Rivers on the North Coast are seeing their first significant rise of the winter steelhead season. The stage has been set for all rivers on the Redwood Coast to see their first big push of winter steelhead with the increased flows. The Eel was fishing well before the rains, despite being low and clear there were reports of some very nice chromers being caught on the swing. With the recent rise the Eel will remain high and off color for the time being. I just finished a two day swing trip on the Smith with Jay from San Francisco. Although conditions were ideal for swinging one up the river was quiet. Even the gear boats were reporting tough fishing, but with the river projected to peak at 13.6 ft early this week we should see some salty fish making an appearance. December can be hit or miss for a shot at the first winter runs, but now that we're headed into the end of the month with plenty of rain on tap it's game on!