Russian River Fishing Report

After weekly of almost bone-dry weather condition many streams have dropped away and cleared. The Jed Smith gauge on the CDEC web page hasn't worked all-day Sunday 2-14. The Smith lake at Dr good connection or even the HWY 101 is showing a height of 14 foot or reduced and gin clear. It really is hard to have fish to bite in reasonable and clear flows but you can find fish inside system we just require some rain which will be expected on Wednesday.

The Chetco too is reduced and obvious. Wally Johnson checked in on Thursday to report two fish including certainly one of 17 weight. He ranked the fishing since slow but claims there are a great number of fish that pressed into the lower lake and an inch of rainfall will turn things in. He saw countless moving and breaking fish when you look at the reduced lake however they are too spooky to get them to bite.

The Mad is down to 7.5 feet or just around 1000cfs in Arcata. The phrase from readers and Gary Blassi past owner of Mad River Tackle states that the river is clear sufficient for bait and fishermen tend to be scoring seafood within the holes and deeper runs. The bite is not nearly because fast a final thirty days but anglers who understand how to throw roe and finding a reasonably good bite.

The South Fork Eel is fishing entirely towards the Forks as of Sunday 2-17. Regular audience Ken stated they floated the Garberville part on Saturday early morning for starters seafood. They dropped down to the Myers area on Saturday afternoon and Sunday and hooked three more landing 2 to tenish weight. Both fish had been down athletes in great form and had been introduced unharmed.

The bite regarding Russian ended up being fast a week ago but very slow earlier this week. A few visitors were chiming in with solid reports the seafood few days of February therefore the river had been starting to drop in. Recently Hunt Conrad states its been 0 to 2 catch boats drifting from Healdsburg to Wholer bridge. The bad news is the fact that the recent high swell likely has got the mouth sanded tv show. The good thing is that the ocean swell up is falling away and when the bar pauses we will have a fresh batch of fish.
The lake is extremely low at only 500cfs at Healdsburg here on Sunday 2-14. Releases off the dams are in a minimum and appear to keep so when you look at the coming times.

Russian River Report by Steve Hemmstra
Kings Tackle, Guerneville
Sunday 12-20
After a 2 and a half month hiatus from being permitted to fish on the Russian River and 4 several years of drought, the seafood gods had been within our benefit as well as on December 11 at 11:30 am the Fish and Game exposed our lake to fishing considering that the circulation eventually surpassed the 300 cfs minimum circulation therefore ended up being game in!

The Russian River is know to most as a vacationers utopia in the summertime for boating inside water on hot times and relaxing. For fisherman however, the winter could be the time and energy to get the chrome ghosts called Steelhead in this winding lake system that passes through vineyards then eventually Redwoods as it tends to make its solution to the sea. Inside autumn initial seafood to locate their means residence are both Chinook and Coho salmon. Due to the Salmon and their particular listing as "threatened" and "endangered" because of the Fish and Game, there clearly was a decision meant to limit fishing to simply as soon as the flow surpasses 300 cfs starting October 1 and continuing through end of April. For those that know the river that secret quantity of 300 just isn't attainable through to the wintertime rains. For 2 . 5 months all we're able to do is stare at the lake and prey for rain.

Two years ago the Russian River did not see that rainfall until February, being in a 4 12 months drought it was seeking to continue carefully with this pattern. Fortunately this year we saw one of several biggest "el ninos" on record therefore ended up being searching encouraging for many very early rainfall. By mid-november fisherman were certainly getting suicidal ideas knowing there were steelhead to be had in their residence water, although violent storm doors began to open and also the rains began, slowly at first but adequate to start filling our dried out aquifer.

After 30 days of on and off rain it eventually took place, a violent storm dumped 1-2 inches of rain within the Russian Basin hence magical number had been finally surpassed. Within day of technology anyone can log on to a computer to check out the movement forecasts on a variety of those sites. It absolutely was virtually painful given that river gauges revealed the circulation gradually increasing after which exceeding the quantity we were waiting around for. Friday early morning we strolled into work, checked the river measure and saw that circulation had been practically 400 and increasing. We rapidly labeled as the lower movement hotline at 707-944-5533, and patiently listened to the recording. It claimed the lake had been still closed! We anxiously called the main office simply to have the run-around reaction that agency had until because belated as 1 pm to choose to open up the river or perhaps not. As my phone was ringing off the hook aided by the one big concern "Is the lake open?" We gave the clear answer I got through the agency and said "Feel free to call them up-and tell them what you think!" Well they must have gotten a few calls because by around 11:30 the message was changed to "open"!

That Friday and Saturday the fishing was fair with mainly old Chinook waiting to move up river, some shiny Coho and a few tiny Steelhead. The lips associated with the river stayed shut as a result of a huge swell with the most present storms, but once that wall surface of liquid came down and filled up the estuary the mouth finally breached after being closed for several months plus in came a push of shiny brand new friends to play with.

The lake emerged enough it got off-color for a couple days at the beginning of the few days but that did not deter the diehards which were starved for a while on water. Reports began to arrive of people getting adult hatchery and wild Steelhead utilizing multiple practices. Plunking bait with a sizable spin and shine in the taking a trip lane, operating plugs either straight back trolling works or anchored up in thin slots, and casting little cleos in a variety of colors had been creating.

By midweek, the Russian had drop and cleared enough the drift boaters were consistently getting away and the run from Healdsburg to Wholer or Steelhead seashore appeared to be top bet. It don't take very long for the brand-new seafood to operate up lake under large dirty liquid following the mouth breached in within 4-5 times these people were keeping in great numbers for the run. Dave Delmue invested a couple of days drifting with friends and surely could put their buddies into some nice hatchery seafood around 12 pounds. Water ended up being just starting to drop-out and floating suspended cured roe from Kings Sport & Tackle under a slip float appeared to be the pass making use of their 9 foot TFO drift rods Shimano Sedona 2500 reels spooled with braid. Various other ships discovered limits jumping treated roe through runs too.

The drifters were not the sole ones inside action. Casting small cleos from coast into the runs and keeping pools also bouncing cured roe into the walk in spots around Guerneville was also effective. One client explained he had been working on work and stepped right down to the river for a few casting on his lunch time break and handled 4 steelies. A split of hatchery and crazy, maybe not a poor way to spend lunchtime!