Northern California Fly Fishing Intelligence
USGS flow data, hatch forecasts, and local intel — synthesized every week so you know exactly when and where to be on the water.
We read the gauges so you don't have to. Every Friday, your inbox gets the full picture.
USGS gauge readings for every key river — with plain-English fishability ratings. Too high, too low, or just right. We tell you.
What's hatching, when, and where. PMDs, caddis, October caddis, blue-winged olives — timed to water temp and season so your fly box matches the moment.
NOAA forecasts filtered for anglers. Barometric pressure trends, cloud cover windows, and the best days to take the day off and hit the water.
Lower Sac, Yuba, Trinity, Feather, Klamath, and more. Every major NorCal system covered each week with species, tactics, and access notes.
Here's what lands in your inbox every Friday morning.
Weekly Fly Fishing Conditions Briefing
The tailwater below Shasta Dam is in prime form. Releases holding steady at 3,930 cfs — perfect drift boat conditions. Water clarity is excellent. Midges in #20-22 are your workhorse from 9am-noon; switch to soft hackles and emergers mid-afternoon. The fish are stacked below Posse Grounds and Anderson River Park. Dry/dropper rigs working well in slacker water near the banks.
Running high below Englebright. Wade fishers should sit this one out — drift boat anglers are pulling fish. Nymphing deep with stonefly patterns. Expect conditions to improve mid-April as snowmelt stabilizes.
The freestone stretch above Lake Shasta is a different beast than the Lower Sac — pocket water and boulders. Water temps still cold; fish are lethargic mid-morning. Best action 11am-2pm with nymphs tight to structure.
Steelhead are moving through Oroville. Reports from this week have been exceptional — one angler pulled a 24-inch buck on a swung fly. Pink/purple intruder-style patterns getting attention. This is your shot while the run is on.
Check Junction City gauge before you go. Steelhead fishing has been productive in the lower canyon. Swing your flies early morning when temps are coolest. Access at Steel Bridge and Pigeon Point.
Wild Trout section is fishing well. Spring creeks are consistent — Hat doesn't spike with rain. PMD emergence mid-afternoon. Technical fishing; long leaders, fine tippet, careful wading. Worth the drive.
Trophy water in the lower canyon holding true to form. Permit required for the Nature Conservancy section. Big rainbows and browns on small dries when light drops. Plan a full day — the hike in is worth it.
Challenging wade fishing — but the fish are big. The Pit rewards anglers who can read power-company-controlled flows. Check release schedules before you go. Locals swear by caddis larvae patterns in the afternoon.
Historic moment: dam removal is reshaping this system. Flows are in flux as the river reclaims its channel. We're monitoring closely. Steelhead access improving season over season. Check back — this fishery is coming back.
Too high for comfortable wade fishing after recent coastal rain. The Smith can turn fast — give it a week. When it drops into the 1,500-2,500 range, it's world-class steelhead water. Worth watching.
Steelhead pushing through wine country. Access tricky — know your public vs. private water. The run has been inconsistent but fish are present. Swing flies in the deep runs below riffles at dawn.
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Every river worth fishing in NorCal, every week. What happened this week — decoded.
What's about to happen. The difference between fishing Friday and wishing you'd gone Friday.
Everything in Premium, plus the tools for those who fish professionally or obsessively.
Every Friday morning. NorCal's rivers, decoded. No fluff, no forum noise — just the intel you need to make the call.
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The best fishing reports come from the people who were just there. Tell us what you found — river, flows, flies, conditions. Share a photo if you've got one. The best submissions get featured in next week's report, credited to you.
This isn't a forum. We curate what's useful and leave out the noise. Your on-the-ground report helps every angler in the community make a better decision about where to fish this weekend.
Submit Your Report →Include: River · Date · Flows · Species · What worked. Photos welcome.
We got tired of the ritual: open five browser tabs, check the USGS gauge, cross-reference the NOAA forecast, find the fly shop report from two weeks ago, and still not know if it's worth the drive.
The Drift Report does that work for you. Every week, we pull live USGS flow data, NOAA weather forecasts, and local knowledge into a single briefing that tells you exactly what the rivers are doing — and what you should be throwing.
We cover Northern California's best fly fishing water: from the tailwaters of the Lower Sacramento to the wild steelhead runs of the Smith and Trinity, spring creeks like Hat Creek, and everything in between.
We're not a shop. We're not selling gear. We're fishers who wanted a better way to decide where to be on the water — and we built it.