When the Russian River water conditions are just right........video

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ASmMyz9QI

One of the best Nor Cal Steelhead rivers but water has to be right.

Jan/Feb can be the timing with the rain to stop for a few weeks.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

My old fly fishing friends from the Greatest Generation said that 60 years ago nobody really needed to go further north than the famous Russian River to have world class fishing.

Before they started damming the Russian River in 1959 it had large numbers of wild Salmon, Steelhead, Stripers, Shad and Smallmouth Bass. It even had Sturgeon in it.

Today it has hatchery supported runs of Salmon and Steelhead.


There is a group of local Baby Boomers who still know how to fly fish the Russian River for winter Steelhead.

Doug Brutocao, Carlo Bongio, Bill Hutchinson, and Carl Blackledge are some I know personally.


Jeff Putnam has fished over there and said the winter run Steelhead are made up of wild and hatchery fish.

He said because they are usually caught fairly close to the ocean, they are all pretty hot.


The lower river is mostly tide water and very "lakey".

The lower stretches are fished with single handed fly rods with slow sinking lines when thing are right in the winter.


You need to really pay your dues if you expect to catch anything over there because it is really different than most of our inland rivers.

.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Here are some videos of "tide water fly fishing" which is a lot like lake fishing at times:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGyf1VMVNo8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLovG4O_5y0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTsl44xjLEY


**In the tide water of a river near the ocean you do some swinging but also stripping to keep the fly moving.

When the tide is running you do less striping but when it is slack you strip like fishing a lake.

This is where you catch extremely hot fresh run salmon and steelhead.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Dec/Jan/Feb is the time for winter Steelhead on the California north coast.

Feb, on average, could be the best month because flows can stabilize some.


Jason Hartwick is guiding winter Steelhead up on the north coast, weather/rain dependent.

[STEELIES/26c3]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ASmMyz9QI

One of the best Nor Cal Steelhead rivers but water has to be right.

Jan/Feb can be the timing with the rain to stop for a few weeks.\

Really enjoyed watching that Oregonian couple fishing springers in the tidal water 2012...