My Willie Boat is back from the Willie Boats factory in Medford with some new upgrades and I'm back to sampling the fishing on local waters. The Sacramento River in the Cottonwood area is seeing some improved numbers of late fall salmon and the Kings that are being caught in the are in great shape. Back trolling Flatfish plugs is the most productive method for catching these beasts this time of year, but a few have also been caught with bait in the Barge Hole recently.

Our 2014 Willie Fuzion jet boat pictured with a new removable windshield.

The Sac is fishing good for steelhead trout and rainbows below Anderson, but with the absence of fall spawners, its not as good as we are used to this time of the year. I fished 8mm-10mm orange and yolk colored beads the other day and found success, but we had to work for them. You can't just go out and find spawning salmon to throw egg patterns behind right now in the usual spawning areas. Although it rained most of the trip and it was hard to see below the surface of the water, I only managed to find one spawner and she was obviously done doing her thing and was just waiting to die.

Chris Dugger of Redding, Ca. with a nice Sacramento River rainbow.

One bright spot on the Sac still remains the section located in Redding. Fly anglers are finding success with egg patterns and nymph patterns are still working as well. I hear the "birds nest" fly has been good for many. For the spin gear guys, the Dick Nite spoons are still a top choice. Drift fishing can be a challenge with all of the moss on the bottom of the river and I have found that using very little lead to get your baits down is the best way to avoid fouling your baits right now. In fact, drifting baits under a bobber like the fly anglers do is the best way to keep your baits fishing. I've been "bobber doggin" for the trout using beads and flies on and off this season and think its going to be a solid technique in the future in our area. The bottom of the river just keeps "growing" every year and the moss has become a real issue.

Sacramento River fishing guide, Jeff Goodwin with a nice steelhead!

We are expecting a wet weather system this weekend and the Sacramento River above Bend Bridge is forecasted to reach flows of 12,000+ cfs by Sunday. This could be problematic for salmon fishing in the immediate future, but may help pull some fresh fish up river in the coming weeks. With salmon season closing on the Sacramento River on December 16th, it would be really nice to see a strong finish to the 2016 up here in the Anderson area.

Sacramento River "late fall" King salmon.

Last weeks storms brought some of our first significant rainfall totals to the foot hills and valley here in the Redding area. Rainfall is always welcomed this time of the year, especially with 4 years of drought that is still haunting the region. Local lakes have seen level increases and tributaries continue to provide a slow, but steady, amount of run off. Both Whiskeytown and Shasta Lakes look great, and the Sacramento River is holding its own with a steady supply of water coming in from all directions.

One of the best fishing opportunities on the Sacramento River now includes the hatchery steelhead run and wild trout fishing. With a fresh shot of dirty water in the Sac, both fall run salmon and steelhead have started to show up in good numbers in the river above Red Bluff. In addition to these new fish in our area, spawning salmon are providing the annual "egg drop" bite and the resident rainbows are currently locked in on spawning salmon waiting for a chance to gorge themselves on protein rich salmon eggs.

This can be one of the best times of the year to get out and chase these steelhead and trout in the Redding to Red Bluff area. There are sections of the river now that are literally stuffed with these actively feeding fish and it can make for a great day of fishing with double digit hook ups being the standard. I've had limited opportunities to get out due to a family vacation and a boat thats up at Willie Boats getting some upgrades, but thats ok because this fishery is just getting good!

I've been eagerly anticipating my upcoming "late fall" season and will be running trips on the Sacramento River again beginning 11/15. I still have openings available, but I'm booking a trip every few days now so booking sooner than later is recommended. Not only will we be catching numerous steelhead and wild trout, I will be running trips for the late season King salmon as well. Its a smaller run than the summer/fall run, but the quality of these salmon makes the cold mornings and slower action worthwhile. Bigger, brighter King salmon make this run of salmon something special for sure. In addition to favorable water conditions currently, its should be noted that the 2013 class of "late fall" Coleman Hatchery salmon smolt were NOT trucked to Rio vista in 2014 and we will not lose these fish to "straying" like we did with our early season salmon. Time will tell, but this could be a great finish to the 2016 salmon season for us up here in the Battle Creek area.

So in wrapping up this weeks report, look for some good-very good steelhead/wild trout fishing on the Sacramento River this week! With that being said, here are a few tips for success; Find the spawning salmon and you'll find steelhead/wild trout. Fish the shallows, not the deep sections of the river. Finally, match the hatch! Steelhead/wild trout are eating salmon eggs. Cured roe, Glo Bugs, and 8mm-10mm pegged (egg color) beads will catch you fish!

Sacramento River salmon and steelhead fishing report.

Sac River fall steelhead fishing report.