Upper Sac Salmon

This Saturday my family and I are going with a guide for salmon on the upper sac.
We won't be on yaks on Saturday, but we're thinking of bringing them Sunday to
try on our own. I am fairly familiar with king techniques, but what do people think is the best technique to do from a kayak?

Is it easy to drift portions of the river near Redding? Any holes people recommend?

Any help is greatly appreciated - it's a long drive so I'd like to get some fish!

Give these guys a call, http://shuttlequest.com/california/rivers/lowerSacramento_river.html  if you are coming in one vehicle the shuttle will be hard part.

Barge Hole is most popular place to Salmon fish, likely you will be going there Saturday if meeting guide in Redding area.

Roe, beads and flatfish are working best for salmon.

What guide are you headed out with?  I have a trip booked with Jeff Goodwin for Monday.  Lots of fish in the system, looks like we're lined up to get over an inch of rain tonight which should kick things up even more. 

Best bet for kings from the yak is drifting roe, but remember that salmon fishing is only allowed below the Deschutes Road bridge in Anderson.  In Redding it's trout only, and the stretch from the Posse Grounds down to the Bonnyview ramp is very productive and about a 4 mile float.  The water levels are ideal for accessing many of the gravel bars, don't be afraid to beach the yaks and wade in.  Casting small spoons, drifting crawlers or bits of roe...it should all produce, just remember to keep it barbless, wear your PFD, and take lots of pics! 

What guide are you headed out with?  I have a trip booked with Jeff Goodwin for Monday.  Lots of fish in the system, looks like we're lined up to get over an inch of rain tonight which should kick things up even more. 

Best bet for kings from the yak is drifting roe, but remember that salmon fishing is only allowed below the Deschutes Road bridge in Anderson.  In Redding it's trout only, and the stretch from the Posse Grounds down to the Bonnyview ramp is very productive and about a 4 mile float.  The water levels are ideal for accessing many of the gravel bars, don't be afraid to beach the yaks and wade in.  Casting small spoons, drifting crawlers or bits of roe...it should all produce, just remember to keep it barbless, wear your PFD, and take lots of pics! 

Were heading out with Kirk from Outdoor Adventure Sports Fishing. Never have gone with him before. I am hoping this rain will make it even better!

I haven't looked into the regs yet, but was planning on asking Kirk about it on Saturday. Are you suggesting to use barbless hooks in case I get something I don't want to keep, like a Steelhead? Or is that actually a reg for salmon there?

I am mostly interested in what techniques people use to drift roe from kayaks. I have used a sliding bobber before and I think that might be what I will try the most. Thanks for the info!

Give these guys a call, http://shuttlequest.com/california/rivers/lowerSacramento_river.html  if you are coming in one vehicle the shuttle will be hard part.

Barge Hole is most popular place to Salmon fish, likely you will be going there Saturday if meeting guide in Redding area.

Roe, beads and flatfish are working best for salmon.

We may have two cars up there but I will definitely call them if we don't. Thanks!

I have heard of barge hole. I think it will be too crowded for my comfort on a kayak, so I will probably try to find a hole near there that is less crowded.

I have bounced roe and used many other techniques for roe and flatfish before, but I am curous about which might work best from a kayak. I am leaning towards casting a sliding bobber with roe.

I am mostly interested in what techniques people use to drift roe from kayaks. I have used a sliding bobber before and I think that might be what I will try the most. Thanks for the info!

I have very little experience fishing the Sac, but I've done quite a bit of kayak fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Trinity and Klamath.  When fishing roe from the kayak, I prefer boondogging.  When you locate a nice drift or pool, paddle into a lane of current, chuck your drift rig (preferably with a Slinkey, Bouncing Betty, or some other less snag-prone weight) about 30-40 feet upstream, and just let the current take you downstream so your bait is directly upstream of you.  Holding your rod with one hand and your paddle with the other, you can use the paddle to make minor adjustments as you drift downstream so you don't get thrown into an eddy and your drift gets messed up.  The strikes will feel vicious when boondogging because when a fish grabs your bait, your kayak continues to drift downstream so it feels like they really hammered it!  Another cool thing with boondogging is you can cover long stretches of water in one drift.  If the depth increases through the drift, all you have to do is let out line until you're bouncing bottom again.

Can't say I've tried a slip float from the kayak, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.  I think it'd be great for those deep pools where salmon will sometimes suspend mid-water.  A potential issue I could see is if your float is moving at a different speed than your kayak, in which case you'd have to make some adjustments to keep up with your float.  Also, if your float is adjusted to drift through a shallower part of a pool and all of a sudden the pool drops off into deep water, you'll have to take the time to reel in and adjust the position of your float stopper so your bait gets deep.  At least with boondogging, all you have to do is let out more line once you're no longer in contact with the bottom.  My two cents anyway  .

Give these guys a call, http://shuttlequest.com/california/rivers/lowerSacramento_river.html  if you are coming in one vehicle the shuttle will be hard part.

Barge Hole is most popular place to Salmon fish, likely you will be going there Saturday if meeting guide in Redding area.

Roe, beads and flatfish are working best for salmon.

We may have two cars up there but I will definitely call them if we don't. Thanks!

I have heard of barge hole. I think it will be too crowded for my comfort on a kayak, so I will probably try to find a hole near there that is less crowded.

I have bounced roe and used many other techniques for roe and flatfish before, but I am curous about which might work best from a kayak. I am leaning towards casting a sliding bobber with roe.

This time of year whether at barge hole or upstream at one of the other holes, boats will be around especially on a Sunday, if you don't want to bother with that suggest trout fishing, a nice paddle is Anderson Park Down to Ball's Ferry, might get lucky and find some salmon especially if it rains 1 1/2" tonight/tomorrow like they say.

I was just down at barge hole, caught 3 large sucker fish but did see this nice fish caught, on beads, 34" - 18 lbs, I missed two salmon, didn't get them hooked.

 

I am mostly interested in what techniques people use to drift roe from kayaks. I have used a sliding bobber before and I think that might be what I will try the most. Thanks for the info!

I have very little experience fishing the Sac, but I've done quite a bit of kayak fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Trinity and Klamath.  When fishing roe from the kayak, I prefer boondogging.  When you locate a nice drift or pool, paddle into a lane of current, chuck your drift rig (preferably with a Slinkey, Bouncing Betty, or some other less snag-prone weight) about 30-40 feet upstream, and just let the current take you downstream so your bait is directly upstream of you.  Holding your rod with one hand and your paddle with the other, you can use the paddle to make minor adjustments as you drift downstream so you don't get thrown into an eddy and your drift gets messed up.  The strikes will feel vicious when boondogging because when a fish grabs your bait, your kayak continues to drift downstream so it feels like they really hammered it!  Another cool thing with boondogging is you can cover long stretches of water in one drift.  If the depth increases through the drift, all you have to do is let out line until you're bouncing bottom again.

Can't say I've tried a slip float from the kayak, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.  I think it'd be great for those deep pools where salmon will sometimes suspend mid-water.  A potential issue I could see is if your float is moving at a different speed than your kayak, in which case you'd have to make some adjustments to keep up with your float.  Also, if your float is adjusted to drift through a shallower part of a pool and all of a sudden the pool drops off into deep water, you'll have to take the time to reel in and adjust the position of your float stopper so your bait gets deep.  At least with boondogging, all you have to do is let out more line once you're no longer in contact with the bottom.  My two cents anyway  .

Thanks for the input! Boondogging sounds like a great technique and also sounds really fun. - i'll have to look into the rig used because I havent fished that technique before. I'll definitely let you know how it goes this weekend. Is fishing the Trinity this weekend an option? I have seen pictures before and it looks beautiful.

Give these guys a call, http://shuttlequest.com/california/rivers/lowerSacramento_river.html  if you are coming in one vehicle the shuttle will be hard part.

Barge Hole is most popular place to Salmon fish, likely you will be going there Saturday if meeting guide in Redding area.

Roe, beads and flatfish are working best for salmon.

We may have two cars up there but I will definitely call them if we don't. Thanks!

I have heard of barge hole. I think it will be too crowded for my comfort on a kayak, so I will probably try to find a hole near there that is less crowded.

I have bounced roe and used many other techniques for roe and flatfish before, but I am curous about which might work best from a kayak. I am leaning towards casting a sliding bobber with roe.

This time of year whether at barge hole or upstream at one of the other holes, boats will be around especially on a Sunday, if you don't want to bother with that suggest trout fishing, a nice paddle is Anderson Park Down to Ball's Ferry, might get lucky and find some salmon especially if it rains 1 1/2" tonight/tomorrow like they say.

I was just down at barge hole, caught 3 large sucker fish but did see this nice fish caught, on beads, 34" - 18 lbs, I missed two salmon, didn't get them hooked.

Thanks for the less-crowded suggestion. Those are ALWAYS appreciated hehe. I will see what my family thinks, but I think we will be focusing on salmon this Sunday. I'll make sure to let everyone know what we get into!

I am mostly interested in what techniques people use to drift roe from kayaks. I have used a sliding bobber before and I think that might be what I will try the most. Thanks for the info!

I have very little experience fishing the Sac, but I've done quite a bit of kayak fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Trinity and Klamath.  When fishing roe from the kayak, I prefer boondogging.  When you locate a nice drift or pool, paddle into a lane of current, chuck your drift rig (preferably with a Slinkey, Bouncing Betty, or some other less snag-prone weight) about 30-40 feet upstream, and just let the current take you downstream so your bait is directly upstream of you.  Holding your rod with one hand and your paddle with the other, you can use the paddle to make minor adjustments as you drift downstream so you don't get thrown into an eddy and your drift gets messed up.  The strikes will feel vicious when boondogging because when a fish grabs your bait, your kayak continues to drift downstream so it feels like they really hammered it!  Another cool thing with boondogging is you can cover long stretches of water in one drift.  If the depth increases through the drift, all you have to do is let out line until you're bouncing bottom again.

Can't say I've tried a slip float from the kayak, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.  I think it'd be great for those deep pools where salmon will sometimes suspend mid-water.  A potential issue I could see is if your float is moving at a different speed than your kayak, in which case you'd have to make some adjustments to keep up with your float.  Also, if your float is adjusted to drift through a shallower part of a pool and all of a sudden the pool drops off into deep water, you'll have to take the time to reel in and adjust the position of your float stopper so your bait gets deep.  At least with boondogging, all you have to do is let out more line once you're no longer in contact with the bottom.  My two cents anyway  .

Thanks for the input! Boondogging sounds like a great technique and also sounds really fun. - i'll have to look into the rig used because I havent fished that technique before. I'll definitely let you know how it goes this weekend. Is fishing the Trinity this weekend an option? I have seen pictures before and it looks beautiful.

No problem!  Just look up "steelhead drift fishing rig" and you should find the rig.  It's extremely common among salmon and steelhead anglers.

As for the Trinity: yep, definitely an option this weekend.  That's why I'm headed over there Friday morning.  Going to do a 2-day float in a stretch of river I haven't fished in nearly 4 years.  Great scenery, far fewer people, and oh yeah, there's fish too  .

I used to boondogle with my dad with roe and/or night crawlers on the Rogue ('80's-'90's) when my dad had a place there.  It was the most productive method.  It wasn't so common on the Rogue then and the guides would come by and ask our technique because we would usually catch more fish than them.

I am mostly interested in what techniques people use to drift roe from kayaks. I have used a sliding bobber before and I think that might be what I will try the most. Thanks for the info!

I have very little experience fishing the Sac, but I've done quite a bit of kayak fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Trinity and Klamath.  When fishing roe from the kayak, I prefer boondogging.  When you locate a nice drift or pool, paddle into a lane of current, chuck your drift rig (preferably with a Slinkey, Bouncing Betty, or some other less snag-prone weight) about 30-40 feet upstream, and just let the current take you downstream so your bait is directly upstream of you.  Holding your rod with one hand and your paddle with the other, you can use the paddle to make minor adjustments as you drift downstream so you don't get thrown into an eddy and your drift gets messed up.  The strikes will feel vicious when boondogging because when a fish grabs your bait, your kayak continues to drift downstream so it feels like they really hammered it!  Another cool thing with boondogging is you can cover long stretches of water in one drift.  If the depth increases through the drift, all you have to do is let out line until you're bouncing bottom again.

Can't say I've tried a slip float from the kayak, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.  I think it'd be great for those deep pools where salmon will sometimes suspend mid-water.  A potential issue I could see is if your float is moving at a different speed than your kayak, in which case you'd have to make some adjustments to keep up with your float.  Also, if your float is adjusted to drift through a shallower part of a pool and all of a sudden the pool drops off into deep water, you'll have to take the time to reel in and adjust the position of your float stopper so your bait gets deep.  At least with boondogging, all you have to do is let out more line once you're no longer in contact with the bottom.  My two cents anyway  .

Thanks for the input! Boondogging sounds like a great technique and also sounds really fun. - i'll have to look into the rig used because I havent fished that technique before. I'll definitely let you know how it goes this weekend. Is fishing the Trinity this weekend an option? I have seen pictures before and it looks beautiful.

No problem!  Just look up "steelhead drift fishing rig" and you should find the rig.  It's extremely common among salmon and steelhead anglers.

As for the Trinity: yep, definitely an option this weekend.  That's why I'm headed over there Friday morning.  Going to do a 2-day float in a stretch of river I haven't fished in nearly 4 years.  Great scenery, far fewer people, and oh yeah, there's fish too  .

Oh man, I will have to talk to the family about the Trinity. I don't at all want to take your spots, but is there a certain stretch you would recommend? Is it good close to redding or farther up stream? Good luck there this weekend!

I used to boondogle with my dad with roe and/or night crawlers on the Rogue ('80's-'90's) when my dad had a place there.  It was the most productive method.  It wasn't so common on the Rogue then and the guides would come by and ask our technique because we would usually catch more fish than them.

I will definitely be trying it out! Thanks for the input!

What guide are you headed out with?  I have a trip booked with Jeff Goodwin for Monday.  Lots of fish in the system, looks like we're lined up to get over an inch of rain tonight which should kick things up even more. 

Best bet for kings from the yak is drifting roe, but remember that salmon fishing is only allowed below the Deschutes Road bridge in Anderson.  In Redding it's trout only, and the stretch from the Posse Grounds down to the Bonnyview ramp is very productive and about a 4 mile float.  The water levels are ideal for accessing many of the gravel bars, don't be afraid to beach the yaks and wade in.  Casting small spoons, drifting crawlers or bits of roe...it should all produce, just remember to keep it barbless, wear your PFD, and take lots of pics! 

Were heading out with Kirk from Outdoor Adventure Sports Fishing. Never have gone with him before. I am hoping this rain will make it even better!

I haven't looked into the regs yet, but was planning on asking Kirk about it on Saturday. Are you suggesting to use barbless hooks in case I get something I don't want to keep, like a Steelhead? Or is that actually a reg for salmon there?

I am mostly interested in what techniques people use to drift roe from kayaks. I have used a sliding bobber before and I think that might be what I will try the most. Thanks for the info!

Never fished with Kirk but have encountered him several times on the water, he's always been polite and courteous...and he puts a lot of fish in the boat! 
We had nearly 2" of rain overnight, the river has just a touch of color to it and the tributaries are all flowing good...awesome conditions! 
The stretch up here in Redding is all barbless, once you drop below the Deschutes Bridge barbs are allowed. 
If you want to avoid the Barge Hole but still have a shot at salmon, just downstream is Old Mouth where many fish stack up.  It gets a bit more swift through here, just watch the strainers and fish the lower section so you can quickly hit the tailout when you hookup.  Another good spot is the long flat stretch upstream of the Jelly's Ferry Bridge, there is a shelf on the west side that salmon will stack up against.  Prime spot to make long drifts along the edge w/ roe.  Would probably be a great spot to work a bobber/roe combo as well.

Down at the fish cleaning station last night, every boat coming in limited yesterday, over 3" of rain here fish are moving, you should do well this weekend.