Fly-rod anglers sometimes seem to come in two types. There are trout anglers, and then there are bass anglers, or maybe there are trout anglers who, at some point in the season, metamorphose into bass anglers, abandoning watersheds with cold rivers and streams for warm waters and warmwater species. Once in awhile, however, the stars align and the universe bestows a rare opportunity for you to have it all — trout and bass at the same time, in the same stream. As you might expect, it would take the longest river in California, the Sacramento, to pull off such a neat trick of synchronicity.
That’s not to say you’d always want to fish for two different species on the same trip, but then again, you could. Finding and catching both trout and bass in the same fishery isn’t always possible, but it’s fun and interesting to know when and where the possibility exists in case the whim strikes you. The possibility develops mainly in the hottest months of the summer on the Sacramento, and the upper and lower river are not at all alike.
Those familiar with the Sac understand there are really several Sacramento Rivers in Northern California. One is the upper Sac, the water above Shasta Lake. While it is justly recognized as trout Nirvana, during the summer months, the deeper pools and runs from Sims (Interstate 5 exit 718) downstream swell with smallmouth bass and Alabama spotted bass, seasonal tourists that range upriver from Shasta. Under the right circumstances, you can tie into a pugnacious bass on a leech pattern and then hook a trout on a dry fly a hundred feet away.
The section of the Sacramento from Keswick Reservoir down to Red Bluff is known as the lower Sac, often referred to as the best wild-trout stream on the West Coast. It is much bigger water than the river above Shasta Lake. How the numerous pockets of bass in this section managed to thrive under nearly everyone’s radar is a great question. As the flows from the impoundment above increase during the summer months, numerous sloughs and backwaters form. Away from the chilly flows of the main river, these become warmer with the intense NorCal sunshine, and presto, turn into seasonal bass habitat.
Largemouth, smallmouth, and Alabama spotted bass migrate from warmer-water tributaries such as Clear Creek, Churn Creek, Stillwater Creek, and Cow Creek and drift into these sloughs of the main river. With a little footwork, an angler can easily hook lower Sac trout and bass in the same day.
The Upper Sac
When I lived in Redding and my sons were small, we were always up for beating the summer heat by finding a convenient swimming hole. This is how I first discovered upper Sac bass. We had gone to LaMoine (I-5 exit 710) on a swimming trip. There we found a rock wall with a deep pool beneath on the far side of the river, a perfect place for jumping in from varying heights. My sons were still young enough that I made them wear life jackets. When we swam to the far side, I noticed several intriguing shadows moving around underwater that were invisible from the near side of the river.
Within of a minute, I knew what they were, having grown up on f ly-rod bass fishing in the Midwest. I had to come back with appropriate bass gear to catch a few and see they were two distinct species of bass, smallmouths and Alabamas, but there they were. I had fished the trout water above and below that pool many times without the slightest inkling there were bass lurking so close by.
Just because upper Sac trout and bass sometimes live in close proximity during the warmer months does not mean you’re likely to catch a trout, then a bass, then a trout again. It’s a bit more complex than that. The species occupy different water types and feed most aggressively at different times.
Trout are in the river year-round, but most of the bass enter the river during the spring and summer, when the blast-furnace heat of that part of the world is at its apex. After about the Fourth of July, upper Sac trout fishing, at least in the lower part of that section of the river, takes a hit because of the brutal sunlight and intense heat. The bass don’t mind the heat as much and will feed almost anytime. So in a successful day of fishing for both species, you are probably focusing on bass most of the time. They are less finicky than trout. On a hot day, you might have to settle for a scant hour of good trout fishing just before dark. There is something about fishing dry flies for trout just before dark that becomes a part of you, but fishing for bass while waiting for the evening rise is a very fine way to pass a summer day.
Though they are slightly different, I think of smallmouth and Alabama spotted bass as the same species. They act and feed similarly. The smallies are more greenish in color, with whiskerlike stripes on their gill plates. Alabama spotted bass look more like largemouth bass, only with a mottled pattern to their dark lateral lines. Both love to cruise back and forth in front of rock walls that drop off into deep water. Both love to stalk streamer patterns, especially those with up-and-down or side-to-side wiggles. They both usually grab a fly hard.
You might be able to get away with using a 6-weight rod for both trout and bass fishing on the upper river, but it would not be optimum for either species. For nymph fishing for upper Sac trout, a 9-foot 5-weight rod is just about perfect. I go much lighter for dry flies and prefer my 10-foot 3-weight. I bring a second rod for bass, a stiffer 9-1/2-foot 6-weight for throwing heavier, more wind-resistant flies and a sink-tip line.
Here is a good place to mention that I do not enjoy casting sink-tip lines. I haven’t found one that isn’t awkward to cast — a compromise by its very nature. I use them for bass fishing in rivers (and whenever I need to fish streamers in moving water) because it does a job no other line can do. It gets your fly down deep quickly while preserving your ability to mend line on top of the water to get a proper drift. I use full sinking lines for fishing streamers in lakes because they cast very well and do not need to be mended.
The best way to find any kind of water on the upper Sac is to walk the railroad tracks. For likely bass habitat, seek deep pools, especially pools with rocky walls that drop off quickly into deep water. Cast your fly as close to the wall as possible and let your fly sink before starting to retrieve. Keep your retrieves as slow as you can stand it and make sure to pause for a few seconds after every three or four strips. Grabs are most likely to happen immediately after a pause, but may happen at any time.
For upper Sac bass fishing I use a 3-to-4-foot length of 1X mono instead of a tapered leader, plus a loop knot (Nonslip Mono Loop) for tying on the fly. I haven’t been able to get upper Sac bass to take anything on the surface, but they seem to lose their reticence with subsurface flies.
You don’t need to get fancy with bass fly patterns. Bass are like cats. They are irresistibly attracted to anything they can stalk and pounce on. A Woolly Bugger works very well, even better with a few split shot fastened just above your loop knot, right at the front of the fly. Commercial bass patterns work well, too — any f ly that mimics a sculpin, crayfish, leech, or baitfish ought to catch fish. The more it wiggles or pulsates, the better.
Bass grabs might come 10 feet below the surface or the moment a fly hits the water. They might grab just as you start to retrieve or just before you’re ready to make your next cast. Be ready.
The Lower Sac
Don’t bother looking for bass in downtown Redding. The water is too cold. The highest up I’ve found bass is below Clear Creek on the west side of the river. Clear Creek is a terrific trout stream all the way from Whiskeytown Dam to the Sacramento River, though sections are difficult to access. But in the area between the traditional trout habitat upstream and the chilly flows of the Sacramento, there is a transition zone typically occupied by bass. In fact, most of the tributaries to the lower Sac host vigorous bass populations, and some of these fish drop down into warmer sections of the river, at least for part of the year.
I have a few secret spots in the lower Sac where it’s possible to wade fish, even during high summer flows. I was hiking back from one of these where I’d landed several trout and noticed some water well away from the current, half-covered with a thick mat of lily pads. Hmmm. . . .
As I watched, a dragonfly buzzed close to the surface of the water, and guess what? A fish went for it. I sat down and decided to have lunch and see if anything more happened. There were those dark shadows again, cruising in and out of sight in open areas between the lily pads. Just for fun, I tied on a Woolly Bugger and dropped it into an opening in the weeds. Pow! I was on with a smallish bass. I’ve found largemouth, smallmouth, and Alabama spotted bass in the lower Sac, usually in fairly close proximity to a tributary stream. Like Clear Creek, almost all the tributaries have a pod of bass hanging around the confluence with the Sac. I’ve often wondered how many salmon smolts these lower Clear Creek bass are responsible for consuming, so if you have a taste for bass flesh, there might be good cause to harvest a few.
The timing for catching both trout and bass is a little less tricky on the lower Sac than on the upper river. If you can locate trout and bass habitat fairly close together, it’s easier to catch both species almost any time of day.
The bass habitat in the lower Sac is unlike the bass habitat above Lake Shasta. Aside from the lower reaches of tributaries close to the larger river, the sloughs formed along the edges are more like traditional largemouth bass habitat. Many of these are fairly shallow and at least partially covered with lily pads or algae. Look for some of the telltale signs of good bass water: dragonflies, damselflies, and even frogs along the edges. These fish will take flies on the surface, such as traditional bass poppers or even, on one occasion, a Stimulator twitched back on a floating line. Since most trout anglers on the lower Sac use heftier rods than on the upper Sac, you can get away with fishing the same rod for both trout and bass. A 9-1/2foot 6-weight rod (or anything similar) is fine for both. In the seasonal sloughs, use a floating line. If you are fishing one of the tributary streams that feed into the lower river, a sink-tip line is better.
Fishing for both trout and bass on the same river on the same day may not be everyone’s cup of brew, but once in awhile, on a warm summer day, it just feels right. There’s something irresistibly Huck Finnish about it, and hiking back to my car after landing both species, I’ve noticed a slight spring in my step that somehow wasn’t there before.
