The Feather River has two different runs of steelhead, one in the fall and the other in the spring. The fall-run fish start to show up in October, following the salmon, which provide them with high-protein eggs to eat, and they hang around until late February. Many go to the hatchery to spawn, while others spawn in the river in January and February. The spring-run fish enter the river in late February and stay until late May. You can start to fish the spring run in late February, and by March and early April, the fish are present in decent numbers, and the water is perfect.
These fish don’t have a salmon run to follow — they are chasing sculpins and salmon fry, and also eating clusters of sucker eggs and even mayflies and caddisflies. This means you can fish streamers, nymphs, soft hackles, and dry flies for the spring-run fish, and that’s going to be our topic here. However, when fishing the spring run of steelhead in the Feather, you need to bring your A game, because while the fall-run fish are on sensory overload due to thousands of salmon in the river creating tons of activity, in the spring there are no distractions, and these fish can sense you a mile away.
The Feather River
The Feather River below Lake Oroville is a tailwater, which means the steelhead runs terminate at the Oroville dam. The Feather’s f lows are manipulated, in a manner sometimes maddening for anglers, to try and balance the needs of wildlife and fish, agriculture, flood control, and municipal uses such as drinking water. Below the dam, the water released is separated into two different flows. One is the low-flow section, which runs through the city of Oroville and into the Oroville Wildlife Area. The other is a channeled concrete canal that runs to the north of the city and empties into the Thermalito Forebay. From the Thermalito Forebay, the water is again channeled into a canal and runs into the Thermalito Afterbay. From the Thermalito Afterbay, the water returns to the river channel and meets the low-flow section at the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet. This then forms the high-flow section. The low-flow section runs at a steady 800 cubic feet per second. Flows in the high-flow section can range from 800 cfs to 3,500 cfs or more. The water in the low-flow section usually has a temperature in the mid-50s. The water in the high-flow section is warmer, because it sits in the shallow Thermalito Afterbay, which warms the water up so when it is released into the rice fields, it germinates the rice more quickly. Despite these differences, there are fish throughout the low-flow and high-flow sections.
In 2017, both the Oroville Lake main spillway and emergency spillway failed, which sent a huge amount of water into the river’s channel, causing a mass movement of cobbles, which drastically changed the river. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) estimated that the flood reached 112,000 cfs. Some new riffles appeared, and other riffles disappeared. Also, improvements that the DWR made in 2014 by placing spawning gravel in the river were washed away, though the DWR replaced that gravel shortly after the spillway incident — approximately 5,000 cubic yards of it.
The Spring-Run Fish
The spring-run fish come into the river a few at a time. They are mostly wild and are noticeably different from their fall-run brothers and sisters, tending to look like normal trout, rather than silvery, ocean-going fish. I asked the DWR if they thought these fish are natives, but the DWR hasn’t completed a study on them and has compiled very little information on the run. The Feather River Environmental Fisheries section chief told me that the DWR has several theories, but no definite information. One theory is that the spring-run fish have been born in the river in the winter (January and February), live in the river until the summer, then head to the ocean or estuary, where they spend just a short time (five to six months) and then return the following spring. After decades of guiding anglers targeting the spring run and compiling large archives of fish pictures and trip logs and watching the mannerisms of these fish, I believe this theory is correct.
Swinging the River
My method of choice when fishing the Feather in the spring is to swing flies. These feisty fish grab a swung nymph, soft hackle, or streamer with authority. On this part of the Feather, I prefer a trout Spey rod for swinging. The trout Spey has come into its own in the world of fly fishing over the last few years. Before that, for Feather steelhead, we swung flies on light, 4-weight or 5-weight switch rods. Switch rods still work, but trout Speys tend to be longer, which is an advantage for casting distance and when mending line and manipulating your presentation.
These rods are powerful, but also sensitive and easy to cast. They save my old shoulders.
My setup uses is a floating line with an integrated Skagit-like head, and is designed for trout Spey rods. With this line, I can do almost anything when it comes to swinging flies and I can use it as an indicator line, if needed. For smaller flies, size 10 to 14, I prefer a leader 12 to 13 feet long, tapered to a 4X tippet. As I said, these fish need to be approached with care, and a long leader helps.
I use a custom leader that I tie myself — it’s not difficult to make. I start with a standard 9-foot 4X fluorocarbon leader and add 3 to 4 feet of 40-pound mono (.024-inch diameter) to the butt section. I tie the fly right to the end of the existing leader — I don’t add additional tippet material. When the leader gets short, I add a foot or so more fluorocarbon tippet to match, or better yet, I use a brand-new leader. These fish can count knots. I save the used leader for bigger flies, such as sculpins. However, I usually don’t change flies that often. I tend to fish only three smaller patterns: Fox’s Caddis Poopah in olive, my Lance’s Swinging Bird’s Nest in olive, and my Feather River Special. (See the sidebar for the pattern.) Other small flies that I like are a Soft-Hackle Hare’s Ear in tan or even the old Partridge and Orange in sizes 10 to 14.
My favorite sculpin imitations are Barr’s Slumpbuster in olive, my Lance’s Slumpbuster in olive, and the Scupzilla in olive/brown. For larger, heavier streamer patterns, I cut off the butt section that I added on to the leader I used for smaller flies. This makes the leader approximately 8 feet long, tapered to a 3X tippet. In fast and deep currents, I add a 10-foot Versileader to help the fly stay on the bottom while it swings. I carry the complete 10-foot Versileader set with me, but my two main Versileaders are those with sink rates of the 2.6 and 3.9 inches per second. The Versileaders loop-to-loop onto the fly line before the tapered leader. They’re very easy to switch while on the water.
Of course, you can swing these flies on a single-handed rod, as well. I like using a 9-foot 6-inch 6-weight rod matched with a streamer line that has an intermediate (1.5 inches per second) 10-foot integrated sink tip. This line allows you to penetrate the water column and current quickly. You can also add the Versileaders to this line to make a longer sink tip. I usually use short leaders when I fish a single-hand rod. I like leaders that are just straight 2X or 4X tippet material. I use the 4X tippet for the smaller flies (soft hackles, and so on) and the 2X for the larger flies (streamers).
Fishing Dry Flies
The Feather is also a great valley tailwater for dry-fly fishing for spring-run steelhead. The river has Pale Morning Dun and Blue-Winged Olive mayfly hatches, along with populations of Hydropsyche and Grannom caddisflies. Both mayflies and caddisflies are always part of the diet of these fish.
For dry-fly steelhead fishing on the Feather, I use a 9-foot 6-weight single-handed rod with a medium action and a soft tip, a weight-forward floating line, and a reel with a smooth drag. I like a long, 13-foot leader tapered down to 4X tippet. As with my trout Spey leader, I begin with a 9-foot leader tapered to 4X — nylon this time, rather than fluorocarbon — then add 2 feet of 40-pound (.024-inch diameter) butt section. On the other end, I add 2 feet of 4X nylon tippet. I don’t use fluorocarbon for dry-fly fishing, because the fluorocarbon sinks.
During the late afternoon and evening, these fish come alive looking for dries. I usually start by fishing blind, but if I see a nose come up, I go right after that fish. I prefer a downstream presentation, with the fly in the lead so the fish isn’t spooked by the fly line, casting downstream and paying the line out with a bump mend. The bump mend is similar to the Fall River twitch: you flip the rod up and down vertically and use the action to propel the line out as a mend downstream as you use your line hand to feed line up the rod from the reel. This works better than shaking the rod back and forth laterally, which introduces a lot of slack in the line.
These fish take a dry fly very softly. They usually just slurp it down. When this happens, strip the line in until you feel weight or resistance and then just lift the rod. Striking with a hard rod lift can be disastrous, leading to break-offs.
Once the steelhead is hooked, let the fish do what it wants and make sure you don’t pressure the landing. If you can remain hooked up after the leaps and runs in the first five minutes, odds are you may land the fish. My best luck with dry flies tends to occur in fairly shallow riffles with their highly oxygenated current. I look for long seams that have both deep water (four to five feet) and slower, two to three feet deep water next to them.
Nymphing
Nymph fishing with an indicator or by high-sticking is a common and still highly effective way to target spring-run steelhead on the Feather. High-sticking works especially well in the upper riffles that have a decent current flow in fairly deep water (three to five feet), so I like using fast-sinking flies tied with tungsten beads. The faster the fly gets down, the longer it is on the bottom, which translates into more time in front of fish. Mayfly nymphs, caddis larvae, caddis pupas, sucker-spawn cluster eggs, and San Juan worms are the f lies you need during the spring. Suckers spawn in the spring on the Feather, and they lay clusters of eggs — some of the old-time guides call them “omelets.” In Glo Bug yarn, these clusters of eggs are the “Oregon cheese” color and are extremely high in protein. This spawn lasts from March to early April.
For indicator nymphing, the dead-drift rig I use starts with a drop leader made from 20-pound fluorocarbon. I cut an 8-foot piece and tie a size-14 barrel swivel on one end, then on the other I slip on three medium bobber stops, followed by my Gray’s Indicator and then three more bobber stops (for a picture, see my float-n-fly story in the January/February 2021 California Fly Fisher). You can use other indicators, such as Jaydacators and Air Lock bobbers. At the end of the 20-pound fluorocarbon, I tie on another size-14 barrel swivel and attach an SSGsize (1.6 gram) split shot just above it. The indicator now rides on the fluorocarbon, trapped by the bobber stops. The stops are easily moved to adjust the depth of the fly. I use a cheater section to attach the drop leader to my f ly line — it’s just a 12-inch piece of 30-pound or 40-pound monofilament with a Perfection Loop on one end, which I use to connect it to the fly line. Then I tie the cheater section to the drop leader at the top barrel swivel.
I fish three flies with this rig. From the terminal barrel swivel, I tie an 18inch piece of 3X fluorocarbon tippet material to my first fly, a sucker-spawn egg imitation. From the bend of that hook, I tie another 18-inch piece of 3X fluorocarbon to my second fly, Lance’s Hydropsyche Bird’s Nest. From the bend of that hook, I tie in 18 inches of 5X fluorocarbon to the bottom fly, Lance’s X-May PMD or Olive nymph. Similar patterns can of course be used instead.
This rig can be fished in water that varies from deep to shallow. The indicator works as a float gauge. If the water is three feet deep, I set my indicator three feet from the split shot. If the water is over eight feet deep, the indicator is all the way up.
All Kinds of Action
As noted above, you need to bring your A game when fishing the spring steelhead run on the Feather, but when the stars align, the action can’t be beat. Last year, I had the pleasure of fishing with two of my buddies on the Feather during the spring steelhead run. It was late March, and the angling was a free-for-all. We started early in the morning and drifted from the Riverbend Park boat ramp in downtown Oroville to the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet boat ramp. That morning, we started with nymphs, mostly X-Mays in olive, brown, and PMD, and Fox’s Caddis Poopah in olive. We didn’t just drift and cast from the boat, but got out and waded the riffles and runs. Fox’s Caddis Poopah was the ticket. We watched fish come for it. We all took off our indicator rigs and started just swinging the Poopah on 10-foot 5X leaders, but we were breaking off fish at the grab and had to change to 9-foot 3X leaders to handle the violent takes. Once we reached one of the deeper riffles, we put back on our indicator rigs and resumed nymphing. The Poopah and the Feather River Special soft hackle could do no wrong. Further downstream, at a shallower riffle, we took off the indicators and just swung the fly, hooking and landing high-flying fish. With days like that, fishing the spring steelhead run on the Feather River keeps me coming back for more.
Addendum: Security and Safety
In the past, Oroville and the Feather River have been known for car break-ins that occurred while anglers were fishing. This is still true in certain areas of the river, such as in the downtown area around the Feather River Hatchery and on the east side of the river along Highway 70. However, the Riverbend Park area tends to be safe. The Oroville Wildlife Area on the west side of the river also is safe. Still, it is always wise to not leave anything of value in plain sight in your vehicle.
The Feather River Special
The Feather River Special soft hackle has seen multiple changes and small tweaks throughout its history. The latest version is based on my old X-May soft hackle. The fly is tied on a Firehole 718BL hook. I love this hook for dries, soft hackles, and chironomids. The fly is an old-fashioned soft hackle tied with new materials. You can tie it from size 10 to size 14. I like 14s on the Feather. I fish the 12s on the lower Sacramento and Yuba Rivers, and I have fished 10s on the Rogue River in southern Oregon.
Feather River Special
Thread: Olive Danville Flymaster 6/0 (#60)
Hook: Firehole 718BL, size 10 to 14
Tail: Dark pardo Whiting CDL Tailing
Body: Olive Danville Flymaster 6/0 (#60)
Rib: Olive BR size wire
Body coating: Solarez Ultra-Thin UV Cure
Thorax: Brown Antron dubbing with brown UV Ice Dub mixed in
Wing: Natural Hungarian Partridge
— Lance Gray