McCloud River

Fly Fishing the McCloud

One of the hallowed waters in northern California - the McCloud River - is spectacularly beautiful and one of the “must visit” walk & wade streams of our region. Its iconic emerald waters originate from spring-fed sources and glacial runoff from the enormous flanks of Mt. Shasta... a 14,000ft volcano.

The river presents deep mysterious pools with super fishy pocket water that will tempt you at every vantage point to step off the river trail and enter the water to make a cast. The river is famous for its native redband trout and is renown for its resident wild rainbows and giant brown trout. Many of the bigger fish in this river are known to migrate upriver from Shasta Lake which is many miles down canyon. More on that below...

Sections of the McCloud River are now open for all year around angling. Like many year around rivers... the McCloud will have different personalities during each of the four seasons. *Note the distinction of the upper McCloud River vs. the lower McCloud River.

Depending on the winter season snow level and runoff... late spring through early summer is perhaps the prime-time to fish here with incredible hatches of large salmonflies, golden stones, little yellow stones, along with a multitude of mayfly species such as drakes and pmd’s. All these bugs offer a smorgasbord of activity and produce some of the best dry fly fishing of the year.

The upper McCloud reach is a small spring fed system and famous for its three large waterfalls. This area is popular with hikers, swimmers and campers and gets a lot of recreational fishing pressure. This water is heavily stocked with trout but does contain a decent population of small wild rainbows and browns. Fishing primarily takes place between the waterfalls and the campgrounds. There is a well travelled trail running its entirety. The upper river flows into Lake McCloud (a beautiful glacial blue-green lake which is deep and cold).

Below Lake McCloud is where the more famous fishing section of the river begins. This section of river can be described as a spring-fed, tailwater that fishes like a freestone river. How about that? Due to its pedigree and spring-fed influence, the lower McCloud will remain clean and cool even during late summer as the temperatures soar in the valley.

The McCloud has a rich and interesting history as a fishery. Long before the dams created Lake Shasta and Lake McCloud, the river ran unencumbered for over 70 miles to its confluence with the Pit River and finally the Sacramento River (now part of Shasta Lake).

The river once supported impressive salmon & steelhead runs which were vital to the areas first inhabitants - the Wintu People. Dolly Varden (reclassified as bull trout) were native to this drainage and relatively rare in California. The dams were eventually the death knell to the migratory bull trout. This species is extirpated in this river system; the last known bull trout were caught in the late 1970’s.

In the 1800’s, the first national fish hatchery was built on the McCloud River which reared and mixed coastal rainbow trout (O. m. irideus) eggs with local McCloud River redband trout (O. m. stonei), which also thrived in this watershed. The eggs from these native regional rainbows were stocked all over the United States and even the world to places like Chile, Argentina and New Zealand.

In addition to the historically important native fish species, you must also consider the resident non-native brown trout that lurk the depths as well as big migratory browns that come up from Lake Shasta. These fish are large and elusive offering unforgettable moments when you find them.

For more information on fishing the McCloud River and accommodations please email me or call. I recommend visitors support one of the local motels or B&B’s in the towns of McCloud (closest) Mt Shasta, or Dunsmuir. There are many nice private home rentals as well. Camping is another great option. On the upper river there are two RV Parks in McCloud or dry camping at Fowlers Campground area. On the lower McCloud camping is available at Ah Di Na Campground or the unimproved sites around Ash Camp. Local Fly Shop is the Ted Fay Fly Shop in downtown Dunsmuir. They are a great source of information and gear. I guide the entire McCloud River with special permit with the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.