Smith River Salmon & Steelhead Fishing Report

We saw light rain on the North coast. Rainfall totals were about a .25" in Del Norte county, Southern Humboldt and Mendocino saw totals ranging from .40 to 1.25 and Sonoma county saw totals of a half to just over 1 inch. Flows didn't budge on the Northern rivers and the Eel is seeing a very small rise that should be good for anglers there in the coming days.
On Tuesday 4-7 Kim Hagen reported 6 fish hooked and five landed on the Smith. Nothing, big or small just those cookie cutter Smith bruisers running 7 to 11 pounds. Kim said today's rain added just a hint of color and pressure was very light for the mid February date. He does have some spots open.
Kevin Brock started his day on the Chetco where his twosome hooked and lost two. He jumped back across the border to float the Smith in the afternoon where they hooked four and landed three to 12 pounds.

Guides reported a decrease in the fishing pressure and more good scores on Saturday 2-4. Kevin Brock reported that the majority of guides are seeing 3 to 5 fish running 6 to 12 pounds per day. Most are working the Forks to Ruby section but as the flows drop more will work as low as the Outfitters (101 bridge). They river has dropped to 9 feet and has good flows of 3800cfs but the color is starting to drop out. Light rain is expected late Monday into Tuesday and this should color up the river. Dry weather is expected Wednesday through Friday with possible rain next weekend.

The steelie action remains good on the Smith and the weather has been spectacular. On Friday 2-3 Kevin Brock reported 4 fish landed out of five hooked for his twosome. Kevin says the river has great color and with flows just slowly dropping should fish well for the next several days. They found good action up in Jed Park and came across another batch for fish that look to be just pushing up through the Ruby section. Kevin has a few spots open the next two weeks.

Pictured above: Tim Obert and his three friends had a banner day where they landed 24 fish including this 20 pound class trophy that was released. It was his forth fish landed on that epic day. Tim reports he was using Mad river artificial eggs fishing a just above Hiouchi. For those new to this river I recommend that you go the guide route first and once you find your bearings pull on the waders and try fishing it on your own. (Tim thanks for the great photo and report)!

Side Drifting for Steelhead 101
Here are a few tips to help improve your steelhead scores when side drifting with a guide.
Side drifting is a "team sport" where the guide and his or her clients must fish together. It's important to understand what is expected of both the guide and the anglers to be an effective team. When the guide on the oars and anglers work together the results almost always means more opportunities to hook that trophy.
The guide sets the boat "up" off of the travel lane of the fish and adjusts the speed of the drift to work the baits into where the fish are holding without snagging bottom. Sounds simple enough but it takes top guides 100s of trips to fully "know" a river and their "job" is only tougher when you have clients who aren't following instructions.
The first trick for the clients in the front seat to master is "matching" their casts. Typically your guide will tell you exactly, down to a few feet or sometimes inches where he wants you to place your casts. The top guides, with their years of knowledge know exactly where fish will be holding depending on a river's flow level and color. They already have a game plan in place before the boat is off trailer and know which areas of the river they will want to concentrate on that day. It's the clients responsibility to be ready to follow instructions. Typical instructions are "Cast in the foam line behind that boulder pile" or "on the soft side of that seam" or "in as tight to the bank as you can without going in the trees". If anglers make accurate casts of the same distance this makes it easy on the guide to get that "perfect drift". When one angler casts too short or long it's impossible for your guide to get both lines to work properly through the run. The result of mismatched casts is often times one line getting snagged on the bottom and fishing time is lost. Anglers who remain alert and make those typical 4 to 8 average bites count come off the river with a memorable day. Those day dreaming, not ready to cast or not placing their casts where directed are lucky to hook a fish or two. Crossed lines, backlashes, snags or those flung into the trees are "score killers" and will result in fewer fish hooked at the end of the day.
If you are not a proficient caster then I have three words, practice, practice, practice before your trip. From a chair in a forward sitting position practice making casts to your right and left at app. 9 to 10 o'clock and 2 to 3 o'clock. Keep practicing until you can consistently place a cast within a three foot radius without back-lashing and be sure your fishing partner can do the same. No professional guide that I know will ever blame his clients for a bad day but often times it is the lack of "following directions or not being prepared" that does result in a low fish count. If you are casting short or long into the trees no guide can overcome "poor form". Scores almost always improve when there is some talent or "hot-sticks" on board. The reason is the clients are matching their casts, making good baits on their own and this leaves the guide to concentrate on his top priority, putting you on the fish.

What to bring:
Save time by purchasing your fishing license and appropriate stamps ahead of time. Dress warmly in layers (don't forget the hat and gloves) and be prepared for rainy weather. Always arrive early to your meeting spot. Bring a lunch, a thermos of something hot and snacks that has be easily eaten while fishing and don't forget the sunglasses and a camera.
We are proud to have some of the top guides feeding us reports from all north coast rivers throughout the year. Our sponsors are all full time guides and have the experience and the know how to consistently put you on the fish. Please support these guides that make this site possible. All offer professional trips with the best of boats and equipment. During the peak runs they also book trips for other quality guides that are often mentioned within our reports. On their websites you will also find additional fishing reports, trips dates and booking information.

New Rules for the Smith River
New rules have been adopted by the Cal F&G commission for the Smith River in 2011. Only barbless hooks will be allowed in all reaches of the Smith River. The Klamath-Trinity Salmon Report Card has been renamed North Coast Salmon Report card and will now be required on the Smith River also. The annual bag limit for wild trout or steelhead was reduced to zero and no more than five wild Chinook may be kept per year.

Affordable Alaska
For you readers looking for adventure on a "boys" or family trip that includes world class salmon, halibut, trout action we still have a few prime weeks available in our Alaska vacation cabin for 2012.
Our full equipped coastal home sits on three acres (sleeps 7+) overlooking Cook Inlet and is within 30 minutes of five rivers including the Kenai, Kasilof and Anchor.
Most of our guests do a combo package of self guided and guided river and saltwater trips.
Shop around and you will see that this is one of the most affordable ways to visit and fish Alaska. Weekly cabin rates are just $1400 or up to 7 people.
Give us a call and we will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about fishing on the Kenai peninsula. 707 479-0992
Pictured above: A family shot of the morning sockeye catch from our annual family trip in July

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