Bill Kiene semi-retired
01-12-2008, 08:01 PM
I have not been in quite a few years but I would like to get over there again some day.
Around 1970ish one of Sacramento's top fly fisherman, Jack McLaughlin, a Sacramento City Firefighter, told me if I wanted to experience the best fly fishing Nor Cal has to offer I should try to hit the smaller north coast rivers in the winter.
Jack told me that if I could hook a fresh run wild 10# female Steelhead a few mile from the ocean in the "tide water" I would know what he meant.
At that time I was lucky to be able to go over there with some of the veteran coastal fly fishers from Sacramento like Walt Bennett, Joe Patterson, Joe Shirshac, Chuck Campana, Al Perryman, George Martin and others.
The fishing was better then so it was not as hard as it would be today but if you really want to hook some of those chrome beauties it is still possible today.
The conditions for fly fishing are timely and sometimes it's only for a few days a winter. Last winter was a good one with more rain early in the winter and then a period of good weather. Some winters it doesn't happen at all.
From Monterey Bay to the Oregon border there are maybe a dozen rivers.
This would be a good fisheries for a retired person or someone who has a flexible schedule.
I prefer the more open water where you can cast more easily with shooting heads and slow sinking lines. It can be like fly fishing in a small slow moving lake. Very different from the American, Trinity and Klamath which I was use to at the time.
One of my first 'tide water' experiences was on the San Lorenzo in Santa Cruz during Thanks Giving. We were at the big bend in the river right upstream from the railroad bridge and board walk. We were trying to catch some fresh Silver Salmon that were hold up in a depression in that area.
All I had at the time was my 9' #9 weight Fenwick fiberglass rod with a few #10 shooting head in type II and Type III sink rates. It was a learning experience for me. I met a nice local who was using an 8'6" #7 line Winston fiberglass rod with a weight forward SA "Fisherman" line which was an intermediate slow sinking line that almost floated. When I cast out, with no current to speak of, in 4 feet of water and made one strip I was in bottom which was sea weed at the time.
If I went over to the coast now with a friend and either of us hooked one fish and it got some air and broke off I would feel like it was worth it. Just to see a few fresh fish rolling up the river would be cool.
Sadly I hate to imagine what the West Coast Steelheading was like 50 years ago.
He is an article I wrote about a fun winter trip over there a long time ago:
http://kiene.com/articles/xmasonthegualalariver.shtm
Around 1970ish one of Sacramento's top fly fisherman, Jack McLaughlin, a Sacramento City Firefighter, told me if I wanted to experience the best fly fishing Nor Cal has to offer I should try to hit the smaller north coast rivers in the winter.
Jack told me that if I could hook a fresh run wild 10# female Steelhead a few mile from the ocean in the "tide water" I would know what he meant.
At that time I was lucky to be able to go over there with some of the veteran coastal fly fishers from Sacramento like Walt Bennett, Joe Patterson, Joe Shirshac, Chuck Campana, Al Perryman, George Martin and others.
The fishing was better then so it was not as hard as it would be today but if you really want to hook some of those chrome beauties it is still possible today.
The conditions for fly fishing are timely and sometimes it's only for a few days a winter. Last winter was a good one with more rain early in the winter and then a period of good weather. Some winters it doesn't happen at all.
From Monterey Bay to the Oregon border there are maybe a dozen rivers.
This would be a good fisheries for a retired person or someone who has a flexible schedule.
I prefer the more open water where you can cast more easily with shooting heads and slow sinking lines. It can be like fly fishing in a small slow moving lake. Very different from the American, Trinity and Klamath which I was use to at the time.
One of my first 'tide water' experiences was on the San Lorenzo in Santa Cruz during Thanks Giving. We were at the big bend in the river right upstream from the railroad bridge and board walk. We were trying to catch some fresh Silver Salmon that were hold up in a depression in that area.
All I had at the time was my 9' #9 weight Fenwick fiberglass rod with a few #10 shooting head in type II and Type III sink rates. It was a learning experience for me. I met a nice local who was using an 8'6" #7 line Winston fiberglass rod with a weight forward SA "Fisherman" line which was an intermediate slow sinking line that almost floated. When I cast out, with no current to speak of, in 4 feet of water and made one strip I was in bottom which was sea weed at the time.
If I went over to the coast now with a friend and either of us hooked one fish and it got some air and broke off I would feel like it was worth it. Just to see a few fresh fish rolling up the river would be cool.
Sadly I hate to imagine what the West Coast Steelheading was like 50 years ago.
He is an article I wrote about a fun winter trip over there a long time ago:
http://kiene.com/articles/xmasonthegualalariver.shtm