Central Valley

American River

by Ed Hood January 22, 2014

January is supposed to be the month to fish for steelhead through most of California, and this holds true for the lower American River. However, this is definitely not a typical year for the golden state as it is the driest year in recorded history. Definitely not a good year to follow up a couple of dry years, but that’s nature, so might as well just fish through it. It’s better than sitting at work that’s for sure.

Able to get out of work for the day, I made my way up to Sacramento to one of my favorite rivers yesterday. Highs were in the 70s, and bright, sunny skies. After some recent reports of a few steelhead being caught, I wanted to give it a try… and also try out my snazzy new Orvis Helios 11′ 7-wt. switch rod!

First, here’s the story on the river at the moment:

500cfs for the American is suuuuuper low

This river will typically hang around 2,000cfs this time of year. It is a big river and a lot of anadromous fish will move through it. While the river is a basically a trickle compared to what it usually is, there are still plenty of good holding water for steelhead to wait out the low flows. However, the number of steelhead in the system during this period of low flow is pretty small compared to what the river usually holds on a given normal water year.

On this trip, my buddies and I decided to give the Arden Ponds (William Pond Rec. Area) a try, as there are some deeper holes that are much more accessible now due to the low water. Unfortunately there isn’t too much to report on as none of us caught anything or even had a bite. The only fish that any of us saw was a zombie salmon swim past my leg and a few carcasses that haven’t fully decomposed yet. If you do find yourself out there in the near future, there are still a few redds. Just be aware and keep off of them. There have been many that have dried out since the main salmon spawn and we don’t want more destroyed.