Hello fishermen; Sorry I have not had a report for awhile, I was hunting in Co so just now getting back to fishing. The past few days I have been fly fishing on the upper Klamath river. The fishing has been ok but not great. The Salmnon are all done spawning so the steelhead are off the beds and in the main slots waiting for the food to come to them. The Stone fly has been the best for getting the bigger fish to bite along with a lot of Trout and baby salmon heading out. The fishing should get better with a few storms that are moving in. These storms are going to help us with the Smith and Chetco rivers for the Salmon. They have been getting a few fish in but needed more rain which we got last week and will get more this week . So look for some good fishing for the next few weeks and with the rains the early Steelhead should start on the Smith and Chetco. Hope to see you on the river.
Albert

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The river levels have been up and down and so has the fishing. The low water makes it extremly difficult to effectively drift and work the fish. Things should improve dramatically as soon as we get our next rain. There should still be plenty of fresh Salmon still to come. 

Thanks, Don Vecchetti

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Hello fishermen; Well now we have been getting way to much rain to even fish most rivers. The Smith is getting close to flood stage and the Chetco also. The Chetco river will closed on March 31 so we will see it again in the fall for the Salmon. The Umpqua river is also out at this time and is suppose to come up 8 feet. This is just on the north fork, so fishing is at a stand still at this time. But if you are looking to get a few more Steelhead before the end of the season the Umpqua is your best bet when it comes down, if it does. The other thing that will be coming in soon is the Trout fishing on the Sacramento river. This is some great fishing with just about any tackle you want to use. Hope to see you on the river.
Albert

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Hello fishermen; The rain was not a lot but did bring the rivers up some and put some color back in them. The fishing has still been good with more downers showing up and still getting a few fresh fish also. I was getting 2 to 5 fish a trip with my best day we landed 8. That day we had 3 fresh fish also so there are a few still coming in. I am now finished up on the Smith and Chetco rivers for the season and I am heading to the Umpqua river. We ended the season with our Steelhead derbies on the Smith and Chertco. The first one I had enough fish to take second place, lost only by 9 inches. The last one was this last weekend and we landed 13 steelhead to take first place. So a real good showing with the new boat. So if you want some good late season Steelhead fishing give me a call and we can get fishing on the Umpqua river. Hope to see you on the river.

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As we round the corner into the middle of March, winter steelhead action is holding up strong on the Eel. After tough fishing for a couple days above Garberville early in the week, the bite kicked in strong as the river dropped into shape down to the Main-stem. 

My boat ranged from six hookups on the toughest day up to a spectacular 13 on the best. 

grToday I dropped down another drift fishing below the confluence and ended the day 11 landed out of 12 hooked.

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Hello fishermen; The fishing on the Smith and Chetco Rivers have slowed down some. We need more rain to get some fish moving around. It will bring the downers down and more new fish to come up. The rivers are very low and are getting clear. We are still catching some fish not getting limits but at least some biters. There is some rain on the way so this will keep our season going through March. I will be fishing on the Umpqua River in March and there is plenty of water up there, in fact it is out at this time so will be fishing good again soon.

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Winter steelhead action is rolling along despite a week of unsettled weather that kept us on our toes. We never got hit hard but a series of weak systems dropped rainfall ranging from a quarter to six tenths of an inch causing river levels to jump slightly adding some color to the souther streams. None of the storms had enough punch to blow things out for very long but it did dirty the water for short periods. 

I spent my week down on the Eel again and fishing ranged all across the board. One day I battled rising water and fickle fish on the Mainstem having to work late to coax a few reluctant bites, while other days we had the boat on the trailer by 3:00 pm with double digit scores under our belt. The later part of the week saw the biggest numbers. Thursday and Friday the South Fork was glowing green and it seemed like everywhere a bait landed there was a steelhead waiting to grab it. Scores ran as high as 16 fish a boat with a 50/50 mix of down-runners and bright fish. With the holiday weekend upon us I opted to slip down river again where there was a little more elbow room. While we didn't find quite as many as the day before we still ended up with 6 bright ones running 5 to 13 pounds. I've been switching off between plugs and bait with both accounting for plenty of fish.

While I haven't been on either the Smith or Chetco in a couple weeks I had boats up there working for me. Most of the rain that we've been seeing on the Eel has dodged the northern rivers leaving them low and clear. Despite the challenging conditions, fishing was steady on most days and if you found yourself in the right place at the right time there were some big pushes of fish that accounted for scores up as high as 10 per boat. The one positive aspect of the low water is the fact that the fishing pressure lightens way up allowing you to really work a pod of fish when you find them.

The last word on the Mad was that the lower river bite had dried up but there were still some nice fish being caught up around the hatchery. Bright fish got rarer and people were talking about having to weed through colored up ones to find a keeper. Most were being caught drifting roe but when the water temperature would creep up a couple degrees spinners and spoons were getting the nod. 

The long term weather forecast isn't holding much in the way of rain at this point. Rivers should continue to drop and clear which isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as you adjust to conditions. Long, fluorocarbon leaders, small hooks and tiny baits are the ticket. The plus side to low water fishing is the fact that steelhead tend to slow down providing the opportunity to run into huge pods laid up waiting for rain. In short, don't let the lack of water deter you from getting out. We've still got a few good weeks of steelhead season and there's plenty of fish to be caught. 

Tony Sepulveda
Green Water Fishing Adventures

The picture is of Jacob Katz who's all smiles while hoisting beauty he caught on with me this week plugging the Eel. Jacob just finished a Phd in Fisheries as UC Davis and is heavily involved anadromous salmonid restoration.

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Hello fishermen; Hope you all are having a good Valentines day. We are just watching it rain here on the coast. This is all good we need more water in the river so let it rain. The fishing has been pretty good with the low water we have. We have not gotten much rain since the last big storm so the rivers are down under 1000 cfs. They are now geting pretty clear but the fish are still there and biting. These past few days I have been getting 3 to 4 fish a day with some better and a few that were tough. My best day we hooked 8 Steelhead and landed 5 of them. The biggest for the week was this day also with a 14 pounder. Hopefully it will rain enough to bring the rivers up and bring in more fish. We are starting to see a few downers now so if we get the rain it will bring more fish down and more to catch. hope to see you on the river.
Albert

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The Smith continues to produce despite the recent low clear conditions. The fish are a bit skiddish so we're working a little harder but still managing 3 to 7 fish on most days. Plenty of fish this year and still time left to book your trips. 

Thanks, Don Vecchetti

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Conditions right now are very low and clear on all of the rivers, with some being closed because of low flow closures. After the rain and high water the Smith and Chetco rivers dropped into shape and fishing was good to great! With no rain though it didn't take long for them to drop out. It sounds like more rain next week, with it fishing should pick back up again.

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After the heavy rains that pelted the Northcoast a couple weeks ago we've been back to dry weather. Rivers are falling but fish are still entering and there are plenty of good fishing days to be had. For the most part, I feel like steelhead fisherman put way too big an emphasis on rain. Unlike the salmon that really do shut down in low water, steelies continue to enter the river and can still be caught by fishing long fluorocarbon leaders, small hooks and presenting your bait far from the boat with a natural drift. While the fish tend to be a little spookier in these conditions, you have the potential to run into huge pods of fish due to the fact that there's fewer areas for them to spread out in and they move upriver far slower than they would in high water. In short, don't be scared of low, conditions.

For the past week I've been bouncing around and for the most part the fishing has been pretty good. The Trinity was a little disappointing only turning up one adult to go with about a dozen halfpounders but the rivers to the north have ranged from solid to red hot. Both the Smith and Chetco are producing and if your in the right place at the right time there's the potential to run into huge pods of fish. A boat working the Smith for me a few days ago came back with stories of a hundred steelhead stacked in a run that was only 2 feet deep. Needless to say, they had a lot of fun that day. 

It looks like we've got some wet weather coming in towards the end of next week which should bring all our rivers up and shuffle the deck. Until then, I'll be sticking it out up north and hopefully the good fishing continues. The picture is of Wayne Terry posing with a flawless Smith River winter steelhead. While she wasn't the biggest fish we caught this week, she embodies perfection.

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Hello fishermen; Well we did get our rain we were waiting for and more. Right at the first of the year we got about 6 inches all at once. So the Smith and Chetco Rivers were out for a few days. They came back in around this last Monday, which was pretty fast for how much rain we got. Since then the fishing has been pretty good. We have been getting fish every day with some better then others, of course that is fishing. My best day we hooked 6 fish and landed 5 of them. Most of them have been around 8 pounds with a few over 10 pounds. My biggest so far this year has been 12 pounds, it is still out here for some other lucky fishermen. I have been catching all my Steelhead side drifting bait with a puff ball. Now we are looking for some more rain. The rivers are getting pretty low and clear now. The Chetco is at 3.9 feet and the Smith is at 14 feet, pretty low for this time of year. If we don't get some rain soon we will start hitting in some of these riffles, but the fish will still be there just a little spooky. So if you are fishing soon pray for some rain. Hope to see you on the river. Albert

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Fishing has continued to be excellent over the past 2 weeks. We are seeing and catching more fish than I have seen in the last couple of years, despite lower clear conditions. The steelhead have been cooperative as we have been having anywhere from 3 to an amazing 14 fish day. Look for the water levels to continue to drop over the next few days which could slow the fishing until our next rain. Thanks, Don Vecchetti

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Hey Steelheaders, Don't let the lack of rain scare you away. The water still has a little color and there are some fish. As the water clears we are getting most of them in the fast shallow water. I have been hooking between 3 and 6 fish every trip with anglers landing 2 to 4 of them. It has been pretty darn good and the crowds are not here. I have been fishing hte Forks down and seeing 4 to 7 boats every day. There are very few people here. Next report on 1/9/12 let 's go fishin! (707) 487-0260. Go catch one, Phil ,

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Hello fishermen; Well we did get our rain we were waiting for and more. Right at the first of the year we got about 6 inches all at once. So the Smith and Chetco Rivers were out for a few days. They came back in around this last Monday, which was pretty fast for how much rain we got. Since then the fishing has been pretty good. We have been getting fish every day with some better then others, of course that is fishing. My best day we hooked 6 fish and landed 5 of them. Most of them have been around 8 pounds with a few over 10 pounds. My biggest so far this year has been 12 pounds, it is still out here for some other lucky fishermen. I have been catching all my Steelhead side drifting bait with a puff ball. Now we are looking for some more rain. The rivers are getting pretty low and clear now. The Chetco is at 3.9 feet and the Smith is at 14 feet, pretty low for this time of year. If we don't get some rain soon we will start hitting in some of these riffles, but the fish will still be there just a little spooky. So if you are fishing soon pray for some rain. Hope to see you on the river.
Albert

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Hello fishermen; We have been sitting areound now for a long time waiting for some rain and there has not been any. The rivers have been so low we can not really fish them. This has been the lowest rain fall on the coast that I can ever remember. So to say I have not caught many fish this month. But the future is looking up. It is raining right now on the Smith and Chetco rivers and they are coming up. I am not sure how much we are going to get but it is a lot more then have gotten. This is the first big storm for these rivers so the fishing should be great this next week for the Steelhead and of course later on as well. I will be fishing there soon so I will let you know. Hope to see you on the river.
ALbert

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Fishing is still great on the Trinity and Klamath Rivers but bright fish are getting more and more scarce each day. The jacks have been relentless and making for lots of bites and bent rods. On Monday we boated close to 40 of the little guys with a few nicer fish in the mix to 25 pounds. I'm starting to turn my attention to Smith River trophy king salmon in November and it looks like we may get the rain we need to get things started around the 5th of the month. Until then I'm going to do a few more days on the middle Klamath.

The pictures are a little end of the season roundup from the past few weeks

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