On a bright January day in 1848, James Marshall discovered gold flakes in the tailrace of a mill on the South Fork of the American River and set in motion the greatest race for riches in history. Today the American River offers riches of another sort for fly fishers: The opportunity to fish for five of America's finest fly-rod fish just a few miles downstream from that gold discovery site.

Anglers line up to fish near Sailor Bar in January. The upper stretch of the lower American is closed until January 1 for the spawning king salmon. When it opens, winter steelhead fishing can be excellent in this stretch of river.

Picture a river that flows clear and cold all year round. This river has a moderate gradient, regular cobble bottom, an average width of 100 yards, and is easy to wade and straightforward to fish. Picture a river that has enough water to float a drift boat, but not so much to make wading impossible, and a paved walking and bicycling path along its entire length, providing excellent access for walk-in anglers. Even in winter, days on this river are typically sunny and mild. Now place that river in the heart of one of California's major cities, with excellent highways, airports, and services. Have it flow through parklands rich with otter, eagles, osprey, and beaver. And finally add the magic of five superb fly-rod fish. This is California's lower American River.

The lower American begins at Nimbus Dam and ends at its confluence with the Sacramento River at Discovery Park, west of downtown Sacramento. It flows for 23 miles through parks and open spaces, through residential neighborhoods and under bridges carrying the commerce of California's capital city. Yet, on the river, you are in a world apart; a world of great natural beauty and superb fly fishing.

For fly fishers, the upper 8 miles from Nimbus Dam to Howe Avenue Bridge is particularly appealing. Here the water is cooler and the many riffles and runs provide great holding and feeding water for fish as well as excellent wading and boating access for fly fishers. Below Howe Avenue, the river becomes slower and deeper and the access much more limited. This area is popular for powerboat fishing for big stripers in deep holes in late summer.

The lower American is great for floating and wading. The river has a moderate gradient, regular cobble bottom, and an average width of 100 yards. With five species of fish and year-round action, it is an angler's paradise.

The American provides good walk-and-wade access. Goethe Park offers a fine variety of water to fish. There is also good walk-and-wade fishing at Upper Sunrise and at Watt Avenue, where an island breaks up the river. Good studded wading boots are essential. Studs are a real advantage on the fist-sized washed river rocks common throughout the river or the few clay-bank sections. Many anglers use wading staffs.

For fall, winter, and early-spring fishing, you'll also need waders. Though daytime temperatures in midwinter are typically in the 50s, the water is cold. From late May into September, it's a great pleasure to put on shorts and boots and step into the cool river and begin casting for shad or stripers.

In addition to the ample wade-fishing opportunities, the American is a perfect float-fishing river. The gradient is moderate and the launch spots on the upper river are numerous and well-spaced for different length floats. Most of the fast water is straightforward and only two riffles require particular attention: the San Juan rapid just above Rossmoor and the Goethe rapid at the downstream end of the Goethe Park area. Each rapid offers ample opportunities to scout the water and to line your boat down the shallow margins at the normal fishing flows of 1,500 to 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). Most guides use drift boats, but pontoon boats, catarafts, and canoes are also suitable. A boat provides great access to the best holding water. And because of the urban setting, solitary anglers can call a taxi for the shuttle!

Sailor Bar to Rossmoor, Upper Sunrise to Grist Mill, and Rossmoor to Watt Avenue are the most popular floats. Typical drifts are three to four miles long and allow plenty of time for both wading and boat fishing. Just below the dam, Sailor Bar has a paved launch ramp. There is another paved launch at the old Fair Oaks Bridge. Watt Avenue and Howe Avenue ramps are also paved. The launches at Rossmoor Bar and Grist Mill Park are not paved. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is a good idea because these launches involve driving out onto the cobbles to get the trailer into the water.

Most fly fishers on the American use conventional rods and floating lines to dead-drift nymphs and drys or strip streamer patterns with sinking lines. But in recent years, Spey rods have become popular on the American. The easy wading and long riffles throughout much of the river and the willingness of steelhead, shad, and king salmon to come to a swung fly make the American ideal Spey-rod water.

On a recent float with local guide Bill Lowe from Rossmoor to Grist Mill Park, I had my first Spey lesson. Using a 14-foot, 9-weight Sage rod with a Rio Windcutter line (which comes with three different weight sinking tips), I quickly picked up basic line control and casting skills. The fundamentals of a good casting stroke are the same with a Spey rod as with a conventional rod. And a roll cast is the same whether the rod is 9 or 14 feet. It is exhilarating to snap 80 feet of line out across the current and adjust the drift so the fly swings across and below you. The rod length makes it easy--even for a novice--to throw 60, 70, or 80 feet and control the drift. You can manipulate a lot of line with a 14-foot rod.

On a river like the American where salmon, shad, and steelhead all come readily to a submerged swinging fly, the key is keeping your fly swimming in the water as long as possible. Bill did an interesting exercise to demonstrate the effectiveness of Spey fishing. We stood in the shallow water at the head of a long riffle with a single-handed and a Spey rod rigged up. He took my 8-weight, 9-foot single-handed rod and had me count how long it took to make a conventional cast with a sinking line.

As I began counting, he stripped in 30 feet of the line that streamed out in the current below us. He made three false casts to get that 30 feet in the air and develop line speed. On his final cast, he shot the line 60 feet out across the water and immediately mended his line to set up his drift. When Bill judged his fly to be at the depth and speed he wanted to fish, I stopped my count: 18 seconds.

Then he repeated the exercise with his 14-foot, 9-weight Spey rod. He made a quick horizontal snap cast upstream and dropped the fly a few feet below where we stood. This established the anchor point for the roll cast that followed. The line shot out 80 feet.

With the long rod, Bill lifted 30 feet of line off the water and placed it carefully to set up his drift. "Mark." Eight seconds! In less than half the time, he had thrown more line, with no false casts or backcast.

The point of sinking-line fishing is to keep your fly in the water in front of fish. Spey casting provides twice the in-the-water time for half the effort.

We worked down through the long riffle: cast, swing, take a big step downstream, cast, swing, and step. I learned a valuable new technique that has me thinking hard about how to apply the same techniques to my single-handed trout fishing. Spey rods are now available in 12- to 15-foot lengths from 5- to 9-weight lines that are well suited to the lower American. [See Simon Gawesworth's article "Switch Casting" in the May 2003 issue for more on using Spey techniques with single-handed rods. The Editor.]