Anyone out there chasin' steelhead? Any rivers where the action has been real hot or warmin' up? Thinking about getting out there sometime soon and trying to plan. I usually take a trip to the Trinity just after Thanksgiving and as of now, that is still the plan.
I've heard the Yuba has some at the moment. The feather is reported to be decent steelhead fishing at the moment.
Rains are expected on Tuesday. If the resulting flow surge in the Russian River is big enough, it could open up the blockage at the mouth. If this happens, the steelhead won't be far behind.
My friend and I fished the Feather Tuesday 11/5 with Ryan Johnston (www.rjsflytrips.com) and had a blast! He always puts us on fish. We tallied 17 total to the net and lost probably 10 others. The largest was 23.5" but we had bigger fish on... It was our first time fishing for steelhead after many outings on the Lower Sac for trout. I learned so much about fighting these bigger, stronger fish.
The largest fish of the trip came off when my slack line wrapped around my stripping arm's sleeve button and decided at that particular moment to take a hot run and jump. So dissapointing!
I had another nice steelhead on and had played it for more than 5 minutes, including jumps and multiple runs to the backing, when a salmon came up from his red and tackled him. Like magic, the salmon and steelhead exchanged places on the line! Another dissapointment but WOW!
-- Edited by drdan on Saturday 9th of November 2013 07:49:32 AM
Those are some impressive numbers for the Feather Dr Dan. Ryan knows his rivers! I had a nice Yuba trout run into a salmon this last weekend and lost it. Sometimes that's the way it goes. Just keeps you going out there for the next one!
Will be up on the Trinity drifting next Weds. and Thursday. Praying for some rain, I hear possibly next week!!!! Reports are water is very low and very clear, fishing is tough.
I ventured over to the Russian River on Tuesday to check out the situation after the recent rains. I focused on the portion between Cassini Ranch and the mouth. Although the rain didn't blow out the mouth, the passage is open at high tide.
I spent a total of 4 hours on the river. The first 2 hours I scouted long stretches that were seemingly empty waters. I though the day would be a bust. As I traveled lower on the river (by foot), I noticed some splashing on a stretch with limited bank access. I decided to hike down that way and cut through 100 ft of prickers and dense brush to access the bank where the splashing was seen. I immediately spotted a large stack of salmonoids that stretched across the river at this particular point. The water level is very low on the river at the moment, probably 5 feet at this stretch. The #2 panther martin was enough weight to cruse above the bottom.
The bank was not easy to work with, as the floor was loose mud, the drop off was immediate and too steep for wading, and there was thick brush and low overhanging branches. Luckily I found a large root that extended into the deep muddy bank. I balanced myself on this and was able to walk it out to get 5 foot clearance from the bank and just enough casting space. A precarious, but stable enough perch.
I was using a 6' ultralight St Croix rod, 4-lb fluorocarbon test, and an assortment of #2 size panther martins. Casting out I immediately got a bite and it was a biggun. I was actually very anxious at this point as I had never landed a fish this big on this set-up and I was still unsure as to whether these were salmon or steelhead.
I muscled her in and was rewarded with a 24 inch silvery steelhead, my first ever. The next cast landed a much smaller 16-18 inch steelhead that was colored more like a freshwater rainbow.
The next cast got my nerves in a bind. The hook set and I knew this was the biggest fish I could think of being able to land on my gear. The reel did nothing but buzz for the first 2-3 minutes or so. The only way the line went was out. Eventually I was able to gain ground on this behemoth. An epic struggle resulted in landing a very sizable (estimated 34 inch; 15 lb) COHO! I never would have imagined that I could land something this size with the same setup that yields first year juveniles on Putah.
This struggle scattered the school to towards the opposite bank and beyond my casting distance. 20 minutes of biteless casts ensued. Then I got some help. A pair of large marine mammals that travelled a few miles upstream from the mouth attacked the grouping on the opposite bank creating an incredible commotion and splashing event. This pushed them back to my side and I was back on the bite in no time.
The next one was a steelhead just shy of the Coho's size. By the end of the 2 hours I spent on this spot, I had landed five 24+ inch silvery steelhead, the one smaller rainbow steelhead, and the Coho. One steelhead showed a beautifully curled lower jaw. Every fish was handled with care, landed 100% in the water, and was released gently and unharmed. I kept none.
The next day, the bicep on my pole arm felt like I had spent the day curling weights.
Despite this success, I must stress that the season seems very premature on the Russian at the moment. I was lucky to have found a tight pod to spend a few hours with. I could have easily gotten skunked on any other stretch of the river.
-- Edited by blek42 on Saturday 30th of November 2013 08:29:17 AM
