I had the day off, so I decided to fish the American River. My plan was to fish under the Watt Ave bridge then head to Riverbend Park and Cordova Creek. Unfortunately, when I arrived at Watt Ave River access the parking lot was closed. I ended up at Riverbend Park with the water flowing at around 5200 CFPS. Luckily, I found a productive side channel that was filled with small 8 -15” fish. I tight lined and dead drifted caddis nymphs through this section for about two hours and caught a fish about every fifth drift. I think the fish were seeking refuge from the main flow in this section. I saw numerous salmon jumping near the inlet to the side channel. CDFW Data Dashboard