Winter Steelhead!!

Date: February 18, 2008
Current Report: Up and down fishing

Since my last report I was able to get down on the Eel river.  The fishing was very good. After fishing around up north it was fun to see some different water.  The river flows were higher than I normally fish them but the color was good.  Then I went up north to fish in the first of three derbies.  The fishing was as tough as I've ever seen it.  The Smith has been tough all year but the Chetco didn't fish as well as I thought it should.  I really believe the cold water from the snow melt has a lot to do with this.  There is rain on the way this week which is going to change things up, hopefully for the better.  With most rivers being slow or not fishing it seems like everybody is on the Eel river.  It is as busy as I've ever seen it.  The main stem is not fishing which is piling everybody up on the lower South Fork.  I'm not sure where I'll be fishing this week except for another derby Friday and Saturday.

Brice

Date: February 11, 2008
Current Report: Chetco River

I have spent the last few days fishing the Chetco river.  I know my reports are starting to sound like a broken record but with the consistent fishing on the Chetco there is no reason to leave.  With the snow melt the river is dropping slowly. I've been catching fish every day but having to work hard to get them.  It seems like some days you can throw your bait out anywhere and a fish will bite it.  It's not like that now.  I know it is more rewarding when you catch one when its like this.  The fish seem to be scattered throughout the river with no concentrations anywhere.  The weather has been nice and there is no significant rain in the forecast.  The lower rivers are starting to come around slowly, it's hard to say when they will be fishable. The next two weekends are derbies, it looks like we will be fishing low and clear conditions in the first one.  See you on the river.

Brice

Date: February 7, 2008
Current Report: Chetco River

Since the last report I have had a few days off because of high water.  We received a lot of rain and with the snow melt the rivers blew out.  Right now the Smith and Chetco are fishing, the lower rivers still have a long way to go before they start fishing.  I have been fishing the Chetco river still.  The fishing has been good with ideal river conditions.  The weather hasn't been too bad either.  It sounds like since the last rise on the Smith river that there has been a few more fish caught there.  Hopefully it will keep going that way.  I have had a few people ask about the fish in the picture above.  We didn't weigh it because we released it after the picture but it was 37 1/2" inches long.  For comparison the guy holding the fish is 6' 2" and weighs 250 lbs.  I figure it was or real close to 20 pounds.  Definitely an awesome fish to catch!  The weather report sounds good for the next few days, I hope the fishing stays as consistent as it has been.  See you on the river.

Date: January 29, 2008
Current Report: Chetco River

I'm still fishing the Chetco river.  It rained pretty good up here which blew out all of the lower rivers but put some much needed water in the Smith and Chetco rivers. The fishing has been good on the Chetco lately, the extra water has helped a lot.  The reports from the Smith are the same, one day there will be some fish caught and then the next day nothing.  I wish more fish would show up on the Smith, I really enjoy fishing it.    

Date: January 24, 2008
Current Report: Chetco River

I have been fishing the Chetco river for the last week except for one day that I fished the Trinity.  The fishing has been good on the Chetco, especially when it first dropped into shape.  Right now it is low and clear and the fishing has been scratchy.  If a person can find some fish that havn't been beat on there are fish to be caught.  It's frustrating though that people are still fishing like there is only two feet of visibility in the river.  They run the boat right down the middle of the river and short cast it toward the bank.  That's not going to work very often and then you spook the fish which are now in the middle or deep part of the river.   I have not been fishing the Smith river, the reports I have been getting from there are not good.  The fish are just not coming in.  The day I fished the Trinity the fishing was good.   I was hoping to fish the Eel river but with the storms coming in I'm going to be up on the Chetco and Smith rivers.  The reports from the boats that were able to fish down there are good.  Some boats were able to fish the main stem.  I'm hoping to get on the river soon, it does take a long time to come into shape though.

Date: January 14, 2008
Current Report: High Water

Since my last report it has been a bunch of un-fishable days and the days we've able to go the river level is high.  I have been fishing the Smith River.  One day I fished the Smith the river was at 15 ft. on the upper gauge but the river color was good.  I don't think I've rowed that hard in my life!   We've been dealing with a lot of snow melt.  Scores on the river have been 0-3 fish a day.  Plunkers in the right spot and time have been doing O.K.  Both the Smith and Chetco are dropping down to good flows, it should be good fishing for awhile when they do. 

Date: January 4, 2008
Current Report: Chetco River

Happy New Year to everybody.  I started it out by fishing the Chetco River.  The conditions were ideal and the fishing was great.  We got a late start and were moving slow but I believe it helped us. That morning it was really cold so by the time we started fishing it had warmed up and the fish were biting.  It looked like most of the boats were catching fish.  We fished the next day on the Chetco again and we had to work a little harder for the fish but it was as good as the 1st.  Today I didn't have high hopes but we headed to the Smith this morning.  Even with the big storm that pushed in the river did not rise that much.  When we got to the Forks put in the middle fork was a off green color with not much visibility but the level was good.  We figured there was a slide up river.  With the rain that was coming and the color of the river we decided not to go.  I'm glad that we didn't because about a half hour later the south fork was dumping in mud.  I'm going to be off for a few days because of this storm. Winter steelhead season is here!  I do have open days scattered through out the season.