Old times on the Feather River

[winxp_man]

Here is a pic of me holding about a 20 something pound female salmon for a nice picture. This was back in the day when we were allowed to fish the bed rock while a nice number of fish were in there :)

Boy do I miss those days!

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg48/winxp_man/Salmon.jpg



Just wanted to share a small memory of good times!

[Darian]

Does bring back some fond memories. Mine are mainly about coastal fish. :)

Too bad Salmon fishing in valley rivers has deteriorated so much. I just started fishing them when everything started to go down hill. Haven't seriously fished Salmon on a fly in the valley for at least a decade. :neutral:

[NCL]

Some of my fondest memories of fishing are for Winter run salmon on the Sac with my Dad. It was in the late 50's and early 60's. Those fish were bright as a new dime.

[Frank Alessio]

I believe I Took that picture of Big "A"....Lets get the the facts straight.... The california Dept. of Fish and Games are the ones who ended that Fishery... We used to be able to fish that section of the river until the end of August...One hatchery trout or steelhead...Not for salmon....I do not think interuping a fish on its way to death really was the end of the world... That area would be a great Fly Fishing only barbless catch and release area.. It also would not harm the local economy.... My bet is that will never happen....Frank B. Alessio

[Tony Buzolich]

Hey Frank,,, It would HELP the economy in Oroville. Think about all the lunches we had at Wong Fong Low's,,, How many times did we stay over at Motel 6, and think about all those guys throwing beads below the old green Hwy.162 bridge. They spent a ton of money on fishing gear at Walmart across the street. Hell, I even bought a fly rod at Walmart when I broke mine. Think about the breakfasts at the Cornicopia, and all the gas we burned getting up there. These are all tourist dollars coming into the local economy.

Here's a couple of old pics from the Feather way back when:)
Tony
[Ihttp://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/Rob-salmon8-99upload.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/buzolich/Frank-salmon18-99upload.jpg

[Frank Alessio]

Tony..... Thanks for the Memories...Man does time pass quickly....Frank

[Hogan Brown]

that was fun fishing up there when you could!!!!

[Frank Alessio]

Hogan... That was like a poor mans trip to Alaska for me.... Frank

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Some of my fondest memories of fishing are for Winter run salmon on the Sac with my Dad. It was in the late 50's and early 60's. Those fish were bright as a new dime.

"Springers" are very bright....when legal they are nice to eat.

[winxp_man]

Hey Frank,

Yes that was a picture you took :)

And Bill yes the springers are bright for sure!

Here is one I caught this year on the 17th of July on beads. I wish it were on a my new 10wt Sage fly rod though..... I did manage to hook one this morning on my little shrimp pattern. It was fun while it lasted then it broke off.


http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg48/winxp_man/1514D835-A117-41BC-BD6E-5930F31CB26E-725-0000009047B753ED.jpg

[DAVID95670]

Awesome photos hopefully will be posting some.soon.from the.American river

[winxp_man]

Awesome photos hopefully will be posting some.soon.from the.American river


I have a feeling you will Dave! :D

[cyama]

I talked with the DFG and it is illegal to lift a salmon out of the water. You can fish for steelhead in the low flow, but if you are targeting salmon you will get a ticket. Catch and release barbless only!! The DFG patrol the low flow on a regular basis.

[winxp_man]

I talked with the DFG and it is illegal to lift a salmon out of the water. You can fish for steelhead in the low flow, but if you are targeting salmon you will get a ticket. Catch and release barbless only!! The DFG patrol the low flow on a regular basis.


I fished the low flow and the ranger was in his truck above me on the ridge and he didn't even get out of his truck or even attempted to talk to me. Also the memories we are talking about is what passed and are not no more. Back in the day Bed Rock area closed to all fishing at the end of August.

Hell I'm 100% there were fish that I released that made it to the cutting board and got there eggs or love juice taken by the hatchery workers. Reason being out of the couple of times that I went to the hatchery during the cutting part there were fish after fish with lures and hooks everywhere. I used to call these fish Generals with lots of medals.... :)

[Darian]

I recall a trip with a buddy to meet/fish with the late Chuck DeJournette who lived outside of Red Bluff during late September or October(??) in the '70's, I think. We had talked to him at one of the San Mateo ISE show and set up the trip to learn about/fish the Sacramento River below the Red Bluff diversion dam.

Chuck was appointed "river docent" by some un-known/named entity to us. He surely knew his stuff. We exchanged flies and discovered how heavily flies had to be weighted to get down in the current. Chucks favorite pattern for that area was a black boss with brown hackle/tail. Those flies were as heavy as cannon balls.

We launched below the dam and drifted in a 12' rowboat thru Blackberry riffle into some deep runs where Salmon were stacked up. As we drifted along, Chuck explained all of the features along the river and how the modifications channelized everything and altered natural flows. Saw a family of otters on the levee overturning trash cans in peoples backyards early in the AM. Lotsa fun.

Chuck caught the only Salmon on a fly that day and it was the only truly bright fish I ever saw caught in a valley river. In those days it was still reasonable to fish for Salmon in the Sacramento River for almost the entire year and be able to expect to catch one.

Good times, good memories.... :D :D

[winxp_man]

I recall a trip with a buddy to meet/fish with the late Chuck DeJournette who lived outside of Red Bluff during late September or October(??) in the '70's, I think. We had talked to him at one of the San Mateo ISE show and set up the trip to learn about/fish the Sacramento River below the Red Bluff diversion dam.

Chuck was appointed "river docent" by some un-known/named entity to us. He surely knew his stuff. We exchanged flies and discovered how heavily flies had to be weighted to get down in the current. Chucks favorite pattern for that area was a black boss with brown hackle/tail. Those flies were as heavy as cannon balls.

We launched below the dam and drifted in a 12' rowboat thru Blackberry riffle into some deep runs where Salmon were stacked up. As we drifted along, Chuck explained all of the features along the river and how the modifications channelized everything and altered natural flows. Saw a family of otters on the levee overturning trash cans in peoples backyards early in the AM. Lotsa fun.

Chuck caught the only Salmon on a fly that day and it was the only truly bright fish I ever saw caught in a valley river. In those days it was still reasonable to fish for Salmon in the Sacramento River for almost the entire year and be able to expect to catch one.

Good times, good memories.... :D :D


Darian your 100% right. Today I was using a heavier shrimp pattern and boom had a real nice hit and a hookup of about 1 minute or 2. Like I said it was fun while it lasted :D

I guess salmon just dont like to come to the surface much. Either way good memories it is!

[burl51]

I remember back in the late 80's early 90's when the salmon were so thick in aug and sept
that we didn't even fish for steelhead until oct. We would just decorate the salmon with our indicator rigs. Hook salmon with glo bugs trying to get down to the steelhead. So many salmon those were the days

Burl

[NCL]

"Springers" are very bright....when legal they are nice to eat.

Bill,

You are very correct they were excellant to eat. My Dad and his main fishing partner smoked most of the fish we caught and I can remember the paper sacks being oily from all the fat on those fish. I have to admit that I got to a point that I hated the sight of smoked salmon. Wished I could get it now without paying an arm and a leg.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The salmon are back in Nor Cal......at least for this season.

[firedad0]

The salmon are back in Nor Cal......at least for this season.

Would like to make some memories myself here. I have an 11'6" 8wt switch would this be ok or do I need to step up a couple wts?