[env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard 2 3 2011

Fri Feb 4 10:22:14 PST 2011

Fishing the North Coast:Weather or not, steelhead are still being caught

Kenny Priest/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 02/03/2011 01:01:51 AM PST

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Jenn Grover, right, of Garden Grove caught and released this beautiful 18 lb
wild steelhead on a recent drift boat trip down the Eel River. Grove was
fishing with guide Tony Sepulveda, pictured left, of Green Water Fishing
Adventures. (Photo courtesy of Green Water Fishing Adventures.)

The lack of rain continues to be the hot topic amongst North Coast steelhead
anglers. Except for a brief period of rain last Saturday afternoon that
dropped roughly a half-inch, the coast has been unseasonable dry. While some
rivers, like the Smith and the Chetco are running out of fishable water,
others like the main stem of the Eel, lower Trinity and lower Klamath are in
great shape. Even with the lack of water, anglers are still catching
steelhead on just about every river along the North Coast. The Smith and
Chetco are still giving up a few fish to the die-hards who are grinding away
on clear, low water. The Mad is having one the best years in recent memory,
and the Eel and Van Duzen are both giving up decent numbers of winter
steelhead. When the rain finally does fall, look out, we could be in for
some world-class steelhead fishing!

Weekend weather
It's dry, dry and dry, according to Troy Nicolini of Eureka's National
Weather Service. There's no change in the current weather pattern through at
least Wednesday. Looks like another weekend of sunglasses and t-shirts.

Mad River Hatchery numbers encouraging
The number of steelhead returning to the Mad River Hatchery continues to be
strong. Trap data for the week of January 16 to January 22 showed 505 new
steelhead made their way up the ladder. That brought the season total to a
whopping 1,459 returning steelhead. At this time last year, only 721
steelhead had been counted. And the run isn't over by any means. Another 422
were counted during the week of January 23-29 and 483 returned the week of
January 30 through February 5.

Important note: employees of the hatchery are urging anglers to use the
south entrance of the hatchery when headed to and from the river. There is
fear that the New Zealand Mud Snail or the Quagga Mussel could be spread to
the ponds from other rivers via anglers boots or waders. If either one of
those invasive species shows up in the ponds, it would severely impact the
release of hatchery steelhead into the river. 

The Rivers:
Chetco River 
The Chetco is running out of water reports Guide Val Early of Early Fishing
Guide Service. "The fishing is spotty at best and that's only if everyone on
the water stays off the fish and stays quiet. We had less than half inch of
rain and the river rose an inch on Saturday night, then quickly dropped 4
inches by Sunday afternoon. We don't have any rain in the forecast until two
weeks from now. It seems there are a few fish out there and with really low
conditions there don't seem to be too many coming in at this time," Early
said.

The Smith, Eel, Mad, Van Duzen, and Mattole Rivers are regulated by low flow
closures. Call the DFG's low flow closure hotline at (707) 822-3164 to
determine the condition of the rivers. 

Smith River
Crescent City guide Mike Coopman was on the Smith earlier in the week and
reports the fishing is extremely tough, but there are some fish around.
"It's about as low and clear as you'll see it, and you really have to work
hard for your bites. Stealth and light leaders - either eight or six pound,
are a must. There's not a lot of boat traffic happening now, so that makes
it a little easier to sneak up on the fish," Coopman added.

Eel River (main stem)
Paul Grundman of Rio Dell's Grundmans Sporting Goods reports the main stem
Eel is in good shape, but still just a little pushy. "From what I'm hearing,
the fishing isn't red hot, but some nice adults are being caught from the
forks down to Rio Dell," said Grundman. "The main stem should fish through
the weekend and into next week. At that point, we'll probably need a little
shot or rain."

Eel River (South Fork)
Darren Brown of Brown's Sporting Goods in Garberville reports the south fork
still has some good color, but the Benbow area is getting pretty clear.
"Right now there isn't very many boats on the south fork, most have moved
down to the main so it's hard say the amount of fish that are around. If the
river keeps dropping, my guess we'll have clear water down to Meyers Flat by
the weekend," Brown added.

Van Duzen
The Van Duzen still has good color, but is starting to get a little low for
boats according to Grundman. The snowmelt should keep it fishing through the
weekend," Grundman added. Currently flowing at 350 cfs and is predicted to
drop a little over the next couple days, but the warm weather ahead should
bump up flows slightly by the end of the weekend.

Mad River
The fishing has slowed a bit, but the quality of fish being taken is good
according to Justin Kelly of Eureka's Redwood Marine. "Water continues to
flow over the spillway at Ruth Lake, which is keeping the flows up and some
color in the river. Right now we're not finding many fresh hatchery fish,
but there are lots of native fish in the river. The fishing pressure has
thinned and anglers are spread out from the hatchery to the Blue Lake
Bridge. Small clusters of roe or Spin N Glows continue to be the top baits,"
Kelly added. "The river is currently hovering around 7.5 feet and should
fish well through the weekend and into early next week."

Trinity
Upper
Steve Huber of Steve Huber's Guide Service has been grinding away in the
Junction City area and reports some pretty tough conditions. "We're getting
between zero and three fish per day and the only thing that's going to help
us out is rain. The water is crystal clear right now and when the sun hits
it - it's almost impossible to sneak up on the fish. Boat pressure has been
light, which is expected under these conditions. As soon as we get some
water, my guess is all those fish holding down in the falls area will be
headed our way," Huber added.

Middle
According to Rick Frederick of Hawkins Bar Mini Mart the Trinity is the
perfect shade of green from Big Bar all the way down past the south fork.
"I'm starting to see a few more fishermen each day and I'm hearing of more
fish being caught. Sounds like there are quite a few of the magnum
half-pounders in the river. As the river continues to drop, I'd expect the
scores will improve," Frederick added. "Roe and nightcrawlers have been the
top producers."

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land

415 519 4810 mobile

bwl3 at comcast.net 

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org 

http://www.fotr.org

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