After receiving several emails and phone calls in the past few weeks with folks eager to get in some early winter swing sessions for steelhead I figured it might be time to throw out a quick update on the state of our coastal rivers here in northern California. December has seen a few brief windows of opportunity for getting into an early winter run fish.  Earlier this month we had a decent dry spell between major weather events to give all coastal rivers open to fishing a chance to drop into good shape. Even the lower mainstem Eel dropped down to fishable conditions for the first time in who can remember how long? Unfortunately is was short lived, and now with a lot more rain on tap we're back to a typical winter holding pattern. Time to organize fly boxes, go through your sink tip wallets and throw on some fresh running line. As we head into the new year let's all keep our fingers crossed that we have a slightly less wet winter compared to last seasons near shutout. One particular note of optimism for what might be in store going into this winter steelhead season is the fact that our North Coast rivers have seen an amazing return of fall run salmon. Both Kings and Coho have made a notable comeback after two consectuve years of an offshore moratorium. Will this translate into an above average year for returning winter steelhead? There's only one way to find out! For those of you interested in booking a swing trip for winter steelhead this season there's still some prime open dates available in January and February. 

 Happy Holidays folks, and remember to fish well and often!