Taco Fly Co. Life

From August 1st to 4th, I fished the Trinity River and the Lower Sacramento River, where the heat was intense but the fishing was hotter. My trip kicked off with an evening of dry fly fishing on the Trinity with two friends, Alex and Michael, where we caught plenty of smaller fish and lost a few good ones. The next day, we floated the river. We didn't land any trophies, but we stayed busy with the little guys. Michael did manage to hook a brown trout and a solid half-pounder. The best part was having the river all to ourselves.

After the Trinity, I spent three days on the Lower Sacramento River in Redding for the opener. The river above the 44 bridge is closed to fishing from April 1 to August 1, so the trout are fired up and ready to eat. The water was flowing fast at 14,000 cfs, but we found the fish stacked in softer seams and deep runs. The bite was so good that I stopped counting fish within a couple of hours on the first day. We used a "bobber nymphing" technique, which kept rods bent all day, and I was reminded of how strong and beautiful these Lower Sac trout are, fighting like "tiny chrome steelhead."