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McCloud River 2019 Fishing Report and Fishing Map, Siskiyou Public Hunting, Clubs and Hunting Ranches

McCloud River 2019 Fishing Report and Fishing Map to Best Areas

Here’s the facts:
In the late 1800s, McCloud River rainbows provided the  genesis  for  trout  in Alaska, New Zealand and Argentina. The lower river has trout restrictions and permits are  needed to fish the Nature Conservancy section.
Location: The famous McCloud River is  located 12 miles from the town of  McCloud on Highway 89. To reach  the more technical (artificial only) wild trout lower river, go around  Lake McCloud and take  Squaw Valley Creek road to  Ah-Di-Nah. See our Fishing Map above.
For the bait fishing, etc. Upper River, there is a turnoff  to Fowler’s Camp on the from Highway  89, and the river is reachable by foot upstream from  Fowler’s Camp.
Species: Rainbow trout  and German  brown trout.  There are a few Dolly Varden in the McCloud  River, which must be let go!!
The limit on the lower  river from the dam to  Ladybug Creek is two fish  with barbless flies and lures  only; the limit from Ladybug  Creek downstream through  the nature conservancy is “no fish”, and fishing is barbless flies and lures only.
General trout restrictions apply on the  upper river, with a 10-fish-  limit during the trout season. Bait, hardware and flies  are all allowed. 
Camping: The only camping   on the upper river is at  Fowler’s Camp. The Forest  Service has a campground on the lower  river at Ah-Di-Na.
Ah-Di-Na “Private but accessible” Usually it’s no  problem signing in to fish this prime  stretch of stream.  There is also a trail that  goes along the west side of the river  from Ah-Di-Na to the Preserve cabin,  a lengthy trek.  Ah-Di-Na campground hardly ever  fills up,
As our fishing map shows,  Lower McCloud commences immediately below the dam, some 7 miles of access, are public waters.   Ash Camp is on the east side of the river, while Ah-Di-Na campground and the Nature Conservancy are on the west side.
 Upper McCloud goes from McCloud town proper, and go south from downtown McCloud on Squaw Valley Road, drive 8 miles down to McCloud Reservoir bear right  until you see a post for for Ah-Di-Na and the Nature Conservancy area.
Here you have 2 choices to the river: left to Ash Camp or right to Ah-Di-Na and the Preserve.
  
Ah-Di-Na: Once you go right  to Ah-Di-Na, be prep;ared for a eight mile fairly rough drive.  The Preserve starts downstream from here
Ash Camp: You drive across the dam, for about a mile to Ash Camp. Across fromcamp, a trail gives tough access to the river three miles, but take heed, its canyon country but at least not many fishermen.
Nature Conservancy (aka the McCloud Preserve):  Once your arrive in Ah-Di-Na, you can fish there, as the Preserve area  is another 2 miles of more road.  Obtaining access during the week may not be a problem, but you should make reservations for weekends.

When and How to Fish the McCloud River’s Best Areas

Presentation  with light leaders are required to fool these fish, and there are still some trophy-class fish available in the  lower river. May and June  are optimum months,  but July and August  snow runoff often  discolors the  McCloud, creating difficult  fishing conditions.  In the fall on the McCloud,  both the upper and lower reaches can be terrific.
 Upper river anglers from Fowler’s Camp down to  Lake McCloud can limit at 10 fish a day  and anglers do  quite well with flies, spinners, salmon eggs and worms.
 Stream fishing is a challenge if you don‘t  know how to find where the fish are.  First, fish will always be where  food is available with the least amount of effort. On a river, trout will be concentrated in those areas where they  get the consistent supply of food without having to contest with a lot of  current. 
 Yellow Cahill and Mosquito in sizes 12  or 14 are the standard here for  taking fish.  But,  while Northern  California’s  Lower  Hat Creek and Fall River are using tiny 18 and 20 flies,  the McCloud River in July you should toss  big flies.
The best time of day for fishing dries  is from 6:00 p.m. until dark,  because that’s when hatches are most  prolific and trout feed most heavily.  But fish are also taken in the early  mornings on a variety of wet patterns.

Local California Hunting Clubs and Private Hunting Ranches:

Click on a County near you to see Public Lands, Hunting Clubs, and Day Use Ranches
If you want other places to go, or need some fishing maps, including some private access to Fall River and Hat Creek
Also, if your interested in private hunting ranches or hunting clubs, we recommend a sister site to freehuntfishmaps, which shows county by county Hunting Clubs and private hunting ranches in California and Oregon:
best areas, pig, deer, turkey
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