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Great Had a great day on the Sac with Nick. We lucked out and enjoyed a day between the snow and rain storms and had the river to ourselves. We saw only one other boat! Everybody must have eaten too much turkey yesterday. The bite was pretty consistent all day; not off the hook but a steady number of good fish. Sometimes it’s not all about racking up huge numbers; a beautiful day, good weather, and good company all make for a great experience on the river. Bent by the bridge Beautiful wild trout Fish on! Nice one Nick! Snow and the Sundial A handful |
Okay Happy Thanksgiving! Fall steelhead season didn't really exist in southern oregon, insead we had an endless summer. Up until a few days ago, the typical day on the Rogue was a freezing cold morning followed by a cloudless sky and raging bright sun for the rest of the day. We still managed to swing up some great fish, in relatively uncrowded conditions. December could be really interesting, as I'm sure there are plenty of fish still waiting for a bump in the flows to make their way up river. Marlee enjoyed napping on the warm summer like days the past few weeks Stroh with an superb Rogue River Wild steelhead. Sign the petition! |
Good My guests Steve and JP decided to float the Lower Sac today and we were all surprised at how cold it was! Even with the “bomb cyclone” bearing down on us, the Sac fished really well. Steve and JP both hooked into a lot of fish which helped them forget just how cold they were – which was 35 degrees when we got off the water at 1:00! Today’s weather was very different from what we’ve experienced the past few months. JP wasn't happy about getting his hands wet for this Steve with a nice one |
A low pressure system has finally made its way to the coast and is currently delivering the much needed soaking rain that we've been waiting for. It looks like most of the percipation is falling as snow up in the hills and mountains, making it hard to guess how it will affect our local coastal rivers. Right now most of the projections show next to nil for flow increases, but I have a feeling that a few rivers currently under low flow closure will surpass their threshold and open to fishing in the next 24 hours. How long they stay open and whether or not they blow out is another story. Stay tuned. Looking ahead conditions are shaping up nicely to bring us into the beginnings of our 2019/2020 winter steelhead season. There is more wet weather on tap for the coast heading into the Thanksgiving weekend accompanied by a low swell on Saturday. What does it mean? Hopefully that the gates are soon to be opened. Currently all rivers that are subject to low flow closures are closed to fishing. This includes the Smith River, Mad River, and Eel River. For information regarding low flow restrictions and current river status call (707) 822-3164. In the meantime, be thankful for rain and enjoy that turkey! Time to whip up some big bugs. Winter steelhead season is about to kick off! |
Great Father/son duo Bob and Ryan fished with guide Ben Thompson on the Lower Feather River today. They had a great day - caught lots of fish and had fun doing it! It's nice to see some quality fish on our valley steelhead streams! The Feather is a great option this time of year. Let us know if you're ready for a steelhead trip close to home in the next few weeks! A big Feather River steelhead Ryan with another good one Ryan with another one Chunky Feather River steelie Ryan with his biggest fly rod fish to date |
Slow The Trinity, like other Steelhead rivers in the region, needs rain. Today I had the pleasure of floating the river with Jay. Things were slow but we had the river to ourselves. Even though the river is low and clear, some days are productive. Today was not one of those days. Rain and snow are in the near forecast. Here’s to tomorrow. Have a great Thanksgiving. Jay reached out, but nobody was home. |
Good Today was a really fun day with my guests Steve and JP. This was their first time chasing steelhead and JP was rewarded with a small adult towards the end of the day. We have several days of rain and snow in the forecast, so let’s hope this helps bring more fish into the system! JP with his first steelhead |
Good Although things have slowed down a bit on the big river it continues to kick out some really nice fish. Steve and his buddy JP came up from San Diego and we had a fun day fishing for wild rainbows. I would call it “great” instead of “good” but for a few really slow periods during an otherwise pretty steady day. Splash! Beautiful wild fish Fish on! Steve with a beauty |
Red Hot Hello everyone, This is the most important fishing report we will post all year, and will impact reports for years to come. I am asking all of you to sign this very important petition to help protect wild steelhead on the Southern Oregon Coast. It is very easy, just follow the link below. For a little background, there are only twelve rivers left in the lower 48 states and Canada where anglers can still legally harvest an amazing wild steelhead. All twelve of these rivers are in Oregon, and ten of those rivers are in the Southwest Zone where we regularly fish and enjoy. We don't need to catch them to enjoy our experience, but we need to know they are there, and sadly, there are fewer around each year. The sad reality on the coast is that the wild steelhead populations are drastically decreasing, with harvest rates increasing. This is obviously unsustainable. We need to ask the ODFW Commission to require the release of all wild steelhead in this region if we wish to preserve this magnificent resource for the future. Please sign this petition, it only takes a minute. If you have any questions regarding this issue, please feel free to contact me directly.https://www.change.org/p/oregon-fish-and-wildlife-commission-catch-release-for-wild-steelhead-in-southwest-oregon Thanks everyone, and you can do more! See below...
From Charles Gehr:Along with signing the petition, you can also help by taking a few more steps:1. The ODFW Commission is taking public comment on the petition. You can email your comments to odfw.commission@state.or.us (respectful language please). Comments submitted before close of business tomorrow (Nov. 20) will be printed out and given to the commissioners in their pre-meeting packets (preferred). Comments submitted after tomorrow up until 48 hours before the meeting will be printed the day of the meeting and given to the Commissioners in attendance. Obviously, they will not be reading a stack of printed emails the day of the meeting, but they'll see the size of the stack of comments for the petition.2. If you want to have the most impact possible, you can attend the Commissioners meeting in Salem, OR on December 6 at 8am. The more people we can have in attendance the better. To give perspective on this, we tried to get this regulation change made last year. We had significantly more petition signatures and public comments than our counterparts. At the commissioners meeting it was an even split, 12 people testifying for the petition and 12 against. End result was, we lost and here we are again. I understand and respect everyone's busy schedules and time for this effort, but if we can pack the room with people testifying for this petition it will be very difficult for the Commissioners to deny it.https://www.change.org/p/oregon-fish-and-wildlife-commission-catch-release-for-wild-steelhead-in-southwest-oregon An amazing coastal wild steelhead |
Great I had a great day with my guests Lisa and Gene. Our focus today was chasing trout and steelhead with two-handed rods and it didn’t take long before Lisa was hooked-up with a nice “cookie cutter” trout in our first run. After a brief battle, Lisa came out on the losing end. Gene had a viscous grab in the same run, but also came up empty handed. A short time later, Gene hooked into a really hot fish that required him to chase it downstream while trying and make up some ground – but again came up on the losing end. After fishing a couple more runs, we returned and Gene connected again, but this time came out the victor after a great battle! Given the incredible weather, it’s hard to believe this is late November…but there is an incoming storm headed our way next week, so rain is in the future! Gene rewarded with a nice hatchery buck! Hooked up! |
Good The Lower Sac wasn't on fire for us today, but we landed some very nice fish and saw very few other anglers. The first fish of the day was a 3 pound rainbow that was only about 20 inches long. What a brute! It was a deep-bodied buck with a big kype. My guests Steve and Gary landed several more fish over 18 inches and a few smaller ones. We saw decent numbers of salmon on redds throughout our float. There was also a good hatch of baetis and caddisflies in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day on the river. Steve needs a Confluence Outfitters hat! |
Great Great day today! Bob and Craig stuck a bunch of fish on the big river. Rubberlegs and eggs were the main attraction, the fish did not seem interested in the small bugs. The weather, fishing, and company were all we could ask for! This could be you! Bob with one of many It looked like a stonefly nymph....... Mr. Toad Shore lunch Another fatty |
Great I had such a great day with my guests Chase and Eli. Our day started out with Eli hooking into a beast of a fish, only to discover it was a giant sucker! She hooked another smaller sucker before finally landing a rainbow. Then after landing several trout, she decided to “up her game” and landed a rock! Her size-16 mayfly nymph managed to find a tiny hole in a rock that when hooked, appeared to be a small trout. Not wanting Eli to have all the fun catching the “exotic” fish, so Chase upped his game and hooked into a really large pike minnow. Unfortunately, a “guide foul” occurred when I accidently knocked the fish off while trying to net it. All in all, it was a super fun day with new friends! Yep, when it's this big - you take a picture! Chase with a nice one Eli with her largest trout Hooked up Yeah, not even a mother could love this face Eli was proud of her catch |
Good Super fun day with my guests, brothers Steven and Jason. The grab was a little sluggish to start, but really got going by mid-morning. Steven had a little experience and his first time fishing the Sac, but this was Jason’s first-time fly fishing. They both struggled a bit first thing, but quickly got the hang of it and started hooking into some really nice fish. By the end of the day, Jason and Steven both landed some really nice fish, and lost some really nice fish. The weather has been incredible, but we need some rain to fill our lakes and also improve our steelhead conditions. Jason with a nice one Getting the hang of it Steven with a nice one |
Great I'm not sure what good deeds Nick performed recently, but he sure earned himself a good day on the Sacramento River! In fact, his first two casts got him two trout! Bam! From there on out, the grabs were steady all morning and he caught fish on various nymphs and eggs. It was one of those days where everything just seemed to line up and the fishing was great! These 'bows, regardless of their size, always have shoulders and sure give you a run for your money. And as I've been pointing out on almost every fishing report, the sun is out and the days are warm! T-shirt and shorts whether in November is hard to complain about! Throw in a bunch of fish, some good sandwiches, and cool people and you have yourself the perfect ingredients for a wonderful day. The Lower Sacramento River is still fishing really well, so book your trip today! Look at those colors! Nick was on fire! |
Great I had a great day with my guests Joe and Greg. The action started off good and just kept getting better into the afternoon. Both hooked into a lot of really nice fish but then Joe hooked an absolute horse. After a tough fight, it jumped and was able to spit the fly. We were still mourning Joe’s loss when Greg hooked into another really big fish. The good news is, Greg landed his fish – the bad news is, he has to buy the drinks for their group! It was an amazing two days with a group of really great guys! Greg with a really nice hatchery buck! |
Good Today's float started off with a good grab right off the bat and boy did it get me excited! But after we lost that fish it was slow going in the morning with a fish here and there (including a large pikeminnow). But by the afternoon, the grab was on! We caught fish on a variety of flies as well as on eggs. Ed and Chris, members of the Russian River Fly Fishers, were excellent casters and had no trouble handling these fat Sacramento 'bows! We were also happy to land a nice hatchery steelhead on a rubber legs. It was a good day, especially since the sun was shinning the whole time! Football season for Chris! Ed with a great fish! |
Great What a great day! My
guests Curtis and Steve were very fortunate and got to experience some super hungry
fish today. The grab was consistent until
mid-afternoon before things slowed down a bit. They had several double hookups and were gifted with more than just
rainbows! Steve with a nice one Curtis with a nice hatchery steelhead |
Great Joe and Greg put the wood to a bunch of native rainbows today on the Lower Sac. We hooked fish right out of the gate and the grab remained good almost all day. Eggs were the main course today followed by a wide variety of bugs. Get it while it’s hot! This one lost his spots Joe with a good one Greg had a great day Fishing buddies I guess I shouldn’t have eaten that one...... One of many |
Great Bla,bla ,bla... it's fishing, more importantly it's Steelhead fishing...it shouldn't be a numbers game nor have it should have ever been about numbers , years 2007-2014, the Steelhead have arived on the Trinity, like they always do and hopefully always will. My clients today Hooked and Landed three Beautiful Wild Steelhead, 5-6 lbs, on the SWING, that put up epic Steelhead battles... memories where made...Get out and get after it when you can, one things for certain , you can't catch them through your computer screen ! |
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