Current Fishing Report

I had the pleasure of guiding Don the past two days on the Sac.  Don has been fishing for a very long time, but had never used a strike indicator, nor had he ever used a two-handed rod.  Open to learning new techniques, Don asked if I could bring one of my trout spey rods so he can learn to how to cast.  After some instruction, he started to get the hand of it!  After swinging the first run, we fished an indicatorless nymph rig and immediately hooked into a couple of really nice fish.  Then we tried fishing with an indicator, and he quickly learned how successful this technique is.  For two days, we switched-up our techniques and hooked fish with both.  The best was when Don started hooking fish on the swing!  Combo trips are a fun way to break the day up and break away from the norm.

Last weekend I got on the water with Ben, Larry, Greg and Chester with fellow guide Colton Schwenning. We fished hard for three days on the coast hoping to dial in a winter steelhead but we never connected with the allusive ghost of the coast. Conditions were tough with the river being low and clear, yet despite unseasonably low precipitation for Febraury we still saw a good amount of fish in the system on the two days we floated. We had some nasty weather thrown at us on our last day together with hail, snow and strong winds giving us a run for our money. In the end our guys fished hard until the last and we all had an awesome time together. Even when the river doesn't offer up a fish the beauty of the redwood coast never fails to impress. Looking ahead into the waining days of Febraury and into March we have several wet weather days forecast. We've finally had a taste of winter, with snow falling as low as 400 ft on the coast and nighttime lows in the upper 20's. I've been seeing fresh fish come in on some of the shorter coastals in anticipation of a rise, so for anyone thinking the best of the season is past, think again. The later season offers some of the best fishing opportunities for swining up a fesh one. Light angling pressure and a mix of hefty adults and bluebacks (smaller chrome steelhead that run late) make for a proper finale to the winter steelhead season. 

Ben up high on a snowy morning

the crew. Larry, Greg, Chester and the mastermind, Ben

Greg with a fresh tie. (photo Colton Schwenning)

Larry in the zone down low

In the big trees on the coast.

The wind was relentless and gusty all day today!  It made casting, mending, and boat handling quite a challenge - and it really seemed to put the bite off.  There were a fair number of boats on the water, and I saw very few hooked-up.  Jake and Nicole struggled, but worked like champs to get the best drift possible.  Jake hooked into a few fish, but only managed to bring one to net.  The extended forecast is calling for a chance of rain next week.  Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Jake with a chunky fish

Today was a lot if fun!  I did a combo spey - indicator trip today with George.  We started the day nymphing, and the bite took some time to get going.  After hooking a few on nymphs, we stopped and swung a run and immediately started hooking up!  After swinging the run, we ran a few laps and hooked several more on nymphs.  We stopped and swung a second run and the grab was on!  The fish were not as grabby today compared to the past two days, but George ended up having a pretty good day by the end.  We saw some adult caddis, but only a few random fish were feeding to the surface - so no dries today.  With the low flows, this is great way to fish the lower Sac!

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!

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.

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

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

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!!

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."

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."

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!

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

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

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.

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

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

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!