Spring Fly Fishing In The Lost Sierra

Fly Fishing the Middle Fork Feather River, Lake Almanor, Lake Davis and The Lost Sierra

Spring fly fishing in the Northern Sierra brings a welcome shift in energy as the water warms and fish become more active. Although snowmelt and runoff can make conditions tricky, there are often prime windows—especially late mornings and afternoons—where flows stabilize and trout start feeding more aggressively.

Conditions are lining up beautifully as warmer air temperatures gradually kick off the snowmelt, sending a steady trickle of fresh water into rivers and lakes.

Spring Fishing!

Float Trips on the Middle Fork Feather, float tubes on the Lakes - Let’s go!

The Middle Fork Feather River

The Middle Fork Feather is running high right now, ideal for maintaining healthy flows and solid water levels well into early summer. While the fish are still a bit scattered from the recent rains spiking the river and early season runoff, they're beginning to regroup in their usual holding spots. As conditions stabilize, the river is set to fish exceptionally well in the coming weeks—setting the stage for another incredible spring season in the heart of the Lost Sierra watershed.

Hatches: Early spring hatches include Blue-Winged Olives, March Browns, midges, and lingering Skwala stoneflies. As April progresses, expect to see more caddis and even some early PMDs.

Tactics: Start the day with deep, slow nymphing using tungsten-beaded flies like Prince Nymphs, and Pheasant Tails. As the sun warms the water, shift to dry-dropper setups or swing soft hackles through likely runs. We are still finding fish-chasing streamers in all sorts of water. For the most part, the fish are keying into the new food sources and staying focused!

Lake Almanor, Lake Davis, and Frenchman Lake

The lakes have been fishing well, though they’ve kept us on our toes—fish are stacked in certain zones one day and scattered the next. The real challenge is dialing in where they’re holding, but once you find them, the action can be non-stop. Jordan’s been consistently hooking up at Lake Almanor using deep-water indicator rigs with balanced leeches, targeting depths from 8 to 30 feet. We also had some stellar days at Frenchman’s as the water warmed—so did the bite. Nymphing under an indicator was lights out, producing fish after fish.

Stillwaters: Lakes respond well to slow-stripped leech patterns or balanced leeches under indicators. Midges and callibaetis nymphs can produce steady action, especially near drop-offs and shallow flats.

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