Green Water Fishing Adventures

I ran my first trip of the season on the ocean through our sister company, North Wind Charters and salmon fishing was about as good as it gets. The new pier in Trinidad won't be ready to go until Friday so I ran out of Eureka today and found tons of life out front. Most of the fleet was in about 300 feet of water and a little north of the entrance but there were fish spread far and wide. I did the bulk of my damage in 180 feet of water straight out in front of the jaws. There were huge balls of both krill and finbait with plenty of willing kings mixed in. We put 14 fish in the box counting a limit for me before going inside and pulling our crab pots. While the fish weren't huge they were a respectable grade with an 8 to 10 pound average capped off by a 20 pounder.

While I'm generally a bigger fan of photos of individual fish fresh from the water to highlight their beauty, here's a classic meat shot for you.

That's a funny looking salmon. I just got back from a 10 day jaunt up to the Columbia River for a little R and R before I start running "Fishy Business" out of Trinidad on Tuesday. We started the trip out on the Willamette just bellow the falls at Oregon City to see what all the hype was about. While far from a wilderness experience it was really pretty neat to see such a well run urban fishery. Hundreds of boats were turning out every morning but despite the crowds people were friendly and everyone was there to have a good time. Action wasn't red hot with far more boats than fish but we managed to bag a few each day back-bouncing roe with a pinch of sand shrimp. The sturgeon fishing was closed to retention but still open to catch and release so we'd spend some time every afternoon playing with big diamond backs. Bites came quick with fish running from 10 to 90 pounds. Over the course of the trip we saw some truly giant ones free jump.

The second half of the trip we went up the Columbia looking for one of the big walleye that the river is famous for. The constant winds made it difficult but the fish were there and wanted to play. Bouncing crawler harnesses was the ticket as you could cover a lot of ground and find pockets of fish. The one is the picture was the big girl of the trip that taped out at 11 pounds. We let here swim off to spawn and kept a few smaller males for shore lunch.

All and all it was a great 10 days of exploring some new waters with good friends.

I'm back from striper fishing on the Sacramento River out of Colusa and we had a great time. For the most part the fishing was great. Some days it took a little more work than others but we always managed to find limits of chunky linesides. On the best days the action was nonstop with double and triple hookups common when we were on big pods of fish.

I've got about a week and a half of down time before I start my ocean charters out of Trinidad Harbor and I think everyone is excited to see what this season is going to bring in terms of salmon fishing. It's been open for a few weeks already down south and the bite is as good as anyone can remember. I'll get reports up as soon as we get going.

Rain, rain and more rain. While it has wiped out a good chunk of March's steelhead fishing, I'm glad to have it. The South Fork Eel has flirted with fishable a few times in the past couple weeks only to have the next system roll in and knock it out again. The Smith River has had some fishable days and was actually pretty good considering the time of year. While I have a ton of confidence fishing our southern rivers (Eel, Mad, Mattole) this late in the season, fishing up north can be a little hit or miss in March and I tend to avoid it. Despite my reservations, the Smith has been giving up decent numbers with some bright fish still in the mix. As of today the river is again on the rise and will be back out of commission. For me, this series of storms will officially mark the end of winter steelhead season. I'm getting striper gear in order and starting to think about drifting live baits for Sacramento River striped bass. The rain is exactly what we needed to suck fish out of the delta and it should be hot fishing as soon as things settle in.

As we come into the middle of March, the calendar still shows a couple good weeks of steelhead fishing to come but it seems mother nature may have other plans for us. With a series of big storm systems bearing down on us the rivers are all forecasted to rise and may stay big and dirty for some time. With luck, we'll still get a few more days in before the April first steelhead closures if the weather allows. It's been a great season as whole (for more detail you can look back at my fish reports at www.greenwaterguides.com ). I want thank all of you who got out fishing with me and helped keep Green Water Fishing Adventures growing.

I finally had to do a rate increase this winter bumping up to $200 per person for all my trips from $175. I drug my feet on this one for a long time as every other reputable guide was already there or higher. However with gas prices being what they are, there's no way to avoid it with all the highway miles the job requires and the thirsty nature of big outboard jets.

Looking ahead, I'll be down on the Sacramento River near Colusa with the jetboat for the spring striper run. It's a fun fishery with big numbers running 2 to 8 pounds and some larger ones sprinkled in. They're great eating, fight hard and make an easy day trip for a lot of you guys in the Valley and Bay Area. Right now the open days are April 21st, 22nd 23rd, 24th and 25th. We can accommodate up to 5 people in my boat and I've got some other guides working the area as well that can help out with bigger groups.

Again, thanks to everyone for your support and friendship. Looking forward to getting on the water with you soon.

Tony

After last weeks trying battles with gale force winds here on the North Coast, the brutal conditions gave way to an idyllic week of winter steelhead fishing. Blue skies, jade green rivers and hot action epitomized a perfect day on the water.

Once the South Fork Eel River dropped into shape bellow Garberville early in the week, the bite was on and scores ran high. My toughest day was 6 landed out of 7 hooked and on my best we put steel to 13 fish ranging from 5 to 14 pounds. Steelhead fishing really doesn't get any better.

As waters continued to clear, I slipped down to the Main-stem Eel River on Friday and found more of the same. The first few spots of the morning came up dry but we got our first fish at about 9:00 am and never looked back. We wrapped the day up with 11 landed out of 12 hookups. Another boat was on the drift with me guiding a pair of fly guys and they were getting in on the action as well. After catching a few drifting bait, they switched over to the long rods and hooked 4 more with glow bugs under an indicator.

Snowmelt kept the Mad flowing dirty for longer than normal but once the color came around the action was good. I heard of good anglers landing as many as 8 fish in a day with a mix of downers and bright wild fish making up the majority of the count. Typically the hatchery fish start to thin out this late in the season

The Smith River still had a steady trickle of fish both moving up out of the salt and back down out of the creeks. If you hit it on the wrong day it was a tough go but with the right timing there were some good days to be had. Pressure was exceeding light until the derby started on Friday and that always ups your odds.

The Chetco, while not red hot, was still giving up fish for most boats. 2 to 4 a day was pretty typical through the week with lucky and good guides landing up to 7.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end and it looks like this bite is no exception. Light rain has started to fall and the forecast is calling for a series of stronger systems on the way. The silver lining is the fact that we've still got a few weeks left in the season and I'd expect action to pick right back up where it left off once the weather subsides.

It's been a week of change here on the North Coast and with the last front the deck has officially been shuffled on our southern rivers. The Mad and Eel have gone from low and clear to unfishable although they won't be out for long.

I spent the early part of the week on the Main Stem Eel and while fishing was solid, numbers slipped a bit from the previous weeks. It was hard to get a read on whether there were fewer fish around or if scores were suffering from the relentless wind we battled. My guess is a little of both. Scores ranged from 3 to 8 fish a boat and a high percentage were still bright fish just arriving from the salt. While I really can't complain about the fishing most days, I was a bit frustrated by the relentless breeze and the difficulty of presenting a bait in it.

The Mad, while getting on the low side early in the week, was still kicking out decent numbers. As has been the case, a lot of them were colored up but there were still some bright gems in the mix. Rick Wetzel from Mad River Tackle was on the river as usual and reported "a few really hot bites if you got lucky and found a pod of fresh ones".

To the North, the Smith and Chetco dodged most of the moisture. The splash they got was just enough rain to breath a little life into them, bringing in some new fish, washing some downers out of the creeks and putting a little color to the water. Counts were solid for Thursday and Friday which is breath of fresh air after the tough fishing early in the week.

The longterm forecast calls for clear skies through at least March 10th and all our rivers will be back in play well before then. I'll be heading to the South Fork Eel and I'm pretty excited to see what the high flows brought us. March is one of my favorite times of year there and I wouldn't be at all surprised by double digit scores.

The picture is of a flawless, Eel River, plug caught hen landed in the crippling winds of last week.

With little change in the weather and only weak storm systems brushing over the North Coast, we're wrapping up another week of fishable conditions on all our rivers. As waters clear, I'm starting to hear people talk about needing rain but the fish are in and with the right approach there are plenty of big, bright steelhead to be caught. Despite the fact that we're getting to the back half of the run, fresh fish have still been outnumbering downers and they don't seem to be showing any signs of letting up.

For a third straight week I spent my days down on the Eel and enjoyed great fishing combined with clear skies and sunshine. The last sprinkle of rain put some color to the river and I started the week out on the South Fork where perfect conditions were giving up as many as a dozen hookups per day. Most of my fish were caught drifting the standard roe and Fish Pill offering but I was working some plugs as well and rods were slamming down. As the water continued to drop throughout the relatively dry week, I worked my way down river into the Mainstem hooking 8 to a 14 fish a day. Action finally slowed at the end of the week as high winds made it difficult to present a bait. Thursday was the worst of it with gusts up to 35 mph ripping up the valley making some of the long stretches of flat water look like the Bearing Sea. Despite the fact it was some of the most difficult conditions I've ever fished, we still managed to put a few nice ones in the net. The last of the day smacked a plug right in the teeth of a gale so stiff I couldn't turn my boat broadside without taking water over the side. Not ideal by any means but we made the most of it. My big fish of the week was a 16 pounder landed on the Main Eel that put on one of the most impressive aerial displays I've ever witnessed. The big hen (pictured above) cleared the water at least dozen times.

Up towards the Oregon boarder, the Smith was a bit of grind last week on most days with guides having to work hard to put fish in net. I had a boat up there early in the week and while they caught fish each day, they weren't coming easy. The one saving grace is that fishing pressure was light prior to the derby that started on Friday and so when you found a pod they tended to be receptive to a well presented bait.

The Chetco on the other hand fished great early in the week despite the low water. Fresh fish were hitting the river and with flows under 1000 cfs, there weren't many places for them to hide. By the end of the week action had begun to slow. I just talked to buddy and guide Kenny Armstrong who's on the river for this weekends derby and it sounds like a grind. He's seeing fish role in all the usual spots but they're reluctant to bite. His feeling was that a lot of what was showing were dark fish that have been put off by the barrage of baits coming at them. Once the derby wraps up the pressure should lighten and a lot of them should become more willing to cooperate.

I dropped by Mad River Tackle in Arcata Friday evening and got the first hand report from Rick Wetzel. Between hearing the stories from everyone coming through the shop and spending his off time on the river, Rick had a pretty solid feeling for what was happening on the Mad. While it wasn't wide open, there were fish scattered up and down the river and if you were lucky enough to end up in the right place at the right time, there was potential to have a big day. Most of the fish were dark hatchery or new arriving wild but there were a few nice keepers turning up.

As of right now the weather man is calling for a solid shot of rain on Wednesday that would be enough to bring all our rivers up and give them some color. The rest of the week is forecasted to be dry and with the ground as parched as it is, I'd expect a lot the moisture to get absorbed allowing rivers to bounce back in a hurry. While we're clearly on the back half of this great winter steelhead season, it's far from over.

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.

It's been another solid week of steelhead fishing here on the North Coast. Several weak weather systems have brought light rainfall and kept river levels bouncing around. While none of these storm have packed enough punch to blow things out, we've had to deal with a couple small rises which can make for a tough bite. Once rivers have gone back on the fall the fish start to snap again.

We saw great numbers for the early part of the week on the Eel with scores running up into the double digits on the best days. The Main Stem was fishable it's entire length and the South Fork was holding just enough color to keep the fish from getting wary. A half inch of rain Tuesday night put the river on a slow rise but by Thursday it had settled back in and was fishing great. Friday every boat on the river hooked into good numbers of chrome bright steelhead fishing under a steady drizzle and by Saturday she was again on the rise and a little dingy. Despite less than ideal conditions we manage to put a few in the net by running plugs on the inside edges.

The Mad River has been putting up some great numbers for guys drifting roe and a fish pill around the hatchery and down towards the Blue Lake bridge. Like the Eel, this river has been bouncing up and down a little but the moisture has been so minimal the color has been coming back within a few hours of the flows cresting.

The Smith and Chetco Rivers missed the rainfall early in the week but despite low flows were giving up decent numbers. Scores were running up as high as 6 per boat. With the lack of pressure on both of these rivers the steelhead have been willing to cooperate when you can find them. Most of this success has been for guided fisherman on the lower river but the bankies are getting in on the action fishing up above the forks.

The long term forecast is looking great and I think we'll have some good days ahead. We're starting to see a few downers in the mix but the vast majority of the fish we're catching are in beautiful shape and full of fight. I didn't see any huge ones this week but the grade has been solid with the most of the fish running 6 to 12 pounds.

The picture is of TJ Parker from Davis. This 13 pounder was his second ever steelhead. He landed it plug fishing with me on the South Fork Eel. Before the day was over he bagged two more, one on the same lure and one on bait running his life tally up to 4

With only about a half inch of rain in the last few days we've still got good conditions on all our southern rivers. The Eel came up a bit from last nights showers but not enough to blow it out. The river picked up a little color this morning and came up a few inches but still looked great. I've been spending most of my time moving around between Garberville and Rio Dell finding good batches of fish throughout the whole area. I got over to the Mad one day last week and it seemed to be a little lull the action. Despite lots of bank fisherman I heard of very few fish being caught. We managed to put 4 in the net backtrolling plugs but I felt a little lucky to end up as well as we did. The picture is of a beautiful wild hen that was one of the four that day.

After a couple weeks of wet weather we've begun to dry out and all our rivers are dropping into prime shape. After a month of great fishing up north on the Smith and Chetco the bite started to get a little tough so I headed south looking for greener pastures. There's really a ton of good options at this point with everything running steelhead green and full of fish. I spent the past few days on the South Fork Eel River and ran into some big pods of fish. With perfect weather, beautiful scenery and great fishing it's hard to ask for anything more. We've been sidedrifting roe and a fish pill for lots of shots each day at 6 to 12 pound adults and good numbers of "halfpounders" thrown in as a bonus. It looks like the rain's going to hold off for a while and the bite should continue to be good.

I've spent the last week on the Smith and Chetco Rivers. The water has continued to drop due to the dry weather but bright fish have kept pouring in. While not wide open fishing, the bite has been solid with most days producing 4 to 6 hookups. Today we had our first real weather arrive after what seems like an eternity and it seemed like the shift turned the fish on. John Sellers of Fortuna joined the 20 pound club with me today on a low, clear Chetco River. He hooked the fish drifting roe and a fish pill along a shallow break. When he swung on the bite it erupted in 18" of water and went burning off the flat with it's back out of the water like a spooked bonefish. Congratulations to John on a fantastic fish and most impressive part is the fact that he opted to release it. John's a relative newcomer to steelhead fishing, catching his first on the Eel with me last winter. With his big fish resting in the net we talked about the importance of keeping those genetics in the gene pool. John was immediately on board. We took a few pictures and sent him on his way. We ended the day by 1:00 pm with 6 landed out of 10 hooked, a 20 pounder and a double hookup. Not a bad day.

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.

Rain! After almost six weeks of dry weather the first big winter storm of the season brought the water we've been waiting for. The Smith and the Chetco both got high and dirty bringing in loads of steelhead that had been building up in the salt. The first day the Smith dropped back into fishable shape scores were huge. As the rivers have cleared the bite has come back down to earth a bit but fishing is still solid. I was on the Chetco today where action wasn't wide open but we picked away at nice, bright hatchery fish all day ending up with 4 in the box going 6 to 10 pounds.

We're still waiting for rain to bring on the first big wave of winter steelhead but in the meantime I've been finding ways to stay busy. I spent a few days on the Trinity and while the fishing wasn't red hot, there were enough fish around to make it fun. The "halfpouder" steelhead are around in good numbers and there are also some adults mixed in and even an occasional salmon though most of them are pretty colored up now.

I just got back from Oregon where I bought a new jet boat for the lower Klamath River in late summer and maybe even a couple weeks a year of Sacramento River striped bass trips in the spring. We took it for her first run today and though fishing was slow we released a nice, bright king but more importantly the boat ran great. The picture is of my buddy and fellow guide Mike Stratman with his son Jackson, showing off the fish we christened her with.

The lack of rain over the past couple weeks has essentially brought an end to what was one of the best salmon seasons in recent memory. The ocean fishing through our sister company on our Trinidad based charter boat "Fishy Business" was nothing short of spectacular for most of July and August. Most days I had limits of fat kings in the box by 11 am and we were moving on to look for halibut. The Trinity and Klamath had big numbers of salmon pushing in by the end of August and fishing was red hot through the middle of November. Double digit days became the norm and the jacks were so thick on the Klamath I found myself trying to get away from them at times to get through to the bigger fish. The Smith River didn't fish as well as it did last year but I think that was more a function of the dry weather making conditions tough. Sonar counts in the lower river showed very similar numbers to the year before but with the low water they were a bit tougher to entice. Regardless, there were still some great days and the size of the fish on this river is really what makes this place so special.

With all the negative press regarding salmon runs in recent years it's nice to see such a positive trend. The numbers of juvenile fish in the ocean this year and the number of jacks on the Klamath and Trinity both point towards next year being another fantastic season. While I know it seems really early to start thinking about fall dates, September and October are selling out faster and faster each year as people quickly become regulars after getting a taste of these great rivers. About half my dates are already locked down so if you'd like to get a prime slot it doesn't hurt to book well in advance. Last year the bookings caught me off guard and I felt bad when so many of my regulars couldn't get the dates they wanted.

While a few more salmon may trickle into our rivers on the next rain, it's doubtful the numbers will be significant. I'm breaking down my kwickfish and back-bounce rods and getting ready for the first big push of winter steelhead that will surely be riding in on the next rain. There are already scattered reports from the Eel, Trinity and Smith with the peak of the season being January and February. I've still got some available dates for both months so let me know if you'd like to break the winter doldrums by getting out on the river. We'll be fishing the Smith, Chetco, Elk, Sixes, Trinity, Mad, Eel and Van Duzen rivers.

In closing I'd like to thank all the familiar faces and new friends that continue to make each year busier than the one before. I hope the holidays are great to you all and I'm looking forward to fishing with you all again in the new year.

With the last few storm systems the salmon fishing on the Smith River has come to life. So far we haven't seen the big numbers and easy limits we were spoiled with last year but as long as there's water in the river the bite has been solid. Most days I've been able to get each of my guys their fish and as we expect from this river, most have been big. The average fish has been running in the low 30 pound range with fish in the 40s not uncommon. The picture is of Jeremy Baker from Santa Cruz who fished with me last week and nailed this beautiful 35 pounder along with one that was it's twin that he released.

Lack of significant rainfall has kept me away from the Smith River for another week but it looks like that's supposed to change with a the storm scheduled to roll through towards the end of the week. Reports from up there are that there are good numbers of fish in the estuary with a few being caught early each morning before the fishing pressure puts them down. In the meantime I've been fishing the Trinity and the numbers have stayed the same while the size of the fish just keeps getting bigger. The picture is of Sarah, who's finishing up here last year at HSU, with one of 3 fish over 30 pounds she landed with me last week.

Just a quick update from my phone. The dry weather has kept me off the Smith other than for a few days this week after the 3 inches that fell over the weekend. There were good fish caught all 3 days I was on it but the bite was never wide open and got progressively tougher each day as the river dropped and cleared. Until the next rain comes I'll be heading back over to the Trinity which has still been fishing fantastic with some of the biggest fish of the season showing up.