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Okay Guided Steve + Paul from Madera yesterday on the Trinity. Paul hooked an adult steelhead on the first cast! Fishing has been a bit on the slow side but there's certainly fish in the river. Mayfly imitations have been consistently working. Paul with his first Trinity steelhead! |
Good I had the pleasure of guiding my very good friends Pat and Kate the past two days. They hooked a lot of fish both days. Some were pretty big, but most were in the 14-16 inch range. Today we experienced an epic caddis hatch that had the fish feeding on the surface for about 30 minutes! The weather has been very nice and the flows are dropping down to the minimum release of 3,250 cfs. It's time to start thinking about booking your spring fishing trip! |
We have just scheduled our 2018 Guide School for May 5-12. Our school is a full seven days and is based in the Burney/Fall River area. We open up the school to a maximum of four students. Andrew Harris, Gino Bernero, Dax Messett and other experienced guides rotate through as instructors during the week. We start with a day of casting, then spend two days on freestone techniques, two days on spring creek techniques, and a day in drift boats on the Lower Sac. Our students get plenty of practice guiding in both a one-on-one or one-on-two settings and in a clinic environment with multiple students. Classroom sessions include teaching and learning styles, logistics, licensing, permits, economics and marketing. Email Andrew Harris for more information about this year's guide school. |
Good Dax forwarded this photo from today on the Olympic Peninsula. He says water conditions are great but until today there haven't been many fish around. It sounds like they made up for it today with multiple hook-ups on the swing! Scott with a great fish |
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Steelhead fishing on the coast remains tough despite having a window of ideal conditions for finding a few fresh ones. Last week I got on the water with Steve and Jim from the bay area. We fished on the S Fork on a
day that started with heavy fog and absolutely perfect water for swinging up some steel. With only two feet of visibility and a heavy green stain I was just waiting for one of them to get grabbed, but it was not to be. We ended up empty handed at the end of the day but did see a few fish caught by the boat guys as we made our way down river.
Just yesterday I got to fish with Mike from San Diego. We had a great day on the big river, the main stem Eel. We still had great water color (the main stem takes longer to clear
than the S. Fork.) making every good swing seem like it could be the one. Mike and I got to work on casting and it was great to see him start
to get into a rhthym with his 7130. We found one halfpounder that grabbed during the hangdown and quickly gave us the fin! The grey ghost remained allusive, as always.
Another spell of dry and unseasonably warm weather has settled over the North Coast. Most rivers are still holding good color, but some are beginning to clear up. Some rain is forecast for tomorrow and another weak system looks like it might drop some rain late next weekend. Despite a lack luster start to February, we still have plenty of time left for some great fishing opportunites here on the coast.
Dream water on the Eel Mike getting into a rhythm Mike in the last run of the day Steve and Jim searching for chrome Steve sends one out there Tall trees |
Good Here is a guest report from Dave who fished Eagle Canyon on February 8th:
3 of us fished ECL today, 2 in our party were ECL 1st timers.
Not much wind plus bluebird weather made it more challenging than usual.
We landed 9 fish between us plus the usual amount of LDR's.
Best fish measured 29 ½ inches and was about 13 or 14 pounds.
ECL, one of a kind fishery!! |
Great Here is a guest report from Will who fished Eagle Canyon on Tuesday:"We had a great time once again fishing the Eagle Canyon Lakes. The
weather was awesome and the fishing was good. Everyone in our group of 6
hooked into multiple fish with some in the 10 plus range. Fish seemed
to be keyed into dark leech patterns stripped in during the morning. The
bite slowed down around noon but picked up again in the late afternoon. By then, the fish were looking for nymph patterns (size 14-16) fished under an indicator. We picked up fish using pheasant tail nymphs, red copper johns and prince nymphs. The fish went back to looking for leech patterns during the last hour of fishing before sunset. We will certainly try to return again next year.- Will D." |
Good Here is a fishing report from Ron who fished Eagle Canyon on Saturday: "Great weather! Very slow fishing but VERY BIG FISH. Here are two of the 10 that our party landed." |
Good Eagle Canyon fished well on Saturday- the grab was good in the AM but slowed up a bit in the afternoon. Red copper Johns, San Juan worms+ midges worked swimmingly. You Pyramid Lake guys should check this place out! Troy with a Monster! Judy got a nice rainbow all on her own! |
Good Brian Kohlman and I enjoyed a busman's holiday today. I was fortunate to land this nice wild fish on my 7wt spey rod. It crushed a black and red Silvey's Silvenator in a beautiful tailout. Time to get out and fish! Andrew Harris swung this one up today |
Good True steelhead fishing in good weather! I have been guiding the Trinity lately with mixed results. Good days where we are hooking several fish and slower days one or two. Just got to keep at it and take advantage of chances when you get them. The weather has been very nice lately and mild for this time of year. Hatches of BWOs and March Brown's are bringing some smaller fish to the surface that are eager to eat a dry fly and are fun on 5wt rod, Today my clients hooked six fish and landed four and was best of last couple days. I am seeing mostly wild fish this week and some brighter winter run fish. I would rate the over all experience on the river right now good! Good weather, less people on river and some nice fish to be had and a chance to fis dry flies!It's not too late for steelhead on the Trinity!Book a trip with one of our guides and have a fun day on the river!Good fishing,Peter |
Good Had an excellent two days of swinging flies with Dick Compton on the North Coast. We had the good fortune of starting our first day off with the river showing great color after rising the day before and falling through the night. We beat the boat crowd by an inch to a favorite run and Dick was soon rewarded by the firm handshake of a winter steelhead. We stayed on the lower river for the rest of the day hoping to intercept some fresh fish coming up from the esturary. The river was on the high side throughout the day making it a challenge to find good swing water, but we managed to get into a handful of runs that were textbook. The second day we looked high and low. We started up river hoping to swing up a well rested fish or two and avoid the boat brigade on the low river. No luck. We finished our day without another hook up but still had an amazing time. Giant redwoods, a wild river and chrome fish are a hard combo to beat. Looking ahead we have another high pressure system that looks to stay parked over Northern California for the next 10 days or more. With no forseeable rain in the forecast all rivers on the North Coast should be running green by the weekend to early next week at the very latest. February is nearly here, putting us at the midway point of the winter steelhead season. It's time to go fishing! Dick Compton fighting the good fight. This hen looked like she had seen some action before her morning smash and grab In the bucket, waiting for another handshake Not a bad way to start your day. |
Good I had the pleasure of guiding my friends with the Peninsula Fly Fishers the past two days. The recent rains raised the flows a bit more and there was even a hint of color, but fishing remained tough. Saturday we only hooked into one adult fish - a nice wild hen. Today we went one-for-two, but sealed the deal with a very nice wild buck! Looks like the recent storms have past and there is no significant rain on the foreceast. Let's keep out fingers crossed we get some more rain in the coming weeks! Peter with a beautiful 27 wild buck! Peter had quite a fight on his hands with this beauty! Snowy start to our day |
Okay Matt + Allen from Redbluff found some steelhead yesterday. Matt found the first fish of the day just minutes into the float. Lately it’s been about having the flies in the right place at the right time. Present the flies well and good things can happen. Tight lines. Matt w/ fish on! Lunch time |
Good Winter Steelheading continues on...we're still seeing New Wild Winter Steelhaed push into the Trinity, the numbers don't seem to be quite as good as they were a couple weeks ago but still good fishing. We've had a bit of rain and snow over the past week, water flows are up and a little color has been added, water temps have dropped a few degrees over the past week, that may have slowed the fishing a bit. I think Swinging for Winter Steelhead on the Trinity will be Well Worth the effort for at least a couple more weeks.Tight Lines... Just Rewards... Anticipation |
We just got back from the Sacramento ISE Show. It was great to see so many of our guests and colleagues at the show. We are down to just a handful of open dates left for Eagle Canyon:January 25, 29-31February 1, 14-15, 19-25March: noneApril 2ndThe weekend of February 24-25 just opened up due to a cancellation.Grab a date while you still can! |
Good I got to spend the day chasing winter steelhead with my very good clients (and friends) Jesse and Julian. This morning was the coldest temps we've seen in a couple weeks and I've seen an increase in fishing pressure the past several days. Julian hooked into his first ever adult steelhead, and he brought his A-game. After an epic batttle, Julian landed an absolutely beautilful, bright wild buck! Fishing was tough, but Jesse landed a very nice native half-pounder. Not a bad day for winter steelheading. WOW! |
Katie and I have our Eagle Canyon booth at the Sacramento ISE Show. Dates are filling up quickly and we only have about 11 open dates left. Stop by booth 2121 in Building C - we would love to see you and talk about Eagle Canyon and Confluence Outfitters. |
Okay Had a good time with Tom + Geoff today on the Trinity. We got a break in the weather and had a beautiful day on the river. We found only half pounders today but that’s steelheadin’ for ya. Geoff with a wild juvinile |
Great Here is a guest report from Joe Jimenez, Outings Chairman for the Amador Flyfishers. They fished Eagle Canyon on January 18th."We arrived expecting heavy rain and strong winds all day long. We did get rain but not nearly as much as was forecasted. The wind turned out to be a light breeze for the most part so that was also a plus. The fishing started off slow in the morning with only a couple of fish landed. It took off in the afternoon. There were in excess of 30 fish caught. All were large but many were over 10 lbs. Everyone had a great time and all said that they look forward to coming back. Thank you for having us." |
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