Current Fishing Report

I spent the last 3 days with guests Steve and Jon and fishing was tough.  We covered almost 50 miles of river and did 4 floats in 3 days.  We finally found some fish on day 3 and managed to land 3 out of 4 adult steelhead hooked.  The river is low and clear and the fish are wedged into some pretty tight spots right now.  Conditions will stay the same until we get some rain, which looks like will be at least another week off.  Fishing pressure is very light right now.  It's a great time to enjoy some solitude and catch a steelhead - just not a great time to catch a bunch of steelhead!

Finally got on the board with this fish yesterday

I had a chance to get out on the water this week with fellow angler and regular steelhead bum Colton Schwenning. I was excited to use my new 14 ft raft for the first time and do a little scouting to see if any fresh fish had come in from the salt despite the lack of rain. It didn't take long. I found a beautiful dime bright hen that was all too eager to come to the fly. A sure sign that even with low and clear conditions the steelhead are making their first push on the coast. We ended the day with Colton finding two nice half pounders. The weather was beautiful and it was exciting to see a river transformed from what is usually a burly torrent of water to a gentle coastal stream. All in all it was a great day and the fishing did not disappoint.Dry conditions continue but perhaps not for much longer. Wet weather is forecast on the coast early next week with some projections calling for half an inch of rain. While this isn't a significan amount it might be enough to coax a few fish to begin moving up river. Some of the smaller coastal systems have closed this week due to low flow restrictions, but there are still plenty of great options for wetting a line and hoping for the tight line grab of fresh chrome here on the North Coast!See you on the water.   

A beautiful bright wild hen on a clear day. Always amazed. Always grateful.

Hope dies last on the coast. Every good cast can be the one

New whip ready for action.

I spent the past two guiding another group from the Diablo Valley Fly Fishers.  My guests Rich and Al nymphed on Thursday and the fishing was tough.  Al hooked one very nice adult while we floated the upper portion of the river.  Today was a swing day with my guests Diane and Karen.  They were very thorough as they worked all the runs and Diane was rewarded with a small native adult.  They fished with Gino on Thursday.  Karen swung-up three adults and Diane hooked into a brown trout.  Not to sound like a broken record, but conditions will likely not improve much until we receive some much needed rain.

Longtime guest Ron had this to say about his two-day trip to Eagle Canyon:"The fishing was very good the first day and much slower the second day.  The fish are getting bigger and bigger!!  All of us caught fish both days and had a great time."

This report is from long-time Eagle Canyon guest Dave Earl, who fished yesterday: "Stripping streamers was on fire in the morning, all 3 of us had quality fish landed within minutes. Later we had to switch to nymphs under an indicator to get grabs. We all landed about 10 fish each including a 10 pounder and  a 12 pounder . I'm pretty sure  the same 12 pounder was caught a second time about  2 hours later. Eagle Canyon: a one of a kind flyfishing experience!"

Due to a cancellation, I just opened up my calendar for chasing coastal winter steelhead on the swing on the beautiful Southern Oregon Coast.  I have a rare week of openings available from January 22-28, which is prime time. The Southern Oregon Coast in January should be on the bucket list for any winter steelheader.  We chase true chorme here, within miles of tidewater on multiple river systems both big and small.  These wild rivers have excellent swing water, beautiful scenery, and dependable fishing conditions due to the amount of rivers within striking distance.  Please contact me with any questions.  Enjoy your holidays! Dax 

Someone turned the faucet off on the North Coast. Sustained dry weather has all rivers running low and clearing fast, some more so than others. The salmon runs seem to be winding down as we move further into December. I fished on the Eel River last week and heard a report of some nice half pounders being caught. The main stem Eel is holding good color, along with the Van Duzen. The next forecasted rain for the area looks like it will be here by the weekend, with more rain projected into the following week. The first runs of winter steelhead are due to make an appearance at any time, and with some wet stuff on the way fishing should pick up. For low flow fishing closures on the North Coast call: (707) 822-3164  

Prawn flies and clickers. Hard to beat the classics

End of the day on the coast

Salmon runs have come to their end. Steelhead on tap

Today was Opening Day at Eagle Canyon.  We enjoyed a beautiful day and some pretty good fishing, too.  The weather was almost too nice - there wasn't a ripple on the surface all day.  The bite was definitely slow for Opening Day but everyone hooked into multiple fish.  The largest to hand was about 7 pounds and I saw quite a few 10 pound plus fish hooked briefly.  There are some big fish out there with flies (if not entire leaders) in their mouths!

Chad with a nice one

Nice fish Danny!

Young Jack with a big rainbow

Peter Santley and I guided a great group of guys the past two days. The air temps have been very cold this week, so the water temps are dropping and the river is very low and gin clear.  Fishing was very tough for both of us both days.  Jim landed landed a nice wild fish on Friday, and we had a brief hook-up today. We really need some rain for conditions to improve.  I'm hearing rumors there is a new batch of fish moving upriver, so hopefully we will see them in the coming days.

Jim with a beautiful wild fish!

Spent a cold and clear day on the Trinity with Nick and Dave.  We had a great day as far as weather and conversation, but the fishing conditions were tough.  The low and clear water proved to be a challenge.  We nymphed most of the day but also swung flies with single hand and traditional spey rigs.  We touched one fish briefly on the swing and had two nice encounters on nymph rig.  On the second grad we were able to bring a beautiful wild hen to the net.  All in all an enjoyable day, but it's hard work hooking up right now. 

Dave trying his hand with a single hand swing set up.

Finally! A nice reward for a long day fishing for Nick!

I spent another long day at Eagle Canyon today getting ready for Opening Day on Saturday.  The new shade structure is coming along nicely.  Much more importantly, what about the fish?  The fish are huge this year!  Our average fish is 7.2 pounds.  We have a lot of fish over 10# in the ponds this year.  The weekend of Dec 16/17, just one week after opening day, is still open right now.  Jump on it and take a crack at these big fish before they see a lot of anglers

James with a big one

more progress today...

The upper Rogue has been fishing awesome this past week.  The weather has been amazing, with temperatures hitting the 60s in the afternoons.   Leslie and I have been hooking fish on the swing every day.  Our clients have been landing mostly wild fish in that 6-8 pound range.We rarely see more than one other boat a day on the water.  For late fall steelhead, it doesn’t get better than the upper Rogue!

I've been up at Eagle Canyon pretty much every day this week making preparations for Opening Day this Saturday.  The lakes look great!  Our shade structure by the upper shed finally bit the dust this winter and I am busy building a replacement.  We have plenty of openings left in December but we're down to just 5 open weekends left for the whole season.  Mid-week availability is pretty good for the most part.

The lakes look great

The old shade structure is history

I had a fantastic time with Doug yesterday, swinging for steelhead. The fish were very grabby and the ones we encountered were prime specimen Rogue steelhead. If you're looking for an uncrowded river with excellent swing water, look no further. 

A gorgeous wild hen

Scenic views

Great day introducing Spey casting and fishing on the Swing, Fred is a quick study, both trout and Steelhead to 4lbs helped in the education process as well as properly breaking in a brand new rod, Great Company, Great Weather , Great day, what more could an Angler or Guide ask for...Tight Lines

The Trinity is in Great shape, a little boney up top but fish are spread throughout the system. Some days are scratchy, other days are pretty darn good, Steve and Ken arrived for a couple days of Spey casting for Steelhead, day one was slow but they didn't loose faith and day two we got into them pretty good.... Sounds alot like Steelheading... Commit to the Swing and you will be justly rewarded...Tight Lines

Ken with a Nice hatchery Buck

Ken with his Buck

Bent to the Cork !

 I have spent most of the last two months on the Trinity River chasing fall run steelhead with my clients and fellow guides on the Confluence team. We have had some great days both swingng and nymping. Fishing has been a lot better than this time last season. As the fall run appears to making its way to the upper stretches of the river, We are starting to see signs of new winter run fish this week. The numbers of winter run fish will be increasing over the coming weeks. This is a good time to get out and do some steelhead fishing. I have some dates available I am trying to fill .  Dec 6th and 7th ,10th and later dates too,    We have the guides to handle your group trips also. It's steelhead season come out and join us for some fun on the river,December and January should be good!  Good fishing,Peter SantleyGuide 

Today I guided Lloyd and Jack on the lower Sac.  We had a little rain to begin with, but then it stopped and we had a very good morning.  Both hooked and landed several really nice fish, all the while thinking the weather gurus were way off with their forecast.  Our good fortune ended around noon.  A system moved through and dumped rain for about an hour...and then there was the wind!  The afternoon was very different from the morning, we had a mixture of calm weather, wind and rain...and for whatever reason, it just shut the bite down.  All in all, it was a good day for the end of November.  I'm looking forward to spring fishing on the Sac!

Jack with a beauty!

Lloyd with a really nice fish!

.The Trinity Basin has recieved several good bouts of rain this Fall with the most recent being this past Sunday into Monday and blew the river out from Rush Creek down. The Trinity was back in shape in the upper reaches on Tuesday, the recent rains have been just what the Doctor Ordered, Steelhead are on the move. The Summer/Fall fish are making there way to there final destinations and Fresh Early Winter Steelhead are filing in, right on there heels. As long as the Weather stays active, like it has, the fishing should remain good for the forseeable future... Happy Thanksgiving and Tight Lines !

One of three wild ones that Rob landed Friday

I had high expectations when I met Earl bright and early this past Saturday outside of the general store in Salyer. We were set to do a day float from Hawkins Bar down to the Salyer bridge, and with the Trinity on the drop after a big push of rain I was hoping we would find a fresh fish or two somewhere along the way. The night before had been cold, with temperatures hovering around freezing, so I felt confident in the bigger bugs and heavy chunk of T-14 we were throwing. We spotted a few steelies holding in a tailout behind dark Chinook but couldn't get one to commit. Earl finished strong with an end of the day half pounder that was as bright as bright could be, but he gave us the fin when we got him to the bank and slipped off the line. I was surprised to see few fish in the lower river after such a healthy amount of rain. November is usually when the first larger winter runs start to make an appearance, but all of our efforts to find a big adult went unanswered. In the end it was still a beautiful day to be out on the water. Right now all rivers on the North Coast are on the rise and blown out. When they drop in it'll be game on for the first hopes of swinging up a coastal chromer. Get your game face on, the shows about to begin.  

Earl sends one to the far side on the lower Trinity

The is no anticipation like the anticipation of a tight line grab

Bugs for late season Trinity River steelhead