Lower Sacramento River trout fishing

Early spring Sacramento River rainbow trout!

Early spring Sacramento River rainbow trout!

Spring on the Sacramento River in Redding California is a special time for fishing the native populations of rainbow trout. This is primarily a catch and release fishery, but one that provides lots of action and bent rods for all our angler guests. March typically kicks of the best fishing and is the last month, until August 1st we have access to the section of the Sacramento River above the SR 44 bridge in downtown Redding.

We use several techniques to catch these hard fighting rainbows, but we spin fish the majority of the time. Casting and drifting natural cured eggs or fishing with egg pattern beads is our most successful technique. This is the easiest way for our clients to hook their owns trout and fight them with our ultralight fishing gear. Everyone always has a great time and some of our guests catch their first fish ever while fishing with us. Its a special privilege to be able to share that experience with them.

The resident rainbow trout average 14” to 16”, but we catch many trout much larger. Some days the big fish are on a good bite and its not unusual to catch several rainbow trout over 2 lbs. The biggest rainbow trout caught in my boat tipped the scale at 6.13 lbs and was our clients personal best rainbow trout in all his years of fishing. In fact, many of our guests experience catching their largest trout ever! If the size of these rainbow trout isn’t enough, the fight they fight like they are twice their size. Heavy hits and long line peeling runs are common on this fishery and seldom do the bigger rainbows we catch come to the net without an impressive display of vigor.

We fish for Sacramento River Rainbow trout year round and with a staff of four guides have all the latest information available to get our guests on some really fun days on the river. Spring kicks off the seasons best fishing which lasts well into the fall months of the year. August 1st is an important date to remember because it offers the opening of the Sacramento River above the SR 44 bridge in Redding. The Sacramento River Rainbow trout in this highly productive section of the river have been left alone for four months and when this section opens, the fishing is off the hook! 40, 50, even 60 fish days have been experienced by our guests. All our fishing will be done from our 25’ power boats and all gear is provided for you.

If this sounds like a fun trip for your family or friends, please give Jaynie a call at the office to set up your Sacramento River rainbow trout fishing trip. She will get you all set up on our flexible schedule and will provide every last detail before your trip. We have a partnership with Gaia Hotel near Redding and many of our guests take advantage of their upscale accommodations using our corporate rate.

- Capt. Jeff