San Francisco Area River Report 11/3/05

[Wahoo!]

Freshwater
Rivers: The Smith got its rain and it opened above Rowdy Creek. And that
was good. The guides chased the salmon all the way up toward Jed Smith
State Park but found that the kings were fading toward dark, and that
was bad. So they're back on the lower river, and the fishing is
excellent. Large, ocean-bright fish, and many of them. Tuesday, guide
Harvey Young had three boats out with six anglers, and they ended with
limits, six fish to 25 pounds. Top getter is the sardine-wrapped
Kwikfish (K-14 and K-15) trolled through the slow water, namely the Sand
Hole ... The Trinity is shamefully low. "Almost the worst I've seen it
this time of year," said guide Steve Huber, who has seen it plenty. "We
get fish (steelhead) early in the morning and then again late in the
afternoon. In between, nothing much happens." To illustrate: Yesterday,
after a shot of rain Tuesday night, Huber's client hooked a steelhead on
the first drift, then two more. Then nothing. For the fly fishers, of
which there are many, dead drifting stonefly patterns produces, and
GloBugs are working, too ... On Lower Sacramento, the guide boats are
packed in tight at the Barge Hole, where Battle Creek empties into the
river, and they're fishing over a mix of dark and not-so-dark salmon.
They go after them with large, sardine-wrapped Kwikfish (K-15 and K-16)
in the a.m., then switch to salmon roe when the sun arches over. A few
of the guides, anti-socials and river wanderers these, are looking
downstream, below Red Bluff. The fish here tend to be brighter, more
silver than gray, but the trade-off is less action. If you've had your
fill of salmon, consider trout and steelhead fishing. With the salmon
bedding down toward procreation, the river's other fish are on the
opportunist feed, gobbling any stray eggs that bounce by. As a result,
20-40 trout fought and released in a day is common, plus a few steelhead
near Battle Creek. Or this: salmon in the morning, then steelhead and
trout to round out a thoroughly amazing experience. Locally, the guides
are calling it a "Grand Slam" trip. And if you're wondering about the
fourth species, so are we ... The American is starting to see some
numbers of salmon, but not the kind of numbers interested parties would
like. Guide Bob Sparre was out on a night fishing trip yesterday, and
the river was fairly silent. No salmon rolling, none splashing. He did
mark them on the meter, however. Better yet, his group had two takes and
an 18-pounder in the boat in the first hour of fishing.