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Our Lower Sacramento fly fishing guides are some of the very best in the business! As Northen California locals they are consummate professionals and take pride in sharing their passion for fly fishing with you. They know the water from Redding California all the way to Red Bluff like their back yard, because well... it is their back yard!

Guide Billy Downs with a nice Lower Sac Rainbow

Go Hard or Go Home from Dub A Fly on Vimeo.

Here are a few photos from a recent Off the Hook trip on the Yuba River on Feb. 12. Fishing has been consistently good recently and with mild winter weather we have had some amazing days!

I had the chance to fish the Lower Stanislaus a couple days ago and thought I'd file a report. The gauge it Ripon read about 550cfs, pretty typical for February I believe and I fished mostly up around the dam.

First of all, it was 70 degrees. It felt like summer, in a weird way like I've spent so many summer days fishing tailwaters or small mountain streams hiking and sweating, slathered in sunscreen. But it's not summer, it's freaking February! So yeah, it was kind of surreal for a Northwest kid. Anyway, I hooked a few fish in the am on top with #18-20 Parachute Adams and midge patterns. I found a big foam swirl with a pod of fish going off. Problem was it was across 500+ cfs of deep, fast water with little backcast room and little line control. So lengthy, wild casting ensued. But I managed to hook a few bows in the 12" range.

Later I lost a gagger after it ran me under a log and down a riffle, hooked on a tiny Zebra Midge on 5x. It was pretty awesome though, sight casting to a fish that big, watching him swim up and chomp down.

The rest of the fish I hooked were on small mayflies and midges. They didn't seem to want the worm at all but maybe it just wasn't a wormy day. I ran into a guy that asked me, "what size hooks" I was using. It was kind of comical but he was nice enough. Anyway, long story short, I hooked probably a dozen fish in t shirt weather in February on a pretty canyon stream. Does it get any better? I doubt it.

We had some request for help with knots at Putah Creek fishing and wine event. Here are a couple videos that should help you learn them. Remember "practice makes permanent" so practice them a bit right now in preparation for Spring and summer fly fishing applications.

Hint: Always moisten your knots before you pull them tight to preserve knot strength.

Here are a few shots of Josh Schwartz's clients from the last few days of fly fishing for Steelhead on California's North Coast. There are a number of rivers in Mendocino and Humboldt counties that are producing good numbers of fish and multiple fish days! These wild Steelhead are chrome bright and go ballistic when hooked!

Now is the time to get out and chase them! Give us a call at(877)228-2477 for more info or to reserve your day with Josh.

Enjoy!

This footage is absolutely amazing. These fish are feeding with reckless abandon in the surf in Antigua. Anyone interested in an exploratory trip next year!?!?

Watch this video and you will be a believer!

Wanna catch a 20lbs steelhead on a fly? Ok, let me clarify. Wanna get your best shot in the lower 48 of hooking a 20lbs steelhead on a fly?

Well, get thee to Forks, home of Twilight, spotted owls, grumpy loggers and jumbo steelhead. It's starting to go off people. I've heard a couple of good reports of early wild chrome up there. Of course, just like the CA North Coast, water conditions are always an issue but you just have to plan a trip and go, conditions be damned. Even if it's rough there's usually somewhere to fish.

My buddy Johhny Steelfish roped this piece of chrome, albeit hatchery, and a few other wild ones last week out there. Beanies and fleece, snow on the ground, everything is damp, you can't seem to ever actually get warm, wearing garlic to ward off vampires, just a typical day fishing in Forks. It sounds bizarre but I miss it.OP Steel

If you want to plan a trip for your own piece or two of metal (or twelve, seriously, sometimes it's just silly up there) hit us up. We can put you in the boat with some of the fishiest and friendliest guides up there. Word!

The Yuba is on right now! Dave Barbieri, Keith Scott, Toby Uppinghouse and the gang have been getting good numbers of fish on dries the last week and a half.

Last few minutes to get in your submission for fish of the year for 2011. Top three like getters get free custom tied flies!

Good luck to everyone! Take a look at our Facebook Page tomorrow to see the entries at this link...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Off-the-Hook-Fly-Fishing-llc/195740873779322

Vote for your favorites and share!