Sacramento River Guided Rainbows- 4/18/15

Got out Saturday to take my good friend/client Glenn out for his first Sacramento River kayakfishing run.  We launched ahead of anyone else (except the turkey hunters), dropping the yaks in at Balls Ferry by 8am with a planned takeout at the Jelly’s Ferry Bridge some 10 miles downstream.  After a quick lesson on boat handling in the river, reading the water, and tactics/techniques, we easily slid through the first ‘rapid’ and settled into out drift. 

The wildlife was super abundant this day, we soon had a family of otters in our company, deer on the banks, a clucking hen and gobbling turkey on opposite banks, a colony of cliff swallows numbering in the thousands, and watched an osprey pluck a trout from the shallows within casting distance away. The geese and sandhill cranes were in full migration north, and resident honkers stood watch on the banks.  While the land/air critters were distracting, it didn't take long for Glenn to get the hang of the tap-tap-tap of his offering drifting over the bottom and he was soon hooked up on his fish of the day.  A lowly pikeminnow, but as I reminded Glenn it proved he was putting his bait in the right spot and was able to detect and connect on the bite.  We drifted on, with a rainbow here and a pikeminnow there, topped by a brute pulled from the depths of the Barge Hole.  Stopping for a quick shore lunch, we chatted about how lucky we were to be on the river, and despite being minutes from Interstate 5 and a city of 100,000 people, we hadn’t seen a single person all day.

Sliding down river I hooked up on the fish I’ve been waiting all year for.  A BIG rainbow on just above the Old Mouth, a snaggy spot that demands attention.  Working the fish, keeping the yak out of the strainers…just couldn’t make it happen. One wrong twist and it was gone….would’ve really liked to have landed that one!  We reached the takeout, enjoyed a frosty beverage after a hard day’s work, and tossed some ideas around for the next trip.  Great fishing, great company….looking forward to the next one.

A few more.

Tight lines,
beenfishin

Beautiful colors on the fish, Ben.

Nice looking fish, were those swallows in the cliffs just south of Cottonwood creek on right? I have seen the holes in the cliffs but never seen the birds there.

Good stuff, Ben.   

Thanks for the report and pictures Ben.

Nice looking fish, were those swallows in the cliffs just south of Cottonwood creek on right? I have seen the holes in the cliffs but never seen the birds there.

You got it, they hang out in South America for the winter and return late March/early April.  It's like a scene from The Birds, really cool!  Plus, they kick off a nice little food chain:  find birds, find bait, find fish.  The nicest rainbow landed came directly under this colony. 

Looks like a fun day!  Thanks for the pics and report.

What do you throw at them?

What do you throw at them?

We threw meat on this trip, crickets n' crawlers.  The standard affair is the double fly setup of a beadheaded caddis and a rubberleg or egg, depending on time of year.  Anything resembling a smolt this time of year will also get smashed...that's on the agenda for this evening higher up river.

Thanks for sharing.  How much for just a list of where to put in and take out. I want to do that!
BTW, swallows nesting in exfoliating cliffs along the Sacto river likely to be Bank Swallow.. a California endangered bird. They look like cliffs but a little more fluttery and have a black band across the upper chest.  Definitelyl a bird to keep track of and to count wherever you see them. CDFW does an annual survey (I think) floating down the river and counting birds, but they could use the help and the report.
Again, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing.  How much for just a list of where to put in and take out. I want to do that!
BTW, swallows nesting in exfoliating cliffs along the Sacto river likely to be Bank Swallow.. a California endangered bird. They look like cliffs but a little more fluttery and have a black band across the upper chest.  Definitelyl a bird to keep track of and to count wherever you see them. CDFW does an annual survey (I think) floating down the river and counting birds, but they could use the help and the report.
Again, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the info, sounds spot on. 
The put-in and take-out are super easy, both are established launch facilities.  For the put-in the location is the Balls Ferry ramp, on Balls Ferry Road in Anderson.  It's often referred to as Roosters Landing, which is the bar/RV park across the road (killer burgers).  The take-out is a BLM facility at the Jellys Ferry Bridge (on Jellys Ferry Road) about 10 miles downstream.  There is an additional spot to take out about halfway known as the Gravel Bar if you wanted to shorten the trip.

Nice looking fish, were those swallows in the cliffs just south of Cottonwood creek on right? I have seen the holes in the cliffs but never seen the birds there.

You got it, they hang out in South America for the winter and return late March/early April.  It's like a scene from The Birds, really cool!  Plus, they kick off a nice little food chain:  find birds, find bait, find fish.  The nicest rainbow landed came directly under this colony. 

Thanks, this winter when I put in at Steelhead Landing and pedaled upstream I can make it just north of there before flow from Cottonwood Creek is to strong to go further up. When water is low enough I like landing on that ledge and fishing the drop off, always seem to find some kind of fish there in the slow side of the seam.

So if we can get the overnight trip going again this fall you in for 2-3 days camping, Anderson to Red Bluff? Trout, Salmon and SMB?

Nice!  Thanks

Nice looking fish, were those swallows in the cliffs just south of Cottonwood creek on right? I have seen the holes in the cliffs but never seen the birds there.

You got it, they hang out in South America for the winter and return late March/early April.  It's like a scene from The Birds, really cool!  Plus, they kick off a nice little food chain:  find birds, find bait, find fish.  The nicest rainbow landed came directly under this colony. 

Thanks, this winter when I put in at Steelhead Landing and pedaled upstream I can make it just north of there before flow from Cottonwood Creek is to strong to go further up. When water is low enough I like landing on that ledge and fishing the drop off, always seem to find some kind of fish there in the slow side of the seam.

So if we can get the overnight trip going again this fall you in for 2-3 days camping, Anderson to Red Bluff? Trout, Salmon and SMB?

Early fall overnighter sounds like a plan!