Lower American River

Current Report - August 4, 2008 - Monday

There are small Steelhead and Stripers scattered throughout the river now.

Early and late is best in the warm weather and clear skies.

Stripers are scattered from the Nimbus dam downstream to Cal Expo/Hwy 80. Drifting in a boat is the best way to cover lots of water so you can run into a school. They will be in there till it cools in the fall.

There are some small Steelhead in the river almost all year round now. Early and late is best for them too.

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Andy Guibord landed a Striper over 30 pounds (42") in the American River in May 2008.

If you want to learn how to fly fish for Stripers you might get out with Andy this summer.

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The river is very low and wading is wonderful now.

Current Lower American River flow

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You can call the shop or come by to talk about this with our staff.

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**Be sure to get a new 2008 fishing license, Delta Enhancement stamp and Steelhead punch card.

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**Be careful and wear your floatation vest and use a wading staff too.

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Take a look at our message board for current Steelhead 'chit chat'.

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**We recommend floating the river with a good local fly fishing drift boat guide if you want to really have a good chance of catching fish and learn something as well.

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River Flows

Anything under 2000 cfs is fantastic for wading.

2500 is still OK.

At 3000 you need to be a little more careful.

We don't recommend wading over 5000 cfs.

Be sure to take a lot of precautions because we lose people every year in this river.

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River Info

American Shad enter the river in the spring with April being the start. May gets better and then June is the peak. July can be good too.

Stripers enter the river in April and are around through September. April/May can be the best for numbers in the lower part of the river. June can be slower because of the amount of Shad that are in the river. Later in July, August and September it picks up again.

Halfpounder Steelhead are in the entire river in the fall, winter and spring. They can be caught with egg imitations, insect imitations, small streamers and small steelhead patterns. Sept/Oct is tops along with March/April/May if we don't have a high water spring.

Winter Steelhead start coming into the river in November but the upper reaches are closed for Salmon spawning from November 15th till January 1st. January/February is prime time for winter fish.

King Salmon run into the river all summer but they don't get in fishable numbers for fly fishing till October being the peak of the run.

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                 **Float the river if you can. It is a great way to see and fish the river.

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• We are open 7 days a week so call the shop for a first hand update.

• Go to our 'message board' on our web site for more fishing information.

• Local: 916/486-9958
• Toll Free: 800/400-0359 (USA)

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Article

• Lower American River Story by Bill Kiene (lots of info)

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Books

• No Nonsense Guide to Fly Fishing in Northern California by Ken Hanley

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• Boating Guide to American River Parkway - (great maps)

• Normally motor powered water craft are allowed on the lower American River except when there is a closure from Hagan Park upstream to the Nimbus Dam from November 1 to March 15.

• The maximum speed limit for the entire lower American River is 5 miles per hour.

-Thanks to Dan Brosier for this info.

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Lower American River Maps

• Courtesy Fish Sniffer site.
• Courtesy FlyFishNorCal site
• Courtesy Sac County Parks PDF
• Courtesy Google Maps - click on 'satellite' on upper right corner of map

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Fishing Guides

• Kiene's Lower American River Guide recommendations.

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Instruction

• Fly fishing & fly casting instruction on the river with Jeff Putnam
  

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Shuttle Service

           by Joe Shirshac - $25.00
           Home- 916/944-1108

           Cell- 916/541-9909

           Email - joe@kiene.com