The Lower Sacramento River, one of the best tailwater fisheries in the country, benefits from a Temperature Control Device that extracts colder water from the depths of Shasta Lake and sends it downstream, allowing rainbow trout to feed and grow year round. According to The Fly Shop, “the river's controlled flows, combined with northern California's temperate climate, result in near-optimum fishing conditions nearly every day of the year. The average size of the rainbows on the Lower Sacramento is 16 inches, while fish over 20 inches are relatively common, and they are all fat and healthy.” The Lower Sac is open all year and is best fished from drift boats.
