Below a dam the release is the number that matters: the operator's observed release and published schedule are in the readings below, exactly as published.
The McCloud River is a freestone river in California, listed as Wild Trout Water by California Department of Fish and Wildlife / California Fish and Game Commission.
3 guides and 1 shop nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Redding & the Lower Sacramento.
The McCloud River just below Middle Falls. Photo: Sergey Yarmolyuk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
McCloud River is a freestone river in California. Our destination hub Redding & the Lower Sacramento is 13 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of McCloud River: gauges, shops and guides
Map of McCloud River, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.
Restrooms within 2 miles of McCloud River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Freestone riverThe upper Sacramento River at Castle Crags State Park. Photo: Nathan Jongewaard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
California · about 22 mi
TailwaterPit River Falls near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Tom Hilton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
California · about 31 mi
Steelhead / salmon waterThe Sacramento River in Redding, California. Photo: RoyalMayfair, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Shasta LakeEagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Shasta Lake.
California · about 30 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Spring CreekThe Trinity Wild and Scenic River below Lewiston, California (BLM). Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Spring Creek.
California · about 38 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bear CreekUpper Hat Creek below Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo: NPS / Lassen Volcanic National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bear Creek.
California · about 41 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Designated Wild Trout Waters (Fish and Game Commission) list (California Department of Fish and Wildlife / California Fish and Game Commission, read 2026-10-16). All waters with this designation
Quoted word for word from the agency page on the date shown. Many quotes name the reach they cover and apply only to that part of the water. Rules change; the linked page is the authority.
“McCloud River from McCloud Dam to confluence of Ladybug Creek. Last Saturday in April through November 15.”
USDA Forest Service · read 2026-10-14
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
2 guides name it on their website
Redding, CA · 40 mi
Walk-and-wade · Drift boat · Sacramento & McCloud
Names this water
Redding, CA · 42 mi
Wade trips · Spey & two-handed · Sacramento & McCloud
Names this water
Redding, CA · 38 mi
Drift boat · Sacramento & Lower Sacramento
Nearby
What 2 nearby guide websites mention: what guides advertise, not a survey or a promise of what you will catch.
Named on 2 nearby guide websites
12 hatches charted for the region, not measured on this water. From California Fly Fisher (secondary sources: an angling organisation or magazine, not an agency).
American grannom (April to September) · Golden stonefly (May to July) · Green drake (May to July) · Pale morning dun (May to August) · Saddle-case caddis (May to September) · Salmonfly (May to June) · and 6 more on the chart
Redding sits on the Sacramento River below Shasta and Keswick dams in far northern California, with the Trinity, Pit, McCloud and Upper Sacramento rivers and Hat Creek in the mountains around it.
Destination hub · 13 mi away in a straight line
What to bring on a guided float fishing trip: rain gear, polarized sunglasses, sun protection, a dry bag and your license. Most guides supply rods and flies. Estimated prices and where to buy.
Usually supplied by the guide; a 9′ 5–6 weight if you bring your own · Trout on most western float rivers
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with McCloud River.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: a point on the mapped channel of “McCloud River”, halfway along its length in California, from the USGS high-resolution hydrography (NHDPlus HR), read 4 Nov 2026. It marks the water, not a particular access or reach. Water type is our own classification.
Pacific Gas and Electric (station reported to CDEC)
McCloud River below McCloud Dam (CDEC station MC7): the flow released to the lower McCloud
Reading Nov 5, 2:15 PM PST · Pacific Gas and Electric (station reported to CDEC) data as published
Pacific Gas and Electric (station reported to CDEC) publishes the observed release here, not an hourly schedule. Releases can change without notice; check CDEC station MC7: McCloud River below McCloud Dam before wading.
Water below dams can rise quickly when releases change. Pacific Gas and Electric (station reported to CDEC) publishes no separate safety page for this dam we could cite; see CDEC station MC7 (California Department of Water Resources (CDEC)) .
CDEC station MC7: McCloud River below McCloud Dam Data source (California Department of Water Resources (CDEC))
Dam releases and lake levels are the operators' own provisional numbers, shown as published; observations refresh at most every 15 minutes and schedules hourly. Schedules can change without notice.
Checked Nov 5, 3:59 PM PST; readings refresh at most every 15 minutes and statistics daily. Provisional USGS data can be revised. Conditions change: re-check before you go. This is general guidance, not a fishing forecast, a safety guarantee or a statement about access.
Freestone riverThe upper Sacramento River at Castle Crags State Park. Photo: Nathan Jongewaard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
TailwaterPit River Falls near Fall River Mills, California. Photo: Tom Hilton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Steelhead / salmon waterThe Sacramento River in Redding, California. Photo: RoyalMayfair, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
California · about 41 mi
Rainbow trout, steelhead & chinook salmon
5,160cfsFlow now · normal for the date
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Shasta LakeEagle Lake, Lassen County, California, with dry Horse Lake in the foreground (aerial). Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Shasta Lake.
California · about 30 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Spring CreekThe Trinity Wild and Scenic River below Lewiston, California (BLM). Photo: Bureau of Land Management, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Spring Creek.
California · about 38 mi
Wild Trout WaterRepresentative photo · not Bear CreekUpper Hat Creek below Lassen Peak, Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo: NPS / Lassen Volcanic National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bear Creek.
California · about 41 mi
