Steelhead bite is taking center stage on the Lower Sac!

Limits of steelhead for Captain Justin's clients today while fishing the Lower Sacramento River.
Photo Credit: JGGS Fishing Team.

by Jeff Goodwin
10-30-2019
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There are still a lot of King salmon in the Sacramento River, but with flows changing daily, water filled with leaves and grass, and 49 degree morning water temps, the bite has been pretty tough.  Justin and I fished below Balls Ferry today and although my clients did manage to lend one King salmon, that was all the action we saw for the day.  Justin switched gears from salmon fishing and broke out the steelhead rods.  The late morning steelhead bite was on and Justins clients ended the day with limits of some pretty descent Sac River hatchery fish.  Flows are going to drop this week into next and we will see flows of 5,300 cfs by mid week.  Hopefully this will calm the debris issue, but surely wont pull up any big numbers of steelhead or King salmon.  We need rain to get things to improve as far as the salmon fishing goes for sure.  Till then, we'll fish for salmon first thing in the morning and then switch over to steelhead for the remainder of the day.  Some of our clients may consider targeting steelhead rather than the Kings as there seems to be a lot more steelhead biting rt now than salmon.  Everything can change overnight of course, but this seems to be our current situation for at least a short while anyway.

Jeff Goodwin is a full time Northern California fishing guide.  He guides year round for salmon, trout, steelhead, Kokanee, and bass on Northern California rivers and lakes. He fishes many bodies of water in the Redding area, but also guides the Sacramento River and Feather River during certain times of the year. Jeff can also be found on the California coast chasing ocean fresh King salmon and steelhead each year. To learn more about the fishing trips Jeff has to offer, please visit Jeff Goodwin's Guide Service.  You can also find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or please feel free to call him anytime at (707) 616-1905.