Beta

GuidedFloats is in beta. The full site launches March 1, 2027. The mobile app follows.

Guides: claim before March 1, 2027 and your first full season of Premium is free. Claim your founding spot →

Log in List your guide serviceFor guides
Home › Waters › California › Lower Sacramento River
Tailwater · Northern California · California

Lower Sacramento River Fishing Guides

The big tailwater below Keswick Dam at Redding, a year-round rainbow fishery where guided drift boats work the Redding to Anderson and Anderson to Balls Ferry reaches.

A boulder river running through mossy old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Lower Sacramento River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the Lower Sacramento River

The Lower Sacramento below Keswick Dam is the most productive trout tailwater in California and one of the few large western rivers you can fish every month of the year. Cold releases from Shasta and Keswick hold the river in the low fifties through a Redding summer that regularly runs over a hundred degrees, and the resulting insect biomass grows rainbows that are thick, hard-fighting and abundant.

Guided trips here are drift boat trips almost without exception. The river is big, deep and fast, and the productive water is mid-channel gravel and drop-offs rather than the banks. The standard runs are Posse Grounds to Bonnyview, Bonnyview to Anderson River Park, and Anderson to Balls Ferry, each a comfortable half or full day. Indicator nymphing with small mayfly and caddis patterns accounts for most fish; there are dry fly windows in the fall, and swinging for steelhead is a separate pursuit further down. Fall and winter also bring salmon into the system, which changes both the fishing and the boat traffic.

The Keswick gauge is the release number and it drives everything. Flows are managed for water delivery and salmon, so they can change substantially between weeks. Guides generally consider something in the 4,000 to 10,000 cfs range good working water; much higher and the river pushes hard and the wade options disappear; much lower and the fish concentrate but get selective. Sudden ramping in either direction shuts the bite down for a day or two.

Redding has flights, lodging, shops and more guides per mile of river than almost anywhere in the state, so this is an easy trip to arrange on short notice.

This water needs a real photo

The photo at the top of this page is not Lower Sacramento River.

It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.

Add a photo of this water See the badges

Pioneer badgeUnclaimed

Add a photo of this water

Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.

Never published. It is how the badge is held for you until member accounts open.

Posting to Lower Sacramento River.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. Landscape orientation looks best at the top of the page. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name printed under the photo and on your badge. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Lower Sacramento River.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Lower Sacramento River cfs

Now: 6,090 cfs, read 5:30 am CDT, Thu Oct 22, 2026 (USGS 11370500, SACRAMENTO R A KESWICK CA).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Keswick Dam access: the top of the tailwater, limited boat launching.
Posse Grounds Boat Ramp, Redding: the standard upper put-in.
Caldwell Park and the Sundial Bridge area: town access and wade fishing.
Bonnyview Boat Ramp: mid-river ramp, a common takeout and put-in.
Anderson River Park: ramp at the bottom of the middle float.
Balls Ferry and Bend Bridge: lower ramps toward Red Bluff.
Wading is limited by depth and current; most productive water is reached by boat.

Seasons

Year-round fishery; the river never closes for cold or runoff.
March through May: strong nymph fishing, spring insects, moderate flows.
June through August: cold releases keep it fishing through triple-digit air temperatures; go early.
September through December: salmon in the system, fall dry fly windows, the best big-rainbow months.

From the water

No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.

Log this water

Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.

Questions

What is the current flow on the Lower Sacramento River?

As of Oct 22, 5:30 am, the USGS gauge SACRAMENTO R A KESWICK CA reads 6,090 cfs, the 49th percentile for this date. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Lower Sacramento River?

Anglers target Chinook Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Sacramento Pikeminnow, Steelhead, Striped Bass on the Lower Sacramento River in California.

Are there fishing guides on the Lower Sacramento River?

GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Lower Sacramento River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Lower Sacramento River?

Keswick Dam access: the top of the tailwater, limited boat launching. Posse Grounds Boat Ramp, Redding: the standard upper put-in. Caldwell Park and the Sundial Bridge area: town access and wade fishing. Bonnyview Boat Ramp: mid-river ramp, a common takeout and put-in. Anderson River Park: ramp at the bottom of the middle float. Balls Ferry and Bend Bridge: lower ramps toward Red Bluff. Wading is limited by depth and current; most productive water is reached by boat.

When is the best time to fish the Lower Sacramento River?

Year-round fishery; the river never closes for cold or runoff. March through May: strong nymph fishing, spring insects, moderate flows. June through August: cold releases keep it fishing through triple-digit air temperatures; go early. September through December: salmon in the system, fall dry fly windows, the best big-rainbow months.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Lower Sacramento River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the California agency site: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Regulations