Craig Isberg holds up one of the Sacramento River's hefty rainbow trout. Tinted line and black sinker socks, swivels and hooks all figure into the plan. Photo by Art Isberg

By Art Isberg

Can you imagine floating down a big, brawling river passing under bridges busy with traffic, with a popular waterway trail just yards away where joggers and bicyclists match your pace as you experience some of the finest rainbow trout fishing anywhere in the Golden State? It sounds like a pipe dream, but it's not.

The northern Sacramento River, ice cold from releases at Shasta Dam just upstream, is the best-kept secret among big-fish aficionados in California and one of the most unique fishing opportunities you can experience.

Most anglers think of battling trophy-sized rainbow trout as the exclusive domain of hard-to-reach backcountry waters, but the growing north state town of Redding is the setting for this trout fishing paradise. When you can go out float after float and battle fish in the 16- to 20-inch class, paradise is certainly not too strong a word to use.

My fishing pal and expert river man Rod Libolt, who lives in Redding, first showed me his unusual drift-fishing technique several years back, and although I've made some slight refinements it's basically his approach and delivery system I use to this day.

That first trip we went far upriver, then drifted back down at natural current speed, bottom-bouncing large night crawlers through deep holes and churning, boulder-lined pools to reach deep fish. It took me awhile to get the hang of that drift because you must learn to distinguish between the bump, bounce and drag of underwater rocks and vegetation, and the actual pick-up of a fish. I hooked several lovely 4-pound gray boulders before catching my first fish, but by the time our fishing trip ended four hours later we'd hooked eight big, slab-sided rainbows ranging from 17 to 20 inches.

I was stunned by the results.

WINTER-RUN CHINOOK Four species of chinook salmon run in the Sacramento River each year. Genetic research has shown that the winter-run chinook is different from all other salmon in the Central Valley. The species has been on the endangered species list since the late 1980s, leading to a host of special rules and regulations, as well as rehabilitation projects designed to mitigate for the fish’s lost access to spawning habitat upstream of Shasta Dam. Often nicknamed “kings” because of their great size, they average between 18 and 28 pounds, with a few fish reaching beyond the 40-pound mark. While winter-run fish numbers have generally been low in recent years, heavy rainfall in the late 1990s and in early 2000 helped stabilize their numbers, and quality water control and steady flows from Shasta Dam during spawning season have also helped these fish. King salmon upstream of Woodson Bridge in Red Bluff may not be taken and kept until after July 16 each year, and no fish can be taken and kept at any time upstream of the Deschutes River Bridge in the town of Anderson 10 miles south of Redding. Any winter-run chinook taken above that point in the river must always be released unharmed, regardless of the time of year and without bringing the fish into a boat or onto a bank. This helps ensure high survival rates. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service counts of winter-run king salmon at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam tallied 5,501 fish in 1999. Their propagation program and the construction of the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery at the base of Shasta Dam led to the release of about 150,000 juvenile winter-run salmon into the upper Sacramento River in 1999, and another 32,000 in the year 2000. — Art Isberg

I settled on 6-pound monofilament line in green tint for two reasons. First, this color nearly disappears on bottoms in the river's sepia waters, which prevents the spooking of fish you get with lighter and even clear mono. Second, 6-pound actually has the tensile strength of heavier lines and has been able to handle fish up to 24 inches in length. Lighter line weights break off on snags, and these cautious fish see heavier lines, reducing the number of hook-ups.

Spinning reels able to wind on 240 to 250 yards of the 6-pound-test mono are a good match for these rods and line size.

For sinkers cut round, 1/4-inch lead from 2 1/2 to 3 1/3 inches long, inserting them into either black surgical tubing or a brown vinyl sleeve to hide the light color. Weight selection depends on water speed. The key is to keep the bait on the bottom but to still allow the rig to move downstream without becoming snagged.

To the tubing lip hook a small snap swivel through which the line is run tied below to a barrel swivel, which serves as a stop for the sinker. Below the barrel I tie on another 16 to 20 inches of 6-pound-test snelled to a No. 6 barbless hook.

For a final touch, add a round, half-inch plastic strike indicator used by flyfishermen - but it's not used for indicating strikes. These bright yellow/orange floats have just enough buoyancy to keep the bait inches off the bottom and avoid snags. I've also come to believe it makes it easier for fish to see the bait in shadowy waters.

The final touch is a large night crawler threaded fully up the hook right to the strike indicator but with the barb sticking out. Now you're ready to go to work.

Some anglers also use small, multi-colored "fuzz balls" for bottom drifting (minus the strike indicator). These too will take fish. I've also used orange imitation plastic salmon eggs, but night crawlers not only take more fish but also larger ones.