Next Monthly Club Meeting & Program

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Speaker Presentation Will Be in Person 

Camellia Room
at Heather Farm Community Center
1540 Marchbanks Drive, Walnut Creek

Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.
Meeting Starts at 7:30 p.m.
Invites to the Online Session to be
Sent to Members via Email

The Lower Sacramento River,
with Bryan Quick of The Fly Shop

In Redding, the Lower Sacramento River passes within a mile of The Fly Shop and no one knows the river better than their guides. Some say it’s the best trout stream in California and others claim that at times it’s the best in the Lower 48. Flows range from 3,000 cfs during winter to over 100,000 cfs after big rain events when Lake Shasta is full and the Bureau of Reclamation must dump the incoming flow from the Upper Sac, McCloud and Pit rivers.

There are spawning runs of salmon, super bug emergences and colonies of tiny mayfly and midges. All feed the football shaped rainbows that require 3X tippets if you expect to subdue their powerful runs. Trout water extends to below Red Bluff, but the classic drifts start near the Sundial Bridge and take out at Anderson Park.

Every year we feature photos of impressive rainbows landed by novices and expert anglers from DVFF and Healing Waters. Knowledgeable guides can reliably put you on fish but if you walk and wade, this river is a challenge. Bryan will take us through the ‘Sac Seasons’ and talk about the changes that seem to be happening. 

Bryan has been with The Fly Shop for 10 years and manages the shop's Outfitters Department including the Northern California guide service, private waters, schools and fish camps.

Bryan spent his early years chasing bass, trout and carp in the local Bay Area, and western Sierra lakes and streams with his fly rod. After having retired from the Air Force, he returned to Northern California to the waters he loves to fish and guide.

Bryan first got started in fly fishing when he saw a fly fisher on one of his family camping trips. After seeing this new style of fishing, he asked for a fly rod for his 7th birthday. He has been using a fly rod ever since and continues to pick up new aspects of the sport, two-handed fishing being a big part of his fishing.

Bryan’s favorite aspect of fly fishing is the challenge of figuring out how to catch trout. This involves so many things that appeal to him: observation, developing fly patterns and tying, practicing casting and presentations, planning trips, and much more. When it all comes together and you have fooled a fish, it is the best feeling.

As a bonus presentation, Kaylee Clayton (left), our youth scholarship recipient, will offer a report on her experience at Fish Camp which is coincidentally run by Bryan Quick. Kaylee and her younger sister, Lexi, have been regularly featured in the DVFF Memorable Catches retrospective but I’m looking forward to her firsthand report.

You can join online or join the DVFF online or download a membership application. (The membership form requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.) Print out and complete the form and either bring it to a meeting or send it to the club mailbox (Diablo Valley Fly Fishermen, P.O. Box 4988, Walnut Creek, CA 94596). You may also pick up an application at a meeting. (You can renew your membership online by clicking this link.)

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