Yeah, its been awhile.....

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I know it's been a long time since my last report, and for that I apologize. However, I simply haven't had much to report. The weather this March has been constantly wet, and we simply have not had much in the way of fishable conditions for the entire month. I only ended up on the river a couple of times in March and this was the case with everyone else too. It was a truly disappointing way to end a great winter steelhead season.

Now that it is April, most of the rivers have closed to fishing. The ones that remain open include the mainstem Smith, mainstem Eel and the Trinity River. Most likely I will give the Smith a look see sometime next week to see what is happening. If things go well, I may end up running a few trips up there. We'll let you know how it goes. In the mean time, here are a couple of pics since I last posted a report

Winter Weather Begins Again, But for How Long?

I finished up nearly a month of fishing steelhead in Humboldt County, which is pretty remarkable for the first half of steelhead season. Today I'm watching heavy rain fall outside my window, but It doesn't look like it will last very long. I am headed up north for the last half of the week, but after that, river forcasts look to have things down here fishing by monday. We will know more tommorrow after the dust clears on this current storm.

The last week of fishing on the Eel was pretty decent, with us hooking between 5 to 9 fish a day. The water was low and clear, but there were new fish moving in everyday. Here are a few pics from the last week.

Mike

No rain in sight

While fishing has been consistent for most of the week down south, the last two days the bite has tapered off a bit. I believe that this is a result of a shift in the weather pattern with an onset of almost summer like wind and fog along the Eel River valley. There still seem to be plenty of fish in the river and I expect fishing to settle back in to being good. There is still no rain in the forecast, so after next week I may end up moving trips elsewhere, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Humboldt County Chromers

Since my last report I've spent a weekend on the Smith in high conditions and then relocated back south to the Eel River system.
The fishing on the Smith was predicably tough in high and rising water conditions, although we did scratch out fish each day. I then went south to the South Fork Eel, which was decent to good depending on the day and location. As an interesting note, Garth Salisbury hooked and landed the above pictured salmon on January 21 on the lower South Fork Eel. What a strange catch!

The last few days have been good and seem to be getting better as the flows drop. All the fish we're catching right now are perfect specimens of winter steelhead. Chrome bright and really mean! I expect the fishing to hold up down here until it rains significantly, which is not in the immediate forcast.

Above are a few shots from the last weeks fishing.

Mike

Rain comes, heading to the Smith

The first half of the week went well close to home and we caught some of the most beautiful steelhead imaginable. As Mark Gavassee said, "these are the supermodels of the steelhead world!" I agree.

After holding off for a few days, the rain has finally found us and the fishing will move up to the Smith for the end of the week. Sounds like the fishing has been good up north since I have come back to Humboldt county, so I am looking forward to seeing the Smith again and catching some more big bright steelhead. I'll give a report asap.

Mike

Winter Steelhead Begins!

I started steelhead fishing on New Years day and have fished for most of the week up north on the Smith with the exception of the last few days, which were spent on the Eel river System. Fishing up on the Smith was up and down for me, although there were plenty of fish around. A couple of days I felt good about my fishing while the last day, I felt like we inexplicibly struggled. Everybody has those days, but they are really tough to swallow. Friday and Saturday were spent here in Humboldt county. Friday was a little dirty but we managed to land a couple of fish and miss a couple more. Yesterday shaped up nicely, and we hooked a bunch of fish. I'll be down here until wednesday or thursday, when it looks like we are going to get our next shot of rain. I'll keep you posted by the end of the week.

Mike

Salmon Winding Down, Steelhead Coming Soon

Salmon fishing has been very solid since my last report until a couple of days after Thanksgiving. Water temperatures became very cold and we had some high water which was a tough combination. For the last 2 days of the month, I fished with Kerry Madigan and his two young boys, KC and Karsen. They were originally scheduled to come up the day before Thanksgiving, but on that day the river came up much higher than expected. When we met that morning, I had to give them the bad news, and on top of that thier truck had broken down at the meeting spot. What a bummer! Anyways, Kerry rebooked for the last two days in the month. Long story short, we hooked multiple fish each day and missed a handful of bites too, but we were not able to land a single fish. These two days were my first skunk days for salmon on the Smith in 2 years, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I felt awful for the guys. The two boys and Kerry were great, too, they had great attitudes and were super patient as we fished to about dark both days. It had to have been two of the most disappointing fishing days I've had since I started guiding. However, I was super impressed with how these guys handled the bad fishing and It was neat seeing a dad enjoy spending a couple of days with his boys. Sometimes its not all about the fishing.

Anyways, I have a few more days left for salmon up north, and while the run is fading, there are still beautiful fish to be caught. There are also steelhead that are entering the river now, and I anticipate making a play for them within the next couple of days. I will let you know how that goes.

Mike

Smith Salmon Going Strong, Rain on the Way

Fishing on the Smith has remained mostly good to unbelievable. However the last few days have been tough due to low, clear conditions. That being said, I have still been able to catch nice fish everyday I've been on the water this year.

Rain looks to be on the way starting Thursday through the weekend, which will bring the river to ideal heights once again. I have space at the beginning of the week and these should be prime days. Don't hesitate to call if you have the time as these dates will fill.

Mike

Big Smith River Chromers

I haven't posted a report in a little while, but thats because I've been busy. I finished out a few days on the Trinity and then it started raining. I moved the trailer and the fishing up to the Smith and we've been catching big, bright salmon since!

These fish will be around through November and into early December. I do have some space open still. Look at these pictures and tell me you don't want to catch one of these fish!

Mike

Rain on the Way, Salmon fishing still solid

Boat pressure has decreased for the last handful of days and thats helped fishing. I'm getting anywhere from 8 to 12 good opportunities on fish a day, hooking 5 to 10 fish a day. Most salmon have a little color, but some very bright fish are still in the mix. Steelhead have remained tough to come by, but I've been catching one occasionally here and there.

Rain looks like it is coming this weekend, and that could mean that the Smith may come into play by early next week. It all depends on how much rain we get, of course. I'll keep you posted!

Mike