Salmon Start to Outnumber Steelies

While the fishing is a little slower than it was at the beginning of the week, were still catching decent numbers of salmon along with 2-4 adult steelhead a day. The salmon fishing seems like it should've been a little better the last few days, due to the high numbers that are present in a number of the holes. They just don't want to bite as well as it seems they should. Of course this is a day to day thing, and I expect that the combination between existing fish going on the bite and new fish showing up will result in excellent fishing coming up.

On a sidenote, I'm having problems loading pics on my fishing report, sorry! Hopefully, I can figure it out soon.

Mike

Klamath Cooking!

Fishing has continued to be incredible on the lower Klamath River. There have been lots of adult steelhead, along with growing numbers of salmon. Once the salmon run reaches a fever pitch (very soon) fishing will be unbelievable! I still have dates available for August, along with a couple of super prime early September dates. Get 'em while they last!

Mike

Klamath Summer Steelhead and Early Salmon

I've begun fishing the lower Klamath River and fishing was excellent over the weekend. The fish at this point are mostly summer run steelhead but there are some early fall run salmon in the mix at this point as well. For the next week or two I would expect the steelhead to be the predominate catch while the salmon run continues to build.

As many of you know, biologists are expecting a record breaking run of Chinook salmon to enter the Klamath this year. I still have a couple of days left in September, but I expect them to be gone soon. If you're interested in getting in on this incredible fishery, call me soon!

See you on the river!

Mike

Klamath Spring Chinook

Spring Salmon are now running on the lower Klamath River. I've spent a few days in the last week and a half fishing for them and while fishing isn't red hot yet, I've been able to catch fish every trip. For those of you not familiar with this fishery, we fish for these salmon on anchor, waiting for them to swim by. While this is not the most interactive fishery for the angler, it is very relaxing. And when fish do get hooked, what ensues is pure pandemonium! Ultimately though, the real motivation for participating in the fishery is the eating quality of these fish. They are simply the best eating salmon you could ever put on your grill!

I will be fishing for spring salmon through the end of June. If you are interested in taking a trip, I will be running specials for this time. The price per person will be $150 for 2 or 3 people, $125 per person for a 4 or 5 person trip. This includes a hot breakfast and coffee made on the boat.

I'll keep you posted as the month moves along, and I hope to see you out on the river!

Mike

Striped Bass!

I just got back from a week of fishing on the Sacramento and Feather Rivers for Stripers and it went great! This is a really fun fishery and is unlike anything we do here on the coast. A typical day of Striper fishing includes alot of bent rods, warm weather and beautiful fish! Stripers are also phenomenal eaters. Kinda like a more moist halibut, with firm and sweet white meat. Most fish here average 3 to 5lbs and its not uncommon to catch 30-40 of the little buggers in a day. Plus, there are a enough fish over the 10lb mark to keep things interesting.

I may be going back this coming weekend for a couple of trips, so if anyone would like to add Friday or Monday (or even next Tuesday) I would love to get you aboard! By the way, my new 21' Willie Boat Classic is an unbelievable boat! It's quite possibly the prettiest boat on the river, and more importantly, its a fishing machine!

Tight Lines,
Mike

Unbelievable!

The last week and a half have provided some of the best steelhead fishing of the season so far. Not only are we seeing over 10+ hookups a day, the average size of the fish seen has been very solid. We are hooking at least 1 fish a day in the low to mid teen range while most are over 9lbs. The suprising thing about the last week is the ratio of bright fish to downrunners, which has shaped up to about 80/20 in favor of fresh run steelhead. Most of our fish are falling to sidedrifted or boondogged eggs and fish pills but I've also been putting out plugs in a couple of spots with good results.

While everything should stay in shape into the first part of next week, it looks like there could be some rain on the horizon. If things stay relatively dry, I don't see why fishing wouldn't hold up. I have some space in March, and considering the fishing we're seeing now, it should be a great month of uncrowded fishing. Give us a call if you want to catch some of these fish before the season ends.

Mike

Fishing on the Eel

I must apologize for a lack of reports, but the computer has been in and out of the shop for awhile now. Finally we got it back in working order and I hope to have a regular report up now.

Since its been awhile, I wont rehash the long ago but Ill give you an idea of whats been going on recently. I've been fishing the Eel River system for the last week or so and fishing has been mostly great but there have been a few slow days mixed in. Periodic rain has been the cause of the couple of slow days I've had since I've been down here. The day before yesterday saw great fishing on the mainstem Eel in a light rain. Well, that light rain raised and murked up the river yesterday enough to turn off what was a great bite. We only ended up with one fish out of 3 plug strikes. Scores yesterday ranged from 0 to 2 fish from the boats I heard from. Almost all the fish yesterday were caught on plugs and these fish seemed to be intent on moving and didn't seem to want a thing to do with a piece of roe.

There is supposed to be rain tonight with will make tommorrow iffy, but from tuesday on through the end of the week, the Eel system should fish great.

Mike

Low Water, Good Fishing

The water is getting low, but the fishing still remains solid. I'm hooking 5 to 8 fish a day and they are all chrome bright beauties! It looks like rain is in the forecast for the middle of next week which will make for some better conditions. As it remains, if you can stay out from the middle of the pressure, there are fish to be had.....

Mike

Steelhead Season Up and Rolling

It's been awhile, but I just got my computer into the trailer so I will make a point of updating reports more frequently. I've been fishing everyday since New Years, bouncing between the Smith and Chetco Rivers. With the exception of one day where I only landed one fish, fishing has been very solid on both rivers. Our lack of rain has created some low water conditions, but fishing has held up and there are plenty of fish around to make me think it will be good for some time. Above are some pics from the last nine days. Note the 30lb chromer King Salmon Peter Maris caught on January 2nd!

Tight Lines,
Mike

Steelhead Coming

We're in the middle of the driest December ever here on the North Coast. However, steelhead are starting to pile up in the lower sections of all our rivers and there is rain in the forcast just after Christmas time. I believe fishing will be incredible after we get some water. These fish have got to be ready to go. I have a few days left available in January: 1-3, 9, 17, 30, 31. With the rain forcasted to start about the 26th, those first few days in January should be great, get them while they're still around!
The picture above is client Tyler Carmichael with the first winter steelhead caught in my boat this season. It was on the Eel River early this month and latched on to a big salmon plug. Plenty more of those to come!

Mike