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I had a good trip on the American with Martin and Robert. They both got into adult steelhead and we had a fun day on the water. The fish are starting to key in more on bugs than eggs now and we have had a recent influx of new fish. Swinging has been very unproductive for most, and will likely stay that way until we get some real rain. We are in the grips of winter steelhead season and while it is not easy, nymphing hard all day and getting after it has been fruitful. For people that live in the bay area, the American is only an hour and a half or so away and can be a great option to fish this time of year. |
Had a great Yuba trip with Steve on Thursday. We nymphed in the morning and got into some fish, but the day really kicked into gear when we started seeing skwalas on the water and fish rising at about noon, which is a little earlier than we have been seeing it lately. We commited to the dry from then on and it was the right move. There was a bunch of different bugs coming off, but the fish were clearly keyed in on the skwalas as we could watch a live one float by and then see a fish eat it. They continued to rise to them steadily and then it slowed a bit just after 4pm but there were still some fish willing to come up to a good presentation in the right locations until the end of the day. |
Great Here is a guest report from Jim who fished Eagle Canyon yesterday:
"Andrew, it was a beautiful day yesterday. As always Bill was very helpful and had his selection of his great flies which we used. Black, olive and purple leeches and buggers were the ticket. These are a few of the fish we caught. Needless to say we'll be back again. Thanks again, Jim" |
Good Here is a photo from our Eagle Canyon guests today. |
It is skwala season on the Yuba River. Floated yesterday and while we did not see a lot of rises in the morning, fish were coming up in the afternoon. I had multiple skwalas land on me, and we also saw some pmds and march browns around. We wanted to primarily throw skwalas and were rewarded with some ferocious eats.They are off to a good start and it should pick up from here. Many consider skwalas on the Yuba to be the best dry fly hatch in the state. If you like throwing big dry flies to feeding fish, February/early March is the time to go try it out. |
Good Did a lower drift on the Sac and considering the time of year fishing was really pretty good. It was warmer than usual and we had huge caddis hatches most of the day that really drove the bite. Various caddis patterns all worked well. This bodes well for our spring fishing as that is when the caddis hatches usually get going in ernest and the fishing really turns on. The bite shut down hard around 3pm which has been pretty typical lately. Still a great day on the big river! |
Great The steelhead have finally arrived on the Trinity River. After a long slow fall season with a lot of zero, one, and two-hookup days, the fishing has dramatically improved. In the last two days we hooked quite a few adult steelhead and numerous half-pounders. The adults were all wild fish and were mostly 2-4 pounds. We did land a couple in the 5-6 pound range and I spotted a couple big ones as we were floating, too. The river is crystal clear and high with snowmelt. Fishing pressure is very light. If you have the flexibility in your schedule to book a trip soon, you should go for it!  Wading the Trinity  Ron got in on the action  Steve with a nice buck steelhead  Steve with a healthy hen steelhead |
Great I just got off over a week on the Trinity and recent rain had improved fishing. I had trips both swinging and nymphing. We had action on both methods after rain. The last two days fishing was really good. These are wild winter run fish and move often and can be hard to locate. The rain improved flows and raised water temp and the fish were ready to play. You just have to book dates and stick to it. These winter fish move and bite after rain. When weather settles out fishing tightens up and you have to work harder and stay focused. Clients Tom and Geoff had double digit hook ups with several nice fish landed on Mondays trip. Tuesday my client Kevin had a good day with five fish landed. I expect February to be good. It's still steelhead fishing with no guarantee but this week had been fun. Plenty available dates . It's time to go! Book it and come out and play.Peter Santley |
Good Conditions are shaping up nicely for getting out on the water to do some swinging for chrome. After the biggest rise of the season for all of the rivers of the North Coast we are seeing an extended period of mostly dry calm weather. This is the generous window we've been waiting for, so if you've been cooped up at home tying flies and scouring the internet for images of salty fish it's time to wax your ferrules and hit the road. By this weekend we should see a number of North Coast rivers come online, and looking further ahead with no major systems threatening to rain on the parade more and more water will become fishable. Hope to see you on the water.  Andrew Harris in the goods  Mad River projection into February  S. Fork Eel river projection into February  Smith River projection into February |
Good Floated the canyon section today with Geoff and his dad Tom. The river was dropping after a big storm a few days ago and that seems to have brought some new fish upriver. Tom hooked up with a good fish on his first cast and throughout the day we landed a nice mixture of adults, tweeners, and half-pounders, all of them wild. Fishing right after a big storm seems to be key. |
Fishing on the North Coast has been hit and miss over the past few weeks with brief windows opening up between storms. The Smith River has been the best bet for finding green water and conditions have been ideal for swinging. With flows remaining on the higher side the river has been showing off its iconic emerald green color, and with it the first decent push of fish. Reports from most of the guides I talked to who were floating from the Forks down were getting into a few fish a day. The Eel River has remained largely unfishable since blowing out earlier this month, with the upper S. Fork above Benbow being the excpetion. I spent a few days poking around up there last week and while conditions were near perfect I didn't talk with anyone who had hooked up. As of right now all rivers on the coast are anticipated to be on a steady rise through the beginning of this week. The projections for the Eel are pointing to the most significant rise of the season to date, restarting the clock for any hopes of being able to fish on the lower stretches of the system for some time to come. The Smith should be a player by as soon as mid week. There is a system hot on the heels of the current one due to deliver soaking rains late on Monday into early Tuesday, after that things are looking to quiet down for now. Hopefully with the close of January and the end of the winter seasons first act we will see some respite from the wet weather and more rivers turning from brown to green. Tight lines out there!  Great aerial shot by Dax Messett. Big mean and green,  Snowy morning from one of the heaviest snowfalls during a winter steelhead season  Offerings  Some wild mushrooms picked on the way into the run. |
Good The past two days were great with my guests Peter and Mike,
from the Peninsula Fly Fishers. The
weather was perfect on Friday, but it rained off and on pretty hard
Saturday. The guys fished really hard
both days and Mike was rewarded with three really nice hook-ups on Friday. After a couple of tough lost battles, Mike
was able to put one in the net. Peter hooked
into a very nice adult Saturday, but he came up empty handed after a brief fight. All in all, a very good winter steelhead
outing!  Mike with a nice native steelhead |
Good Fellow Confluence guide Mike Wright and his buddy John brought their sons JT and Gavin up for a taste of winter steelheading on the Trinity. I took the lads in my raft and John was in Mike’s boat. John caught a nice fish immediately which was encouraging but we had to work hard for another one. Later in the day Gavin did a great job of fighting a big fish and we landed it despite my best efforts to botch the job of netting it. All in all it was a typical day of winter steelheading; good company, a few fish, some rain, and we had the river to ourselves!  Boom!  Fathers and Sons  John’s leadoff home run |
Good I had a really fun two days with my guests John and Scott. It rained most of the day yesterday and the fishing was as gloomy as the weather. They hooked some half-pounders while getting soaked and cold. They fished hard and were rewarded for their perseverance today. Scott was rewarded first with a nice fish, but as we ate lunch, Scott couldn’t resist fishing the run and hooked into another really nice wild buck! John was wanting to take a break, but I urged him to continue fishing. Just as we dropped into the run, John was “blessed by the fish gods” and had his hands full with a very scrappy wild fish. Scott hooked into another adult in the same run, but it managed to leave him empty handed. Winter steelheading isn’t easy, but if you fish hard and believe, good things will happen!  Scott with his first steelhead  Scott with a very nice fish  John with his fish |
Katie and I just return from the Sacramento ISE Show. It was a busy show and we filled a lot of spots in our calendar. If you are looking to fish Eagle Canyon this season, don't wait to book a trip. We're down to a handful of dates and most of them are coming up soon! Here is the complete list of openings:Jan 24Jan 26Jan 28Feb 5-6Feb 10Mar 8Mar 19Apr 24 (2 spots) |
Good Our guest Lanny forwarded this photo to me after his trip to Eagle Canyon today. Nice fish!  Lanny with a big fish |
Great Here is a guest report from Dave who fished Eagle Canyon today:"A bit of breeze and some overcast made for ideal conditions. Fish were fairly co-operative throughout the day but changing tactics was essential to keep the bite strong. Landed some in the 12 pound range." |
Okay I had a great time today with my guests Matt and Chip. They both hooked into half-pounders before Matt hooked into a very nice adult. The fishing remains challenging, but hopefully with this recent storm we will see a fresh push of fish headed up river.  Matt with a very nice native |
Good Last week I got to fish with Hayden, Josh and Jerrett; three buddies from the Sacramento area. We just squeeked by on having the lower Eel river stay a few shades away from being blown out on the day we fished, it held on by a thread giving us some of the most ideal conditions one could ask for when it comes to swinging big nasty flies for a bright winter fish. In the morning we worked on casting and by the time we had gotten through with the second run of the day everyone was dialed in. After lunch we lucked into a good run that was open and I had my guys spread from top to bottom hoping between the three of them a fish would take a liking to one of their flies. It was Jerrett in the bottom of the run who got the grab. It held on long enough to give us one good jump out in the heavy water to show us how chrome it was before it came unpinned. It was a nice fish. A real one. The boys stuck around to fish the next day on their own and from their report all the action came in those brief moments when Jerrett was connected to the one that got away. The Eel held on through the weekend and was fishing well for guys in the right spots on the Main and especially for guys on the S. Fork. A few exceptional winter specimens were brought to hand before it all blew out on Tuesday. Right now it looks like there could be the potential for a brief window to open up by Sunday and into Monday for a shot at the S. Fork before the next storm blows in on Tuesday to take it offline again. The flows are projected to be ideal but what the color will be is another story. The Smith River looks to be in good shape as of this writing and should remain within fishable conditions through the weekend and into next week. All said, this last round of rain was the storm we needed and have been waiting for. If your'e looking to get out on the coast in pursuit of winter steelhead, this is it. They're in.  Colton Schwenning brought this specimen to hand before the river blew out on Tuesday  The boys: Hayden, Josh, and hotrod Jerrett. |
Fly fish Baja with Confluence guide Kevin Kay this summer! We’re going to Loreto, a laid-back fishing town on the east coast of the Baja peninsula, from June 27 to July 2 to fly fish for all kinds of things! This is a great trip for couples, single anglers, fishing buddies, and non-anglers alike. We’ll enjoy 5 nights at La Mision Hotel, the best in town, and 4 days of guided fishing in the Sea of Cortez with a knowledgeable local panga captain. Non-anglers can relax at the pool or walk to the quaint downtown for lunch at one of the many small restaurants. Anglers are usually back by 2pm so there will be plenty of time to relax before a great dinner at the hotel or downtown. Alaska Airlines flies direct from LAX so getting there is a breeze. Dorado are the main target species, but being a migratory fish they may or may not be there! If not, there are plenty of yellowtail, bonito, skipjack, sea bass, snapper, and the occasional roosterfish or marlin to keep you busy. Cost for lodging and fishing ranges from $2495 if you’re sharing a boat with another angler to $2995 if you and your significant other or buddy want your own boat. For more details email Kevin at flyfishredding@gmail.com or call him on 530-941-5873.  View of the hotel from the marina  Yellowtail  Whale shark!  Downtown square  You might get a marlin!  Dorado! Dorado!  Fantastic scenery  Beautiful sunrise  Bonito are hard fighters  The beach at Coronado Island  View from your balcony  Early morning run to the fishing grounds |
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