach off the I-5 and rail corridor. It got knocked flat by the 1991 Cantara spill and came back, which says something about rivers and about luck. Wild rainbows and browns hold in the pockets and tailouts, and once the spring runoff clears out they'll come up for caddis, stoneflies and a well-drifted attractor. Fish are looking up here more than you'd guess.

  • Mixed
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 Last Saturday in April → 15 November
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts