Well, the turning trees and unpredictable weather of Fall has begun. Of course this means it's time for rather large, bright chinook salmon. After our last storm and river rise, we've been pulling on some beautiful fish from the Smith and Chetco. However, fishing is about to get tougher until we get another shot of rain. As soon as that happens (hopefully Thursday) we should get another slug of fresh fish. If the rain doesn't materialize as expected I may end up back to the Trinity or Klamath. While most of the fish there will have color, there should be plenty of salmon and steelhead to pull on over the hill.
Of course though, November is really all about rain and big shiny salmon. This is always an exciting time of year, you just never know when the next huge chromer is around the corner!
If you want to see a few pics from the last couple of days, check out my Facebook page, Redwood Coast Fishing with Mike Stratman. Don't forget to "like"!
Tight Lines,
Mike
I've been fishing in tidewater for the last 5 days and fishing has been good to spectacular. I'll be on the coast for the next couple of days and then move back over the hill to the Klamath. Before I moved over to the coast, there were some big fish starting to show, so I expect that trend to continue. The bottom line is there are alot of great fishing options right now!
Updates have been tough, as my trailer has been out of Internet reception for well over a month and I have been on the water everyday. I had a last minute cancelation today, so here I am, typing away! I've been on the Middle Klamath River in the driftboat, and while fishing isn't as red hot as predicted, it is still pretty solid and we're catching nice fish everyday. I will continue to fish over the hill until it starts raining. From the reports coming from various coastal river estuaries, fall salmon fishing from the Eel to the Chetco should be amazing once the water works start. I still have a few openings in November for the trophy King Salmon season and now is the time to grab 'em while there still open.
Sorry about the lack of pics, but computers are greek to me and I just haven't had the time to figure out how to fix the picture problem. Look me up on facebook and you can see some recent pics there!
Mike
While the fishing is a little slower than it was at the beginning of the week, were still catching decent numbers of salmon along with 2-4 adult steelhead a day. The salmon fishing seems like it should've been a little better the last few days, due to the high numbers that are present in a number of the holes. They just don't want to bite as well as it seems they should. Of course this is a day to day thing, and I expect that the combination between existing fish going on the bite and new fish showing up will result in excellent fishing coming up.
On a sidenote, I'm having problems loading pics on my fishing report, sorry! Hopefully, I can figure it out soon.
Mike
Fishing has continued to be incredible on the lower Klamath River. There have been lots of adult steelhead, along with growing numbers of salmon. Once the salmon run reaches a fever pitch (very soon) fishing will be unbelievable! I still have dates available for August, along with a couple of super prime early September dates. Get 'em while they last!
Mike
I've begun fishing the lower Klamath River and fishing was excellent over the weekend. The fish at this point are mostly summer run steelhead but there are some early fall run salmon in the mix at this point as well. For the next week or two I would expect the steelhead to be the predominate catch while the salmon run continues to build.
As many of you know, biologists are expecting a record breaking run of Chinook salmon to enter the Klamath this year. I still have a couple of days left in September, but I expect them to be gone soon. If you're interested in getting in on this incredible fishery, call me soon!
See you on the river!
Mike
Spring Salmon are now running on the lower Klamath River. I've spent a few days in the last week and a half fishing for them and while fishing isn't red hot yet, I've been able to catch fish every trip. For those of you not familiar with this fishery, we fish for these salmon on anchor, waiting for them to swim by. While this is not the most interactive fishery for the angler, it is very relaxing. And when fish do get hooked, what ensues is pure pandemonium! Ultimately though, the real motivation for participating in the fishery is the eating quality of these fish. They are simply the best eating salmon you could ever put on your grill!
I will be fishing for spring salmon through the end of June. If you are interested in taking a trip, I will be running specials for this time. The price per person will be $150 for 2 or 3 people, $125 per person for a 4 or 5 person trip. This includes a hot breakfast and coffee made on the boat.
I'll keep you posted as the month moves along, and I hope to see you out on the river!
Mike
