Coastal Chrome

We're off to a pretty good start here on the North Coast.  I started on the Smith and fished there through Monday with mostly good results.  On Monday Brian Mastinick, a long lost college buddy, came fishing with me.  Fishing was a little tough that day, but we fished hard and ended up with  a handful of fish, including Brians' biggest Salmon to date that we caught at the last part of the day.  That's why you keep at it, nice work Brian!

After our tough day on Monday, I moved over to the Chetco and fishing was great for a handful of days.  There were a ton of big, bright fish in that river!  However, fishing got tough over the weekend with the river getting low and clear, increased pressure, and dwindling numbers of fish.  I canceled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with the low, tough conditions.  On the bright side, a series of storms looks to be coming starting Wednesday.  With the number of fish around on the last water rise, I'm confident fishing will continue right where it left off.   

Rain is Finally here!!

It's been almost a month since my last post, my apologies to all.  Since I've finished on the lower Klamath at the end of last month, I've hopped in my driftboat and fished in a few different locales. 

Of course, I went over the hill to the Klamath and Trinity.  Fishing here was a bit spotty but there were some good days.  The water release down both the Trinity and Klamath Rivers flushed a lot of fish upstream past where we fish.  Predictably, this lead to tougher than expected fishing.

I also trolled tidewater and fishing here was, for the most part, excellent.  Lots of big chromers where on tap along with some really beautiful coastal scenery.

Now that the rain is here, rivers like the Smith, Eel and Chetco will come into play.  I moved my travel trailer yesterday and will be on the Smith tomorrow.  The river will be dropping and should look great.  Hopefully I'll have a good report and pics of big chrome slabs for you all late next week!

I do have some availability for November, including November 1st thru the 6th.   With the unpredictable nature of this week,  I usually keep this time open.  However with rain in the forecast, it should be good.  Give me a call ASAP if you want one of these days as they will fill.  I also have November 26th, 29th, and 30th open, all are good dates.

See ya on the river soon!

Mike  

Low Conditions Back, Fish Holding Again...

The water has receded from increased flows from the Trinity and our first rain of the season last week. While the higher water made fishing a little tougher, it's been back to wide open fishing the last few days. The lower river is again ...full of dime bright fish.

My schedule had me starting in the drift boat later this week, but report of very tough fishing upriver has me staying with a good thing on the lower river at least through the weekend.

Can't Beat Salmon Fishing Like this Anywhere in the World!

Wow, fishing continues to be world class! The fish we have been catching have been as bright as they come and we are hooking so many, it's hard to keep track of numbers. The fish have been a mix of jacks and adults.

I found out yesterday that the Bureau of Reclamation will be releasing a big pulse of water down the Trinity River. It is supposed to reach us on Friday and last for 5 or 7 days. What this will do to the fishing is unknown, but it may make things tough for the first day or two of the rise. I'll keep you posted...

Adult Quota Is Met, but lots of Jacks to Take and Adults to Release!

The adult quota was met late last week and our current limit is 3 salmon under 22". It doesn't sound the same on paper, but a 3 jack limit is actually quite a bit of meat. Since the adult quota closed, I've put limits of jacks in the boat along with catching and releasing numerous adults every day. Bottom line, fishing is fabulous and a really fun day of fishing awaits those to who can look past not being able to kill adults. See you out on the water!

Fish Throughout System...

Fishing has remained very good on the Klamath and the crowds have been surprisingly light, especially through the holiday weekend. The adult quota will be met soon and while we won't be able to kill adults after the quota is met, we can still take 3 jacks. I expect fishing to get even better and the crowds to become very light at this point. What a great season we've had up here so far!

Released Water Arrives, Fishing Remains Hot...

Water has been released from Lewiston dam on the Trinity River and arrived on the lower Klamath Monday. The rise peaked yesterday.  While I'm off the water today, the shift in flows didn't effect the fishing much for the last few days. The river continues to be stuffed with large salmon and the catching has been very easy. I expect the good fishing to continue, as it's still very early in the run.

Unfortunately, I just had my Labor Day weekend group cancel, so if anyone is looking to get in on the weekend, give us a shout.

Big Salmon Flood The River, Steelhead Remain

What an unbelievable start to the fall salmon season on the Klamath.  The river is quickly filling up with King Salmon and, going along with the still present steelhead, they are making this river a fishing paradise right now.  In addition to the numbers of fish around, the size is larger than average for this river and this time of year.  Give me a call if you want to see some of the best fishing going anywhere in the western U.S. right now. 

Mike

I Sound Like a Broken Record....

I know this is repetitive, but fishing continues to be wide open.  Coming from Pennsylvania, I had father and son Eli and Ethan Martin on the boat yesterday.  When they booked this trip, Eli had said that they had been fairly unsuccessful in their fishing and were really hoping to catch a fish or two.  We got that out of the way in the first 30 seconds of the trip, and the boat went on to hook fish all day long.  That's how my days have been going lately.   

Fishing wise, the best part of the last few days is that I'm finding great numbers of fish spread throughout the stretch of river I'm fishing.  The water has cooled a bit and fish are beginning to spread out.  There are still a ton of steelhead plugged in the river along with some really beautiful early fall run Kings.  Note the oddball chum salmon we caught, too!  A rarity in California.

I have a some space for the weekend and next week if you'd like to experience this wonderful fishery.  I believe fishing will be good all the way through September when the fall run of Chinook peak. 

Gettin' 'Em

Fishing has been on fire right now, although the word is out and more boats are showing up everyday.  With the number of fish that are in the river, the pressure doesn't seem to affect the bite too much, as long as people pay attention.  I have been finding success looking for fish away from the fleet as well, so there is always an opportunity for some solitude.  I have space for the month of August, so if you've ever wanted to catch salmon and steelhead now's a pretty good time to do it!  

Mike